A Price on Freedom

dear, you must be exhausted. Let me show you to a guest room where you can rest." She place

boring into my back. She saw me as a threat, an intruder. That

y mind, Chloe's mind, raced, processing the last few hours. I had escaped David's trap and landed in the fortress of the Stone family. Bu

wledge from the future. The marriage of convenience I had proposed in my head was no longer a vague idea, it was a necessity. It was the

he tech genius. I was Emily Hayes, the country girl. I had to play this part perfectly. I had t

Alex. He stood in the doorway, his uniform impeccable, his fa

ned about you," he s

I replied, keepin

, his eyes analytical, searchin

you expect

dmitted. "Or someone more obviousl

ng, you learn to be calm. Hysterics don't put food on the tab

uating. He was a man who dealt in facts and evidence, and the facts in front of

mal affair in a dining room that could have seated thirty. Clara and M

said, pouring me a cup of coffee

you, Mrs. St

in town that the 'difficult night' was because she was caught

the wings of gossip by people like Sarah Jenkins. He

eanor asked, her kind fa

eyes. "David and I had an argument. He... he has a temper. I was frightened, so I went to the hotel to be

to be there?" Clara interjected

alked into the room, drawing everyone's attention. "Miss Hayes was in the wrong place at the wrong t

acknowledgment. "My investigation confirmed that David Clark has connections to individuals we are moni

hat does that mean?" I allowed

s you've brought troubl

no longer safe on your own. David Clark will not let this go. He will

ing to her mouth. "Oh, my. A

de with calculated fear. "Then I don't know what to do.

nor. He had inadvertently dragged me into his world, and his code woul

my mind was sharp and clear. The pieces were moving into place. He thought he was

ody. Just send her away with some money. Why is she our problem?" He glared at me, his face a mask of petu

hering. "This is not

pawn on a board I was just beginning to understand. But I wasn't just a pawn