His Blackmailed Bride

‘Why?’ she whispered. ‘Why do you do it? I don’t understand you.’

Gardiner leaped to his feet. ‘Why do you think?’ he cried. ‘No risk, no gain. I always tried to tell that to you and your mother. But neither of you understood; you thought it was all a silly game.’

‘We did understand. You wanted better things for us. But we had all we needed, Father. You gave us everything.’

He shrugged her words aside. ‘Do you know what it’s like to handle money for the rich when you have none of your own?’ His eyes grew fierce. ‘“Did we lose a few thousand today, Gardiner? Well, not to worry, there’s more where that came from.”’ The mimicry left his voice and he thrust his jaw forward. ‘I’m as smart as any of them. Hell, the only difference between the people I’ve worked my life away for and me is how much risk they’re willing to take.’ He bent towards her. ‘I could have made a fortune this time, Paige. I’ve got a formula for predicting the market that will…’

Her father was still talking, but Paige wasn’t listening. How could she and her mother have been so blind? Perhaps it had simply been easier to smile at his get-rich schemes than admit the truth—that he had a dangerous obsession, an addiction that had finally driven him into a desperate corner.

In only Quinn were here. Quinn would know what to do. But he was gone; she didn’t even have a number where she could reach him. And he wouldn’t be back until the end of next week. And by then, her father might be…

‘All right,’ she said, ‘all right. I’ll lend you what you need.’

Her father laughed aloud. ‘Bless you, child. I’ll return every penny—with interest. My formula…’

‘I don’t want to hear about your formula,’ Paige said sharply. ‘You need help, Father. You…’ A look at his face told her to save her breath. This wasn’t the time for lectures. Besides, her father would no more see his problem than she or her mother had. With a sigh of resignation, she rose from her chair. ‘Just let me get my chequebook,’ she said. ‘How much do you need?’

He pursed his lips and ran his finger beneath his shirt collar. ‘Ten thousand dollars.’

The words seemed to echo through the room. Paige stared at her father in silence for what seemed for ever.

‘Ten thousand dollars?’

He nodded. ‘I’ll pay it back,’ he said quickly.

‘But I assumed—I thought you needed a few hundred.’

He laughed unpleasantly. ‘I’d hardly have come this distance for a few hundred dollars, Paige. What I need is ten thousand.’

She shook her head. ‘I haven’t got it.’

‘What do you mean, you haven’t got it? Your husband’s wealthy.’

‘I have less than a thousand in my bank account, Father. In dollars, that’s…’

‘I know what it is,’ he said angrily. ‘That’s impossible, Paige. You must have more than that.’

‘It’s all I have. The other accounts are in Quinn’s name.’ Paige looked at her father. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said softly. ‘There’s nothing I can do.’

Andrew Gardiner turned white. ‘They’ll kill me. They’ve done it before. The man who told me about these people—he warned me, he said he knew somebody who’d borrowed from them and couldn’t repay and he… he just disappeared.’

Her heart thudded. ‘Go to the police.’

‘The police? That would only make things worse. You don’t talk to the police about men like this, not if you want to stay healthy.’ Her father sank into the chair again. ‘You’ve got to think of something,’ he said, running his hands through his fair hair. ‘Surely you must have something of value.’

Her hand went to her breasts, protectively seeking Quinn’s ruby before she remembered that it was on the table in the bedroom.

‘Jewellery,’ her father said, as if he could read her mind. ‘He must have given you jewellery.’

‘No,’ she said quickly. ‘Nothing.’ Not Quinn’s ring. Never that.

His eyes narrowed. ‘It’s my life we’re talking about, Paige. You wouldn’t hold out on me.’

‘Father. I…’

‘Think, girl,’ he said roughly. ‘Is there a safe in the house?’

‘No,’ she said again, and then, suddenly, she remembered coming into the library that morning and finding Quinn at the campaign table.