The Marshal's Hostage - By Delores Fossen Page 0,4

no doubt gotten him many confessions.

She’d have to lie again. Except this one would be a whopper. “Because I love him.”

Joelle hoped she sounded believable, but judging from Dallas’s worsening glare, she hadn’t even come close.

“I’m pregnant,” she tried again.

He stooped down, violating her personal space, and he put his face just inches from hers. “Liar. If you were pregnant, you wouldn’t have had a shot of Jack Daniel’s.”

He had her on that particular lie, but Joelle still had to do something, anything, to convince him to leave. “Go, please, for old times’ sake.”

“You don’t have any old times’ sake favors left. You’re the one who walked out on me, and now you’re trying to destroy my father.”

She started to shake her head, but it only made the dizziness worse so she stopped. It made the dizziness worse to sit up as well, but Joelle had to keep watching out the front window for Owen.

Dallas took out his phone again. “Tell me why you said it wasn’t safe for either of us, or I’m calling that ambulance now.”

Joelle pressed her fingertips to her temples to calm the storm inside. “Because Owen is jealous of you. And he has a bad temper.” That was the truth, on both counts.

“Yeah. He does.” And that’s all Dallas said for several heart-stopping moments. “If you’re so scared of him, then why are you marrying him? And don’t give me that nonsense about loving him.”

“But I do love him,” she insisted. Of course, it was another Texas-size lie.

Dallas made a skeptical sound in his throat and went to press the buttons on his phone. Joelle couldn’t let him make that call.

“Don’t.” She grabbed his arm and put some steel in her voice. Well, as much steel as she could manage considering the drug haze was taking over her entire body.

“When I look at you...” She had to pause and force her mouth to work. “Uh, I think of all those years it took me to get over you. I, um, feel the hurt...the anger.”

“You feel all that, huh?” he growled.

“All that.” Joelle hoped these words she was trying to say would make enough sense to get him to leave. “I feel disgusted with myself.” Another pause. “Disgusted that you wouldn’t give me a second chance.”

“I don’t give second chances. Ever.”

“Believe me, I know. You’re not capable of forgiveness. You’re a cold, hard man, Dallas Walker.”

There. She’d gotten it all out. Yes, it stung to say that, but it was God’s honest truth, and maybe the truth would hurt him enough to get those cowboy boots moving toward the door.

It didn’t.

Mercy. Joelle had to take another verbal jab at him. She also had to take another breath before she continued. “I’ll bury the report that I’m supposed to give to the governor. Kirby is safe. Now, get the heck out of here.”

That should have done it. Should have gotten Dallas moving to leave. But he just kept staring at her.

Joelle cursed. The dizziness was getting worse, and she would probably lose consciousness soon.

“I hate you,” she managed to say.

And she wished that were true. Except at the moment she did hate him for not doing something he had to do—leave.

“I will get to the bottom of this,” Dallas threatened. He huffed, and his expression softened. “But I need to call that ambulance so you can go to the hospital. If Owen has a hissy fit because I’m here, then I’ll protect you from him.”

“You can’t.” But Joelle was instantly sorry she’d said that.

There it was again. That flash in his lawman’s eyes. She was digging her own grave here.

And his.

Think.

She had to do something to defuse this situation.

If she could get into the adjoining bathroom, maybe she could crawl out the window and go to the front of the church where Owen would soon arrive. She could kiss him while Dallas watched. It would turn her stomach to do that, but it might be the very thing to convince Dallas to leave so that she could go through with the vows.

Joelle shoved her elbows against the love seat so she could lever herself up. Not easily. But she managed to get to her feet by holding on to the armrest. “I have to go to the bathroom.”

He stared at her. “I’ll go with you.”

She huffed. “I have to go to the bathroom. I don’t need company for that.”

“No, but you do need help. You can’t walk.”

True. But that wouldn’t stop her.

Well, hopefully not.

She let go of