“Don’t be so sure they are safe. I think you will find your Aunt Tammy had a small car accident today and hurt her wrist. Next time it will be worse. I will take the woman. She is Litvenko and Bartlett property not yours.”
“You are wrong. If you try and take her from me it will be the last thing you ever do. Do I make myself clear?”
The phone went dead. Alexander put the landline down and made an urgent call to his aunt in Louisiana. There had been a small accident that morning when she’d left home against his security team’s wishes. She said a man had deliberately rammed his car into her from behind. After calming her and intensifying the security, he sat down and ran his hands through his head. The UK police needed to hurry up and get Litvenko and his son behind bars before this all blew up in their faces.
It wasn’t long after Ryan came running in again.
“She’s done it again. For fuck’s sake, what is the woman thinking? She went walking on the grounds without telling anyone and has disappeared. One of the domestic staff raised the alarm after he’d seen her walking out of the grounds. He tried to stop her but couldn’t. Another one of the staff saw her listening to you on the phone through the open door. I am guessing she heard your telephone call with Litvenko and your aunt and freaked. Some of her clothes are missing and it looks like she is trying to leave again.”
Ryan shook his head watching Alexander jump to his feet, and said, “Your woman appears to have this misguided notion that everything is her fault. I have met that before with my cousin. His father was a narcissist and made him believe everything was his fault. It causes a lot of damage. She thinks you and your family are safer without her around.”
“You may well have a point. Her father is clearly a narcissist and doesn’t win any points for father of the year. She can’t have gotten far.”
“Everyone is out looking for her and they are armed just in case. I suggest you be as well. I have a funny feeling the Litvenkos are closer than you think. The grounds and estate are vast and lead up into the hills from the valley.”
“You think she has gone across country? Her illness doesn’t let her get very far,” he said taking the semi-automatic out from his desk drawer to load it, worrying she could be somewhere seizing or paralyzed and at the mercy of anyone.
“Yes, and that was an hour ago. The police would have picked her up at the drive if she had gone to the road. Going on horseback might give us an advantage.”
“Let’s do it. I want her back and tied to the bed within the hour so she doesn’t get out again. I have taken enough.”
Alexander rode his stallion in a different direction than his men playing out a hunch she might have walked this way through the valley hoping to use the tree line for protection. He was relieved to find that so far, he had not encountered any suspicious people looking to find and kidnap Scarlett. He rode towards the trees in the distance suddenly seeing a small curved figure tramping through the grass towards them with determination and speed.
Scarlett.
He rode hard towards her his flash of relief turning to fury she was out in the open unprotected, fair game for the Litvenkos. He held a riding crop in his hand and decided to make her fully aware of his fury. He had no need of a riding crop for the horse but he certainly had need of one for Scarlett and he had every intention of using it when he caught up with her. She must have heard the horse thundering towards her because she suddenly turned to look at him then dropped her suitcase and ran, hand to her mouth as though she were upset. She was running at full tilt. Why did she think she could singlehandedly protect him from her husband and the Russian Mafia by not being around? She perceived herself the cause of the attempted attack and he would be safer without her. Once he caught her up and she had been adequately disciplined, he would reassure her she was not the cause. The very idea she would think that way disturbed him especially with her fragile mental state. The only time he ever saw her relax was when he took full control. He wanted her to feel that security right now instead of charging off through the woods away from him in some misguided idea she was keeping him safe.
Alexander gained ground.
“Scarlett, stop. Stop now,” he ordered in an authoritative voice. “I will whip you within an inch of life if you don’t.”
She turned but shook her head.
“I told you, I can’t. I won’t see you hurt and now your family has been, all because of me,” she shouted back at him diving into the trees where it would be harder to catch her on horseback.
Still it didn’t deter the American billionaire. He led the horse into the woods and into the cool air. The light was dim and only brightened when the sun’s rays were able to penetrate through the branches, dappling the horse and himself in yellow light every now and again. He skillfully maneuvered the stallion around the trees keeping pace with her. Alexander knew if she continued on the same trajectory through the woods she would run out and come face to face with the river. There would be nowhere else to go and he would have his prey trapped.
He was enjoying the thrill of chasing her, herding her where he could pounce and end this senseless running. He couldn’t help
