Nothing but Trouble (6 page)

“That’s up to you. If you give me your word you’ll behave, you can have the freedom to move around in this room. Double cross me, and I’ll be forced to keep you drugged.”

“Drugged!” Her eyes grew round. It was clear she didn’t like the thought, yet she didn’t say anything more. It didn’t take a genius to realize she was weighing her options.
Did she think my offer of moving around freely would lead to escape?

“Do you have any clothes for me?”

Brent’s gaze took in her ruined gown. Bending, he scooped up his shirt and tossed it to her. “Put this on for now.” She caught it against her, but otherwise didn’t move.

The silence between them grew.

“What now?” He didn’t try to disguise the impatience in his tone.

“Surely you don’t expect me to put this on while you stand there watching?”

“What do you want me to do?”

“The gentlemanly thing by turning around.”

Brent couldn’t help it. He burst out laughing. “You take the cake, princess.” He released a resigned sigh when she didn’t show any signs of budging, and spun around so she could slip into his shirt. “Don’t try anything cute; Tom’s in the other room.”

“You could leave the room…”

“Don’t press your luck.”

Brent grinned at her huff, and then nearly swallowed his tongue when he caught sight of Sophie in the mirror over the dresser. Neither of them had given it a thought. But he could clearly see everything the lady had to offer. She released the comforter, and his gaze rapidly took in her full breasts and narrow waist, the curve of her hips.

Before he had time to fully appreciate what he was looking at she quickly slipped into his shirt, doing up every button from the neck to the hem. She started to slide the ring on her finger but opened the nightstand drawer instead. He watched her drop it inside. Then, just as she was about to close the drawer she hesitated, and he knew her gaze had fallen on the gun he’d placed in there earlier.

Her gaze flew to him. It was clear she was still unaware that he could see her in the mirror. He recognized the indecision on her expression, right before she made a desperate grab for it. As she brought the small, black revolver up, Brent swung around. And before he knew it he was staring down the barrel of his own weapon.

Another time and he would have been amused at how badly the gun was shaking in her small hand. It appeared heavy and awkward, and he suspected she’d never handled one before. That could be dangerous, if the safety wasn’t on. Their stares met, and clung. Fear churned in her pretty eyes, yet not enough to cause her to drop the gun. She pointed it at Brent as though she had experience handling it.

“For a man with a gun pointed at him you don’t look very concerned,” she had the guts to say.

Brent could tell his grin unnerved her. “What are you going to do with that?”

Her expression revealed his lack of response wasn’t exactly what she’d been hoping for. She was more frightened than he was and she was the one with the gun. Testing her, Brent took a step in her direction; she took a step back in reaction. She gasped when the back of her thighs came up against the edge of the bed. It shouldn’t have, but the look in her calculating eyes set his blood on fire. He never could back down from a challenge.

She wet her lips before saying, “Please, don’t make me shoot you.” Her stare clung to his. Brent took another step forward, knowing there was nowhere for her to retreat. Nowhere to go except back on the bed, and he doubted she’d do that willingly. “All I want to do is leave.”

Brent shook his head slowly. “Sorry, princess, no can do.” He halted within a foot of her, taking in the fact her hand was already weakening from the unaccustomed weight of the gun. “I guess you’ll just have to shoot me.” He held his arms out as if offering her an easy target.

Instincts warned Brent she’d never shoot him, even if she could. He probably stood a better chance of having the gun thrown at him. As the silence stretched between them he saw tears of frustration slip from her eyes and that sexy bottom lip tremble slightly. He swore beneath his breath and clenched his teeth, unprepared for the feeling her vulnerability had on him. A poised, spirited Sophie he could deal with.

“Damn you!” she sobbed huskily, surprising them both by the passion in her tone.

Brent reached forward and took the gun from her hand. “You couldn’t have shot me anyway. The safety is still on.” In spite of the tears slipping down her face she held her ground. Reacting to her softness, Brent surprised himself by gently wiping her cheek with the back of his hand. “I’m not going to hurt you.” He felt compelled to promise.

“I don’t believe you.”

The mistrust in her eyes said it all. Brent didn’t blame Sophie for not believing him.
Why should she when everything I’ve done so far led her to presume I’m a villain?
A sucker for redhead, blue-eyed females in distress, he knew if he didn’t force himself to walk away from her it was just a matter of time before he took her into his arms to comfort her.
And what kind of a kidnapper would that make me? Not a very credible one, that was for sure.

“I can’t help that.” He tucked the gun in the waistband of his pants, opening the closet door and reaching for a shirt. He slipped it on, buttoning it as he faced her again. “Just remember, I could have hurt you at any time and didn’t.” To prove how ruthless he could be Brent’s gaze raked over her, visually stripping her naked. “I could have forced myself on you when we were putting on that little show.”

“Thank you for restraining yourself; that was gentlemanly of you.”

That haughty little tone rubbed him the wrong way and he clenched his teeth to keep from telling her to go to hell. It was apparent she wasn’t going to give him credit for anything. He decided to do the gentlemanly thing and ignore her statement. “This will be your castle for a few days. There’s a bathroom through that door.” He indicated the direction with a nod. “The TV…”

“What about a phone? I’d like to call my father and let him know I’m all right.”

She was kidding, right? Brent didn’t have time for her smart mouth, which was only going to land her in trouble. “I’ll be in touch with daddy,” he retorted with cool authority. “But what about Lord?” She didn’t seem to care about his feelings.

A knock at the door saved her from having to respond. Tom’s voice came through loud and clear. “You have a phone call to make.”

Brent’s eyes darted to the clock on the dresser. It was almost twelve. “My cue to leave, princess.” He stared at her long and hard, trying to decide if he should tie her to the bed and forget about anything else. “You could probably scream your head off and no one would hear you, but I’m not willing to take that chance. I’ll take your word you’ll behave and won’t make any noise. What’s it going to be?”

“Why should you believe me?”

“Because you’re proud and like to think your morals are better than anyone else’s.” And because he knew if she was anything like her father, he couldn’t expect anything less than the truth from her. The tightening of her mouth revealed she wanted to defy him, call him a liar, but she was a smart lady.

“I give you my word I won’t make any noise.”

Brent quickly picked up on the fact that Sophie eliminated the first half of his condition, wondering what kind of mischief she could really get into. She’d be locked in the room and there was no reason for Tom to open the door while he was gone. “You might want to use that bed and get some sleep.”

“Don’t hurry back.”

The sugar in her voice sent up a warning flag but Brent didn’t have time to figure out what she was stewing up in that pretty head of hers. The senator was waiting for his call.

“Senator…”

“What the hell is going on? I thought we’d decided not to contact Jonathan. This was supposed to look like Sophie getting cold feet about the wedding and taking off on her own!” the senator barked, interrupting Brent before he could fill him in. “Jonathan phoned me ten minutes ago with news he thinks she’s been kidnapped.”

Brent released a deep sigh. “An unforeseen change in plans, Senator. The best I can guess is that someone called security with a complaint they heard something. When the guards came to investigate they must have grown suspicious when they found Sophie’s apartment empty. Being that Lord owns the building and his relationship with her, they apparently didn’t waste any time contacting him.”

“What a mess, Brent. Knowing Jonathan, this will be on the news before daybreak. You know what this means, don’t you? Law enforcement will be involved, the FBI if they suspect a kidnapping. This puts you in a terrible situation.”

“Won’t be the first time I’ve been in trouble,” Brent pointed out.

“No doubt. Hell, Brent, for the first time in my life I’m not sure which direction to take. Everything seemed so easy when we discussed it, but now…”

“Maybe we should release her and call the whole thing off,” Brent advised, picking up on the defeat in the senator’s tone. Turning Sophie loose was just fine with him. She’d been nothing but trouble from the get-go.

After a long pause Senator Adams replied, “No. It’s done now. You might as well keep her for a couple days. Hopefully that will give me enough time to complete my investigation.”

“It’s your call,” Brent retorted in a neutral tone.

“How’s she holding up?”

The senator should be asking Brent how he was holding up. “She’s fine for the time being,” he responded, his gaze shooting to the bedroom door. All was quiet. With a little luck she was sleeping now, or close to it.

“I know having her kidnapped was a bit extreme but it was completely necessary in my book,” the senator said in a tone that sounded as if he was trying to convince himself. “Be careful with her, Brent, she’s a delicate flower and needs to be handled with kid gloves. Much too sweet for the likes of Lord.”

Delicate flower, are we talking about the same woman?
Sophie was resourceful and unpredictable, the marks on his chest proof of that. She wasn’t afraid to fend for herself. No, the senator obviously didn’t have a clue that behind those round innocent eyes his sweet, delicate flower was a she-cat in lamb’s clothing.

“By the way, where are you keeping her?” The senator’s deep voice cut into Brent’s silent thoughts. “Somewhere close?”

“You know I won’t tell you that, Senator, especially now. A slip-up would be easy. The less you know about her whereabouts or anything else, the better.” Secondly, it was the only way he could control the situation, which was what he was getting paid to do. He heard the senator expel an exasperated sigh, clearly struggling between common sense and paternal instincts. “You focus on your end and let me do my job.”

“You’re right of course. Until I find out what Lord is holding over her…” He clearly couldn’t go on. Incensed into uncharacteristic silence and obviously consumed with the thought Sophie was being forced into something against her will.

The senator had told Brent his suspicions a week earlier during their first meeting. He was convinced Sophie would never be attracted to a power-hungry, unscrupulous bastard like Lord. Brent only hoped his temporary solution paid off because if it didn’t the senator was going to lose his daughter, and he’d probably end up in jail for the next twenty-five years.

“Have you given any thought to what you’re going to do next?” Senator Adams asked gruffly. “When are you going to officially contact Jonathan?”

It was only natural he wanted things to move along at a fast pace, considering he was known as the senator without a watch. Patience was definitely not one of his virtues. Brent started to smile before digesting the meaning in his comment. “You want me to contact him?” he inquired with disbelief.

“Why not?” Brent could hear the shrug of indifference in his brisk reply. “Maybe the truth will come out if it hits him in the wallet.”

Brent frowned. “Sounds like you want me to ask for a ransom.” He didn’t mind helping out an old friend but there was such a thing as going too far. Holding Sophie against her will for a couple days could be overlooked with the senator’s help.

“I really don’t care what you do as long as you keep Sophie from him until I learn the truth,” he said with hatred in his voice.

Brent didn’t like the sound of that, deciding not to ask the obvious. If holding Sophie lasted more than a few days, he’d be forced to take matters into his own hands. “I’ll contact Lord in a couple days, then.” After he had time to figure out what to say.

“What? Why the delay? You’ve always been a man of action, taking charge as soon as the situation warranted it. That’s why I asked you to help me.” In addition to the fact they were cut from the same cloth. The senator had a vicious reputation for backing up his mouth.

“Control,” Brent said simply. “Lord is a control freak. Let him worry about what might be happening to his lovely fiancée. Once I contact him it will drive him insane knowing she’s with another man.”

“Jonathan doesn’t care for anyone but himself!” the senator snapped. “He wants Sophie as a trophy wife and to get to me. He thinks he’ll have me under his thumb once he’s my son-in-law. He has the reputation of a shark. I can’t prove anything but I’m almost certain he’s the reason Phil Brody stepped down from running for governor last year.”