An Eye for an Eye: Zach and Katie's Story (Redwood Falls) by Lynda Chance Page A

screamed through to her. She watched him leaning against the cushions like a sultan interviewing his next concubine. She swallowed with some difficulty and forced her throat to work. "You're talking about sex?" Her voice rose and she began to shriek from the raw emotions surging through her. "You're talking about paying me for sex? You think I'm a hooker? A whore?"
    Zach was studying her, seemingly patient but it didn't comfort her. "No, I don't. Calm down. You're thinking way too deeply. You're looking to put a bad spin on every word that comes from my mouth."
    "A bad spin? You have a good spin on giving me money for sex? And what the hell is wrong with you that you want to pay me for sex?" Katie stopped and tried to recapture her control. She took a few deep breaths as he continued to sit and study her as she hovered by the door. "You're a good-looking guy. You're rich. Why can't you just go out and get a woman the traditional way? You know, date someone. Go out to dinner, maybe a nightclub or something, and then have a night of mutual pleasure?"
    Zach felt a shaft of anger he knew he had no right to feel, along with an irritating resentment for the men who had gone before him. An irrational anger toward the unknown man who had undoubtedly taken her virginity. His eyes narrowed on her as red-hot jealousy filled his veins. "Is that the way you do it?"
    "It's none of your damn business how I do it." Her fury turned to stubbornness as she crossed her arms over her chest and refused to say another word.
    His voice hardened. "We've gotten off track here a bit. I want you to answer the question . . . I want to know if you're sexually active."
    "Well, you're not going to know." Katie opened her bag and took her phone out. She punched in two numbers. "Fair warning, Mr. McIntyre, I'm about to call the police. Do you want to open this damn door for me or do you want me to punch in the last digit?"
    "Calm down. I'll unlock the door." He stood up and casually made his way over to the door, watching her intently. When he passed her, he turned around and snagged her phone from her grip and ended the call with a press of a button, lifting the phone out of her reach.
    Katie sucked in her breath as pure fear slithered down her spine. Taking her phone was so not funny.
    "I'm going to let you out of this door in about twenty seconds, so don't get your panties in a twist. But before I do, I've got something to say to you." He sank his hand into her scalp and lifted her face until her eyes were on his. "I don't want to fight with you. My offer wasn't very smooth and I apologize for that. I wasn't offering to pay you for sex. I don't know what the hell I was thinking. It wasn't premeditated and I didn't mean anything offensive by it. I certainly didn't mean to piss you off or to scare you. All I know is that I want you and I'll take you any way I can get you. I've wanted you a long, long time." Katie was held speechless in his grasp, breathing hard. She was silent as he continued, "But, Katie. . . It's a fact that your family took my wife and child from me." His eyes went to her lips and he expelled a breath. "I believe I'm owed something in return." He lifted her chin another notch as his eyes lifted back to hers and he studied her closely. "And you're what I want."
    Sharp anxiety lanced Katie at his words. The depth of his hatred and his need for revenge jarred her. But she was confused by his proposal. "And you're willing to pay me in your quest to make me suffer? That makes no sense."
    "That was off the cuff and a bad idea. But I'll agree to just about anything if it will expedite matters. Frankly, the wait has become intolerable." He reached out his other hand and ran it from her temple, down the side of her cheek and settled on her shoulder. "I don't think you're going to forget everything that's happened in the past, but I'm willing to let it go if you are. I've always been willing to forget about it, pretty much from the very beginning.