Vivian Arend - High Passion

“Ropes failing at the wrong moment. Could happen to anyone, couldn’t it?” he asked.

How could someone who appeared so sophisticated sound so menacing? Alisha glanced around, but the nearest people were too far away to hear his words or see anything other than a couple holding hands. Perhaps having a lovers’ quarrel.

God, she wished Devon were with her.

Vincent didn’t allow her to speak, instead sending her a hard-edged smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Or maybe the next terrible accident won’t be on the job. Your pilot—Erin, correct? Such a lovely woman. She lives alone. She should be more diligent in locking her doors.”

This wasn’t making sense. “You’re threatening my Lifeline teammates if I don’t marry you?”

Vincent lowered his voice and darkness rasped over her eardrums, setting her hair on end. “I allowed you to make the right decision on your own, and you chose to ignore me. I’ve had enough, Alisha. Your time here is done.”

She struggled to make sense of what seemed total nonsense. “Are you claiming you caused Xavier’s accident?”

“Don’t be stupid. How could I cause an accident?” His gaze tightened, his pressure on her fingers increasing to the point of pain. “I’m a businessman, not a petty thief. Not a person willing to accept money to place drugs in someone’s cup. Not a desperate creature willing to damage a sturdy harness in strategic places.”

The blood drained from her head, leaving an eerie echo in her ears. “Vincent—”

“I didn’t want to do this, but you forced my hand, Alisha. You. Your stubborn resistance is the reason that until you cooperate, I’ll find ways to encourage you to come to your senses. Perhaps that sweet Jonah—he’s a friend of Tripp’s, isn’t he? He shouldn’t walk to work at the school over the next while. I’d hate to have a car lose control near him and cause another tragedy.”

Her chest was so tight she couldn’t breathe. He knew her teammate’s names, their friends, what they did for a living. What had begun as a meeting full of frustration and anger at his idiotic refusal to leave her in peace had turned into a nightmare.

“This isn’t how the real world works,” Alisha stuttered. “If you did something to hurt Xavier, or anyone else, you’ll be caught. I wouldn’t lie down and obey your insane orders simply because you’ve done some research into the people in my life, as infuriating as that is. You’re not above the law, Vincent.”

“But I am,” he said. “There’s nothing you can blame on me because everything is untraceable, yet I’ve got the resources to make accidents keep happening. What I don’t have are the shares you own, and until I do, I won’t stop. I’m not enjoying this—I’d far prefer to get on with our lives, and I’d imagine the rest of your team feels the same way. I’d hate for something to happen to anyone else. Especially . . . what’s his name? Ah, yes. Devon.”

Alisha stilled. The words escaped in a bare whisper. “No, Vincent. No.”

He shrugged. “It’s up to you. I need you to return to Toronto. Once you’ve satisfied the conditions of your inheritance, I can take the steps to ensure a smooth transfer of business matters. It’s not that great a hardship, I think, marrying me. Rejoining society for a year should be a nice change of pace for you—you won’t be required to do anything but act as my companion. I don’t even expect you to sleep with me so long as you make the proper noises at the proper times in public.” He waved a hand. “We’ll arrange things in the prenuptial so once I’m satisfied the shares are permanently in my name, we can split up. You could return to your climber then.” He paused and narrowed his gaze. “Or . . . you can continue to fight me, and there might not be anyone to return to.”

She was going to be ill. “Xavier is lying in a hospital because you can’t stand the thought of losing a business? What kind of a bastard are you?”

“One who’s had enough. It’s your choice. I assumed it should be an easy one to make.” His eyes were cold. “If you think I’m stupid, don’t. As far as any records or investigations will show, my only sin is waiting far too long for you to come to your senses and accept my proposal. I will have what I need. Now.”

How had she stepped into such an impossible situation? She searched for words to deny him, but images of Xavier’s broken body lying on the ice filled her head. Picturing Devon as motionless dragged a whimper from deep inside that escaped before she could stop it.

Her wrist would be bruised from his grip. “This isn’t some game, and it’s time you woke up. I want Bailey Enterprises. I’ve put too much into it over the years to allow my money to get flushed away by a fading old man or his rebellious daughter. I have the resources, and now I’m calling the shots. The sooner you cooperate, the fewer people will suffer for your mistakes.”

He finally let her free and stood, pulling an envelope from his pocket and dropping it on the coffee table in front of her. His gaze drifted over her, his outside presentation still polished, which made his examination colder and more disturbing.

Vincent walked away without another word.

Alisha’s hands shook as she picked up the flat envelope and opened it to find a first-class ticket to Toronto in her name, dated for the following Saturday.

Devon paced his living room like a caged tiger, frustration and worry making it impossible to sit.

Ever since Alisha had sweet-talked him into allowing her to leave without him he’d been angry about giving in. Angry he hadn’t thought to go along to protect her even if he simply observed from a distance.

Finding the balance between her need to stand on her own and being an overprotective asshole wasn’t an easy line to walk. Adding in that it was now after noon and she still hadn’t returned didn’t make it any easier.

She’d texted him to let him know she was done talking with Vincent and she was safe. She needed “time to think.”

What the fuck did that mean?

If it would have done any good he would have driven around town trying to spot Alisha’s car, but the idea was stupid. Staying home and waiting for her to return seemed his only choice, but the longer he had to wait and keep reaching nothing but her voice mail, the more infuriated he got.

The front door opened and Alisha stepped through, lifting tired grey eyes to meet his.

“What happened?” he snapped. He stomped across to her side and pulled her against him, as she seemed nearly unable to keep on her feet. “What’s wrong?”

She shook her head, pushing him away as she stumbled into the living room and collapsed onto the couch. “Give me a minute.”

He’d given her all morning, but shouting wouldn’t get her to talk any sooner. He followed her, eyeing her defeated body language as warning bells went off like crazy. This wasn’t the confident, cocky woman who’d left him five hours ago. “Alisha, you’re killing me. What the hell did Vincent do?”

A noise between a whimper and cry escaped her. “He’s insane. He’s completely and totally insane.”

She looked up and he swore, the lost look in her eyes too much to bear. He sank to his knees and caught her hands in his. “Explain.”

“Vincent pretty much admitted to sabotaging Lifeline—to causing Xavier’s accident.”

“What the fuck?”

She snorted. “Yeah, that was my response, but as bizarre as it sounds, it’s true. Only he was sure to mention he couldn’t be implicated in any of it. If I go to the police with this information, it will lead to nothing but dead ends. In the meantime, more accidents could happen.”

Now he understood her confused expression—his must’ve been about the same. “This is bullshit. If he admitted to having anything to do with the accident, of course we go to the police.”

“With what proof?” Alisha snapped. Her cheeks brightened as her breathing picked up. “I wandered for hours trying to figure out a way around this, but his comments are nothing but hearsay, and in the meantime, the rest of you are in danger. He threatened you. You and Erin and—God, he knew Jonah’s name, and everything. Vincent’s deranged enough that I can believe he’d do it. He’d hurt you.”

Devon caught her around the back of the neck and held on tight, his forehead pressed to hers as he attempted to calm her. To make sense of what she was saying. “He’s not going to hurt anyone. Most likely he’s lying in an attempt to scare you into doing what he wants. If he’s really guilty, he’ll be caught. The RCMP is investigating now. If you’ve got information, we need to tell them. Let them explore and—”

“No.” The word burst out like a gunshot as she leapt to her feet, stomping away, her runners loud on the hardwood. She twirled to face him, all energy and passion again, only this time the energy stoking her wasn’t sexual, it was despair. “You don’t understand. What if in the meantime something happens? What if because I go to the RCMP something else terrible happens? I can’t live with that. I just . . .”

She stared up at the ceiling, her teeth biting into her lower lip as she fought to calm herself.

Devon forced his fists to uncurl. To stand slowly, and move as if toward a skittish horse. “You have to trust nothing will happen.”

Fire blazed out again. “I can’t. Don’t you see? You of all people should understand—the accident with your father impacted you hard, and it wasn’t even your fault. It’s taken years for you to move past it.” Her eyes were wild. “Maybe Vincent is lying, maybe he’s not causing terrible things, but what if he is? What if I can stop anyone else from being hurt, or God forbid, killed? What is one fucking year of my life compared to that?”