Yield to Me by Tory Richards Page A

head of hers. The senator was waiting for his call.

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    Chapter 6

 
    “Senator…”
    “What the hell is going on? I thought
we’d decided not to contact Jonathan. This was supposed to look like Sophie getting
cold feet about the wedding and taking off on her own!” the senator barked,
interrupting Brent before he could fill him in. “Jonathan phoned me ten minutes
ago with news he thinks she’s been kidnapped.”
    Brent released a deep sigh. “An unforeseen change in plans, Senator. The best I can
guess is that someone called security with a complaint they heard something.
When the guards came to investigate, they must have grown suspicious when they
found Sophie’s apartment empty. Being that Lord owns the building and his
relationship with her, they apparently didn’t waste any time contacting him.”
    “What a mess, Brent. Knowing
Jonathan, this will be on the news before daybreak. You know what this means,
don’t you? Law enforcement will be involved, the FBI if they suspect a
kidnapping. This puts you in a terrible situation.”
    “Won’t be the first time I’ve been
in trouble,” Brent pointed out.
    “No doubt. Hell, Brent, for the first time in my life I’m not sure which
direction to take. Everything seemed so easy when we discussed it, but now…”
    “Maybe we should release her and
call the whole thing off,” Brent advised, noticing the defeat in the senator’s
tone. Turning Sophie loose was just fine with him. She’d been nothing but
trouble from the get-go.
    After a long pause Senator Adams
replied, “No. It’s done now. You might as well keep her for a couple days. Hopefully
that will give me enough time to complete my investigation.”
    “It’s your call,” Brent retorted in
a neutral tone.
    “How’s she holding up?”
    The senator should be asking Brent
how he was holding up. “She’s fine for the time being,” he responded, his gaze
shooting to the bedroom door. All was quiet. With a little luck, she was
sleeping now, or close to it.
    “I know having her kidnapped was a
bit extreme but it was completely necessary in my book,” the senator said in a
tone that sounded as if he was trying to convince himself. “Be careful with
her, Brent, she’s a delicate flower and needs to be handled with kid gloves. Much too sweet for the likes of Lord.”
    Delicate flower, are we talking about the same woman? Sophie was resourceful and unpredictable, the marks on his chest
proof of that. She wasn’t afraid to fend for herself. No, the senator obviously
didn’t have a clue that behind those round innocent eyes his sweet, delicate
flower was a she-cat in lamb’s clothing.
    “By the way, where are you keeping
her?” The senator’s deep voice cut into Brent’s silent thoughts. “Somewhere
close?”
    “You know I won’t tell you that,
Senator, especially now. A slip-up would be easy. The less you know about her
whereabouts or anything else, the better.” Secondly, it was the only way he
could control the situation, which was what he was being paid to do. He heard
the senator expel an exasperated sigh, clearly struggling between common sense
and paternal instincts. “You focus on your end and let me do my job.”
    “You’re right, of course. Until I
find out what Lord is holding over her…” He clearly couldn’t go on, incensed into
uncharacteristic silence, and obviously consumed with the thought Sophie was
being forced into something against her will.
    The senator had told Brent his
suspicions a week earlier during their first meeting. He was convinced Sophie
would never be attracted to a power-hungry, unscrupulous bastard like Lord.
Brent only hoped his temporary solution paid off, because if it didn’t the
senator was going to lose his daughter, and he’d probably end up in jail for
the next twenty-five years.
    “Have you given any thought to what
you’re going to do next?” Senator Adams asked gruffly. “When are you going