Dance or Die (White Oak - Mafia Series Book 3) by Liza O'Connor Page B

so often then.”
    He rapped his knuckles on his window. “I haven’t heard sarcasm from you before and I better not hear it again once we marry.”
    “How did you even get to be considered for this great honor? Last I heard I was to be shipped off to some monster in Chicago.”
    “Yeah, well, your father is a smart man. Plans ahead. So six years ago, he pulls me in and tells me I’m going to become a forest manager. I don’t ask why, I just say, ‘Yes, sir.’ Only later did he explain my job.”
    “Which was?”
    “To get close to you. And as fortune would have it, to become a real contender for your hand.”
    “And what happened to the creep in Chicago?”
    “Danny Spadoni…yeah, he lost interest when he heard you had two lovers at the same time. In fact, that made most of the Chicago contingency drop out.”
    “You spread that rumor?” she asked.
    “Me? Of course not.”
    She glanced over and he grinned, clearly pleased that he had removed so many contenders for her hand.
    “Well, for that, you have my gratitude.”
    He shifted closer to her and slid his hand over her right then left leg.
    “Frank,” she growled.
    Suddenly the back of her seat flattened and Frank threw himself into her seat, knocking the air out of her as he sat on her stomach.
    He turned the SUV off the road and brought it to a halt. He then turned, so he was on top, facing her.
    “We’re here, Tess, without reinforcements. So if you want your two lovers to live, you need to make nice with daddy dear.”
    He then forcefully kissed her, his teeth cutting into her lips.
    She tried to push him off, but Frank had gravity on his side. Still, she managed to break the kiss by turning her head. When he attempted to turn her face back to him, she bit down on his hand.
    He grabbed her hair and glared at her, pure evil seething from his eyes. “If you want to survive our wedding night, you need to change your attitude right now. This is your first, last, and only warning. I have no problem breaking you into pieces if that’s what’s required.”
    Her body chilled and trembled as she remembered the brutal beatings her mother had incurred by her father.
    “I call a truce,” she stated.
    “No more fighting me?”
    “No.”
    He smiled with such satisfaction. After a few minutes, he relaxed his painful grip on her hair. “I have hopes for you, Tess.”
    ***
    Frank climbed from the seat and then helped her out. Once she was on her feet, he plastic-tied her wrists behind her back. With an unnecessary shove, he pushed her forward to the old gray barn. When he reached the door, he called out, “It’s Frank and Tess.”
    He waited a minute and then opened the barn door and held her before him, using her like a shield from bullets.
    A coward, just like the monster .
    “You're late,” a deadly and familiar voice growled.
    “Jules and CR only had unconscious bodies to deal with. Your daughter has been awake and nothing but trouble the whole way here.” He then explained how he had tricked her to come and how he stopped Cobbs from following them.
    “You sure he took the bait?”
    “Absolutely.”
    Benito smiled and eyed Frank. “Maybe you truly are the one who should marry my daughter. What do you think, Tess?”
    Tess had barely been paying attention to their conversation. Her eyes were glued to Steel and Dan tied to two of the barn posts. The only reason they remained standing were the ropes binding their chest and ankles. Both were slumped over, barely recognizable due to their bruised and swollen faces.
    Frank jerked her arms, bringing her attention to her father.
    She met the madman’s eyes. “I’ll do whatever you want. Just let them go.”
    “Let them go,” Benito replied softly, then without warning, stormed to her, grabbing her shoulders. “You defile yourself with these scum of the earth and you think I’m going to let them go?”
    “They haven’t defiled me. I’m a virgin.”
    “She’s lying,” Frank said.
    Tess