Riley snorted. “We gave her the equivalent of a horse tranquilizer, and she’s managed to worry more about that little hairy thing than herself.”
It was time to remind his partner of some hard truths. “She’s marrying for money.”
Riley sat back, sighing a little. “Is that really the worst crime you can think of?”
He could think of worse. Murder, for instance. But once Jansen had the money his sister had earned modeling and entrée into her glitzy New York social world, Jansen hadn’t needed her anymore. So he’d killed her. Carrie had married the bastard because she thought she loved him.
“She’s going to spread her legs for money,” Dominic reminded. “You know what we called that back home?”
Riley’s face flushed angrily. “Yeah, I’m sure you called those women whores. Of course I called her mom. I think I’ll go sit with Law for a while.”
Dominic’s stomach dropped.
“I wasn’t talking about your mother,” he said, trying to come back from the precipice of a really nasty fight. God, he wasn’t thinking these days.
Riley didn’t bother to turn around. “Yeah, you were. I just think you should stop for five minutes and consider that the world isn’t always fair. Some people get dealt a shitty hand.”
“You think I don’t know that?”
“Do you? The world isn’t black and white.” Riley gritted his teeth. “Good people can sometimes do bad things for the right reasons. The fact that I have to say that to you is ridiculous. We just kidnapped a woman, and you’re planning on making her life a living hell until she gives you the information you need. In light of that, ask yourself if whoring really seems that bad. I’ll see you when we touch down.”
“Riley,” he called out, but the other man ignored him and disappeared behind the cockpit door.
Kinley didn’t move, just laid there trustingly in his arms.
He heard a little whimper and looked down at the floor. Somehow Gigi had managed to work free of the endless yards of freaking fabric that made up Kinley’s skirt. And now the little thing was looking up longingly at its mistress. It whined and turned those bug eyes on him.
God, he was the wicked witch in this scenario. He was taking out Dorothy and her little dog, too.
“All right, then. Come on.”
Dominic reached down and scooped up the little dog with one hand. As soon as he set it in Kinley’s lap, it curled against its mistress and immediately went to sleep.
Which left him holding his beautiful hostage, who would likely hate him come morning, and her dog thing. It really couldn’t get worse.
He would make it up to Riley and Law. He had zero intentions of really hurting the girl in a long-term way. But in the short term, she would likely be…uncomfortable. At least she would be alive.
He wasn’t the f**king bad guy here.
“So warm.” She rubbed her head against his neck and her hand petted the dog.
He had a sudden vision of that soft hand stroking his cock. That quickly, he was the uncomfortable one.
Dominic closed his eyes and tried to not think about how close his rigid dick was to her silken pu**y and her lush ass. He could withhold her orgasm until she told him exactly what he needed to know. God, that would be a sweet bit of torture.
And then he would walk away and never think about her again.
Yeah, he was a real f**king good guy.
So he wouldn’t touch the girl sexually. Good thing he had other methods to break her down.
He was just about to doze off when the dog started snoring.
It was going to be a long flight.
Chapter Four
Law looked through the windows in the great room, over the lawn—not that the wilderness around the compound could be called that. The River Run, Alaska, facility sat in the middle of endless miles of pristine beauty toward the southeastern end of the state. There was a small town a few miles away, but everyone who lived there was on the James’s payroll. They wouldn’t be calling the cops. He doubted anyone even knew they were here with the exception of the man who tended the grounds and had been dog sitting Butch while they’d been in New York. An hour before they’d arrived, they’d called to let the man know they’d care for Butch from here on out. No sense in putting Gavin’s employee in the sticky position of being an accessory to a crime.
Morning in Alaska this time of year came mighty early, but it was something to see. Fog around the mountains and brilliant colors lighting the sky.
Right now, Kinley probably didn’t really give a damn about the view.
Down the hall, the banging on the door began again. She’d been awake for half an hour, but he didn’t think she had complied with his very reasonable request.
“Have you changed your clothes yet?” he called, striding to her door.
“Go to hell. I’m not getting naked with you around, criminal!” Kinley’s voice got higher with each syllable and carried quite well. The doorknob jiggled before the banging began again. “Let me out of here!”
He leaned against the wall with a sigh. She’d been screaming since the minute she’d awakened. With the exception of a few delirious interruptions, she’d slept for almost fourteen full hours. He’d gotten worried about her and had started looking up the names of doctors in the area, but once she’d opened those pretty brown eyes, she’d started fighting. He’d left, hoping that she would comply. And calm down. No such luck.