A Billionaire's Redemption - By Cindy Dees Page 0,18

goddamned sonofabitch,” he snarled. “I’ll bet he made you stay home until the bruises faded, didn’t he?”

Her nod was so small, so stiff and unwilling, that he barely saw it. But it was enough. Gabe strode over to her and swept her into his arms, holding her tight against him. “I take back everything I said. I don’t care if he was your father or not, John Merris didn’t deserve to live. If he weren’t already dead, I’d start by shooting him first.”

“Gabe,” Willa mumbled from the folds of his dress shirt, “you can’t just run around shooting people.”

“Why the hell not? This is Texas. I wouldn’t be convicted in any court in the state for taking out either man after what they did to you. Juries in this state don’t take kindly to people who harm women, children or cops.”

Muffled words floated up to him. “You still could go to jail.”

“It would be worth it.”

“Don’t do it on my account. I’ll be okay.”

“You’re not okay,” he answered forcefully. “You flinch whenever I touch you, and that haunted look keeps creeping into your eyes. You’re scared. Admit it.”

She struggled weakly against his arms and he loosened his grip enough for her to lean back and stare up at him. Her blue eyes were huge in her face. Too big. Too scared. Too damned vulnerable. A surge of protectiveness swept over him so hard it almost knocked him off his feet.

“Okay, fine. I’m scared. Is that a crime?”

“Hell, no. So let me get this straight. Ward attacked you. You told your father about it, and he told you to suck it up. To pretend it never happened. Not to cause trouble with his business partner, to save the Merris family reputation and not make waves right before a tight election. Am I right?”

She nodded. Her gaze fell miserably.

“What happened to your clothes? Did your old man take some pictures of your scrapes and bruises or gather some evidence to corroborate your claim later? Or at least to blackmail the bastard with?”

Her lips quirked. “Blackmail, huh? You have a vicious mind, Mr. Dawson.”

“You have no idea. At this very moment, I’m trying to choose between several horrible and painful forms of death by slow torture for young James.”

A flicker of humor passed through her gaze for just an instant. It was gone almost before he saw it, but it was enough. A spark of the old Willa Merris, the one who’d dared him to a horse race, was still in there. Now all he had to do was find that spark again and nurture it into a flame.

“There’s no evidence,” she said, disrupting his train of thought. “My father destroyed everything. He took all of my clothes and burned them himself. And I wasn’t allowed out of the house until every last scratch and bruise was totally gone.”

“Willa, Willa.” He sighed. “You’re what, twenty-eight-years old? Why did you let your father bully you like that?”

“Because he was John Merris. When did he ever not get his way?”

Gabe pursed his lips. “I told him to go to hell, and I’m still standing. In fact, I’ve done moderately well in spite of John’s best efforts to wreck me.”

That glint of humor flashed again in her eyes. But he understood her response. John Merris had been known for his frightening temper and razor-sharp tongue that flayed anyone who dared to gainsay him. Even as a teen, he remembered Willa having a talent for fading out of sight and out of mind almost at will. A useful skill for a person who had lived with her father.

“Would you like to see some of the cool tricks my house can do?” he asked her abruptly.

“Uhh, sure.”

He gave her a tour of his high-tech apartment ending with the high-definition media wall that took up one entire side of his home theater, projecting everything at life size.

“Wow!” Willa exclaimed. “I’d love to see a Longhorn football game on this monster.”

He laughed. She was a sports fan, huh? “You feel like you’re on the field with the players. Texas plays Oklahoma State next weekend. You’re officially invited to watch it here with me.”

“Deal.” Her expression was young and happy and warmed his soul. It made him want to pick her up and swing her around, and then make love to her all night long.

Startled, he examined the urge more closely. He had no trouble getting all the sex he wanted; a continuous stream of beautiful women hoping to snare him