She was a whore, a slut, a bitch. That gun scared the hell out of her, and she couldn’t stop trembling, but his words didn’t touch her. She was loved. She was their woman, and anything she did with them was beautiful. Lyle was the perverse one.
There it was. A small, white camera pointed directly at her. It wasn’t moving, but the red light was on. It was working. Of course, none of it mattered if Gavin wasn’t watching. Even if he was, she feared that all he would see from that angle was her standing alone in the sunlight.
“Bitch, are you listening to me? Maybe I need to put another bullet in Scotty-boy to get your attention.” Lyle put the gun to the back of Scott’s head, and Hannah saw Scott tense. He wasn’t as far gone as she’d feared. Scott had a chance to survive, but only if Hannah played her cards right.
And she really only had one card left.
“I heard you, Lyle. I just didn’t understand everything. You didn’t show yourself before.
How was I supposed to know it was you? It could have been anyone.” The gun eased back, and he looked thoughtful. “I thought you would realize it was me. It was obvious.”
She shook her head. “Not to me.” Not to anyone.
“You’re a lying, little whore. Why should I believe you?” A nasty grin came across his face.
“I’ll tell you what, Hannah. I’ll let Scotty here live if you get in my car. We’re going to go away, you and me. I’ll show you a real man.”
Oh, she couldn’t get in that car. No way. No how. But if she got him away from Scott, she could run.
“A-all right.” Her voice shook.
“It’s not that easy, dear. First, I want a taste of what you’ve been giving the bigwigs. Take off the robe. Since you’re a slut, you can ride without clothes. You didn’t want to be my pure love?
You can be my sex slave. I can beat you just like they did. I’ll show you what kind of man I am.” Hiding her shudder, Hannah feared she already knew. He was a hateful misogynist who was so damaged, he would never heal. She wasn’t sure what had warped Lyle’s soul, and she didn’t care. She only cared that he didn’t kill anyone else.
Trembling, she let her hand find the tie on her robe. She’d wanted to be naked in the sunlight.
She wanted to wait for her men to find her and love her.
Now she could only hope that they would save her.
* * * *
Gavin found just what he needed in the kitchen. Chamomile tea. Hannah’d had a rough day.
He’d tried to back off, give her time and space. But leaving things unresolved between them was eating at him. He had to see her. So after a few minutes that had felt like months, he’d made her a nice cup of the steaming brew. It would give him an excuse to walk into her room. He’d listened in earlier and heard the shower running.
Trying to maim a man with shot glasses was dirty business. He wouldn’t be surprised if Hannah was trying to unwind.
Maybe if he talked smoothly enough, he could coax her into resting her head on his shoulder.
It would be an easy move to put an arm around her and hold her. That was all he wanted.
Bullshit.
His inner voice was back, but there was a marked change in it. Gavin found a saucer for the teacup as his new inner voice spoke to him.
You want to ease her back and kiss her. You want to show her you can be as tender as you were rough earlier. You want to prove you can be everything she needs. You can love her and protect her. You can change for her.
It isn’t really change. It’s getting back to who you are.
Gavin liked his new inner voice. He was surprised to find it sounded an awful lot like his Hannah.
He picked up the cup and started down the hall. He wasn’t going to make love to Hannah right now, no matter how much he wanted to. He was going to hold her. The next time he made love to her, his brothers would be there. They would be a team, the way they were meant to be.
There was a distant ping, a sharp, familiar sound. Gavin had spent enough time in Alaska to know the sound of a gun firing. Hunters? They sounded awfully close to the house to be shooting big game.
There was a small room just off the kitchen that served as the housekeeper’s office. It housed a computer and all the keys to the various buildings. Everything electrical in the house could be monitored from the office, including the security cameras.