Authors: Kate Hopkins
"This isn't our last week together," Simon told her. "You're staying with me."
"Simon, you-"
"Drink your milk, sweetheart, before it gets cold." She opened her mouth and he silenced her with a finger pressed to her lips. "No arguing, please. Not tonight."
"All right."
"Thank you." He watched with his heart in his throat while she drank the milk.
. . . .
Twenty-five minutes later, Haley was out like a light. Taking his time, despite the adrenaline coursing through him, Simon put her shoes on her feet, wrapped her in a blanket, and scooped her up in his arms. She whimpered and then snuggled against him. He carried her downstairs, through the foyer, and into the living room. Marian and Daniel, who were sitting on the couch talking, glanced up.
"Let's get the show on the road," Daniel said quietly, standing.
"Call me when you get to the cabin, dear," Marian said to Simon.
"I will," he mouthed.
Daniel led the way across the foyer, outside, and to the car. He opened the back passenger side door and moved around to the driver's side. Simon gently laid Haley down on the back seat. He made sure the blanket covered her so that she would stay warm and closed the door.
"Let's hope she's a deep sleeper and that the pill does its job well," Daniel muttered when Simon got into the car. "If not we're in for a world of hurt."
"No talking," Simon murmured. "Just drive."
"Got it."
. . . .
The plane was fueled and waiting on the tarmac when Daniel, Simon and Haley arrived less than thirty minutes later. While Daniel saw to it that the suitcases were loaded into the belly of the plane, Simon carried Haley on board. He belted her into a seat and headed up front to speak with the pilots in the cockpit. "How long until we're able to take off?" he asked them.
"Five minutes," one of the pilots informed him.
"Good," Simon said. "The sooner the better." He left the cockpit and went back down the stairs to speak with Daniel. "We're getting ready to take off. I'll call you when we land."
"You do that." Daniel hugged him. "Don't worry about anything on the home front or at the office. I'll take care of everything while you're gone."
"Thanks." He returned the hug. "I owe you one."
"Nah. We're even now." Daniel released him and stepped back. "Have a safe flight."
"From your mouth to Gods ears." Simon hurried back on board. Thankfully, Haley was still out. He sat down beside her and strapped himself in.
A few minutes later, the plane began to move. It taxied down the runway, slowly picking up speed. When it left the ground Simon looked over at Haley, reminding himself that he was doing this for her and for him. "No turning back now, sweetheart," he whispered. "I just hope you won't hate me for what I've done."
Chapter 32
Haley jerked upright in bed, her chest heaving and her heart pounding. Her eyes scanned the unfamiliar surroundings and immediately the dream she just had was forgotten. As a feeling of dread washed over her, she racked her brain trying to remember what happened last night. It was all a blank. Panic rose within her. She took several deep breaths and told herself to calm down. Nothing good came from letting fear take control. She pressed a trembling hand to her forehead.
"It's all right, sweetheart."
Haley turned her head and saw Simon standing in the doorway. "What-"
"Please, let me speak before you say anything." He moved toward the bed and stopped at the foot of it. "I couldn't accept you leaving me." He cleared this throat. "The thought of never seeing you again . . . of living without you was more than I could stand. So I came up with a plan. Actually, I had help, but I'm not going to rat out my partner in crime. Anyway, I decided to kidnap you and-"
"You-"
"Shh, honey." Simon perched on the side of the bed. "Let me finish. I decided to kidnap you and bring you here to the family cabin. The plan is that we won't go back until you agree to stay with me." He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "I imagine you have questions. You can ask me anything."
"I don't remember what happened last night," Haley croaked.
"That's probably a side effect of the sleeping pill," he answered. "I uh- slipped a sleeping pill into the cup of warm milk I gave you."
"You drugged me!" she cried out. Anger sprang to life inside of her along with a feeling of being betrayed.
"Yes," Simon said quietly. "I knew you wouldn't leave willingly. I had to find a way to get you on the plane and then here." He looked into her eyes, his pleading with her to forgive him. "I'm not proud of what I did, sweetheart. It was wrong and I hated like hell that I had to sink to Chad's level, but you have to understand that what I did came from a place of love and of-"
"Love!" Haley snapped. "You don't drug and kidnap someone you love."
"When you're as desperate as I was you will do anything," he said. "I understand that you're upset and angry with me. I don't blame you. You have every right-"
"I won't stay here with you," she blurted, her eyes shooting daggers at him. "The only way you're going to keep me here is by locking me in this room."
"I would never do that to you." Simon got to his feet and stared down at her. "There are no locked doors in this house. You're not my prisoner. You may leave if you want to, but let me give you a little information first. We're in a remote area. The nearest cabin is miles away. Also, I watched the weather channel earlier. There's a nasty storm heading this way. The last thing you need is to be caught out in it. It's cold out there. You don't need to get sick again." He turned and headed for the door. "I had Gran pack you a suitcase. If you want to get dressed and join me for breakfast-"
"Go to hell!" Haley grabbed a pillow and hurled it at him. It missed him and hit a floor lamp instead. The lamp swayed and then fell over.
Calmly, Simon picked up the pillow and stood the lamp back up. He retraced his steps and put the pillow on the bed. "Breakfast is in ten minutes." He left the bedroom, closing the door behind him.
Haley snatched up the pillow, buried her face in it, and screamed.
. . . .
Dressed and composed, Haley emerged from the bedroom, ten minutes later. She made her way along the hallway, glancing into rooms as she passed them. Walking down the stairs, she found herself in a spacious living room. There was a large fireplace with a flat screen TV above the mantle. A huge brown leather sectional couch sat in the center of the room. Windows that showed amazing views of the property caught and held her attention. She wandered over to a window that took up a big portion of the wall and looked out. Trees were all that she saw. Simon had spoken the truth when he said they were in a remote area.
Haley's heart sank. How was she going to escape when they were in the middle of nowhere? She didn't even know what state she was in anymore. Was she still in New York?
Damn you, Simon,
she thought.
How could you do this to me?
"The views are the reason why my father bought this place," Simon told her as he stopped beside her. "You should see the view from the window in the library."
"The only view I want to see is the one in the rearview mirror as I'm leaving." Haley turned away from the window. A wave of dizziness hit her like a ton of bricks. She gasped.
"What's wrong?" Simon took her by the arms. "Haley-"
"I got dizzy." She glared at him. "It's probably another side effect from the pill you slipped me." She tried to break free of his grasp. He wouldn't let go. "Let go of me."
"Not until your dizziness passes. Now stop struggling."
Haley grew still and waited for everything to stop spinning. She stared at Simon, who stared back. A mixture of pain, anger and love swept through her. She didn't know whether she wanted
to kiss him or hit him. She did neither. "If I'm not back by the weekend Chad is going to be furious. When he finds out that we're gone, he's going to put the pieces together and your life will be in danger. It's not too late to right things. You take me back now and nothing bad-"
"Has your dizziness passed?" he asked concerned.
"Yes," she answered. "You have-"
"I'm not taking you back." Simon released her. "Not yet. Not until you promise me that you won't leave me."
"Then we will be here forever," she growled.
He reached out and caressed her cheek with his fingertips. Love shining in his eyes, he muttered, "Forever, here alone with you, would be like heaven."
"And forever without you would be like hell," she whispered, "which is what I will be living in after Chad kills you. Love, you have to take me back."
"No," Simon said firmly. "Breakfast is getting cold."
"I'm not hungry," Haley uttered coolly. "Besides, I don't trust you. For all I know you could've slipped something into my food."
"I have no reason to do that," he stated. "If you don't want to eat then don't. I'm not going to force you." He pivoted on his heels and left her standing there.
That afternoon found Simon in the library. It was a large room with floor to ceiling bookshelves that lined the walls. The only furniture was a pair of matching wing backed chairs. Occupying one of the chairs, Simon had his laptop open on his lap and was sorting through his email. He was trying to stay busy so he wouldn't have time to think about Haley and their current situation.
Simon's cell phone rang, shattering the silence. He removed the phone from his pocket, flipped it open, and pressed the talk button. "Hello?"
"Hello, dear," Marian greeted him. "How are you and Haley doing?"
"You could cut the tension with a knife," he replied.
"That bad, is it?"
"Yes." He closed the laptop and placed it on the small table next to him. "Haley's furious with me. She won't talk to me and she's refusing to come out of her room."
"Give her time," she told him. "Right now she's hurt and angry. She will come around eventually."
"I hope so." Simon rose from the chair and moved toward the window on the other side of the room. "I don't like it when she's mad at me." He glanced out and saw the sky was dark and angry looking. "Let's change the subject. Have you met with the private investigator yet?"
"I have," Marian responded. "I met with Mr. Dunbar this morning. He was more than happy to take our case."
"Of course he was," he said dryly. "He's going to make a small fortune off me."