Sinners & Gin - Top Shelf

“Fantastic,” she mumbled again as she crossed her arms against her chest. “Sounds delightful.”

I didn’t know what else to say. I was pissed at myself for not thinking everything through. This spontaneous act of kidnapping my foe’s daughter could go down as the most idiotic move I had ever made simply because I didn’t figure in every factor. All I’d seen was red.

Now what?

I’d fucked her, which I had planned. But now the ache in the pit of my stomach made me question doing it again. She was mine now, in a place her father would never be able to find her, but now I didn’t know how long I truly wanted to keep her with me. I expected to be more of an asshole about this, and here I was telling her about clothes and bath products. It would have been a hell of a lot easier if this woman fought me the entire way and I had to have her tied up and gagged. Then I could just be the fucking monster that I wanted to be.

But no. She just sat there. Compliant.

“How do you know I won’t try to run away when you leave me to conduct business?” she finally said as we drove another slow, agonizing mile of bumps and dips that had my spine rattling with every jarring move.

“Run where?” I said. “Have you not been paying attention to this road? It would take you days to try to get to the nearest town by foot. There won’t be any phones or computers at the house. So, you might as well try to get escape ideas out of your head right now.”

“Or what? You’ll chain me to a chair in the basement?”

“Or you’ll die,” I snapped. “You’ll either freeze to death trying to hike off the mountain, or some animal will eat you.” I glared at her for a split second before I had to focus back on the road. “I told you. If you do everything right, you’ll be returned to your father.”

“You mean if my father does everything right?” she corrected. “And what if he doesn’t? Have you considered that? You’re assuming he actually cares about me enough to follow your orders and pay whatever ransom it is you want.”

“He will.”

“You don’t know my father. You don’t know how he feels about me. Do you really think he’s crying and distraught over the fact that you’ve kidnapped me?”

“Any father would do what it takes to get his daughter back.”

She huffed. “You’ll see. And exactly what is it that he has to do? Money? Is it money you want?”

“I have plenty of money. More than your father.”

“Then what?”

The house came into view. Finally. My ass and back couldn’t take any more driving. A stream of smoke coming out of the chimney told me that Tennessee had arrived as planned, and knowing him, would have the house staged like it belonged in some magazine or home reality show. Oddly, it made me happy and proud to know that Aria would be safe and comfortable within the walls of my home.

She shook her head and smirked. “Yeah, I would say this house is a step up from the shack we were just in.”

The five-bedroom, 3500 square foot cabin, made out of heavy cedar logs wasn’t nearly as large as some of my properties, but it had a level of rustic charm about it that made it one of my favorites. The wrap around porch with the rocking chairs, wind chimes, and large carved bear with a welcome sign in its paws always made me smile as I approached. I didn’t really have a home per se. I had many of them. But this one always filled me with a sense of comfort. The twenty acres of land that surrounded it also fed into my need to own property. Since most of my businesses were in New Orleans, New York, Los Angeles and other metropolitan cities, this cabin in the woods gave me a sense of truly having a homestead rather than just several skyrise penthouses or expensive mansions in the suburbs—all of which I owned as well.

Pulling up to the house, I took a deep breath to try to release all the tension in my shoulders from the drive.

“It’s pretty,” she said. “Only the best cages for me, I suppose.”

I opened the door of the truck, eager to get out. “I suppose.”

There wasn’t any snow on the ground, but the ground would no doubt be freezing cold since a storm was clearly brewing on the horizon. Whether or not Aria wanted me to or not, I walked around to her side of the truck, opened the door, and lifted her into my arms as we were making a habit of doing. Her eyes darted around, no doubt taking in her surroundings. I wouldn’t blame her one bit if she were seeing if there were any opportunities for escape. There weren’t of course, but she wouldn’t be human if she didn’t at least consider the option.