Her eyes rounded. "You just kicked down the door."
He raised a brow, as if doing so was an everyday occurrence for him. "I told you I would get you out."
"Yes, but I didn't realize you would do that." She waved at the door.
"Do you want me to put it back?"
"What?"
"The door. I can put it back, and we can wait for someone to find us."
"Of course not." She looked at him as if he were daft, and he barely refrained from laughing. "I'm just sorry you had to damage your hotel."
He went back to her then, and pulled her to his chest. "Sweetheart, it's a door. It can easily be fixed. But seeing you afraid was unbearable."
She relaxed against him. "Thank you."
He kissed the top of her head. "Let's get back to the ballroom. I'll have someone clean this up later."
She leaned back and smiled. "With the door and the hole in the floor, someone will think there was a fight in here."
"I'll be sure to set anyone straight on that note."
She stepped out of the doorway, and Rhys followed, his eye catching on an extra piece of wood. He crouched down and realized why the door hadn't opened. It had been nailed shut.
"What is it?" Willow asked.
He momentarily considered lying, but Willow would want to know. "Someone nailed the door closed so we wouldn't be able to get out."
"What?" She moved beside him, and he pointed out the wooden bar and nail holes. "How did we not hear that?"
"We were a bit preoccupied," he said dryly. "I don't think we would have heard a cannon blast."
She huffed, but didn't argue. He was right. They'd been focused on each other, and not what was happening outside the room. Besides, it wasn't as if it were silent. The ballroom wasn't far, and sounds from the party echoed in the hallway. "What should we do?"
He stood, took her hand, and looked both ways down the hallway to be sure it was empty. "We should return to the ballroom. Someone wanted to delay us, for some reason. I'm assuming it's the same person who's been causing problems at the hotel, but they didn't succeed. The best thing to do is to continue on as if nothing's happened."
Willow mulled over his words, and then nodded. "You're right. We'll handle everything tonight and then figure this out."
He cupped her chin and kissed her softly. "Make sure you don't go anywhere alone tonight. Either take Jared or me, but I don't want you unprotected." He wondered if she would object, but she agreed quickly.
"I won't take any chances."
He kissed her again before taking her hand. "Let's get back to the party." His voice was grim, but it couldn't be helped. Whoever was doing this would be found. He promised himself that.
Chapter 12
Willow scanned the ballroom for the hundredth time, but didn't see anyone or anything out of the ordinary. She didn't know what else she expected. Whoever had been causing problems was good at blending in, at looking like they belonged, or they would've been caught by now.
The fashion show was a hit, and as the women mingled with the crowd, more dress orders than she could ever fulfill came her way.
Abby sidled up to her. "Looks like a success to me."
"Beyond my imaginings. I hope you're ready to work your fingers raw." Willow gave her friend a side smile.
Abby chuckled. "Ready and willing. I can't thank you enough for giving me the work."
"I feel as if I should mention again that you don't need to work, now that Rhys has promised not to cut you off."
Abby shrugged and looked out at the guests. "I'm actually looking forward to it. I'm excited to make my own way. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate everything my family has done for me, but for once, I want to stand on my own two feet."
Willow understood and respected that. She'd never had that type of security, but even though she did now, the desire to succeed was strong. "I think you're going to do great."
From across the room, Rhys looked up from his conversation and met her eyes. She smiled at him, wanting to reassure him. Ever since they'd come back, he hadn't gone more than a few minutes without searching her out.
She looked over at Abby, who was looking slowly from her brother to Willow and back. Breath clogged in Willow's lungs, and she suddenly felt faint. She had no idea how to approach the topic of her relationship with Abby's brother. "Abby…"
"So…you and Rhys?"
Willow blew out a breath, cursing herself for not being more careful. "Yes," she said honestly. It wasn't like they were going to try and hide the relationship, anyway. She might as well know. "Does that upset you?"
"Upset me?" Abby chuckled softly. "Not at all. I'm pleased, actually. Rhys has been hunted down by practically every woman I've ever known. They've wanted his fortune, his power, his connections."
"I just want him."
Abby's grin widened. "I know. You're not the type to go after him for what he could give you. You slammed the door in his face after knowing who he was."
Most of the tension left Willow's shoulders. "Well, I didn't know he was the Rhys Winthrop at the time. But even if I had known, I'd do it again."
"I know." She looked back to Rhys. "So, is that where you went? You and Rhys snuck away?"
Willow snorted. "Is there anything you don't notice?"
She snickered. "Not really. Did he kiss you?"
Willow figured she might as well tell her. "Yes. But it wasn't the first time. We kissed in the library the other day, too."
"I knew it! I knew something was going on between you two."
"Well, you knew before me, then."
"Hey." Abby touched Willow's arm. "Do you love him?"
Willow bit her lip. She hadn't even told Rhys, but she trusted Abby to keep the confidence, even though she was his sister. "I do. I haven't told him, but I do. He asked to court me."
Abby's mouth opened.
"What?"
"Rhys has never courted anyone." Willow's stomach flipped. It shouldn't surprise her. If Rhys had wanted someone in the past, he would have gotten them, but hearing Abby admit Willow was the first, filled her with butterflies. "I'm sure he'll ask you to marry him. I'm surprised he has the patience for courting." She rolled her eyes with a laugh.
"Me, too," Willow agreed. Rhys was a man of action.
The thought brought back what had happened in the office earlier, how someone had locked them in. She'd tried to push the thought from her mind, to continue on with the evening and enjoy the success, but now it was once more at the forefront. Who would've done such a thing?
A notch appeared between Abby's brows. "What is it? You've gone serious. Are you worried about Rhys' intentions?"
"No. Nothing like that. It's just…while we were gone, something happened."
"What?"
She leaned closer to Abby, so they wouldn't be overheard. "Someone trapped us in the room."
Abby gasped. "How?"
"They'd nailed a board over the door. Rhys kicked it down to get us out."
"He…kicked down the door." She shook her head. "I can't blame him. Are you both all right, though?"
"It shook me up a bit, but we're fine."
"I would be shaken up, too, if I'd been trapped. But what was the point?"
Willow shook her head slowly, running through all the same possibilities as before. "That's the thing I don't know."
"I just wish all of this would stop. I feel like it's only a matter of time until something else happens. I'm already looking over my shoulder."
"Me, too." This needed to end soon.
Rhys never ignored his gut. So when the party ended, he went back to his office. The mess around the doorway had already been cleaned up thanks to housekeeping, and the door was slated to be fixed tomorrow. Rhys would make sure the next door and lock were more secure.
The hotel was empty of the party guests, and cleanup was well underway. By the time breakfast was served in the morning, it would be as if it'd never happened. He wondered if it would be like that once
the person was caught as well.
He blew out a breath and peered into the office before stepping in. The building was empty and quiet, now that the guests had settled down for the night. He really needed to get to bed, too, since he had an early morning, but something had nagged at him, and he hadn't been able to let it go.
The hole in the floor.
He didn't realize it at the time, but it hadn't looked rotted. There had been so many repairs to the hotel, so much that needed maintenance, he'd brushed it off as just another thing. But he wondered if that was the case.
He walked behind his desk and peered at the hole. The board would have held if he hadn't been standing behind Willow. Their combined weight had been too much for it.
He smiled, thinking about the moment with her. He hoped there were a ton more moments like that in their future.
He crouched, noticing that while one side of the board was snapped, the other was smooth, as if it hadn't been nailed down. Rhys frowned and studied the board. It was as if someone had replaced it with duplicate board, so no one would know it was there, but it would be easy to access.
Had Mr. Clayton kept money down there? If he had, he would have mentioned it, and cleared it out when he handed the hotel over. But he hadn't said a word.
He peered into the still empty hole. It was dark, and rather unimpressive looking, and he hated to think what might be lingering along the edges of the space down there. But there was that feeling again. He couldn't let it go, couldn't replace the board until he knew for certain nothing was down there.
He reached his hand into the pit, grimacing and bracing himself for the bite of a rat on his fingers. After a moment, nothing attacked him. He lay on the floor, reaching farther underneath the boards, surprised at how large the gap was.
Right before he was about to accept nothing was down there, his fingers brushed against something hard.
Something that felt like wood.
He froze, then reached for it again, skimming his hand along the item. Wood and metal. With a few muttered curses, he gripped the edge of the object to pull it forward. His fingers slipped a few times, but after a moment, he had the box below the opening and was pulling it out.
It wasn't extraordinary by any means. In fact, it was rather crude work. There appeared to be a carving on the top, but it was too dusty to see what it was. Rhys blew across the top, sending dust motes dancing in the air. He wiped off what else he could and looked at the carving.
DP.
Rhys froze as he read the two letters carved on top. DP. It couldn't be… Unable to help himself, he reached for the latch, but at the same time, he spotted movement out of the corner of his eye.
He raised his arm instinctively a second before a piece of wood broke over it. Pain seared through him, but he didn't give in. Moving quickly, he rolled, hearing another crash where he'd been, just seconds before.
He kicked out, connecting with his attacker's leg. Baritone curses filled the air, but in the dim lighting, Rhys couldn't tell who it was. Before he could attack again, the man took off, running out of the room and down the hall.
Rhys was up and chasing after him, but once he turned the corner, there was no sign of anyone. He cursed and strained for any sound that would give his attacker away, but there was nothing. He waited an extra minute before heading back to his office, thinking over what had just happened.
He'd been alone in the office, and had found what appeared to be DP's hoard. Had it been a coincidence Rhys had been in the office then, or had the man followed him?
The person hadn't attacked until Rhys had pulled the box up, but again, that could have been the timing. This whole time, Rhys hadn't known what the attacks on the hotel had been about, but now he wondered if they had something to do with the box he'd uncovered.
With the sale of the hotel, the legend about the treasure had picked up again. And then when Willow and Abby uncovered the note, a fervor had started. Either someone was after him, which he doubted, because he hadn't had attacks like this before he came to town, or it was about something else. He was willing to bet this was about the treasure.
When it came to money, people killed for it. He'd seen what greed could do to a person. And the lure of treasure was hard to deny. But now that he had it, the person would be even more desperate. The fact they'd tried to bludgeon him tonight proved that. How much more aggressive would they become?
He didn't know what they were capable of, but the one thing he did know was that Willow and Abby wouldn't be caught in the middle. Whatever happened, they would be safe.
Chapter 13
Willow hadn't known what to expect when Rhys had asked both Abby and herself to come to his office the next morning, but she would've never guessed this. "You're sending us away?" she asked, clarifying to make sure she'd understood correctly.
"I wouldn't put it that way, but in essence, yes. It's not safe here."
Abby frowned. "Rhys—"
"I mean it, Abby. This is dangerous. Someone attacked me last night. They could've killed me."
Willow couldn't stand the thought of anything happening to him, but she couldn't just run away, either. "What happened?" None of this made sense. He'd been attacked, but why?
Rhys blew out a breath. "I don't know why they attacked when they did, but I have a guess." He reached into a desk drawer and pulled out a large, tarnished box.
"What is that?" Willow stepped closer and looked at it, almost dismissing it until she read the letters carved into the top. Her eyes widened. "DP's hoard? Is the treasure inside?"
"Yes." He unlatched the box and opened it.
Breath clogged her lungs at the contents. There was a bundle of letters tied together on side of the box, next to thick stacks of paper bills, hunks of gleaming gold nuggets, and three sapphires the size of quarters. "You found this here? When?"
His eyes were grim. "Late last night, just minutes before I was attacked. Remember the hole in the floor? Something about it bothered me, so I came to look at it before bed. I realized the board wasn't original to the floor, and someone had just placed it there. Apparently, with our combined weight, it cracked."
Abby looked between the two of them. "Combined weight?" She grinned. "Maybe you shouldn't tell me." She winked at Willow, and even though she wasn't squeamish, she felt a flush rush to her cheeks.
"Yes. Both our weight," Rhys said dryly. "Back to the point. I realized the hole might be larger than we first suspected, a place Mr. Clayton kept valuables, so I reached down and found the box. I had just pulled it out and realized what it was when I saw something from the corner of my eyes and blocked the blow meant for my head."
Hearing what had happened sent ice through Willow's veins. "Are you sure you're all right?"
He waved her concern away. "I'm fine. My arm is a little bruised, but not badly damaged. The point is—" he leaned back in his chair "—whoever attacked me most likely wants this. They're escalating, and I don't know what else they'll do. But whatever it is, I can't have you here." He was looking at Abby then at Willow, when he added, "Either of you."
Willow shook her head. "I'm not leaving."
Abby folded her arms. "Me either."
He raked a hand through his hair. "I can't protect you. If this person attacked me here last night, they could be anywhere. They could be anyone. I can't keep you safe unless you leave."
Willow stepped forward and placed her hands on the desk. "And what about you, Rhys? Are you going to be safe? Who will protect you?"
"I'll be fine."
He said it confidently, but Willow wasn't buying it. "If this person is as desperate as you say, nothing will stop them. They won't care about killing you. But let me tell you something, I care. I care if you die, Rhys. And I'm not going to leave when I can stay and do something about it."
He jumped from his chair and leaned in close. "You will leave. I can't concentrate on catching the person when I'm worried about you. Don't you get it? It would gut me if something happened to y
ou!"
Silence filled the room for a moment, before Abby cleared her throat. "I'm going to the dining room so you two can have a moment of privacy." She walked toward the door, but paused before leaving. "I agree with Willow on this, Rhys. I'm not leaving, either. You'll have to think of another way." She left before hearing his response, closing the newly hung door behind her.
Willow and Rhys looked at each other from across the desk. She could see his mind already working, spinning a million miles an hour, trying to figure out a way to get her to leave. But it didn't matter what he said, she wouldn't do it. "I'm not leaving you, Rhys."
"You have to. I told you. Unless you're safely away, I can't do this."
"You will do this. And I'll be here beside you."
He let out a frustrated breath, and tugged at his collar. "You don't understand."
That was the last straw for her. Her hands balled into fists at her waist. "Oh, I understand just fine. But I think you're the one who doesn't. I love you, Rhys. And if you think I'm going to leave and let you face this alone, you're out of your mind." His shocked expression would've been comical, if she wasn't so angry.
He stepped around his desk slowly and stood beside her. "You're in love with me?"
She launched daggers with her eyes. "Of course I am! I thought that was obvious. And I'll say it one more time, Rhys. I'm not leaving. Ever—"
But before she could say anything else, she was in his arms, and his lips were coming down to hers. The moment they touched, heat, longing, fear, and hope filled her. She loved this man with every inch of her heart, and just the thought of losing him scared her.
She kissed him fiercely, using her lips to tell him everything that was in her heart. She clutched him closer, taking and giving as he needed—as she needed—until their movements slowed, until their kisses tapered off, and he tugged her head down to his chest to cradle her. "I couldn't bear it if anything happened to you," he finally said.
She had her arms wrapped around his waist and squeezed. "I know. I feel the same." She pulled away a few inches to look into his face. She could see the worry in his eyes, the fear of what might happen. "I love you," she said again. "We can do this. Together."
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