Saved by the Rancher - By Jennifer Ryan Page 0,105

of the bed to stand. No way would she look the victim or appear passive.

“You always disappointed me.”

“Yes, well, the same is true of you. What happened to you, David? You were such a lovely man when we met. I really thought you were wonderful. You turned into such a monster. Maybe you always were, and I just never saw it.”

“You wanted to get your hands on my money and my company. My family tried to warn me. I couldn’t see past that lovely face and body, or my own need for you.”

“No. I never wanted the money. I wanted you. As stupid as that turned out to be. You have no heart, David. You’re incapable of love, or seeing it when it’s given freely to you.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about. I love you. I love you with such passion that you’re all I think about. I can’t even work for thinking about you. No one will ever love you like I love you.”

“That’s not love. That’s obsession. Go back to your new wife. End this here and now before I destroy you.”

“You? Destroy me?” His laugh turned sinister. “After all these years, you think you can do anything to me. I can find you anywhere you go. That new man of yours just might have an accident, maybe that pretty little girl will turn up missing, or perhaps that nice ranch will burn to the ground. Take your pick. They might all happen if you don’t do what I want you to do.”

His voice grew louder as his anger built. If she wasn’t careful, he just might go into a rage again, unable to control himself, even knowing they were in a hospital with lots of witnesses.

“Threats, with people right outside the door,” she warned. “Listen to me. Stop this now, or I will destroy you and everything you hold dear.”

He took three long strides toward her so fast, she didn’t have time to react before he was standing over her. Squared off, toe-to-toe, the strength she thought spent surged and allowed her to stand her ground.

“You want to end this. Come back to me. That’s all I ever wanted. I can’t live without you. If you don’t, you know what will happen, only this time you have a lot more to lose.”

Hard to sound strong when your voice rasped out no louder than a whisper, but she managed. “I’ll never come back to you. Not now. Not ever. If you even think about harming one of the people I love, I’ll do more than destroy you. I’ll kill you. Now get out.” She hadn’t realized that as she spoke, she’d actually backed him into the wall by the door.

“You’ll regret this, Jenna. My lawyer is here so you can sign over the shares. If you do, I’ll leave you alone.”

“No. You wouldn’t leave me alone just for the shares. I know that. I’ve known that from the beginning. You enjoy hunting and hurting me. You’ll keep coming back for more. I won’t allow it. I will destroy you, David. You’ll see.”

She didn’t see the slap coming, should have anticipated his instinctive reaction to lash out and hurt. Her head snapped to the side from the blow. She held her ground again.

“You can’t threaten me,” he said outraged. “There’s nothing you can do to hurt me. I’ll be seeing you soon.”

“You’re wrong. I can hurt you, and I will. You’ll see. This time, I’m coming for you.”

She’d never been able to shake him. The worried look on his face gave her some satisfaction.

David moved toward the door, but stopped in his tracks at her final statement.

“That’s the last time you’ll ever lay a hand on me, David.”

He walked out without looking back.

Jenna’s heart pounded against her aching ribs. Despite the fact she was shaking, it was a powerful feeling to have stood up to him. The guard looked in, she gave him a half-hearted smile to let him know she was okay and he closed the door.

She shuffled back toward the bed, grabbed the phone, and dialed.

“It’s Rabbit. I need Ben,” she told the receptionist.

Ben came on the line within seconds.

“Rabbit. Please tell me you aren’t on the run. I talked to Sam earlier, he said you were putting your plan in action and you were due to die today.”

“Not anymore. Make sure the story about my death doesn’t go out. David just stopped by for a visit. We can’t go with that plan now. He’ll know