Cade sucked in a breath. That was it.
That’s why Blaine wanted to stay married.
He quickly said his goodbyes and jogged to his car, dialing Rosalyn’s number on the way. She might not want to forgive him or stick around town for him.
But if his hunch was right, Blaine was much more desperate than either of them would have thought.
twenty-eight
“Blaine. You scared me.” Rosalyn pressed her hand over her racing heart as she tugged her gear bag up on her shoulder. Shadows crisscrossed the tent, his form still partially obscured in darkness as he approached. “What are you doing?”
Relief that it wasn’t someone else—some unknown gangster—was so potent she almost didn’t care why he was there.
Almost.
Blaine came closer, into the glow of the fairy lights, his face flushed, collar unbuttoned. “We’ve got to go.”
Oh man. He’d lost it. Fear flickered, and then she remembered—he was a bully. She lifted her chin. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
Then she pushed past him, out of the tent, into the festival grounds. The balmy night air caressed her sweaty neck, and she drew a steadying breath. The parking lot was to her right, and she strode toward it, heart thrumming.Don’t follow me, don’t follow?—
His hand caught her wrist. “Wrong way, doll.”
“Don’tcall me that.” She whirled around, tugged free. “Let me go.”
“That’s a little bossy.” His eyes flashed. “Seeing how you have zero cards to play here.”
“Have you lost your mind?” She backstepped away from him, noting the whites of his eyes, the taut set of his shoulders, his mussed hair. This wasn’t the buttoned-up, professional Blaine she knew.
This was a desperate man.
“No, Rosalyn, you’re the crazy one if youdon’tcome with me.” He took her elbow, started hustling her toward the opposite end of the parking lot. “Do you have any idea who we’re dealing with?”
She started to resist his propelling her forward, then paused. Maybe if she went along with it, she could catch him off guard, get away long enough to run to her car. Her phone was zipped in her bag, nowhere near reach to send a subtle text.
She steeled her voice, hid her nerves. “You’re the one who took out the loan. Why are you worried about it now? I have the money—or most of it. Pay it off and be done with this. Then we can both stop looking over our shoulder.”
“You don’t get it.” His grip tightened on the sensitive skin about her elbow and she flinched. “It’s not just your loan…and you don’t have enough to pay it off, anyway.”
“What do you mean? I saw my accounts?—”
“You think you got it all figured out, don’t you?” Blaine shook her arm, made atsk. “Don’t worry, I found a loophole—as I’d planned.”
She stopped hard, throwing him off balance. “Whatare you talking about?”
He let go of her, squared off. Parking lot shadows sent sharp angles across his face. A cloud drifted in front of the moon, casting an eerie glow through the haze. “You might be a star, Rosalyn, but you’re so gullible. Do you really think marrying me was the only way out of Saudi Arabia?”
Her breath hitched. Surely he didn’t?—
“I knew you’d eventually wise up to your money being moved around, so I made a backup plan while I had the chance. Foreign country, you having that silly fit. All the puzzle pieces came together like magic.” He smirked. “Being Mr. Rosalyn Dupree now gives me all kinds of perks.”
It had all been a scam…Her stomach clenched. She wanted to throw up. “You lied to me.”
“Of course I lied, Rosalyn.” Blaine scoffed. He pulled his key fob from his pocket, and headlights from a silver Porsche flashed a few yards away. “Who doesn’t lie when they owe the Mafia an insane amount of gambling debt? You’re more naive than I thought.”
“You used my money—usedme—as a launch pad for gambling?”
He tilted his head, shrugged. “If that’s what you want to call it.”
