His arm wound around her waist. “I don’t want to. I know you won’t believe this, but I really don’t have a choice.”
She had to stay calm. This wasn’t like the last time, even though every cell in her body tried to tell her that it was. Her brain knew that Jesse Murdoch wasn’t Michael Evans. He’d proven it by trying to explain himself. Evans had simply taken. Jesse was a different fish, and she had to play him another way. “You always have a choice.”
She felt him sag a little. “No. You don’t, honey. Sometimes every single choice a man has is a bad one. I hope you never find that out. I’m going to try really hard to make sure you’re out of this. Now move. I know you’re in the white SUV.”
He’d been observant. Alex had rented a white SUV. It was parked close to the lanai. Now she wished they had parked farther away, in the garage, like they had the night they arrived.
“Put your wrists together.”
She wasn’t going to do that. She couldn’t. She kicked out, but he caught her ankle easily, the SIG Sauer he was carrying coming against her gut.
“I’m not playing, sweetheart.” His face was tortured, his eyes narrowed. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I have a mission. Don’t make me knock you out. I’m not sure I wouldn’t kill you, and I want to avoid that at all costs. All costs except my mission.”
He slid a set of zip ties over her wrists and had her hands bound in an instant. He pressed her along, forcing her toward the SUV. Damn. She could see that he’d already managed to get the door open. It was slightly ajar. He was prepared.
“Why are you working for him?” She still had a chance to get through to him. Jesse Murdoch wasn’t so far gone that he wouldn’t listen to some sweet reason. After all, he hadn’t killed her yet. The question was why.
Was he taking her to Evans?
“Because it’s the right thing to do,” he replied. “I could ask you the same thing, but I know the answer. Keep moving.”
He opened the back door and shoved her inside. He zip tied her feet as easily as he had her hands.
“Right? You think it’s right to work for him?” How long would Alex wait? He would notice she was missing, but how long would it be? And how would he react? Would this send him right back into his shell? She couldn’t stand the thought of it.
“Master A isn’t who you think he is.” Jesse stared down at her while he pulled off his jacket. “I know you think he’s a good guy, but a real man wouldn’t hit you. A real man wouldn’t show you off. You’re a lovely woman. You deserve someone who really loves you.”
Every word made her wonder what the hell this man was doing. A man who gave a damn about women wouldn’t work for Evans. “I have a man who loves me. Please, don’t do this. If you give me to your boss, he’s going to hurt me. Please. Take me back. You can make this right.”
His blue eyes were just the slightest bit fanatical. “I am trying to do that even now. I know you can’t see it, but I’m saving you. We’re going to drive for a while and then I need you to be quiet. If I hear a loud word from your mouth, I’ll have to knock you out. I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want to be like every other man you’ve ever met. I’m not a fucking pervert. I’m not.”
He slammed the back door, and she saw him moving into the front seat. He’d been damn sure of himself. He’d already moved his things into her car. A sniper rifle lay at the bottom of the floorboard. Who the hell was that for? Her blood chilled. Jesse said he was saving her from something. What the hell was he saving her from?
“I love him.” She put her every emotion into those three words. If that sniper rifle was for Alex, then she had to try absolutely everything she could to save him.
“Because you don’t know better.” He was playing around under the dash. He proved just how good he was when the engine immediately purred to life. His face turned back and there was nothing but sympathy in his eyes. “One day you’ll find someone worthy of you and you’ll thank me.”
“It’s not going to be you?” His actions made her wonder if he hadn’t fixated on her. His time in Iraq had obviously made him unstable, and sometimes unstable men fixated on a woman. He wasn’t trying to hurt her. He seemed to be bent on saving her. She’d read his file. She searched her memory. A woman had been on his squad. Hannah? Alannah?
His mouth turned down. “I’m not capable of what you need. I’m…I’m just not good enough. But I am good enough to know that you deserve better and I can’t just leave you to your fate, so I’m doing what I have to. I don’t have to stop at the toll on the bridge on this side of the island, and there’s no one out this early in the day. If I hear you making too much noise, I’ll just gag you. That won’t be pleasant for you, will it?”
She didn’t bother to mention that she’d been gagged many times before. He was right. She didn’t particularly like it. It really was a punishment.