I jumped to my feet and pushed against his chest. “Where’s Blake? If you so much as touched him, I’ll kill you myself.” I pushed him again. “Where is he?”
Grabbing me around the waist, he pulled me into his body and slammed a hand over my mouth. I tried to fight him off, but we fell onto the bed, him pinning me with his weight. “Stop fighting me, Hadley. Blake is fine. I called and warned him about the attack hours ago.”
Eyes burning, I sagged in his arms. He was alive. “Why are you doing this?” I said into his hand.
“I’m not the one doing anything. I want to help you, but you have to work with me. I’ll let you go now, if you promise not to fight me. Deal?” I nodded and he slowly uncovered my mouth. “Good. I’m getting off you now.” Once he moved away, I scrambled to the other side of the bed and onto the floor.
“Why am I here?” It was still dark, but I could see him move across the room to the sitting chair.
He sat down and sighed. “You’re not going to like my answer.”
“I don’t care. Anything is better than not knowing.”
He ran his hands over his face and then clasped them in his lap. “You’re here because everyone back home thinks you’re dead.”
“Excuse me? Wait, you’re kidding, right?” It had to be a joke. Maybe I was a victim of one of those prank TV shows that like to mess with celebrities.
From across the darkened room, I could see his serious gaze. There would be no TV crews busting in to say it was a joke. In that moment, all of my hopes and dreams shattered. “Oh my God, you’re not.”
He shook his head. “We orchestrated your death to make it look like an accident. For the past couple of years, your father had been getting threats on your life. I guess you can say he got tired of it and wanted to take matters into his own hands. That’s why he asked us to do this for him.”
I felt sick and betrayed. How could my father take my life away like that? “Who is us?” I demanded. “Are you with the government?”
“No. I’m involved in something much worse.”
Swallowing hard, I stepped back. “Like what, the mafia?” When all he did was stare at me, I had my answer. “How did my father get involved with you?”
“He was looking for someone qualified to be your bodyguard.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and snorted. “Of course, you’re qualified. I bet you kill people for a living.”A small smile splayed across his lips and it infuriated me. “It’s not funny,” I snapped.
“Hadley, you have no clue what I do.”
“That might be a good thing. I’d hate to end up at the bottom of the lake with cement boots.”
Chuckling, he checked his watch and stood. “That’s just bullshit you see on TV.” He started for the door, but I stepped in his way.
“Who was the other guy you were talking to last night?”
His smile faded. “You’ll find out tomorrow. If I tell you now, it’ll ruin my plan.”
“So, I’m supposed to just trust you?”
“I’m the only one here you can. Now what I need you to do is play along with everything he says. We don’t have much time.”
“Why is that?” I asked, heart racing.
The muscles in his jaw tensed. “In two days, you’ll be leaving for Ireland. Once you go over there, you won’t be coming back. He’ll never let you go.”
Terror racked through my body. “What does he want with me?”
“You, Hadley. He’s wanted you for a long time now. I just didn’t realize how far his obsession had gone. That’s why he wanted Blake out of the way. He used your father to get to you. It was his plan all along.”
“And you’re sure Blake’s okay?”
He nodded. “Dillon never called to confirm the kill. My guess is Blake got to him first.”
“Thank God.” Breathing a sigh of relief, I sagged against the wall. “What am I going to do? How can I look at my father after this?”