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The door swung open and Lana fell forward, hitting the floor hard. “Ouch,” she mumbled. “Was that really necessary? You could’ve let me know you were about to let me out.” She rubbed her elbow and glanced up, sucking in a breath as shock rolled over her.
“Tony?” He kept popping into her life like an unexpected tornado about to destroy everything in its path. There was no time to prepare or protect herself for the incoming onslaught of terror. Dread fell to the bottom of her stomach like a dead weight. Him being at the Brady mansion was no accident, and nothing good would come from it. “Thanks for opening the door. I need to call someone to help my mother. She’s not doing so well.”
Lana had no way to gauge the time to determine how long she’d been in there, but if she had to guess it had been at least thirty minutes. Her mother needed immediate help.
“I can’t let you do that,” he told her. “It would ruin the plan. Sorry you had to be locked in there, but you weren’t supposed to come down here. Adjustments had to be made.”
Fuck. Why couldn’t she have been wrong? Was it too much to ask for him to be there to help her? Noooo—of course not. She apparently had a psycho ex-boyfriend hell-bent on stomping on her happiness. Lana sighed and tried to reason with him. “My mom needs medical attention. You wouldn’t let her die, would you?”
“Mrs. Kelly will be fine,” he said. He glanced over to where her mother was unconscious and then back at Lana. “She promised me your mother would make it through this without any lasting harm. The drugs will keep her out for an hour or so while we finish our business.”
Whoever his female partner was, Lana fully intended to punch her in the face when she met her. No one hurt her mother and got away with it. She didn’t trust the mysterious woman either. Why should she take it on faith that her mom would be fine? Because a sociopath assured her she would be? Fuck that.
“What’s the plan?” Lana asked. “You must have one since you opened the door.”
“The plan had been to grab you from someplace else,” he said. “But it works out that you are here instead. It makes things easier. I don’t have to find a way to lure you away from him.”
He must mean Sullivan. That was the only male she spent any quality time with. “Sully will come looking for me. You should do yourself a favor and let me go now. I can call an ambulance for my mom. Promise I won’t tell them I saw you if you make this easy on both of us.”
She’d assure him that the sky was purple and the sun a giant ball of orange yarn if it convinced him to let her leave. Tony had never been malicious, and she’d cared about him once upon a time. It had never been love, but he’d made her feel safe. Now, any ounce of that feeling had fled and had been draining out of her since the first time she’d seen him at the restaurant. Something had seemed off even then.
“Come on,” he said, yanking Lana to her feet. “We have to go.”
“But my mother...” Lana swallowed a lump in her throat, worried about her mother and her own chances of surviving.
“I told you she would be fine,” he shouted. His face turned a bright red as he held on tight to her wrist. “Don’t fight me. This is for the best. You’ll see when it’s all over.”
“Maybe if you explained it to me I would understand now.” She had to stall him as long as possible. Maybe someone would come looking for her, or at the very least, her mother. Sullivan wouldn’t be missing her yet. Soon though, he’d realize Dani had left and Lana was nowhere to be found.
“I don’t have time for your shenanigans.” He yanked Lana closer and glared down at her. “We have someplace to be. We can do this the nice way, or I can throw you over my shoulder, oblivious to the world around you. Choose wisely.”
“I’d prefer to walk,” she said evenly. At least, that way she might have a chance of running away from him if he let go of her wrist. Although, she wasn’t sure how far or fast she could run in three-inch heels and a skirt so long it hit her ankles. She’d thought the gold shimmery dress gorgeous when Dani picked it out, but now she cursed its existence.
“I always knew you were intelligent,” he attempted to praise her. “Let’s hope that smart mind of yours keeps working as we continue.”
She should tell him that backhanded compliments didn’t work. Lana was smart though and wasn’t about to sabotage any chance she had of escaping by opening her mouth and letting her viper tongue out to play. Words could be a weapon if used correctly, and Lana had perfected their use over the years. Tony should be well aware of that. He’d seen it firsthand many times in the past when they’d dated.
“Are you going to tell me where we are going?”
Tony didn’t answer right away. He kept his focus on pulling her through the maze of hallways that made up the Brady mansion. Left, right, down some stairs, and to the right again until they reached a side door that led toward the gardens. When had Tony had the time to familiarize himself with the Brady household? Hadn’t he said he was working at the news station in communications?
“How’d you get an invite to the wedding? Was it a press pass?”
He laughed. “I don’t work in communications as I originally told you. I’m surprised you didn’t have that checked out. If you had, you would’ve known I lied.”
Why had she bought his story? Because it seemed plausible; after all, that had been what his degree was in. He had wanted to be one of those journalists that traveled around the world. That was why the Navy had ended up appealing to him. He’d believed it would give him experience for the career of his dreams. “Did you really join the Navy?” If he lied about the job at the news station, he could’ve lied about anything.
“Of course I did,” he said scathingly. “Though that was a pipe dream that didn’t turn out as I’d planned. Much like everything in my life, it turned to shit fast, but I was stuck.”
The more he talked, the more confused she became. He’d apparently hated the Navy. So what did that have to do with her? She hadn’t made him enlist. Sure, she’d broken up with him. She didn’t love him, and they didn’t have a future together. Truthfully, she had felt she didn’t deserve him. Now she had to wonder if he had ever deserved her.
He clenched her wrist tighter and practically dragged her alongside him. The elaborate stone staircase that ran beside the flower garden resembling bleachers packed with a sea of different colored blooms came into view. Instead of people filling the seats as spectators, the flowers were the ones watching for entertainment.
She’d always thought it was a cool part of the garden. It had been built inside of a hill. The stairs led to the top of the hill, and she’d loved walking down the rows of flowers to examine them. At the top of the hill, there was a path to a gazebo that looked beautiful on a moonlit night. Lana had had several romantic fantasies about that gazebo, and Sullivan had starred in every one of them. She sure hoped Tony didn’t plan on ruining that for her.
Lana yanked on her wrists, attempting to slow him down. “You’re hurting me,” she whined. She didn’t really care about the pain. “And I’m having trouble breathing. Please slow down—you do know I had major surgery a month ago, right.”
“That didn’t seem to stop you from prancing around town with that rich bastard, did it?” he said. He stopped long enough to stare down at her. Deranged sociopaths had nothing on Tony. She was starting to wish she had a horror movie villain in his place. She might have a chance of escaping a psycho wanting to slice her in half. At least she’d die quicker. Tony, on the other hand, seemed as if he wanted to make her suffer for some terrible transgression she’d no clue she’d done.
“Sullivan loves me,” she said quietly.
“You keep telling yourself that, sweetheart,” he replied contemptuously. “That guy only loves himself.”
At one time, she might have agreed with him. No, that wasn’t entirely true. He loved his parents. His family had always been a huge part of what made Sullivan who he was. He’d been welcoming of Dani when they’d found her and had accepted her without question. It was his ability to love a woman for the rest of his life she’d doubted. “You’re wrong,” she said. “But I don’t need to convince you of that. I believe it, and that’s all that matters to me.”
They reached the stone stairs, and he pulled her up them. She stumbled and tripped on one, landing on her knees. Pain shot through her and she screamed involuntarily. “Get up,” he demanded. “I don’t have time for your attempts to delay anything. We have a schedule to keep.” He yanked her back to her feet. No time to stop and smell the roses apparently...
Lana was starting to seriously hate this blasted schedule and wanted to see it blow up in his face. If she could figure out a way to make that happen, she would. Unfortunately, nothing was coming to mind, and she might not find a way out of this particular situation any time soon. It sucked on so many levels. She’d finally accepted she belonged with Sullivan. Was going to tell him how much she loved him. He’d told her in so many different ways, but she’d held back. Making that final commitment had scared her. Now it all seemed rather silly.
“When do you figure you’ll tell me about this wonderful plan you have brewing?”
“Don’t fret,” he said then laughed. “You’ll love it.”
Tony’s idea of love seriously differed from hers. “Can’t wait,” she said sarcastically. “I bet its every girl’s dream.”
“You’ve always been mine,” he said absentmindedly.
Had Tony lost his mind in the Navy? He hadn’t been like this before. “What happened to you?’ The question was out before she had a chance to hold it in, but she had to understand.
“Watching people you care about die—it does something to you on the inside. Makes you take note of what truly matters. The ones you love, lost, and hope to bring back into your life. All I thought about when I was overseas was returning home—to you. But that didn’t go as planned, has it?”
When she’d run into him at the restaurant, she’d been distant. She hadn’t even started dating Sullivan yet at that point. It had been bad timing no matter what though. She’d always wanted Sullivan. Tony’s return didn’t change anything, and she had to make him see that. No matter what, she’d have run straight to the only man she’d ever truly loved—Sullivan Brady.
“I’m sorry,” she said and meant it. “But I can’t be your rock. I can barely be my own.”
“That will change,” he said. “After we’re married, things will settle down.”
What was it with men throwing weddings at her with no warning? At least Sullivan had been a welcome surprise. This though—was pure insanity. “I’m not marrying you.”
“The judge is waiting at the gazebo,” he said. “It’s been all arranged.”
Wait, did I hear him correctly? They finally reached the top of the stone stairs. Lana was out of breath, and she could barely get the words out. “No judge is going to marry us without my consent.”
Tony kept his mouth firmly closed and continued to head toward the gazebo. He’d have to find out the hard way that this fictional wedding was not happening. It had to be a ruse of some kind—a sick and twisted one, but fake all the same.
The gazebo was as gorgeous as she’d remembered. It had vines up the side and pretty pink and white flowers sprinkled throughout them. The moon glowed over it, illuminating it as if someone had painted it into being. Lana fully believed when they reached it he would come to realize the only wedding that happened was Ren and Dani’s. But she soon found out how wrong she was.
Sure enough, a man in a dark suit stood in the distance and two women were with him. Both blonde, both vicious bitches, and she hated both of them with a passion she would never let go. The differences she could see between the two were hairstyle choices. Victoria had kept her long blonde hair, and Colleen had chopped hers off into a stylish pixie cut.
“Victoria,” Lana said scornfully and nodded at her. Then turned toward the other woman and glared at her. “Colleen, I’d say it’s a pleasure, but we both know that’s a lie.” Her former co-worker’s glare of hatred said it all. Lana didn’t know, to this day, what she’d done for Colleen to hate her, but she’d moved on with her life and stopped caring.
“Aww, and we thought you’d be so glad to see us,” Victoria said. “You do need witnesses for the ceremony. We kindly volunteered to be your attendants. No need to say thank you. We’re happy to be of assistance.”
“Shut up, Vicki,” Colleen ordered. “We have to finish this and move on to the next part of the plan.” She turned to Tony and asked, “Are you ready?”
“More than I’ve ever been,” he said.
“Then it’s time to begin,” Colleen replied. “Your Honor, we may begin. The bride and groom have arrived.”
This had to be a nightmare. The worst one of her entire life—they all couldn’t actually believe they could make her marry Tony? What did they think they would get out of this?
“I’m not ready,” she said. “I’ll never be ready for this.”
“If you value your life,” Colleen said. “More importantly, if you love that asshole, Sullivan Brady, you will do as you’re told.”
Would they really hurt Sullivan if she didn’t go through with this stupid wedding idea? “I don’t believe you.”
“You should,” Victoria said, saccharinely sweet. “It’s not as if we didn’t see a man die already in the course of our little scheme. You wouldn’t want to be the next body to go six feet under, would you?”
Lana froze in place. “This can’t be legal.”
“Oh, the judge is on our payroll—trust me, it will be binding,” Colleen explained. “Besides, once Tony runs off with you, no one will question it. After all, you do have a past. It’s not as if he is a random guy you had nothing to do with.”
Worst. Night. Ever. Somehow, some way, she would find a way to save herself. She had no clue how to go about making that happen. The judge starting talking, but Lana tuned him out. She closed her eyes and prayed to whatever God would listen to send her some kind of salvation. Otherwise, being dead didn’t sound so bad if it prevented her from experiencing any more of her current situation...