Yours Completely (Billionaires and Brides 1)

“I'll ruin you.” Delores glared at her and for a moment Ella's cou

rage faltered.

“No. I deserve this inn. I don't deserve you.” Ella squared her shoulders. “And you, Delores Phillips, most certainly don't deserve me.”

Jace squeezed her shoulders. She didn't need it, but she appreciated it. His support made this easier.

Delores started to laugh. No, it wasn't even a laugh. It was a cackle. A shrieking, demonic sound that made the hairs on Ella's arms stand on end. The woman was insane. She'd lost it.

“Excuse me, you are Delores Phillips?” The man from the IRS had stepped over at the sound of the name.

“I am.” Delores glared at him. Ella decided he must not be human, because any one else would have turned to stone under her gaze. The IRS must have very confident employees.

“I'm glad to finally have your attention,” the man said. He pulled out a letter from a sleeve of his briefcase and handed it to her. “You may want a lawyer.”

“I can't deal with this right now,” Delores informed him, tossing the letter to the ground behind her. It hit the cement with an audible thud that made Ella wince.

The tax man stared at the letter, his eyes surprised yet face hard. “I wouldn't recommend that.”

“Get out of my inn,” Delores hissed at him, turning her fury toward the interloper. “Get out of my sight before I call the cops on you!”

The tax man stared at her for a moment before shrugging and walking away. A taxi pulled up behind him and he stepped inside. Ella swallowed hard. There was nothing good that would come of this. Tax men and formal letters were never happy things. Especially given the amount of letters from the IRS she'd seen tossed in Delores's shred bin.

With the tax man gone, Delores returned her fury to Ella.

“You.” Delores said the word with so much hatred that Ella could feel it wash over her like a wave of molten lava.

But Ella held her ground.

“You can't do anything to me.” Ella stood confident, knowing Jace was behind her.

Delores lunged, her hands outstretched and nails ready to claw. Ella ducked, twisting into Jace and expecting pain to arrive at any moment. But Delores never connected.

Ella opened her eyes to see two huge security guards holding Delores's arms. They were as big as mountains, yet Ella hadn't seen them anywhere until then.

“Mr. Connor, are you all right?” one of the mountains asked. He held Delores's struggles as if she were a kitten.

“Yes, thank you, Anderson,” Jace assured him. “Would you please put her inside until she can calm down? I believe her office will work.”

“Yes, sir.” The two mountains picked up Delores and carried her inside as if she were a small, unruly child while Ella stared open mouthed and astonished.

“What just happened?” she asked, staring after the two security personnel and her stepmother.

“She attacked. Anderson and Smith don't tolerate any threats on me or those close to me.” Jace shrugged as if it were nothing.

“Oh.” Ella couldn't seem to pick her jaw up off the floor. “I didn't even know they were there.”

“They're always there. You aren't supposed to see them,” Jace explained. He put his hand to her cheek and smoothed the hair away from her face. “Are you okay?”

“I think so. I'll let you know once my heart starts back up.”

Jace chuckled and kissed her cheek. She smiled meekly at him and then turned and quickly went to the envelope still on the ground. Her hands shook as she picked it up, though she was trying her best to still them. It took tries to get the letter open.

“What's it say?” Jace asked. His face was soft and full of concern for her.

“It's bad.” Ella felt like falling through the floor. “Apparently, my stepmother hasn't paid taxes on this place in a very long time.”

The more she read, the more she felt like the world was collapsing around her. The amount of back taxes on the inn was more than Ella had saved in all her years working here. As soon as she inherited, those taxes would be hers.