Page 92 of The Acquisition

She sighed, and that was as much agreement as I was going to get. I'd have to make the most of it.

"The jet? I don't feel like being whisked away," she grumbled when we pulled up next to the plane.

"Tough. I need you to hear me, and to do that I need you alone."

She glared at me. "This is all very stalkery. You know that, right?"

I nodded. "I'm aware, but I'm a desperate man."

The driver released the locks, and I opened the door. Jana sat where she was and crossed her arms.

"You can get out, or I'll drag you out, but you are getting on that plane with me. Not a soul here is going to stop me."

She rolled her eyes and followed me out of the car. Bratty even when she was angry. I only wished I could spank this attitude out of her, but I knew I deserved it.

"Can I at least know where we're going?" she demanded as she climbed up the stairs to the cabin behind me.

"Florida." Technically, we were going to a private island in the Florida Keys, but if she knew how isolated we'd be for the next week she'd throw a fit. Best to let her scream when no one could hear. The AG staff were loyal, but even they'd have limits to how much I could get away with.

I didn't have any plans to hurt her or force her to do anything she didn't want to do, aside from come with me that was. Yeah, this was a massively fucked up plan, but it was my Hail Mary. I wasn't going to lose her without a fight.

She was quiet the entire flight to Florida. I managed to take her phone, and her computer was left at the hotel room for Sabrina to collect. I'd thought of everything in my diabolical plan.

We landed at another private airstrip in Key West a few hours later. She was fairly docile when we exited the plane, which made me suspicious she planned to run.

Jana took a step back when she saw the helicopter waiting for us. "Why is there a helicopter? I thought we were going to stay in Florida?"

"Planning your escape?" I taunted.

"You can't force me to stay with you."

I got into her face, causing her to inhale. "Watch me," I warned her. The dilation of her pupils told me I still affected her. It wasn't much, but I'd take it.

The flight to the island was short, but the distance from other islands was still too far for her to swim. I made sure there weren't any boats moored to the dock she could use if she were crazy enough to brave the trip alone back to the mainland or any of the other islands.

The pilot handed me the bags I'd packed for both of us back in Seattle, then took off, leaving us alone for the next week. I had the place stocked with food, clean linens, and anything else we might need while we were there. There was a satellite phone in my bag that was password protected in case of emergency, but otherwise we were on our own until the helicopter returned for us in seven days.

That was all I had. Seven days to convince her to stay with me. My heart raced with the challenge. Failure was not an option. Life without her for the last six weeks had been torture. An eternity without her was too bleak to imagine. By the time we flew to Kentucky I'd hoped to slide my ring back on her finger.

Of course there were things once we got there that could drive a wedge between us, if I did manage to convince her to stay. I worried about my plan to add to Evie's foundation. She had an idea to help women find jobs and climb out of poverty. I wanted to add counseling services for mental health and addiction, knowing that lack of opportunity wasn't the only chain keeping some people from living a comfortable life.

I was afraid Jana would see that as a statement of love for Jenny. After Beck confronted me, I'd had a lot of soul searching to do, and one thing I realized was my feelings for Jenny were those of a boy. They were preserved because of time and distance. If I'd known the Jenny my daughter had, I doubt those feelings would be as rosy as they had been for so long.

Jana wandered into the house and started exploring. When I entered a room, she'd leave it. The talk we needed to have kept getting postponed by her refusal to be alone with me even though there wasn't anyone else around.

I hunted around the house for her and found her asleep in the master bedroom. I'd purposefully had one bed made up in the entire house. She could run from me, but only for so long.

I crawled into bed with her knowing that when she found me in bed with her in the morning, she’d lose it, but I needed to provoke some feeling in her. The apathy she'd shone me since we'd arrived would get me nowhere.

THIRTY-FIVE

COLTER

Iwoke in the morning to her fists hitting my chest.

"What in the hell do you think you're doing?" she yelled.

I grunted. As far as punches went, hers were pretty weak, but they were still not the best way to wake up.

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