Breaking the Rules (1st in Breaking Series)

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

"For once in your life you better do as someone tells you and keep yourself alive, cowgirl," Brody warned as he laid in the bed next to her.

Elizabeth smiled and laid her head against his chest, listening to his steadily beating heart, "I'll stay alive just so I can have these dreams, Brody. Just so I can feel your arms around me."

His lips gently brushed against her hair, "There ain't nowhere else I'd rather have my arms."

The sound of footsteps approaching the room, jerked Elizabeth from her dreams and her eyes flew open to reveal that it wasn't Brody's hard, warm body beneath her head, but a cold lumpy pillow. Tears stung her eyes but she blinked them away and looked at the door.

Her eyes widened when Grant stepped into the room. Hope filled her. Grant would help her! Grant would get her away from Rene and she could go back and find her husband's body and give him the burial he deserved. Her hope quickly faded away when she saw the cold look on Grant's face and then saw Rene walk in the room behind him.

Grant whirled around and glared at Rene, "You tied her up like a hog! That's no way to treat a lady."

"She ain't no lady," Rene sneered as he closed the door. "She's nothing but a thoroughbred bitch."

"Nothing a little training won't fix," Grant assured him. He walked over to the bed and sat down beside Elizabeth.

He stared down at her face and was shocked to see the look in her eyes. He'd remembered her green eyes as being full of temper, fire, amusement... They'd always shone with some form of emotion. Right now they looked like dead, cold orbs staring back into his own. The life was gone from them.

"What did you do to her?" Grant demanded.

Rene leaned against the wardrobe and shrugged, "The bitch says she wants to die and go be with her husband."

Grant's eyes narrowed, "Husband?" he demanded. "You married that stupid cowpoke Brody after you agreed to marry me?" Elizabeth averted her gaze and Grant grabbed her chin roughly and turned her face back to his, "I won't tolerate your temper, do you understand? You either do as I say or things will get really bad for you. If I remove your gag will you scream?" He got no response. Those eyes still looked lifelessly back at him.

"Your father is dead, Elizabeth. Jimmy came into town just behind us and told us that he died today. Your husband is dead as well." he sneered. "Your ranch belongs to Braxton and Anita now and you have nothing left to fight for. I'm offering you a chance at life. Braxton wants you dead and as far as he knows right now Rene is making that happen. I, however, want you alive. I want to take you back to Virginia with me and put you in a beautiful house, give you a comfortable life. Now will you scream and yell and fight me if I take out that gag and remove those horrible ropes?"

Elizabeth felt no sadness over the loss of her father. She supposed it would come later but right now her mind and heart were too broken and numb to acknowledge any new tragedies. She wished Rene would just kill her but then an image of Brody taking those bullets for her entered her mind. He kept telling her, in her dreams, to keep herself alive. Maybe he knew something that she didn't....

"I'm going to take your calmness to mean that you aren't going to fight. I'll warn you, though, that if you offer me one bit of resistance, I will kill you. I am not the gentleman I have led you to believe."

Elizabeth lay there as still as stone as Grant untied the gag from her mouth. She took several deep gasping breath once the nasty piece of fabric was gone and Grant moved behind her and undid the ropes from her wrists and ankles.