Business Pleasures (Pleasures of the Heart) (7 page)

“It’s Roger. I know it. He took her. Oh God.” Her voice sounded high and squeaky, panicked rambling, meaning she couldn’t hear anything he said, but he needed to try anyway.

“Where would he take her?”

Another sob. “I don’t know.”

Think, Ken
. Where would a psychotic, obsessive ass take his ex-wife?

The sound of a muffled, male voice sounded over the phone. Grace sniffed. “Sam suggested Roger might take her to where they first met.”

“Where is that?”

“Their first date was dinner at his parents’ cottage on Catalina Island. In fact she spent a lot of time there throughout high school and most of college. I think he still owns the cottage.” She paused for a moment, but before he could ask, she came back on the phone and gave him the address.

“I’ll bring her home. I promise you that.”

Grace let out another sob. “I believe you. Please hurry.”

He hung up the phone and gripped his keys tighter, letting the anger wash over him. He blamed himself for all of it. If he’d insisted they drive to work together, she’d be safe, at home and in his arms right now. He’d find Aimee, bring her home, and give that bastard what he deserved. No one messed with Kenton’s family, and Aimee had become more to him than just family. He’d fallen in love with her in the short time they’d spent together outside the office.

His heart ached as fear threatened to consume him, clouding his thoughts and making him sick with worry.

Roger won’t get away with whatever he had planned. Kenton would make sure of it. God, he hoped he wasn’t too late.

Chapter Ten

Aimee blinked open her eyes only to squeeze them shut again as sharp pain shot through her skull. She tried to lift her hand, but it was restrained to a bed. Dread sliced through her as she slowly opened her eyes again. This time, she fought back the pain and focused on the room around her.

The bleach white walls and matching celling made her cringe. Her pulse kicked up several beats per minute as she remembered the last time she’d been in this very room.
His
room. She remembered it so well because she joked with Roger about the clinical feel of the decorating.

She shivered and studied her hands, tied down with rope. Twisting her wrist, she tested how tight the ropes were. Hope sparked in her chest when the binding on her right hands gave a little slack. She jerked against the rope while she continued to twist.

The sound of the door handle froze her in place. A second later, Roger walked in with a grin on his face. “I was afraid you would sleep all night.”

Not responding, she watched him stalk toward the bed. Fear that he’d notice the rope had loosened made her skin itch and her belly churn. One thing Roger didn’t like was to be defied. She’d learned that in their six years of marriage.

He stopped inches from the bed and glared down at her, his lips set in a hard line. After a moment he spoke. “Are you not talking to me, love? Very well, I don’t need you to speak. In fact, I would prefer that you didn’t.”

Her fear shifted to anger as she watched him step to the window, covered with heavy drapes. With his index finger, he lifted the side of the curtain to look out it.

“You disappoint me, Aimee,” he said in a low, irritated tone she knew too well. Too many times she’d heard it right before he “punished” her for something. “You put me in jail and run around with your boss like a whore.”

The anger boiled to the point of rage. In the past five years, she’d gone from a scared, beaten down wife to a strong, independent women. The fear she once had for Roger had changed to anger at herself for not getting out of the marriage sooner. She’d never be that scared, helpless girl anymore.

“I divorced you. I’m free to date whoever I chose and it’s none of your business.”

He turned to her, his eyes narrowing and his own rage surfacing in the hard lines in his face. “Anyone can have papers served to someone incarcerated. You work for a lawyer. How do I know the papers were real?”

Why did she bother? He lived inside his own deranged fantasy world where he reined above all laws. For all she knew, he could be the ruler of that world.

“Let me go and I won’t turn you into the police for breaking parole. You could go live somewhere else.”

He stepped forward, hands fisted by his side. “I don’t want to live without you. You are my wife till death do us part. Or did you forget that part of your vows to me?”

No, she hadn’t forgotten. Actually, that was the part of the vows she thought of since he’d shown up at her house a little over a week ago. Only one way remained to be free from the bastard. One of them had to die. And it wasn’t going to be her.

She forced her body to relax and offered him a small smile. “No, of course I didn’t forget. Untie me, please.”

He studied her as if he didn’t trust her. “I can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’ll run, then I’ll be forced to hurt you. I don’t like hurting you.”

She found that hard to believe. Roger got off on using force against her. Like the fit of rage he submitted to fueled his desires. Shaking out of the past she’d tried for too long to forget, she met his stare. “I’ll be a good girl. Promise.”

It’d be one promise she couldn’t keep. Yet, she didn’t know what she’d do once he untied her. A spark of hope flared when he placed a finger in the rope, then died when he lifted his hand and stepped back. “Your boyfriend will search for you. He won’t let us live in peace. No, I think I’ll have to wait for him to find us here and kill him.”

Her heart stopped for a brief moment, fueling the mounting rage inside her. She jerked against the restraints. “You bastard!”

The corner of his mouth lifted in a humorless, evil one-sided smile. “You’re new boldness is hot.”

Bile rose up as her stomach soured. Averting her gaze, she scanned the room for anything she could use to help her escape the sick bastard. She spotted her .22 revolver on the dresser. Relief flooded her and she began to plot her next moves carefully as she kept Roger talking and distracted.

“Look, you don’t have to kill anyone. Untie me and we can run away. Somewhere far, where no one knows us.”

He shook his head and started to pace. “No. Your boss is in love with you. I can’t take the chance that he’ll come and take you.”

“Kenton doesn’t love me.”

Roger laughed. “You have always been naive. I’ve watched you two for the past week. Trust me, he loves you. Or he could just be obsessed with you.”

An ache formed in her chest at the thought. Kenton, in love with her? But the whole conversation could be Roger’s way of knocking her off guard. She took a deep breath and pushed aside the dream of being loved and lied to Roger as she rocked her right wrist back and forth under the rope. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t love him.”

“You were always a bad liar. Still are.”

She ground her teeth and reminded quiet. When he moved toward the bedroom door, she panicked. “Where are you going?”

“Out. Oh, but don’t worry, I’ll be back soon.” He pivoted on his heels and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

By that time, the rope around her right hand loosened enough that she could slip her arm free. Quickly, she worked at untying her other wrist, then her feet. She rushed to the dresser, grabbed the gun, and tucked it in the back waistband of her slacks.

She crept to the door and eased it opened and waited. When Roger didn’t pop out of the shadows to drag her back to the bed, she advanced down the hall to the living room. A moment later, the front door blew open. She whirled toward the door, her hand on the gun at her back.

Tears fell down her cheeks in relief and happiness at the sight of Kenton standing in the doorway. She flung herself at him, wrapped her arms around his waist, and squeezed. Kenton kissed the top of her head and enveloped her in a tight hug of his own. After a few moments, she lifted her head to gaze into his eyes with blurred vision. “How did you find me?”

“Grace and Sam guessed he’d take you here, and Grace had the address.”

Aimee nodded. Her sister had always kept things she felt were important or could come in handy later on. For once, Aimee was grateful for the annoying habit.

“Where is Roger?”

Aimee glanced to the door as her ex stepped inside with his hand fisted and a jealous rage in his eyes. Kenton turned so his body blocked her from Roger. “This ends here. The police have been notified and are on their way.”

Roger grinned, making Aimee shiver again. “I don’t think so.” He pulled a gun she hadn’t noticed earlier and pointed it at Kenton.

Aimee reacted before she could think about it. She stepped from behind Kenton and shoved him to the side, making him lose his balance and stagger to the side a few steps. Roger stared at her, distracted by what she‘d done, as if unsure about her newfound courage. Kenton noticed the distraction as well and charged the other man, knocking him to the ground.

They rolled on the floor in a pile of arms and legs, each trying to gain control over the gun in Roger’s hand. Aimee drew the .22 from her waist and pointed it, but couldn’t get a clear line of sight on Roger.

Kenton managed to pin Roger to the floor, one hand on the gun the other around his throat. Lifting Roger’s hand, Kenton slammed it to the ground, trying to knock the pistol from his grip.

Fear and anxiety made her chest and head hurt as well as her heart. She couldn’t lose Kenton. She loved him.

Suddenly, Roger punched Kenton in the jaw. She screamed as the crack sounded across the room and Kenton fell to the floor. Her ex stood and gripped the gun a little tighter. He lifted and pointed it at Kenton’s head.

With another scream, Aimee raised her own gun and fired. Roger jerked around, shock on his features, and stumbled a few steps before he fell, knocking down a lamp in the process.

Aimee rushed over to Kenton and dropped to her knees beside him, gun still clenched in her hand. A moment later cops flooded the house and surrounded her. Lifting her gaze, she glanced at each of them, then let the gun drop on the floor.

One officer kicked the gun a few feet from her and gripped her upper arm. Kenton placed a hand on his arm. “She saved my life.”

“We know, sir. It’s procedure.”

Aimee offered Kenton a weak smile. “It’s okay.”

Kenton rose to his feet at the same time she did and, to her surprise, the officer didn’t take her to his patrol car or cuff her. Instead, he sat her down on the sofa while the paramedics and other officers did their jobs.

“Miss Monroe, I’m ruling the shooting as self-defense. We have a witness of your kidnapping.”

She flicked her gaze to him. “Who?”

He shook his head. “It came in as an anonymous call. When Mr. McDonnell called in that you were missing and provided an address where he thought you might be, it was easy enough to put the pieces together.”

Without another word the officer walked off, leaving her and Kenton alone. Not much of what he said made sense to her, but then again she was coming down from an adrenaline rush and would most likely crash in a few.

Kenton hugged her close as the police filed into the house. Wrapping her arms around him, she said, “Take me home.”

“I’d love to, but we’d have to get you checked out and no doubt the police have questions for us.” He scooped her into his arms and carried her out of Roger’s cottage to sit on the porch steps.

****

The questioning took a little over two hours. Even then, the cops were hesitant to let them go. It wasn’t until Kenton’s uncle, the Chief of Police, showed and let them go home while stressing they not leave the city. For that he owed his uncle big time.

Kenton handed Aimee a hot cup of tea as he sat beside her on the couch. He wanted to take her straight to bed and hold her for the next year, but she’d have none of it. So, he’d placed her on couch and started a fire—even though it was in the mid-seventies outside—to chase away the shakes she’d developed on the drive to his condo.

“Thank you.” She sipped the tea and closed her eyes.

When she opened her eyes again, they locked gazes. He reached out and caressed her cheek. Warmth spread within him as she leaned into his touch. Sliding off the sofa, he kneeled between her thighs. “I love you, Aimee. I’ve loved you from the first time I saw you, I just didn’t know how much until our first date. And then it grew into something I don’t want to even imagine being without.”

She pressed her lips together, set the cup on the end table, and cradled his face in her hands. “I love you, too.”

Gently, he tightened his arms around her and kissed her neck. “Move in. I want you and all your stuff here.”

She turned to face him. “Okay.”

Laughing, he claimed her mouth in a hard, yet quick kiss. “Is that all the answer I’m getting?”

“Yep. With the day I’ve had, I’m exhausted.”

“Then sleep. I’ll take care of everything.”

Yawning, she nodded and snuggled into him. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

The End

A Thank you from Fated Desires

Thank you so much for reading
Business Pleasures
! This novella kicks off a fantastic series by Lia Davis called Pleasures of the Heart. We do hope if you liked this, that you would please leave a review from where you purchased this or on another platform. Not only does a review spread the word to other readers, they let us know if you’d like to see more stories like this from us. Lia loves to hear from readers and talks to them when she can. You can reach her through her
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If you are looking for more stories like these, you don’t have to wait much longer! Lia is cooking up new works in this series and a few others. Also, we have a few new authors coming that will be sure to whet your appetite.