But in other ways, I think Luther is telling the truth.
Ryder didn’t have to kidnap me. He chose to do that.
“Stop,” Ryder hollers, running down the hill. I watch him move quickly, and as he nears I see the lines of fear around his eyes.
My heart seizes, as I doubt everything I’ve learned about Ryder. Maybe Luther’s right. Maybe Ryder doesn’t have his head clear; after all, he did kidnap me without considering the consequences. I start crying more freely as I realize just how little I know. How deeply I have let myself fall. I’m so completely over my head.
“I’ll get you home, safe and sound,” Luther tells me, reaching for my hand as I begin to cry without restraint.
I let him take my hand, my chest heavy, the sobs crashing hard.
“Stop, Justine, listen to me,” Ryder calls, rushing toward me as Luther pulls me toward the plane and helps me in.
I sit in a small seat as Luther climbs into the pilot seat and turns the engine on as Ryder hollers from the pier, shouting for me to hear him out.
“Don’t listen to him, baby,” Luther tells me. “I’ve got you now. I’ll take you home.” We take off, bumping over the water and my stomach flips. I’m not sure if it’s because of the choppiness of taking off or if it is because I am leaving Ryder.
“You’ll take me home?” I ask, desperately wanting the comfort of my own bed right now, wanting to take a hot shower in my own house, washing away the pain that Ryder caused.
Luther’s eyes flash with something darker than I expect and he growls in my ear. “Not your home, mine.”
He reaches for my hand and takes hold of it as if it’s his to hold.
And I realize a minute too late that Ryder was right.
Right about everything.Chapter 18RyderI can’t fucking take it.
Watching Justine fly away with that monster, my blood boils, my screams scare the birds flying overhead, and my heart feels like it’s going to fucking explode.
I hurt and confused her, and fucking made her hate me.
But I swear on my life, I will protect her.
I did a dumb fucking thing kidnapping her but I only wanted to keep her safe.
And now she’s in Luther’s plane, headed to his torture chamber, where he will have his way with her.
Over my dead, fucking body.
I have one goal; getting Justine back in my arms. Proving to her that I’m not the villain she believes me to be.
On my knees, I’ll beg for her forgiveness and ask for a second chance.
She is all I want and more than I goddamned deserve.
When the plane I ordered lands a few minutes later, I tell the pilot where I need to go.
There is no time to waste.
Justine is more than a prize. She is my woman.
And I am going to save her.Chapter 19JustineUp in the air, alone with Luther, I grip the handles on the passenger side door, my knuckles turning white.
This isn’t right.
“No need to cry, darling. I’ll take good care of you.” Luther grips my knee. “Ryder has always been a bit of a control freak, thinking he knows best,” Luther says. “But the fact is, he kidnapped you. And he will certainly pay for this.”
I swallow, trying to regulate my breathing. Everything feels so off.
A part of myself was left on that dock.
Ryder’s ice-blue eyes seared my heart with the way he looked at me through the window before the plane took off.
Desperation. Longing. Regret.
“Is there a radio in here?” I ask. “I have to call my family.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Luther says, flipping a switch on his side of the control panel.
“Why not?” I ask, my voice quivering. Fear growing in my belly.
“Because first I need to take you home and make sure Ryder didn’t tamper with my prize.”
Prize.
Me.
Luther bought me, fair and square and he wants to cash in on what he is owed.
Pressing my lips together, I don’t know what to do. I can’t exactly jump out of the plane.
“You don’t have to donate the money, Luther,” I say. “The auction, the night together…all of it’s called off.”
“Called off?” Luther sneers. “I paid for you, wrote the check to HAHA. Already. It’s done.”
“I’ll give you a refund. Pay you back myself.” I shake my head. “But if you were married to Helen Ottenbagh, why did you bid on me? Half of her estate was willed to the charity.”
“I don’t care where the money went. I came to the auction for you, not for your cause. I had to have you. And now I will.”
As he speaks, I realize just how compromising a situation I have put myself in. “I’m not going through with it,” I tell him firmly. “I changed my mind. I need to see my family, speak with my lawyer. Don’t take me to your house. Take me to Anchorage.”