Their Virgin Hostage (Masters of Ménage #5)(38)

The bulldog stayed, his eyes on Gigi.

Riley set the accounting paperwork in front of her. "Don't bother trying to escape the kitchen. I'll be right outside the door. The other entrance is locked. The windows don't open in this room, and if I hear you trying to break one again, I'll put you over my knee. No one will stop me from smacking your ass red."



       
         
       
        

"I thought you were supposed to be the funny one," she muttered under her breath.

Riley's eyes strayed back to Law. "Is that what he said? Well, there's nothing funny about this situation."

He sent his brother a long look and left.

She didn't understand what he meant at all. "Could you please leave, too? I'd like to be alone. I promise I'll look at this stuff."

"I'm staying in case you have some trick up your sleeve."

She was beyond tired. "What would I try, Law? Everything I try fails. I try to be a good sister, and Becks sleeps with my fiancé. I try to be a good bride, and my fiancé plans on killing me once I'm his wife. I try to do good in the world, and apparently everyone just uses me, including my father. In fact, everyone I've loved and trusted just might be plotting to kill me. Hell, I even tried to make a friend, but it turned out that even you lied to me."

"I didn't lie to you about anything except my name."

"You told me you cared." Why was she harping on this? She hurt so badly, and somehow the thought that Law had fabricated a bunch of crap to placate her only made her feel twenty times worse. Why?

His face softened for a moment. "Kinley, I … " His jaw firmed. Then he closed his eyes and pulled back, and she knew she'd lost him. "I did what I had to do."

"Then leave, and I'll get through this stuff faster. Like I said, I won't try anything. I would just fail."

He stopped, and for the briefest of moments she thought he would insist on staying with her. "Fine, but know that if you try, I will let Riley spank you. When he's done, I'll have you over my knee, too. And I won't let you up until we're on the same page."

"Brutalizing women. Very nice."

He stopped in front of her, his stare holding and drilling into hers. "I didn't say you wouldn't like it, baby. I just said we would be on the same page." He frowned. "How do you do this to me? How do you make me forget everything I planned? Come on, Butch. She doesn't want you anymore than her owner wants me. Let's go."

Butch slowly padded toward the door, his doggy eyes lingering on Gigi.

Law left with the big animal, the door swinging behind them.

Kinley stared down at the photos and reports, the brutal proof that her whole life was a lie. Her tears began to flow in earnest.



* * * *



Law walked out of the kitchen feeling like the lowest fucking piece of shit on the planet. He crossed the hall and stalked into the office he, Dominic, and Riley were using as their base of operations. "I really hope you two are happy." 

Had ruining Kinley's life been worth it? Maybe if he had tried again, he could have figured out a way to put Greg behind bars without wrecking all her illusions.

I would just fail. Her big brown eyes had been filled with tears. Pain had been etched onto her sweet face.

He'd caused that. Maybe he hadn't been the fucker cheating on her or planning to kill her, but he'd helped to expose it all. And he'd done it coldly because he knew his feelings for her were hopeless. Dominic was right. Hell, even Riley was probably right. Even if he hadn't abducted Kinley, how would a woman with her class and sweetness ever survive a relationship with him, a brooding Dominic, and a smartass Riley? It sounded impossible, and he was such a stupid ass for fighting that realization.

"No," Dominic said. "I'm not happy. And we have a problem. Annabelle is on the line. Riley, can Kinley hear us?"

Riley crossed the room and shut the door. "No, the doors are thick, and we're far enough away. I can see her through the panes if she tries to come out of the kitchen. I secured the other doors, and the windows won't break. We're good."

Law was happy about that because the last thing Kinley needed was to know that her best friend had been in on this plot from the beginning. One more betrayal, and Kinley might not survive, even if Annabelle had participated with good intentions.

Dominic pushed a button on the phone. "Annabelle, tell us what's going on."

"Greg is freaking out." Annabelle's voice was hushed. "He suspects you. I overheard him talking about it with that goon of his, Dargo. At first he thought that Kinley got cold feet. He was really upset about the luggage."