Page 57 of The Contractor & the Entrepreneur

“Sloan!” Rhett called to her.

“Drop the phone, or I will break your neck,” her dad snarled at her.

Her dad. Her own father. Would he really do it? Chills encompassed her body, and she gasped for air. She’d always been petrified of him, but their interactions had never gotten this ugly.

She dropped the phone. He eased the pressure slightly but didn’t release her.

“Release Ron and give him the gun,” her dad said to Rhett, “or I will break her neck.”

Rhett arched his eyebrows, unfazed and unafraid. He wouldn’t let her dad break her neck, would he? Would her dad really do it? She wouldn’t put anything past him tonight.

“I hate to break it to you, Mr. Jensen, but you have absolutely no idea what you’re doing. You can’t break her neck from that angle.”

How did Rhett know that?

The calm in his voice was reassuring but the pressure of her dad’s arms and hands was horrifying.

“What?” her dad roared. “I’ll do it! And I’ll escape.”

“Sloan.” Rhett tilted his head slightly to her right.

Somehow, she knew exactly what he wanted her to do. She ducked her head to the right and sank her teeth into her dad’s arm for good measure.

He squealed.

Rhett aimed and fired.

Sloan and her dad both screamed.

Her dad’s shoulder on the far side of her was jolted backward, and she turned her head to see a hole in his shirt where the bullet had hit, blood dripping from the wound.

He released her, dropped to the floor, and hollered in agony.

Rhett whipped Ron around and slammed his head into the doorframe. Ron sank to the floor, keeling over onto his side.

Rhett shoved the gun in the back of his own waistband and ran to her. He lifted her off her feet and into his arms, cradling her close. “Are you all right? Sloan! Are you all right?”

She nodded, tears streaming down her face. She was a mess inside but that wasn’t what he was asking. “They didn’t hurt me.”

“Oh, thank all the angels in heaven.” He set her feet on the ground, still cradling her close, his eyes swiveling from her dad to Ron.

Her dad was whimpering and holding his bleeding shoulder. Ron looked down for the count.

“Sloan? Are you okay?” It was Carmel’s voice floating up the stairs.

“Carmel,” Rhett called out. “Sloan was attacked. I’ve got the perps under control. Call 911 and get help here quick.”

“Okay!” the lady yelled, and her footsteps retreated fast.

“You’ve ruined everything!” her dad yelled. “I would’ve helped you, paid you generously, and made you a billionaire when we were free to process the rhodium Ron has already collected and collect more.”

“Rhodium?” Sloan looked from her dad to Rhett.

“I wondered,” Rhett said. “I was researching what could be more valuable than land and precious metals came up. They’ve found rhodium in riverbeds nearby in Montana. The deposits have been worth billions. I was coming over to tell you when Ron opened the door and I heard you yell.”

Sloan leaned heavily into him. She didn’t care about this rhodium; she only cared that her dad and Ron hadn’t hurt Rhett and were going to be arrested. Could she finally be free of her father? Could she be with Rhett or was she the opposite of what Rhett believed she was? She wasn’t brave. She’d cowered to her dad, she’d never accomplished anything without him, and she would’ve willingly signed everything over to keep Rhett safe.

“Rhodium is eight times more valuable than gold,” her father said, his voice laced with irritation and pain. “Fourteen-thousand dollars an ounce, Sloan. Ron figured out that the river you own is full of it. He’s already retrieved piles of it and there’s a lot more undiscovered. I know how to help you protect the find and not get slaughtered by taxes, thieves, or major corporations. Let me go right now and I’ll help you from afar. I’ll only take forty percent.”

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