Lancelot's Lady (31 page)

"
Mr. Saunders should go to the hospital. To be safe.
"

"
Will do.
"

There was a pause.
"
We
'
re doing everything we can, Mr. Lance. I
'
ll contact the Royal Bahamas Police. They
'
ll have men onshore looking for your boat. And I might be able to get the helicopter. I
'
m sure your boat will be returned undamaged.
"

"
It
'
s not the boat I care about. Duke
'
s taken a woman with him. A…friend of mine. Rhianna McLeod.
"

"
Are you saying this is a possible hostage situation?
"

"
I believe so.
"

"
We
'
ll do everything we can, Mr. Lance. Hold tight. We
'
ll get back to you.
"

The man signed off, leaving Jonathan frustrated and worried. Even if a helicopter was sent out, they couldn
'
t do much. It
'
s not like it could land on the water.

He paced the beach.

A horn blasted and he whipped around. A speedboat was coming in. Fast. Seated at the wheel was an older man with silver hair. The man waved. That
'
s when Jonathan recognized him.

Denny Dorchester.

Jonathan ran to the end of the dock.
"
How the hell did you get here so fast?
"

"
I was in the area monitoring radio frequencies,
"
Denny yelled, easing the boat up alongside the dock.

"
You heard my emergency call?
"

"
Yeah.
"

Jonathan jumped in and Denny turned the boat toward the open water and opened the throttle.

"
What were you doing monitoring calls?
"
Jonathan asked.
"
That
'
s not something you do every day.
"

"
I met Duke earlier. I didn
'
t like him. Or trust him. I almost left the marina, but then I turned around and followed him out. I was on the southwest side of Angelina
'
s when I saw him heading back to the mainland. Without Roland.
"
He swallowed.
"
How is he?
"

"
He
'
s fine, Denny. Marvin
'
s looking after him.
"

"
Then let
'
s catch this bastard.
"

"
When we do, I
'
m not sure what
'
ll happen.
"

Denny gave him a worried look.
"
What do you mean?
"

"
Duke took something from me.
"

"
Misty
'
s Dream?
"

"
Rhianna McLeod. The best dream I ever had.
"

Denny grinned.
"
About time, Tyler!
"

"
If you tell anyone I said that,
"
Jonathan said with a scowl,
"
I
'
ll fire Roland.
"

Chapter 31

Rhianna tried to relax as she watched Angelina
'
s Isle disappear from view, but Charles Duke
'
s gaze seemed to rest on her far too often. He was making her nervous.

"
Are you sure we
'
ll get through security in time?
"
she asked him.

"
It won
'
t be a problem. Trust me.
"

She shivered. Trust him? She didn
'
t even know him.

But JT does.

Still, she couldn
'
t picture JT hiring this man as his lawyer.

"
So do you handle business cases?
"
she asked, bored.

Charles glanced at his briefcase.
"
Business cases?
"

"
Like lawsuits or mergers.
"

Charles chuckled.
"
Oh. Yes, I handle some.
"

"
What about criminal cases?
"

"
No, I don
'
t touch those.
"

They drifted into an awkward silence.

"
You said JT relapsed,
"
she said finally.
"
Did he go to the hospital?
"

"
I believe so.
"

"
But he
'
s still alive, right?
"

Charles turned and stared at her.
"
I can assure you that JT is still alive. But I don
'
t think he
'
s got long.
"

Rhianna sighed.
"
I never should
'
ve left him.
"

"
You seem to care an awful lot for the old guy.
"

She stared at him.
"
Of course I do. He
'
s been very kind to me.
"

"
Has he?
"

"
Of course he has. Why would you suggest otherwise.
"

Charles held up a hand.
"
I
'
m sorry, Rhianna. I didn
'
t mean to suggest anything. It was just a slip of the tongue. I
'
m sure he
'
s been very good to you.
"

It took her a moment to realize he
'
d used her first name. She didn
'
t like that one bit.

"
Mr. Duke, did you handle JT
'
s will?
"

This comment seemed to throw the man off.

"
I, uh…
"
Charles cleared his throat.
"
Yes, I did.
"

"
Do you know if he
'
s leaving anything to his son?
"

Charles glanced over his shoulder at her.
"
Whose son? JT
'
s?
"

"
Yes,
"
Rhianna said impatiently.

"
I didn
'
t know he had a son.
"

"
You just met him.
"

Charles stared at her.
"
The guy on the island?
"

"
Jonathan Lance.
"

There was a stunned look on Charles face. Then he muttered something and turned his back to her.

What the heck is going on?
Rhianna wondered.

Certainly, JT would have left something for Jonathan and Misty. And his lawyer would know that. In fact, it seemed odd that Charles didn
'
t even know about Jonathan. Why would JT hide that fact from his lawyer?

Because Charles Duke isn
'
t who he says he is,
came the answer.

Rhianna swallowed hard.
"
What law firm did you say you work with?
"

"
I didn
'
t.
"

There was a drawn out pause, then Duke twisted in the seat.
"
Ms McLeod, it appears we
'
ve come to a crossroads of sorts. You
'
re a very inquisitive young lady, but you
'
re not that smart.
"
He pulled out a gun and pointed it at her.
"
Don
'
t do anything foolish.
"

Rhianna gasped.
"
What are you doing?
"

"
I
'
m taking what I want.
"

The way he said this, combined with the way he looked at her, made her tremble. She
'
d seen that look before. In Peter Waverley
'
s eyes, right before he raped her.

"
Please,
"
she said.
"
Let me go. I won
'
t say a word. I promise.
"

Charles smiled.
"
Don
'
t worry, my love.
I
promise to take very good care of you.
"

~ * ~

With the gun in hand, Winston twisted in the seat. To keep an eye on his prize. Rhianna McLeod was a beauty. He couldn
'
t wait for their first evening together.

"
Who are you really?
"
she asked.

He smiled.
"
I
'
m the man who
'
s going to show you a good time.
"
He saw the fear in her eyes and it excited him.

"
Why me?
"
she said, her voice wavering.

He shrugged.
"
Blame that on JT Lance.
"

"
So you
do
know him. How?
"

"
We
'
ve done…business together.
"
He checked the GPS.
"
Right on course.
"

"
Where are you taking me?
"

"
To paradise.
"
He paused briefly.
"
Lance will pay a lot of money to get you back. He values you quite highly. I suspect his son does too.
"

"
So you
'
re doing this for money.
"

"
Among other things.
"
He eyed her up and down.
"
I
'
m sure we
'
ll have fun together. Before the money comes in.
"

"
I don
'
t think so,
"
Rhianna said tightly.

Winston swung the gun toward her.
"
My dear, it won
'
t do you well to argue with me.
"

"
So you
'
re a rapist then.
"

His face burned.
"
Don
'
t call me that. Ever.
"

It was clear she got the warning when she turned away.

"
You know, good old JT spent a lot of money trying to locate you,
"
he said, changing the subject.
"
A lot of money and a number of years. I guess I can
'
t blame him.
"

Rhianna whipped around.
"
What are you talking about?
"

"
Lance and I go way back. He hired me years ago to check into some of his employees and to investigate a couple of businesses he wanted to…acquire. He
'
s not as squeaky clean as he likes people to believe.
"
He wiped a trickle of sweat from his brow.
"
Then a few years ago, he asked me to find you. It took me a long time to find out why he wanted to find you so badly.
"

"
Why?
"

He laughed.
"
I
'
ll let the old guy tell you that himself. I can assure you though, you won
'
t like what he has to say.
"

"
You mean about his affair with my mother?
"

Winston stiffened.
"
Where did you hear that?
"

"
From a reliable source.
"

"
Who?
"

"
It doesn
'
t matter, Mr. Duke.
"

He scowled.
"
Oh, but I think it does, my dear.
"

Well, this was a new development. One he
'
d never expected. If JT had had an affair with Rhianna
'
s mother, it could be a huge problem. Or an advantage.

"
None of that really matters,
"
he muttered.
"
How you feel about JT Lance makes no difference to my plan.
"

"
Which is?
"

"
To become a very wealthy man and enjoy your company. At least until I return you.
"

The trembling in Rhianna
'
s hands stopped.

"
You
'
re going to let me go then?
"

"
When this is over,
"
he said, watching her.

There was more to Rhianna than just beauty. The woman was stubborn and defiant. He liked that. If there was one thing he hated it was an easy conquest. He enjoyed the chase too much. Taking down a worthy adversary was immensely satisfying.

He smiled.

The chase was on.

~ * ~

Rhianna stared at her hands, unable to keep her mind from straying to horrific flashbacks from her past. She couldn
'
t go there again. She couldn
'
t be the victim. She wouldn
'
t.

But how could she fight this man?

She peered from beneath her lashes, glancing about the boat for a weapon. Other than a couple of lifejackets and a pair of binoculars hanging from a hook near Charles, there was nothing that could help her. Even if she somehow managed to push him overboard without ending up in the water herself, she didn
'
t know anything about navigating a speedboat. She
'
d have to wait until they reached the mainland. Certainly, someone there would intervene. Except no one knew she
'
d been taken hostage.

Her heart sank.

Jonathan thought she was in safe company with his father
'
s lawyer.

Rhianna let out a tearful sigh.

The only thing she could do was wait. Once they were on land, she
'
d find a way to either escape Charles Duke
'
s grasp, or she
'
d enlist someone else to help.

She gazed across the water, praying that another watercraft would appear. But it seemed they were alone. The only boat she could see was a tiny white blur, and it was probably heading in the opposite direction.

"
Is Charles Duke your real name?
"
she asked, determined to get as much information out of the man as possible.