Page 5 of Recaptured by the Crime Lord

The tip paid off. Carmen was here, but where was Lyla? Carmen claimed Lyla had gone to town, but he didn’t believe her. Carmen took Lyla from him not once but twice. He barely refrained from snapping her neck. He spent sleepless nights in jail being tortured by visions of Lyla being murdered in one hundred different ways.Where was she?

He was halfway across the clearing when he felt a tingle along the back of his neck. Gavin turned, looked past the ranks of men and saw a slight figure in jeans and a long sleeve shirt. She wore a trucker’s hat low over her face, but that didn’t disguise the exquisite face, generous mouth and ice blue eyes. Even across the distance he sensed her panic. He opened his mouth to call out to her, but didn’t bother when she turned and ran.

Gavin shoved through his men and took off after her. Adrenaline shot through his system. He had been looking for her for six months. He wasn’t about to let her out of his sight. She was fast, but he was faster. She kept to the trail, which made it easier for him. He gained on her, eyes never leaving the golden ponytail streaming behind her like a cape.

When he was close enough, he lunged and wrapped his arms around her. He took the brunt of the fall before he rolled and pinned her beneath him. He wanted to see her face and look into her eyes, but Lyla was fighting him like a wild animal.

“Stop, Lyla!” he said, which made no impact whatsoever.

Her eyes were blind with panic and fear. He saw a flash of silver and knocked the gun out of her hand. At least Carmen had the brains to teach her how to use a gun. He rested his weight on her abdomen and pinned her hands over her head. The impact she had on his senses was devastating. He couldn’t decide whether to strangle or make love to her. She was thinner than he remembered and the sheer terror in her eyes gutted him.

“Stop it,” he hissed.

He was close to losing it. If they stayed out here any longer, he would bury himself in her to make sure this wasn’t a dream. He rose and hauled her up with him, keeping his eyes averted and started back towards the cabin. Lyla twisted out of his hold and began to dodge through the trees. Fear made him move faster than he had in his life. He swung her around and wasn't quick enough to avoid the blow. The force of the punch surprised him. It jerked his head to the side and made him realize how much she changed. Lyla didn't do violence and now... The woman looking back at him had nothing to lose. She was capable of anything.

“I hate you!” she shouted as she struggled. “Why are you here?”

“Because you are.” The last time he saw her in the hospital, he’d been a prick. Worse than a prick, but that couldn’t be helped. He’d been working day and night to find the culprit who murdered his father and tried to kill her. He couldn’t afford to sit by her hospital bed while the cops were breathing down his neck. The way she looked at him that day haunted him. He would make it up to her, but first he had other things to see to.

He marched her back to the cabin, pushing her at a merciless pace; his need to bind her to him a drum beat in his blood. He was acting crazy and didn't care. Lyla was alive and he wouldn't let go until she was legally his. When they entered the cabin, Gavin was grimly satisfied to find Blade holding Carmen at gunpoint. Lyla stopped in her tracks. He was glad she grasped the situation so quickly.

“What the fuck are you doing, Blade?” Lyla asked and tried to go to Carmen the traitor.

“How’s it going?” Blade asked.

“I'm assuming Carmen is the one who helped you escape the first time,” Gavin said and didn't wait for an answer. “I've been searching for you two for six months. If it wasn't for your beauty, you probably would have gone unnoticed and untraceable forever.” Even as the trucker who tipped them off went into great detail about Carmen and Lyla’s attributes, he wanted to kill the man. He allowed the trucker to live with the memory of them since he would never lay eyes on them again.

He caught a whiff of Lyla's scent. He shook his head to keep himself focused. He would indulge later. Now, they had shit to settle. He gestured to the pastor and mentally braced himself as he looked down at Lyla. “I'm assuming you don't want anything to happen to Carmen.”

Ice blue eyes widened. “What are you talking about?”

“You care for your cousin, right?”

Gavin pulled out her engagement ring, the only thing she left behind in the hospital room. He saw recognition and rage rip across her face before she fought him. Gavin had to use considerable strength to subdue her. He could feel the combined distress of both women, but he couldn’t back down. Not now.

“You don't want me to hurt your cousin,” he said.

“What is wrong with you?”

She looked at him as if he was a monster and even as that sent a shaft of pain through his chest, he continued with his plan. “Do you want me to hurt your cousin?”

“No!”

“Then do as I say.”

Gavin had to make sure not to hurt her as he slid the ring on her finger. When he succeeded, he clasped their hands together and ignored her twitching fingers. He ordered the pastor to get on with it and caught Lyla when her legs gave out when she realized what was happening. He held her close and fought the urge to tell the pastor to hurry the fuck up. He wanted to strangle Carmen when she said Lyla had a choice. Lyladidn’thave a choice. Neither of them did, they just didn’t know it yet. When Lyla said Vinny’s name, guilt clawed at him.

The pastor prompted him for those two words that would bind Lyla to him. He didn’t hesitate. “I do.”

The predator in him lunged to the surface when Lyla refused to take him as her husband with a shake of her head.

“We've wasted too much time,” he said and felt his insides twist when her eyes filled with tears.

“Every night I hear your father screaming. I can't get it out of my head. I won’t go back to that life.”

He had to beat back the murderous haze. He focused on her for all he was worth. He couldn't lose it, not when he was so close to his goal. “You have no choice. You gave yourself to me. There's no out for either of us. You're going to have to live with me and I with you.”

“I made my choice. I choose to live without you.”

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