Royal Engagement

by Chance Carter

  He didn’t need to know that me “figuring it out” would likely entail groveling and finally having sex with Wes. I had no other choice. He and Preston were furious enough to do something rash, and I worried that my dad would get caught in the crossfire.

  “I’m not going, Dallas.” He rolled atop me, caging me beneath him and holding my gaze. “You’re the whole reason I’m here. I’m not leaving until I accomplish what I came here to do.”

  “You never said...”

  “I didn’t have a plan for how to go forward when you asked me before. I think I’ve figured it out now.” He ran a calloused thumb over my cheek. “I’m not leaving you here. You or your father.”

  My heart swelled, even as questions flooded my brain.

  “Why, though?” I asked. “Why come back after all this time just to help me?”

  “Because, Dallas.” He kissed me. His soft lips feathered over mine. “I love you. I’ve always loved you.”

  Joy overtook me so suddenly that I wanted to scream. I did the next best thing, flinging my arms around him and kissing the living daylights out of him. And as our lips and tongues mingled, I realized he wasn’t the only one.

  “I love you too,” I murmured.

  He smiled against my mouth. “Good.”

  Shane extricated himself from my arms and stood, gathering his clothes from the floor.

  “Practice your audition piece for Broadway, Princess. We’ll be there soon.”

  * * *

  Someone burst through my door, and I bolted upright, half asleep and confused.

  “Time to get up,” Wes said roughly. “You’re wanted in Dad’s office in five minutes.”

  He stormed out as quickly as he came in, and I hopped out of bed. Morning sunlight slanted through my blinds, and I looked longingly at the frame as though Shane might pop back through it, all smiles and optimism. I wasn’t sure how much I believed that Shane would find a way to save me a lifetime of misery at Gromley hands, but I believed in his conviction. After he left last night, somehow jumping from my window to the deck without alerting anyone in the house, I lay awake all night thinking about what he said. About what I’d said.

  I loved him. As soon as I said it, I knew it was one of those infallible truths, like the sun rising in the East and bread always landing with the butter side down. There couldn’t be a less convenient person in the world for me to love. There couldn’t be a less convenient time for me to fall in love. I was absolutely screwed.

  One problem at a time, I told myself, pulling on some jeans and running a brush through my hair. I tied it into a knot at the back of my head and left my room. I didn’t want to keep Preston waiting.

  I reached the office door and knocked. It swung open to reveal Wes’s stony face, and I forced a smile at him as I entered.

  Preston was behind his desk, hands folded in front of him. The tone was somber. I felt as though I were standing before a judge with no sense of humor. There was no cocaine in sight, at least.

  Wes closed the door. It was just the three of us, which unsettled me further. I was rarely alone with father and son.

  “Dallas,” Preston welcomed. “Sit.”

  I did, holding my spine straight and my chin up. Wes sat in the chair next to me.

  “I’m not going to dance around the issue, Dallas,” said Preston. “We’ve reached a crossroads in our relationship, and you have to make a choice.”

  “What’s the choice?”

  He smiled humorlessly. “You can choose to leave, as you so obviously would prefer to do.”

  My heart skipped. Would they actually let me leave?

  “What’s the catch?” I rushed to ask, attempting to keep the tremors from my voice.

  “You didn’t let me finish.” He furrowed his brow. “You can choose to leave, and we will kill your father and Shane.”

  My mouth dropped open in horror. Like I would ever choose such a horrible option!

  “You would be well and truly free to go,” Preston assured, as if that were the problem I had with the whole arrangement.

  “You’re a monster,” I managed to bite out.

  Preston laughed. “Oh, stop. You’re making me blush.”

  I pictured myself lunging over his desk and throttling him. I knew I’d never make it that far and that when it came to strength Preston had a leg up on me, but I was so angry that my muscles tensed to spring.

  ‘Don’t you want to hear what’s behind door number two?” Preston asked.

  I didn’t respond, just glared. Preston plowed right ahead.

  “We will let your father and that dumbass live, and in return, you will do my son the great honor of becoming his wife.”

  I swung my gaze over to Wes. His mouth was set in a smirk that chilled me to the bone.

  “We’ll give you the night to think it over,” Preston continued. “Tomorrow morning, if all goes as I suspect, we will host your nuptials.” He chuckled. “Fitting that we should have them on Saint Patrick’s Day since Wes will finally be getting to see your pot of gold. Plus we can introduce you two as man and wife at the party that evening. Don’t you just love killing two birds with one stone?”

  The men laughed, but I shrunk into my seat. It was just beginning to sink in how screwed I was. There was no way I would allow Preston to kill my dad and Shane, but how could I possibly marry Wes?

  “Please,” I begged. “Don’t do this.”

  I wasn’t sure whether I was begging Wes or Preston. My plea fell on deaf ears either way.

  “Get her back to her room.” Preston nodded to Wes. “And make sure she stays there.”

  Chapter 32

  Shane

  Jake sighed and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his fists over his eyes. “I don’t know if this is going to work.”

  “It will. You can do it,” I assured.

  Jake ran a hand through his fiery hair, leaving a portion sticking out at an odd angle, then sat forward and refocused his attention on the computer screen.

  “I’m too amateur for a police database,” he complained a few minutes later. “This is going to take me ages.”

  “Then take ages,” I replied.

  I knew his real problem, and it wasn’t the level of difficulty involved in hacking the Sitka Valley police. Jake loved a good challenge, especially one that worked the part of his brain he almost never got to tap into at his hardware store job. His eyes lit up when I asked him if he’d be able to help me with a computer problem, but that light grew dim when I told him why.

  I had a feeling things were about to come to a head.

  Jake tapped away for a couple more minutes while I sat staring at nothing, deep in thought. When he stopped and looked at me, it took me a second to notice the darkness in his eyes.

  “Shane, are you sure you shouldn’t just let her go?” he asked. “She’s made it this far, and there’s no guarantee that what you’re doing is going to help her. More likely than not you’re just going to end up dead.”

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

  “Don’t be like that.” He frowned. “I just don’t trust Preston, and neither should you. Who’s to say he doesn’t just shoot you on sight when you show up? Why would he care about making a bet with you?”

  “Maybe he will just shoot me on sight,” I shot back. “Maybe he won’t. Either way, I have to fucking try something, Jake. Dallas fears for her life, and I’m the only one who can help her. Now, are you going to help me or not?”

  He sighed. “Of course I’m going to help you, Shane. You’re my best friend. I’ll do whatever you need me to do just please, be careful.”

  “I will,” I lied, because I knew that I was going to have to risk it big time if I wanted even the smallest chance to save Dallas.

  “What am I looking for, anyway?” Jake asked. “Once I finally get on here, that is.”

  “Anything that could be used as evidence to implicate Preston in dirty dealings with the cops.”

  “And you’re just
going to balance this information against what?”

  I still hadn’t figured out that part. If all went to plan, I would take my offer to Preston, and it would be juicy enough for him to accept. One wager—if he won, I wouldn’t pass on whatever evidence I had to higher authorities. If I won, I would, and I’d be taking Dallas with me. Those were the kind of stakes Preston wouldn’t be able to pass up, and they would also provide me a little security in case he decided to play dirty. The only thing I couldn’t figure out was what we would bet on.

  “All I can think of is that we bet on the outcome of a fight,” I said. “Me against him, or whatever guy he prefers to fight in his place.”

  “Now that’s crazy,” Jake said over the top of his computer screen, still tapping away.

  “I can’t think of anything better. I refuse to leave this up to chance, and a fight is the only thing that Preston will think he can win. And he’ll be wrong.”

  “What makes you so sure?”

  “Because unlike Preston, I have something that I’m fighting for. He doesn’t have a heart so it won’t be possible for him to put his whole heart into it.”

  We were interrupted by a metallic crash coming from downstairs. The back door.

  I shot up from my seat and went to the door, but Jake called out and stopped me.

  “I’ll get it. If it’s someone looking to beat you up, I’ll say you’re not here.”

  I let him go first but followed down the stairs to the stock room, intending to stay close in case anything bad happened. Jake cracked open the door just enough to stick his face through.

  The voice was familiar. “I need to speak to Shane.”

  What the hell was Paul doing here?

  “He’s not here,” said Jake, going to close the door.

  I stopped him. “Let him in.”

  Jake shot me an incredulous look, but I merely nodded. He reluctantly stepped back from the door and opened it for Paul. He was the last person I expected to seek me out, and I couldn’t help my curiosity.

  “Did Wes send you?” I asked.

  Paul laughed. “Wes would fucking kill me if he knew I was here.”

  “Go on.”

  Jake closed the door behind Paul and stood behind him with his arms crossed, like he was ready to jump in and remove him at the first sign of trouble. It was the first time I’d seen Jake try to be tough and I found it endearing.

  “Look, we may have had our differences, but I’ve got my differences with the Gromleys too, and they’ve gone too far this time.”

  Fear gripped my throat.

  “Is Dallas okay?” I asked, panicked.

  “For now. Preston gave her an ultimatum—marry Wes, or he’s going to kill her father and you. In other words, she’s getting married in the morning.”

  I wouldn’t believe it if I didn’t know how fucked in the head Preston was. That kind of cruelty could only come from the twisted blackness he called a soul. Anger flooded my veins, and I had to stop myself from crashing a fist into the cement wall.

  “Anyway,” Paul said a moment later when neither Jake or I had spoken. “I just wanted to let you know. You’re up to something, and whatever it is, it’s now or never.”

  He turned and walked around Jake to the door. A second later he was gone, and the silence in the airy back room compounded in my head and made me want to scream.

  Jake spoke first. “Shane, I’m so sorry man, but there is no way I can get you anything that quick. Even if I worked all night, there’s just no way.”

  I barely heard him. My mind buzzed with the realization of what I had to do. It might not work, but I had to try.

  Some part of me had always known it would come down to this.

  “I’ll offer them something else instead then,” I said quietly.

  “But what?”

  I chewed on my lip. “I’ll challenge Preston and Wes to fight me for Dallas and Randall’s freedom. And if I lose...If I lose, I’ll forfeit my own life.”

  Chapter 33

  Dallas

  This was hardly the way I pictured the night before my wedding. I always thought there would be champagne, sneaky kisses from my husband-to-be, and a feeling of elation that I’d snuggle into like a cloud on my way to sleep.

  Instead, I had one warm bottle of beer, an incredible hatred for my husband-to-be, and a feeling of nausea that hit me like a bus the second I moved more than an inch.

  It was cruel to lock me up in my room while I “made my decision” when everyone knew there was no decision to make. Preston was all about the appearance of fairness without ever playing fair. He just wanted me to wallow in my misery. Meanwhile, I couldn’t even say out loud that come tomorrow, my living nightmare would become as permanent as the contract binding me to Wes. Marriage had come a long way since the days when women belonged to their husbands by law, but mine would be like stepping back into the dark ages. And there would be no getting around giving Wes my body. He would finally get everything he wanted.

  I wished for Shane. I wished that he could save me, that in one fell swoop he could erase all this horror from my life and replace it with the joy I felt in that meadow. But what could he do? Nothing. Preston had finally won. Every last piece of myself that I’d been smuggling under the radar these past three years would soon be obliterated, along with all my hopes for a better future.

  The handle turned on my door, and I curled my knees up to my chest in bed. I expected Preston, coming to gloat, but wasn’t surprised to see Wes instead. Goodie.

  “Hey,” Wes said.

  The aggression that commonly laced his words was absent. I didn’t trust it.

  “What do you want?” I snapped.

  Wes walked over to the bed and sat down at my feet. I pulled them closer to my butt and took an angry swig of beer, trying to communicate with my body language how unwelcome he was. Not that it would do any good.

  “It doesn’t have to be like this,” he said. His tone was almost gentle.

  “Like what?” I asked. “Against my will? Unless you’re planning to give me a lobotomy, I’m afraid it does.”

  Frustration wrinkled his brow, but he smoothed it out. “I could give you everything, Dallas. It could be a happy life.”

  “I don’t want everything,” I shot back. “I want my freedom.”

  Wes angled his body toward me and rested a hand on my knee. Ice stabbed through me. I clutched my beer bottle harder. If I couldn’t stand for him even to place his hand on my knee, how the hell was I going to have sex with him without vomiting all over the place?

  Maybe that wouldn’t be so bad. It would serve him right.

  “I love you, Dallas. Let me. Give in to me, and you’ll see how good we can be together. I know that it seems bad now, but everything I do is because I know what’s best for you.”

  I was appalled at his gall and smacked his hand away. He let it fall beside my legs, but his jaw ticked. I didn’t care if I was pissing him off. If this was my last night as my own person, I was going to take full advantage and not waste a single moment.

  “You have no idea what’s best for me!” I said. “You don’t even know me!”

  “I don’t know you?” He stood and glared down at me. “No, I know you Dallas. I know all about you.” Leaning down, he shoved a finger into my face. “It’s you who doesn’t know me. You never tried to get to know me, never cared, no matter what I did. It’s your fault that your father’s in so much debt with mine. If you had been less of a bitch, I wouldn’t have had to tie you to us like that.”

  I’d always suspected that Preston had screwed my dad over, and knew that Wes had encouraged him to make the arrangement we had once I already rejected him. I had no idea he had been working against me this long.

  “Are you saying that my dad is in debt to your family because you were sad that I didn’t pay more attention to you?” I asked in a low growl.

  Wes stood to his full height and sneered. “I did what I had to do to. I loved you, and when I heard that you
r dad borrowed money from mine, it seemed too good to be true. My dad wants what’s best for me, and he saw how much I cared about you, so he convinced your dad to take on a couple of bogus investments. I was going to forgive it all, Dallas.” The hardness in his eyes melted and he crumpled to his knees beside the bed, wrestling my hands into his grip. “As soon as you fell for me I was going to be the big hero and make it all go away. But you never even gave me a fucking chance.”

  I could hardly see from the red clouding my vision. My hands were freezing, even in Wes’s sweaty grip, but my face burned like the sun. I yanked my hands free and climbed around Wes to stand in the middle of the floor.

  “You’re sick,” I told him. “And you know what the worst part is? There were times when I thought you seemed almost human, but clearly, you don’t even know what human is.”

  Wes stood and stepped toward me. I stepped back, but I didn’t slow down.

  “I feel sorry for you Wes, I really fucking do. You never stood a chance with a father as cruel and manipulative as yours. You were twisted from the day he first held you, and because of that you’ll never know what love really is.”

  Wes’s muddy eyes softened for a second. His hands fell to his sides, and he seemed almost ashamed. The mirage vanished a moment later, and steel returned to his gaze. He set his jaw, contempt written in the lines of his face.

  “Get some sleep,” he muttered coldly. “You’ve got a big day ahead of you.”

  He stormed from my room and slammed the door. I listened for his receding footsteps and, once I was sure he was gone, collapsed to the floor. I tucked my knees to my chest but refused to cry.

  Chapter 34

  Shane

  I rode straight up to the front door this time. I didn’t care if all of Preston’s goons heard me and came running. This time, I wasn’t hiding.

  Rob was waiting at the front door. Once I took off my helmet, and he knew it was me, he slammed his knuckles hard against the door to alert the others.

  “This time I’m going to kill you!” he bellowed.