Louise Fuller - Blackmailed Down The Aisle

‘It was on the floor.’

‘Of course it was!’

The jeer in his voice sliced through her skin like a knife, so that she had to swallow against the pain. The air was thickening around her and she was finding it hard to breathe. His anger was overwhelming her. She couldn’t fight the way he did—didn’t have that desire to win whatever the consequences. Whatever the cost...

‘I...I... It must... Someone must have dropped it.’

Rollo shook his head dismissively.

He could deal with her lies. He could even understand why she was lying. But he couldn’t deal with all the other lies that were crowding into his head. Lies from the past. Conversations between his parents. His mother darting between stories, swapping truths—

Suddenly he just wanted it over. Wanted her out of his office and out of his life.

Lip curling, he glanced to where she stood, wide-eyed, the pulse in her throat jerking unevenly.

‘I know this looks bad,’ she said haltingly. ‘But I wasn’t doing anything wrong. You have to believe me—’

‘I think we both know it’s a little late for that,’ he said savagely.

He didn’t trust her, and for good reason. Life had taught him at an early age that there was nothing more disingenuous or dangerous than a cornered woman.

But this one wasn’t his problem.

‘I’m tired,’ he said bluntly. ‘And this conversation is over.’

He reached into his jacket and pulled out his phone.

‘What do you mean? Who are you calling? No. Please—’

He felt his stomach soar upwards, snagged by the desperation in her voice even as anger swept over him like lava. Was she really going to keep this up? This pretence that she’d come up here to see the view.

‘I gave you a chance to tell the truth. That you came here to steal from me—’

‘But I didn’t.’ Her voice was husky with emotion. ‘I admit I lied to you. But I swear I’m not a thief.’

He held her gaze. It would be easy to believe her. She sounded so convincing. But then he remembered how she had fought him for the swipe card, with fire—not fear—in her eyes, and glancing at her face he could see tautness—the nervous dread of a skater standing on thin ice, waiting to hear it crack.

But why? What was there left to dread?

His shoulders tensed. And then, as his gaze dropped down to the short black apron, he saw her face freeze. He felt a dizzying anger like vertigo. Slowly he moved in front of her, his powerful body blocking her exit.

‘Prove it. Empty out your pockets,’ he said tersely. ‘Unless you want me to do it for you.’

She shrank away from him, eyes widening with unmistakable guilt, her face pale with shock and uncertainty. ‘Are you threatening me?’

‘I don’t know,’ he said, his voice soft, light, his face sculptured with menace. ‘Do you feel threatened?’

Daisy swallowed. Yes. She did. And not just threatened. Trapped. But how could she do what he asked? If he saw the watch—his watch—there was zero chance of her getting out of the office, let alone the building.

‘I can explain...’ But her words faltered as she realised that she couldn’t.

Rollo stared at her in silence. A sudden vivid memory of his mother saying exactly the same words slid into his head, and he let them echo and fade until he was able to speak.

‘I’m sure you can. But I think I’ve had enough bedtime stories for one evening.’

His words sent a chill through her.

‘Don’t worry though. I’m sure someone else will find them far more entertaining.’ He paused, a cold smile curling his lips. ‘Like my security team. We can go and talk to them right now. They’re downstairs with David—your brother. Waiting to take you both to the police station.’

CHAPTER TWO

DAISY STARED AT him in horror. His words were burning inside her head, so hot and bright she couldn’t think straight. Finally she forced herself to speak.

‘What’s David got to do with any of this?’

But even as the question left her lips, she knew there was no point in pretending any more. There was only one possible explanation for why her brother was with Security.

Rollo knew everything.

The thought made her feel dizzy and she took a quick, shallow breath, trying not to give in to the damp chill sweeping over her skin.

‘You know about...? That David...?’

‘That your brother stole my watch?’

His gaze held hers, the derision in his voice making her cheeks burn.

‘I knew the day he stole it. My office has security cameras. Your brother was caught on film.’

He paused and, looking up, she saw the glittering contempt in his eyes, felt her stomach cramp with fear. He’d known right from the start—before she’d even steeled herself to step into the lift. He’d simply been watching, waiting...

Waiting for her to realise that fact.

All her carefully laid plans had been for nothing. Suddenly she was struggling to hold it together.

‘Please—’

Her voice sounded all wrong, high and breathless, not at all like her voice. But maybe that was because she was no longer Daisy Maddox but some anonymous criminal. The thought made fear crystallise on her skin like ice.

‘Please don’t do this. I know it looks bad. But if you’ll just give me five minutes—’

His eyes narrowed. ‘I think you’ve wasted more than enough of my time already.’

‘But you don’t know the full story,’ she protested.

‘Story? More like fantasy!’ He shook his head. ‘Save it for your lawyers. They’ll be paid to listen to your lies. I’m not.’

His derisive words punched through her panic. The man was a monster! Didn’t he understand what breaking into his office had cost her?

Suddenly her whole body was rigid and vibrating with anger. ‘I might have known someone like you would bring it all back to money,’ she snapped.

‘Someone like me?’ His voice was chillingly cold. ‘You mean a law-abiding citizen?’

She glowered at him. ‘I mean someone without a heart.’

His eyes glinted threateningly beneath the lights. ‘I don’t need a heart to recognise a thief.’

‘David’s not a thief.’ Her head jerked up.

‘So he didn’t steal my watch?’

‘No—I mean yes. But it was a mistake—’

‘I’m sure the prisons are littered with people all saying the same.’

‘No, you don’t understand—’

‘And I don’t want to.’ He frowned at her impatiently. ‘Your brother’s motives are of no interest to me. I’m only concerned with his guilt.’ His gaze didn’t flicker. ‘And yours.’

Daisy stared at him open-mouthed.

‘My guilt!’

His lip curled up impatiently.

‘Look, I may not have a heart, but I do have a brain and I’m not stupid. You didn’t come up here by accident, or to look at the view. You came to see what else you could steal—’

‘No.’ Her voice echoed around the empty office. ‘I did not.’

‘Yes, you did.’ The finality in his voice sent a warning chill through her. ‘As whatever you’ve got stashed in those pockets will no doubt demonstrate when we get downstairs.’

She gazed at him dumbly. Something had just hit her. A way to corroborate her story. Desperately she fumbled inside her apron and pulled out the watch.

‘I didn’t break in here to steal from you,’ she said breathlessly. ‘I came to bring this back.’

If she’d been expecting flags and a parade, she would have been disappointed. Rollo barely glanced at the watch. Instead his eyes were fixed on her face.

‘That proves nothing. Or rather, given that it contradicts everything you’ve just said, it merely confirms that you’re a liar as well as a thief!’

Her hands were trembling. She felt almost giddy with anger. ‘I’m not a thief.’