His Every Desire

She hated making the threat. She hated that it had come to this, but now that the words were spoken, she didn't really have a choice. Not if she wanted to save him.

Mr. Hayes' eyes flashed with fury. If Tracy weren't so frightened for him, she would have been terrified of that look. "You know what? Fine. I'm sorry to do this Jenna, but please take off your shoes."

Jenna turned completely pale. "N… no."

Mr. Hayes chuckled and put his hand on her arm in a comforting motion. "It's fine, I'll return them immediately. I'll even buy you new ones if Tracy damaged them."

Jenna looked towards the exit. She took a step backwards. "You can't see them."

Mr. Hayes turned to face her completely. His hand dropped from her arm."What?"

Jenna looked as if she had something else to say, then suddenly ran for the door, surprisingly fast for someone on high heels. Tracy knew there was no way for her to catch up, and Mr. Hayes was in shock. "Stop her!" Tracy cried out.

There was too much security at the door for her to just run out. One of the security guards caught her before she could escape. Jenna cried out hysterically, obviously terrified. Tears streamed down her face as she struggled to get free. Tracy pitied her. She pitied the girl for what was going to come next. Paul Hayes was not one to take this kind of thing lightly.

Chapter 15

There were six people in the upstairs room of the mountain chalet while the rest of the party bustled along downstairs unknowing of the treachery above. John Tice sat in a chair in the corner, his head in his hands. Tracy and Mr. Hayes sat next to one another on a love seat with their hands held tightly together. Greg, the security chief, and James, Mr. Hayes' personal assistant, argued about what should be done, while Jenna sat with her hands zip-tied to a chair.

The vial had been small, small enough to fit in Jenna's heel compartment. Greg's men had whisked it away to be analyzed, but Greg had smelled the hidden compartment it came from. "Smell the almond smell? Cyanide. You would have been dead before you hit the ground if you’d drank it."

At first, John had fought the men to try to get his daughter released, but had relented when they said that they hadn’t called the cops yet. He was obviously a powerful man, but he knew when to quit. Something about him made Tracy uneasy, as if he could turn on them in a second, but Tracy assumed it was simply because his daughter had just tried to murder her boyfriend.

As the men argued in front of Jenna, John turned to his daughter and asked, "You weren't going to kill Paul, were you?"

"Yes, I was," she replied, matter-of-factly. Tracy's blood ran cold to hear her say it so calmly.

John's face turned beet red. "I forbid you to say another word until our lawyer gets here," he commanded, and she obeyed. She always obeyed him.

Eventually, James and Greg went to talk to John. They spoke in hushed tones, then the three men walked over to Mr. Hayes and Tracy. The two of them stood as the men approached.

James started. "Mr. Hayes, I think you can agree with us that this is a delicate situation."

Mr. Hayes nodded slowly.

"Jenna won't tell us why she wanted you dead, or if anyone put her up to it. If she won't tell her father, she won't tell the police either," James continued.

"Go on," Mr. Hayes said. His stance was easy and confident, but Tracy could see the tension growing in his jaw.

James took a deep breath. "We all think it would be best if you let Jenna go with her father. He would ensure that she never steps foot in this city again, and that she would be accompanied by two men at all times."

Mr. Hayes sneered. "The benefit of being rich, I suppose. I can trust you to place your own daughter under arrest, rather than leave her to the mercy of the justice system."

John looked solemn as he held out his hands, palms up in a gesture of openness. "You can trust me. You always can."

Tracy was incredulous. The woman had basically confessed to murder, yet they were talking about just letting go. "There's no way we can let her go. She…"

Mr. Hayes cut her off and continued. "You've always been like a father to me, John. I owe you so much. I would like it if our relationship weren't impacted by this incident," he said. He paused, his eyes narrowing for a moment as a thought occurred to him. "I have a question, though. Did James suggest that I go to this ball with Jenna?"

John nodded, his eyes wide. "How did you know?"

"James told me that you insisted that she be my date tonight.” Something dangerous flashed in Mr. Hayes' eyes as he put the connection together. “James, I don't know if you're a part of this conspiracy or not, but I can't have you in my organization any more."

James' eyes bugged out of his head. "Conspiracy? What!? But…"

"But nothing. You've never wanted me to be with Tracy. It was you who let Jenna know that we were going to the salsa club, wasn't it?" Mr. Hayes took a step toward the man. He wasn't much taller than James, yet James shrank before him.

James sputtered. "Yes, b-but I never meant for her to hurt you. Either of you! I knew that you wanted to be with her anyway! I was looking out for your best interests! Jenna was a better match!"