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Tamsin held herself still.
“I have it on good authority that you and Landon, being the youngest of the Dentons, were close. I mean, he did help you escape, and he also killed your father, some believe out of revenge, but also to help you.”
“Your point?”
“Landon’s very much dead, right?”
She stayed perfectly still.
“And you have yet to shed a tear, so that can only mean one thing. Landon is alive, and I’m guessing very few people know that.”
Crap, fuck. Landon had called her and given her the update. To the whole world, Landon Denton was dead. He didn’t tell her where he was living or who he was, just that he would call from time to time to check on her.
Tamsin had been so relieved, but now she realized her mistake. It was a big, gigantic, fucking mistake. Anger rolled down her spine.
“So, before we deal with the problem of Landon not being dead, let’s talk about your family. Did you know that the Dentons are struggling?” She hadn’t. “Your father, before he died, squandered a great deal of money, and in his erratic behavior, left a legacy that isn’t quite so … great.”
Tamsin didn’t know that. All her life, her family had been feared. The Denton name commanded respect and fear.
Staring at him, she waited.
“What do you want?” she asked.
“The Denton name is still powerful, they just don’t have the funds to back them up.”
“Let me guess. You do.”
“Ah, so you are a clever girl.”
“Don’t! You don’t get to kidnap me and mock me. Just tell me what you want, and get this over with.”
“Simple, to help the Dentons, I need you. You’re going to become my wife, cementing my position within your family. I supply the funds, and I gain the respect and fear the Denton name has. In return, you will always be safe and protected. You will never have to fear me or any of my family.”
“Do you think you can guarantee that with the way your father is?” she asked, not believing him.
“I do. You can trust me, Tamsin. I will keep my end of the bargain, including the death of Landon Denton. No one will ever know that he is very much alive.”
She didn’t want to give in, but the dangers of not doing so were too great. She couldn’t allow her brother to suffer. She couldn’t allow any of them to suffer.
If what Mason said was true, then her family was in a hard place. It would be so easy to say no, but she knew there wouldn’t be any peace. If his father went after her, she wouldn’t get far. This was her only safe option.
Mason had torn her away from her safety and thrust her back into the world she had hoped to escape from. She was never going to forgive him.
And she would never forget this.
Chapter One
Two Years Later
Tamsin stared out the window overlooking the grounds of the large house where she had resided the past two years. Against her better judgment, and her overwhelming desire, she had agreed to Mason’s terms.
She had only asked that Mason allow her to go back to the town where she had been living, to say goodbye. He allowed that, but only after they had gotten married. Her family had been ecstatic at her return. She didn’t share their excitement. When it came to her wedding, Jacob, the eldest brother, had walked her down the aisle, but she ignored him. She did the same with the rest of her family, apart from their wives. Tamsin spoke to them, because Landon and their wives were the only reason she had agreed to any of this.
Her mother had tried, and Tamsin had told her point-blank that she had no mother. Abel, Oliver, Gideon, and Damon had all tried as well as Gabriel, her half-brother. She wanted nothing to do with any of them.
None of them had cared when their father intended to sell her. Only Landon had come to her rescue every chance he could. He put his own life on the line to make sure she survived.
They were not her family, so she had no interest in attending special events. Mason tried to include them and herself. Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s, as well as birthdays and everything in between. She refused. Mason went alone, or she was forced to sit there alone. After the first couple of events, he stopped forcing her.
