Total pages in book: 147
Estimated words: 141556 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 708(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 472(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141556 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 708(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 472(@300wpm)
Holy shit, he’s serious.
“I think you’re losing your mind,” I breathe, my voice barely a whisper.
“Like I said, it’s not the best option, but it’s the only solution I can come up with that will keep us both alive.”
“Both of us?” I shake my head, trying to understand what he’s saying. My thoughts scatter like startled birds, unable to land on anything solid. He never said anything about himself. “What danger are you in?”
“The same danger you’re in. I defied a direct order to keep you alive. That’s betrayal. If my father finds out before I can get this done, we’re both as good as dead.”
“Ahhh. I get it now. This is about you,” I say bitterly, anger cutting through the fear. “About saving your own skin.”
“No, it’s about both of us.” He holds my gaze, unblinking. “We’re both dead unless I can give him a reason that makes sense. That he can accept.”
“Please explain to me how making me your wife is something he will accept?”
“If there is one thing my father respects more than anything, it’s the name of our family. Bishops take what they want—that’s what everyone believes. He won’t be happy that I disobeyed him, but he can respect a man, a Bishop, taking something and claiming it for himself.”
“What about my father?” My voice cracks. In my mind, I see my Dad’s gentle face, his kind eyes, his unwavering faith that good will triumph over evil. “You think he’ll just accept that his daughter married a Bishop while he was away?”
Calder’s expression hardens, and I see the shift, from the man trying to reason with me to the brutal enforcer who does his family’s dirty work. “I don’t think he’ll accept it if he hears it from someone else, but if you tell him. That’s different. He has to accept it because it’s your choice.”
“And if he doesn’t and reacts differently, then what?”
Calder shrugs. “Then I guess I’ll have to remind him about the debts he owes my family. Debts that could be called in at any time.”
I can barely contain my gasp. “Would you really threaten my father?”
“You bet your ass. I’d do whatever is necessary to survive.” He leans forward, and I see the calculation in his eyes. “After your mother passed away, your father fell behind on church payments. My father stepped in to help him out. Paid the debt off, and gave him a little money to help take care of you. All it will take is one word from my family, and everything disappears. The church, his home, his standing in the community. Is that what you want to happen? What you think he wants to happen? Is he willing to give it all up just to lose, anyway?”
There is no winning this battle. Rage and helplessness war inside me. “You’re a bastard.”
“Tell me something I don’t already know,” he growls. “I’m fine being the bad guy. I’ll cross whatever line and threaten anyone I need to, to make sure we survive this.” His voice drops, becoming almost gentle. “And remember, there are numerous lives at risk here. My father’s already planning to frame Allie Porter for your disappearance. He wants to make it look like you two ran off together. If we don’t get married, then Allie’s life is over.”
The blood in my veins turns to ice. Allie. No. I can’t let that happen. I won’t let her become collateral damage for the Bishop family’s crimes. “That’s nonsense. Allie had nothing to do with any of this.”
“I know that, but my father doesn’t care. He will do whatever he needs to do to make certain the family is protected. Strategize, deflect, and put the blow back onto someone else.”
I can picture it too clearly—Allie’s face plastered across the news, her mother’s heartbreak, the town turning against the Porter family. “I refuse to let that happen. I won’t let you drag her into this situation.”
“Then you’ll marry me. You become a Bishop, and both of you are protected.” His blue eyes are hard now, calculating. He knows he’s got me cornered, and he’s not backing down. “But if you refuse, if you fight this, then Allie disappears too. Your father loses everything. And you—” He doesn’t finish the sentence, but then again he doesn’t have to.
“I die anyway,” I whisper.
“We both die. Of course, not before watching everyone we care about suffer first.” He shoves out of his seat and moves toward the window. The movement is predatory, restless. “I’m telling you what has to happen. The only question is whether you will cooperate or if I will have to force you every step of the way. That’s the choice. Your choice.”
The manipulation is transparent, offering protection with one hand while threatening with the other. He’s trapped me as surely as if I were still chained to the bed. There isn’t a path I can see that doesn’t lead to pain.