RUTHLESS KINGS: THE LANDON BROTHERS

He hurled me over his shoulder and started toward the side of the gas station where a black car was readily in wait.

I screamed, yelled, scratched his back, yet nothing. Well, I might as well be hitting a brick wall. The area was deserted, there was no one to help, and my screams weren't getting me anywhere.

There was nothing hurried about his steps; he took his time, and when we got to the car, he threw me in the back seat and filed in behind me.

"Drive." He said, and that was it, his driver or whoever that robotic-looking man was, started the car.

"How... What are you doing here?" I asked him, frantic. "How did you know where I was?"

He didn’t answer right away, instead, he leaned back in his seat and said, "I've been on your tail for the longest time. There is this thing called a tracker. Since you've refused to see or hear me out, I had to be creative."

I knew that must be the situation, but it still took my breath away. "You're kidnapping me, why?" I asked breathlessly.

"Because I need to claim you as mine. Which is exactly what am doing now." His eyes were watching me through the rearview mirror as we streamed towards a country road.

I didn’t know how to respond to what he said. So, I flashed my false wedding band at him, telling him I was married. Which only gained me a faint chuckle.

"You must be hell-bent on deceiving yourself." He said.

"I'm married." I insisted.

"And does it look like I would care?" He snarled.

Christ, I'm in deep shit. "Gideon." I finally mustered the courage to call him by his name. "I really appreciate you rescuing me. I would really be forever grateful to you If you could drop me off at Oakville. I have this meeting with..."

"Laurette Brisk. Yeah, I know." He interrupted. "Except that Laurette is me. And we're going to have that meeting anyway. I've run out of patience, Emmah."

"What do you mean?" I asked, startled.

"I mean I can't drop you off anywhere. In other words, I can't let you go." Gideon said, "I've been letting you go all this while. Fucking pleading for a chance, but I've gotten to my breaking point. I’m afraid I don’t have the ability to let you go. Once you showed up today, all bets were off."

"What do you mean you've been letting me go." I objected.

And then he did turned to me. His beautiful blue eyes, so full of bright intensity. "I mean, I let you leave when you visit the grocery stores and pharmacies, I let you go home from your store every day, I let you sleep peacefully in that little bed of yours every night, I've never stopped you for once."

My heart started beating like crazy. "You've been stalking me."

"Correct." He didn't deny it.

"How would you have stopped me?" I asked, feeling caught and trapped in his gaze.

His eyes were still focused on me. "I could have claimed you earlier. Open my car door like a gentleman and let you in."

"And if I didn’t want to go?" I asked.

His eyes gleamed. "I would have tied you up and thrown you in anyways."

"Jesus! That would be illegal." I said sharply.

"Baby," he said, his eyes filled with an unholy glee, "nothing I do in this whole county is illegal."

"Well, you can't claim a married woman."

"I won't only claim you, I will marry you, again. And stop with the marriage prank. I've stalked you long enough to know that you bought that band from the goldsmith store adjacent to yours. It soothed me to see that ring on your finger for years. Just how I wanted it. You, for me and no one else." He flicked his eyes over to me again.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Just so you know, we can't get married again. Not against my will."

I objected, trying to ignore the heat and need that was pounding in my pussy whenever he looked at me like that.

“I’m marrying you anyway," Gideon said.

My jaw dropped. "Isn’t there a police station around here?" I asked irritably.

"There sure is," he replied.

"I’m sure the police would be very interested in your plans to kidnap and force me to marry you," I threatened.

"Yes, they would," replied Gideon. "And that would be because I've been fixated on you and getting you back into my life for the longest time. The Police Chief is a good friend of mine."

I gasped, bereft of speech.

"So in essence, there’s no escape, Emmah," he said. "You’re mine now. You didn't want it the easy way, so here we are."