Page 41 of Ice Cold Christmas
“I’m going nowhere without you.” Okay, that probably hadn’t sounded so calm. Asking for the cuffs had been a mistake, he could see that now. But…
If she runs, I will grab her and put her in that chopper, and if I have to do it, I will cuff her to me. Savage and dark and damn well not thoughts of a prince charming. Fuck it. He’d always been cast in the role of the villain and not the hero, anyway. “Melody…”
“Uh, yeah, sport, how about you let me have a try?” Hunter cleared his throat. “Ma’am, an attempt was recently made on your life. I’m just here to transport you to safety.”
Behind Hunter, the right door of the chopper opened. Closed. Another male strode forward. Gray jacket. Jeans. A gun holstered on his hip.
“Who is he?” Melody demanded. “And why is he armed?”
Victor had a gun tucked beneath his coat. He figured Hunter was armed, too. But she’d just noticed the weapon on the new guy because when he moved, his arm had slipped back to reveal the holster.
“That’s John Henry Cook.” Hunter motioned toward the man.
John Henry looked like a linebacker. Victor figured that he’d probably been cramped as hell in the front of the chopper.
“He’s going to be taking over the security detail for your father, per Victor’s instructions,” Hunter added.
Her head whipped back to Victor. “What instructions?”
“The instructions I gave when I arranged for the chopper to come get us.” A deliberate emphasis. As far as the security detail bit, that had been necessary. He had no idea why Sebastian had ordered the normal guards away from the property, and, frankly, no one should have followed the man’s commands. Until those individuals could be brought back, John Henry would be Sebastian’s shadow. As if Victor would just fly away and leave Sebastian on his own. Not in the man’s current condition. “A shooter is close. Call me crazy, but I don’t exactly trust the people in that house.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. He was sure the little crowd still watched them. “Do you?”
A small shake of her head.
“While no attempts have been made to injure your father, I thought it would be a good idea to bring in outside protection for him.” Thus, John Henry. A guard he’d used for private security work in the past. “John Henry will stay close to your father. He’ll make sure that Sebastian is safe. He’ll also keep an eye on everyone and report back to me. Though, I’m sure the others will be cutting out of here as soon as the roads are passable.” Dario had actually tried to hitch a ride on the chopper.
Victor had refused him that ride.
“Will my father be leaving when the roads are passable?” Her head had turned toward the house. A shiver skated over her.
It was damn cold out there. Another reason to move this scene along and get her sweet ass in the chopper. It was cold and…I don’t like her being out in the open. He moved his body a bit closer to her. The better to shield Melody. “Your father doesn’t leave the estate. He hasn’t, not in months. His nurse stays with him. His doctors come to check on him. Hatterson is at his beck and call.” Her father’s condition was far worse than she realized.
She also didn’t know…
Months ago, before things had gotten so bad, her father had made a decision about his treatment. The end is coming. Time is short.
Not something Victor wanted to tell her right then.
“I’m staying here.” Her voice was definite. “You said the sheriff was going to search the property. I want to talk with him.”
The urge to carry her into the chopper was just growing stronger and stronger. But he could try a bit of careful manipulation, first. After all, he did know her end game. As for his own end game? Simple. It was her. “You want answers about your disappearance. That means you need to come back to Richmond with me.” The estate was about fifty miles from the city, nestled off the back roads. “You can talk to the lead detectives there. The one who ran the investigation into your disappearance.” A piss-poor investigation that had turned up jack shit.
“I thought the Feds handled missing persons’ cases,” Melody murmured.
Victor had gotten anyone he could to look into her disappearance, including plenty of FBI agents who’d worked off the books. She’d never officially been declared as missing or as a kidnap victim, but that shit was changing. She was taken away. Nearly killed. But he tried to keep his rage in check as he worked to convince her that she needed to get on the damn chopper. “Once we’re in Richmond, you can go back to the last place where I saw you—the Mage Industries building. Or you can go to your house. I have the keys. I have the new security code.” Should he mention he’d bought the place? Again, probably not something to tell her right then and there. The rest of her family had wanted to sell her house. Dario had made that request again and again. He’d been making it when she reappeared the previous night.
After her disappearance, payments hadn’t been made on her home. She’d always wanted to own the place on her own, without her father’s money. She’d worked hard to get the home, and when she’d vanished and the house notes had come due…
I stepped in.
Something the others didn’t know. Dario probably thought Sebastian held the title to her place. Wrong.
“You really don’t remember anything?” Hunter asked.
Her head whipped toward him. Then back to Victor. “You told him?” she snapped.
Yeah, he had. “Guilty. But since Hunter has been helping me find you, he needed to know. He’s with the Ice Breakers.”
Her lashes flickered. Her stare cut from him.
