The Art of Retaliation (13 page)

Satisfied she had been stunned in to silence and obedience the
billionaire left and disappeared back inside the Chateau and to her horror she
didn’t dare move.

Mara sat alone on the stone seat waiting patiently, fuming at her
decision not to move and do as she was told.
 
She didn’t fancy going back inside and
facing Abdul again and she hated admitting that she was actually allowing
herself to rely on
Stephane’s
protection.
 
After quarter of an hour the Butler
appeared in front of her and requested she follow him to
Mr
Garreau’s
study where she was wanted urgently.

“I thought you told me to keep away from him?” Mara said
sarcastically staring with venom at Abdul who was sitting comfortably in a red
leather chair at the fireside in
Stephane’s
study.

She had a bad feeling about Abdul’s presence, a very bad
feeling.
 
The Butler closed the
heavy wood door behind her and she had the strange feeling that the walls of
the room were closing in around her.
 
She took an agitated breath and Abdul smiled.

“Don’t look so worried, Mara.
 
Stepahne
and I have a proposal for you that
will be a better alternative to spending the rest of your life in prison on a
trumped up charge.”

Mara glanced at
Stephane
who appeared
angry and was centering most of it on his mother outside the window chatting to
friends in the grounds.

Abdul stood and caught Mara’s hand bringing his lips down on it.

“The fact is, Mara, I need a wife.
 
I am not getting any younger and I need
a child.
 
Instead of prison we think
this would be a better idea.”

The words drifted on the air, a distant echo she wasn’t sure she was
hearing right.
 
Wide eyed with
horror she stared at
Stephane
.
 
He was glaring at Abdul, his eyes a
piercing blue ice that appeared ready to sprout daggers that would kill the man
in one strike.
 
She gave a nervous
laugh.
 
This had to be a joke.

“This is a joke isn’t it?
 
Isn’t it,
Stephane
,” she almost
screamed.

Stephane
couldn’t
find any words.
 
His mouth felt
paralyzed.
 
His mother had changed
the plan without his consent, changed the bluffed threat that to him was more
sinister and unforgivable than prison.
 
Abdul abused and kept down the women in his life.
 
There was even suspicion hanging over
his head regarding a murder of one of his conquests.
 
And then there was his involvement in
the female slave trade.
 
Rumor was
he had a lucrative business deal with slave traders in Eastern Europe.
   

There had never been any intention of doing anything to Mara.
 
It was always a con.
 
He’d felt sure Ryan would have come
through but Mara had been right he loved money much more than her.
 
Ryan wasn’t convinced that
Stephane
was capable of imprisoning Mara or hurting
her.
 
They had been friends for a
while and Ryan professed to know him too well.
 
Besides why would he let go of a good
money deal for
nothing.
 

Stephane’s
mother
had seen the exchange between Abdul and Mara.
 
The man wanted her for some reason.
 
Something was going on between them and
it wasn’t just an attraction from Abdul.
 
Stephane
knew he would be giving Mara Logan to
Abdul for a specific reason other than to be his wife and he doubted she would
live long in his grasp.
 
The thought
of her being hurt or even killed threatened to destroy him.
 
He didn’t want the man near her or
touching her.
 
She would go to him
over his dead body.

Stephane
cursed
inwardly thinking of the day his father got involved with Abdul in business a
year before his death when he was CEO of
Garreau
Aerospace against all of his advice.
 
The man was akin to Mafia but his father was desperate to work with him
because he had a wealth of impressive connections and business ideas.
 
He would not listen to his son.
 
Now in charge of the company,
Stephane
had spent the last year doing all in his power to
cut the company’s ties with Abdul delaying the project, stopping his attempts to
launder money through the company’s accounts and more.
 
So far he had been successful and Abdul
was beginning to lose interest.

The billionaire was too powerful and wealthy a man for Abdul to
threaten.
 
It would disrupt his
legitimate business face he put on to the world if anything happened to
Stephane
.
 
Instead he kept trying to quietly persuade the billionaire to work with
him often using his captivated mother to push matters forward because she owned
a stake in the company in her own right.
 
But
Stephane
couldn’t help having the nasty
feeling that Abdul might have something to do with Ryan taking his sister.

He might have persuaded Ryan to do it.
 
It was more than likely and
Stephane
was waiting for Abdul telling him that he could bring
her home as long as he stopped delaying the project and let him launder money
through the accounts.
 
But so far
Abdul had remained quiet.
 
No doubt
he was waiting until
Stephane
was desperate, watching
him sweat it out.
 
And now he wanted
Mara.
 

I’ll play your game for now
but there is no way you are taking her.
 
I will kill you first if I have to, to protect her.

“Well say something,” Mara shouted shakily at him.

The door opened and Leon slipped into the room to watch events
unfold and to lend the billionaire his support.
 
The interruption was long enough for
Stephane
to find his voice.

“If Ryan doesn’t bring my sister back, you will belong to
Abdul.
 
It is better than prison,
Mara,” he lied through clenched teeth curling his hands in to fists at his
side.
 
“It wasn’t my decision but on
reflection it is the best of two evils.
 
I am not sure I could bear to see you in prison.”

“That’s a matter of opinion.
 
Bastard,” she remarked with fierce anger making his heart sink.

Mara snatched her hand back from Abdul.
 
Stephane
watched his eyes twinkle with triumphant laughter making him want to punch
him.
 
But to his surprise Mara was
to beat him to it.
 
She curled her
hand in to a small fist and struck Abdul’s jaw hard.
 
He reacted quickly grabbing her by the
hair and dragging her by the hair to him.
 
She squealed.
 
He raised his
hand to slap her but
Stephane
knocked his hand
away.
 
Leon came to his side but he
did not need his help.

Stephane’s
arm
wound around Mara’s waist and fought to remove Abdul’s hand from her hair.
 
He achieved it easily.
 
Carrying her backwards he set her down
and forced her behind him to protect her from Abdul.

“That’s enough.
 
Don’t
dare touch her like that again or hit her.
 
If you do I will kill you,” the billionaire warned with dark menace.

Abdul stared at him anger and fury on his face and for a moment
Stephane
thought he was going to charge at him to get to
Mara.

“Ryan will come through.
 
He will bring my sister back and you won’t get your hands on Mara
despite your deal with my mother.
 
I
am in charge here not her. You go near Mara again and you will regret it.
 
Do I make myself clear?” he told the man
firmly meaning every damn word.

Slowly the dark shadow haunting Abdul’s face receded and he began to
laugh loudly.
 
Stephane’s
eyes narrowed.

“I can see what is going on here.
 
You are falling in love with her.
 
Priceless,” he continued to laugh.
 
Then he spoke more seriously and the
billionaire found the atmosphere growing cold in the room.

“Whether Ryan returns your sister or not I am coming for Mara.
 
She and I have a score to settle that
has nothing to do with you.
 
All
bets are off.
 
I will take her and
there will be nothing you can do about it.”

“Try it,”
Stephane
challenged.
 
“I know exactly what you are and what
you do to women.
 
I will stop at
nothing to keep her safe from you,” he angrily confessed.

“As you said, try it.
 
She’s mine and I won’t stop at anything to prevent her from ruining my
business.”

He pointed his finger at Mara who was leaning out from behind
Stephane
.
 
He
still held her arm in a vice grip to keep her in place behind him.

“Your time is running out, Mara.
 
He won’t be able to protect you for
long.”

“Leon, show
Mr
Hasseem
out,” the billionaire ordered.

Leon moved forward and guided Abdul to the door and followed him
out.

Stephane
let out
the breath he had been holding as Abdul disappeared through the door.
 
He let go of Mara and moved to pour
himself a glass of brandy from the drinks cabinet at the side of his desk.
 
He quickly took a sip and loosened his
bow tie.

Mara hadn’t said a word and her silence made him feel uneasy.
 
He glanced at her and found himself
taking another breath.
 
She looked
like she was going to explode with anger.
 
Her pretty features were tense and there was heavy disappointment
swirling with anger in her eyes.
 
For the second time his heart sank and filled with disappointment at
himself.

He expected her to land him a punch as well but she simply said,

“How could you?
 
I
thought . . .”

Tears ran down her cheeks before she could finish her sentence
choking her words.
 
She stopped
talking and turned on her heel to leave the room.

Unable to bear her reaction the billionaire reached for her arm to
stop her.

 
“Don’t touch me,” she
insisted pushing him away.
 
But he
refused to let her go.

“I won’t let him take you or hurt you.
 
Somehow this will all work out.
 
I will protect you.
 
I meant every word.
 
What did he mean about you and him
having a score to settle?
 
What is
going on?”

“Let me go.
 
Don’t touch
me,” she violently struggled in his grasp and reached out to slap him when he
didn’t let her go.
 
He caught her
wrists and backed her up against the wall of the gilt edged room.

“Calm down and listen to me,” he urged.
 
“I want to help you.
 
This was a deal made between Abdul by my
mother.
 
I know what that man is and
I would never have involved him in this.
 
Do you understand?”

“Understand?
 
What do you
take me for?
 
Let go of me.
 
Leave me alone.
 
My argument with Abdul is none of your
damn business.”

There were no more words, just angry sobs and struggles.
 
He stared at her searching in vain for
the right words in his head to say.
 
It loosened his grip on her wrists and she was quick to take
advantage.
 
Mara slapped his face
hard and then rushed at him banging her small fists at his chest.
 
She was a cornered animal and she was
going to come out fighting with everything she had.