He… he meant it. She knew he did. If she chose death to escape him, the crazy bastard w
ould be right behind her.
A choked sob broke free, causing her to bow forward at the sudden realization.
I’ll never be rid of him.
Sensing her despair, Tommy moved again. Her head jerked up in time to see the moonlight above wink off his silver tie clip. The quick glance was the only warning she had before he closed the gap between them by half.
Dropping the heft of the awful wedding gown, Grace threw her hands out in warning as she pulled herself up to her full height. Her chest heaved beneath the bodice; a combination of fear and the tight fit had her gasping for breath.
“I told you to stay back.”
“I don’t want it to come to this. Tell me what you want. Anything. You’ll have it, and we can forget this silly idea of jumping anywhere. What do you say?”
That was just like Tommy. No matter what, he thought his money and his power and his connections meant that he could buy her. As if some bauble or a trinket would make this okay. There was only one thing in this world she wanted from him.
“Call Boone off.”
“Grace—”
She leaned back.
“Fine. Fine. If I spare him, you’ll stop this?”
“You leave him alone. You call off Boone, you make sure that Rick’s okay. You do that, Tommy, and I’ll go with you.”
“Only if you forget about him, too. You’re mine. Not his. But I’ll do anything to have you, and if this is what you’re asking—”
“It is.”
“Then consider it done, my love.”
She fought the urge to gag when he called her that. This was too important. She could save Rick. There would be time to jump, time to run later on. For now, her only focus was on saving the man she thought she might love.
“Do it now,” she said.
Tommy nodded, pulling the radio off of his belt. It was smaller than the ones Maria and Rick had, more compact, but it seemed to work the same way. He flicked a knob on the side. A red light appeared in the darkness, the indicator that the radio was on. Just as he was lifting it up to his mouth, a soft pop split the still air.
It was followed by two more in quick succession.
Pop. Pop.
“No.” The word escaped in a whimper. “Rick, no.”
Her legs buckled beneath her. She toppled forward, her sob muffled by the hands that flew to her face.
Tommy’s radio landed with a crack on the cobblestone road. He flung it to the side as he rushed forward, gathering Grace up in his arms and pulling her away from the edge
“Don’t mourn him, Grace,” he snapped, shaking her limp body like a rag doll as she cried. “Don’t you dare.”
“You monster! What did he ever do to you?”
“He tried to take my bride from me. Don’t you think that’s enough?”
Through her tears, she managed to get out, “I’m not your bride.”
Tommy ran his arms down the lace bodice, the ruffles that flowed around him as he squeezed her close. “Not yet. But you will be before morning.”