Billionaire's Pursuit of Love: Destiny Romance by Jennifer St George

panic from her voice.
    ‘Mum.’ He slipped from her grasp. ‘Check out all this stuff.’ But he looked into her face and read her expression. In the jungle they had subtle safety codes they used around the animals. She’d sent him a red light. Alarm registered on his young face. He followed her quickly to the doorway.
    Blake barred their exit like a stone sentry.
    ‘Sarah, why don’t you let Daniel enjoy his new room and we can talk in the living room.’ His tone was light, but his eyes were dark with danger.
    Sarah raced through her options. What would Blake do if they tried to run? Block them from leaving? She needed to keep calm. She didn’t know how far Blake would go. The lawyer’s words thudded more ominously than war drums . . . 
He could keep you in this country indefinitely through a long, expensive custody battle
.
    ‘Mum?’
    ‘All right. Why don’t you check out some of the games?’ she said, covering her fear with a cheery calm. She picked up the closest box. ‘This looks interesting.’ She turned it over. ‘Star Wars Lego.’
    ‘Lego!’ Daniel grabbed the box of throwaway coloured plastic and shredded the wrapping.
    Blake placed his hand on her back and guided her from the room. The touch she’d once craved now felt as cold as a policeman’s handcuffs. Halfway down the hall, she slapped away his hand.
    ‘Don’t you dare touch me.’ In the enormous living room, she put as much distance between them as the room allowed.
    ‘There was a time when you couldn’t get enough of me,’ he said, as if he hadn’t just enacted a scene from a movie thriller.
    ‘Kidnapping me and my son is a funny way to try to rekindle the love.’
    ‘Our son.’
    The absolute gravity of those words crashed into her mind. Until that moment, the seriousness of the situation had seemed somewhat abstract. She opened her mouth to hurl a retort. Nothing came. What could she say? Daniel was their son. She sank into a chair.
    He took a seat across from her.
    ‘This is how things are going to be,’ he said. ‘You and Daniel will stay here until we work out what to do next.’
    ‘That’s impossible. Our flight leaves in four hours.’
    ‘That’s irrelevant.’
    ‘They’re non-refundable tickets. I can’t afford to lose that sort of money.’
    ‘I’ll cover it,’ he said. ‘I’ve spoken to my lawyer. The British courts take a very dim view of one parent denying access to the other parent. Particularly when one is a foreigner.’
    British courts!
Her pulse throbbed an agitated beat at her temples. What had she done bringing Daniel here? Could she lose him altogether?
    ‘What do you want?’ She had to ask the question even though she didn’t want to hear the answer.
    ‘To be part of Daniel’s life. I’ve missed out on nine years. I don’t plan on missing another day.’
    ‘But we live on the other side of the world.’
    ‘That may have to change.’ The life-altering statement slipped from his mouth as though he’d made some inane comment about England’s shocking weather.
    She tightened her grip on the arms of the chair. ‘You can’t force us to do whatever you want. We live in Brunei. The Sanctuary can’t operate without me. We’re running on a shoestring already and you’ve ripped away our only major funding. I have responsibilities. People depend on me. Let us go home and we can —’
    ‘Let me make this clear, Sarah.’ Blake sat forward in his chair. ‘You lost your right to dictate things the minute you decided you were going to leave this country, with Daniel, and never tell me of his existence. From now on, we do things my way.’ She was caught like a rat up a posh, art-covered, bulletproof drainpipe.
    ‘But court?’
    ‘I don’t want it to come to that. So, stay here with me and we’ll work out how best to move forward.’
    Move forward?
He spoke as though he was dealing with a product launch, not a child. She looked around as if some form of escape might present itself.