He raised a mocking brow. “Of course. How else was I to figure out the rules of the game?”

Jack shook off the rage and clawed for control. He needed to buy time. Time to figure a way out of this mess and save everyone. “Get off my boat. I’ll think about it.”

Bryce walked off the boat. “I’ll wait for your decision. Always nice talking with you.”

Jack grabbed for a shred of control to keep from beating the crap out of him. He promised vengeance later. His cousin would pay, but now he had precious little time to come up with a plan.

He realized it was time for answers. And serious help.

Jack picked up his phone and dialed his mother.

* * *

Julianna sat on the soft grass and studied the graceful lines of the rock wall in her backyard. The job looked flawless. Heavy cut colored stones climbed upward and set off a trickling waterfall. The rush of cool water spurted from the wall and trickled down into a clear glassy pool. Moss floated on the surface, and the sound of crickets and croaking frogs drowned out the voices in her head. She curled her bare toes into the damp soil and wondered again if she had made the biggest mistake of her life.

She never planned to fall in love with a gardener. He had stated his intention to take care of her, and Julianna could only imagine how she had stomped on his pride by saying it wasn’t enough. How could she ask Jack to sacrifice all his money to save something he didn’t care about? And it could never be enough. A few thousand wasn’t enough to plug one hole in the overwhelmed financial dam. She couldn’t drag him down with her for a promise she’d made.

The future was reasonably certain with Bryce. He knew the truth about the money required to save the Cliff House and had no problem with it. He needed to marry in order to inherit his family company, so they’d be helping each other. She’d live in England the bulk of the time, and a few months at her family home.

Bryce wanted children and a family. She was good at appearances. She could be a proper companion and keep the family name pure. Everything she’d been training for all her life.

She’d have to give up teaching, another compromise to be swallowed. But at least she'd be safe. In another house, in another country, but the Cliff House would stay in her family. She’d have kept her promise. After all, what else could she do?

Her body ached for Jack. His image flickered behind her closed eyelids at all hours of the night, his fierce urging for her to choose him. What would it feel like to be a woman who followed her heart? Who threw caution and promises to the wind and went after what she wanted?

She’d never know.

Her future was set. At least, her husband was someone she might grow to love. In time. She needed to focus on the goal, because if her gaze strayed from the path, she’d jump over the stone wall and race down to the marina and ask her lover to take her away.

Julianna closed her eyes and prayed for strength.

* * *

Jack ducked behind a large oak tree and froze. The curtain at the window swished back and forth, but the house remained quiet. He studied the layout of the rustic cabin, set back deep enough in the woods to confirm his suspicion.

Bryce was a sick son of a bitch and it was time to expose him. The call to his mother had been difficult, but necessary. She needed to know the truth about his cousin. Instead of questioning him, she’d believed him immediately and set to work. Tracking down Bryce’s personal private investigator was key, and completed within a few hours. A heavy payoff and threats of exposure easily swayed the man to switch sides. Now the surveillance equipment was safely installed in the cabin, where Bryce had requested another woman be delivered tonight.

Jack was alone and had flown the PI back to England after he completed Bryce’s task. Jack had to be the one to put his cousin in jail. He walked a fine line, and he wasn’t comfortable with it. He needed Bryce to cross the line into violence with the prostitute in order to get evidence on tape. This meant allowing a woman to be hurt. That sickened him, but at least this time Bryce wouldn’t follow all the way through with it.

He winced as the image on the small video screen revealed the woman half naked and accepting Bryce from behind. Jack looked away, the violence and lust on Bryce’s face too much to stomach. When he was spent, he directed the woman to suck him off, his fingers ruthlessly twisting her hair to deliberately cause her pain. When the woman choked, Bryce slapped her hard and made her start again.

Jack waited, controlling his urge to intervene as he watched the images flicker across the screen. He realized he was at fault for allowing his cousin to run rampant, never realizing the extent of his abuse. The detective had told him stories he only half believed. How could his cousin continuously hurt innocent victims? Why had no one talked or pressed charges?

But it was as bad as he’d been told. Bryce threw the crying, begging woman on the bed and tied her up. When the knife came out, Jack knew he’d had enough. The weapon allowed him to bump up the charges and crossed into severe criminal activity.

He raced to the door, used the key Peter had provided. Three sharp kicks broke the chain on the door. When he entered the bedroom, Bryce faced him, cool and calm, holding the knife to the woman’s throat. “Hello, cousin. Have you come to join the fun?”

The raw terror on the woman’s face affected Jack in a way he’d never forget. He knew if he hadn’t carried out this plan, Julianna would have been the one tied to the bed. He took a deep breath and deliberately remained casual. He kept his gaze on Bryce’s face and away from the knife.

“Is this how you relieve boredom now? By hurting innocent women?”

Bryce twisted his face into a grimace. The knife shook slightly. “Innocent? You mean a whore I paid good money for, to do as I wished? Women know exactly what they’re doing, including your precious Julianna. But I’ll be giving her a lesson soon. Screwing around with you, when I’d told her I needed a virtuous wife. Let’s see how she lies her way out of that one.”

“You won’t be getting anywhere near Julianna again. The game is over. Put down the knife, Bryce, and let her go. This is between you and me.”

The woman whimpered as the knife moved. A thick trickle of blood ran down her neck. She cried out and begged. Bryce smiled as if the sounds were sweet music. “Don’t think so. Hmmm, scenario may need to be changed. I'm not sure how you found my hideout, and something tells me you're going to refuse my logical offer. Perhaps you're more ruthless than I thought. What should we do? I know. I kill the girl and pin the crime on you. Your princely reputation will finally be ruined.”

Jack kept his voice steady. “We both lose then. Cops make things a mess. Murder has a long reach, even over to England. Ever heard of extradition?”

As a sequence of emotions flickered across the other man’s features, Jack estimated his distance from the girl. If Bryce went for her, could he reach her in time? Fuck, he’d never forgive himself for not intervening sooner. Little meows of terror leaked from her bloody lips, pleas for his help. He had to make his cousin turn the knife away from her. Then he might reach her in time..

“I have a solid alibi,” Bryce contradicted. “You don’t.”

“You bought one, and so could I,” Jack said easily. His heart pounded and sweat broke out on his brow. “Listen, Bryce, let her go and we’ll make a deal. Or if you’ve got the balls, come after me. Maybe then we’ll see who’s meant to be king.”

Bryce grinned. The knife flashed.

A scream ripped from the woman’s mouth seconds before the blade sliced her throat. Jack lunged and suddenly the bloody weapon was pushed into his hands, staining flesh and the white fabric of his shirt a vibrant red.

He tore the sheets off the bed and pressed the cotton against the gaping wound. He dropped the knife on the floor and groped for his cell phone to dial 911, praying the woman lived and he hadn’t participated in her murder by trying to obtain evidence. He spoke the address into the phone and murmured soothing nonsense as he felt the woman shudder, shake, and then slowly still. He figured she’d gone into shock, so he kept the pressure on the wound and looked fiercely into wide blue eyes.

“Hang on. Don’t you dare leave me. I promise to get that son of a bitch if it’s the last thing I do, but I need you to stick with me. We’re going to get him together. I swear to God no one is ever going to hurt you again. Are you listening? Stay with me!”

She slipped in and out but watched her battle to keep her focus on his face. Seconds felt like hours, and then the shrilling siren pounded in his ears, and there was a rush of emergency medical workers who pushed him aside and took over trying to keep her alive. Jack stood, dripping in blood, the knife at his feet, and watched them work. Then the sound of another siren pulling in front of the cabin, and two cops rushed through the door.

“Get down! Get down now!”

Jack hit the floor, hands on top of his head, as two cops trained their gun on him and cuffed him. His last image before things went black was not his cousin’s face as he used the knife, or the terrified look on the woman’s face, or the gushing blood.

It was Julianna’s face.

Chapter Eight

Tomorrow was her wedding day.

Julianna stared at the simple white gown hanging by the closet. Clean lines flowed from a strapless neckline and gathered in a bow in the back, then spilled to the floor in a rush of lace. The dress screamed elegance and practicality, especially for a small garden wedding with a few guests. She had no maid of honor, no close friends or family. Her lunch friends were acquaintances she kept up for appearances’ sake and no one knew the extent of her desperation. She’d invited a few neighbors and co-workers from the college in an effort to make memories of the only wedding she’d ever have. She couldn’t stand the idea of a justice of the peace. Much too impersonal. So she’d say her vows at the Cliff House, drink some champagne, and pack her bags for England.