Free Bound to the Bachelor by Sarah Mayberry Page B

Lily hadn’t just stopped when she’d looked over her shoulder – she’d taken a step backward. As though she was afraid.
    Beau frowned.
    It probably doesn’t mean anything .
    It might not. Then again, it might. He drummed his hands on the steering wheel. Then, giving in to instinct, he performed a sweeping U-turn.
    *
    Lily had almost gained the warmth of the foyer when someone called out.
    “ Lily .”
    She didn’t immediately recognize the voice, but when she glanced over her shoulder she was terrified as she saw the tall, intimidating man bearing down on her.
    Luther .
    Then reality kicked in and she realized it couldn’t possibly be Luther – this man was far too young, not to mention alive and breathing. She stood and blinked in surprise as her brain supplied the answer to the riddle.
    “Darren,” she said as he stopped in front of her.
    His resemblance to Luther was uncanny – he had the same broad forehead and deep-set, pale blue eyes. His hair was the also gingery-blonde, like Luther’s, but he was nowhere near as big throughout the body – even in cold weather gear, he appeared to be on the scrawny side of skinny.
    Darren’s gaze was assessing as he took in her ski gear. “You haven’t changed.”
    There was something in his tone that made her uneasy. It took her a second to recognize it as anger. But why would he be angry with her she didn’t know.
    “What are you doing here? How did you find me?” she asked.
    After fourteen years, she should probably have come up with something more welcoming, but this didn’t feel like a reunion.
    “I got your address from the lawyer.” He flicked a glance at the apartment building over her shoulder. When he refocused on her she had to repress a shiver at the coldness she saw in his eyes. “They should never have sent that money to you.”
    “You mean the bequest?” she said stupidly.
    “That money is rightfully mine. You need to sign it back over to me,” Darren said.
    “Wh-what?” She shook her head, sure she was misunderstanding him.
    He took a step closer. “You heard me. I want the ten thousand back.”
    She flinched away from the suppressed fury in his face. “I can’t give it to you. I’ve already donated it to someone else.”
    “Then you’ll have to get it back.”
    Despite her wariness, Lily felt the spark of anger. She hadn’t seen or heard from her stepbrother in fourteen years, and the first contact was about him shaking her down for money?
    “I can’t. And you know what? It’s none of your business what I did with the money. Luther left it to me.”
    Darren moved so fast she didn’t have a chance to do anything but give a yelp of fright as he lunged forward and seized her upper arm. His grip was punishing as he got right up in her face.
    “Listen here, you dumb bitch. You’re going to give that money to me or I’m going to make you regret it for the rest of your life.”
    Fear was a cold stab in her belly, seizing her muscles, stealing the breath from her lungs. For a horrible moment she was back in her bedroom again, Luther tearing at her clothes.
    “I can’t. It’s gone.”
    Darren shook her so hard her teeth clicked together. “I know all about you, Lily. How do you think the good people of this town would feel if they knew what a whore you really are?”
    He meant the stripping, of course. A bubble of hysterical, inappropriate laughter swelled her throat. Darren had no idea that the “good people” of Marietta had already judged her for her past.
    “Knock yourself out, buddy. Go nuts,” she said.
    His slap caught her full on the cheek, snapping her head to the side, making her ears ring.
    “Here’s what’s going to –”
    Suddenly, the grip on her arm was gone. Lily staggered backward, her head still ringing, trying to make sense of what she was seeing – Darren on his back on the ground, a dark figure looming over him.
    Beau.
    Lily had never been more grateful to see anyone in her life. Beau’s eyes