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“What’s mine? Please fill me in because I think I’m the only one in the dark here.”
Jude approached her, setting one hand on her shoulder. “Dalton Moore just signed everything over to you. The shelter, the land, everything. It’s all legally yours once you sign the paperwork.” He pointed to the stack of papers on the desk.
Now she understood. The paperwork probably had a ton of stipulations in it. She hoped Jude didn’t read the parts about sex and virginity as payment. Emily thought they had to be married before this part of the deal took place.
She looked at the paperwork, flipping through the pages one by one.
“It’s all there,” Jude said. “Very straightforward.” He handed her a pen.
She shook her head. “It can’t be that simple. Not with Dalton Moore. No one gives away things this valuable without wanting something in return.”
“I’ve looked them over myself, Emily. You’re safe to sign. Everything will be yours.”
She massaged her temples, trying to figure out what game he was playing now. Then she realized that the shelter was being sold for a reason. It wasn’t financially viable. Without a revenue stream, the place would still go out of business, no matter how much Emily loved the dogs.
“By the way, Zero’s gone. Thought you should know,” said Casey.
“Gone where?”
She shrugged. “He wasn’t in his crate when I got here this morning.”
Shit. He was going to use Zero’s life as a bargaining chip now. That was his plan. The man was sick, sick, sick.
“I think I should call Dalton first. I just want to be sure of a few things before signing something this serious.”
Half in a daze, Emily returned to her car. She took some cleansing breaths, then called Dalton’s number. There was no answer. She called again with the same result.
Emily didn’t like where this was going.
****
Dalton leaned back in his desk chair, throwing the rubber ball against the floor near the wall and catching it again as it rebounded. He’d been doing the same mindless drill for the past half hour.
All the money and power in the world couldn’t buy happiness.
He was an empty shell of a man, hated and feared by most. The older he got, the more it all lost its appeal. What he wanted most, he couldn’t have. After giving Emily the ultimatum yesterday, he could barely look at himself in the mirror. Yes, he wanted her love, but forcing her didn’t give him any satisfaction. And nobody would ever love him for himself. He’d learned that long ago.
Maybe he’d get some points in Heaven or Hell for letting little Emily Sutton loose. He wouldn’t force her into his bed, and he wouldn’t make her marry him. She could have it all and forget about him. The bully. The asshole. The monster.
He threw the ball again, just as the phone rang. This time he missed the catch and the ball bounced along the ground. It was Emily again. Why couldn’t she just accept this gift and move on? They had absolutely nothing to say to each other. Her mother was free and the shelter was her property now. In fact, he was considering moving out of town entirely. It seemed the real reason he was so determined to return was to prove to Emily he was worthy of her love. That he’d changed. He’d fucked that up royally.
Whatever.
Dalton left his office and walked to the living room which overlooked the front of the property. There was a light rain, the sky dark, perfectly fitting for his fucked-up mood. He heard a little whimper, pulling him from his misery.
He bent down in front of the large kennel. Zero waggled his tail and licked Dalton’s hand.
“It’s just you and me now, buddy.”
Once he stopped feeling sorry for himself, he’d start training the dog. Before long, he’d have the run of the house. At least something good came out of all this bullshit. At least a dog’s love was genuine and couldn’t be bought.
A car caught his attention. His property was at the end of a dead-end road and there were no other houses. It was unusual to see a car at this time of night. Only his staff and security came and went but they used the back entrance, rarely the front.
It was her car.
Why couldn’t she leave well enough alone?
He wasn’t sure he had the willpower to deal with her face-to-face without doing something stupid to try and buy her love again. He’d have to put his game face on and get rid of her once and for all. Maybe he’d resort to his old bully tactics.
