Claire, Angela - Heart of Stone (Siren Publishing Classic) by Angela Claire Page B

last time. Jake. She felt a terrible pang of loss. Lord, by the time he and Ginny got back and saw she was gone, who knew where Winthrop could have her hidden away? She pulled the gown on, eager at least in this to cooperate with him so she could shield her naked body. Once she’d complied, he grabbed her arm and started leading her out of the house. His grip was bruising for an old man, not to mention the cold barrel of the gun he kept on her back as they walked.
    Outside by his horse, he took a length of rope from the saddle and tied her hands and legs. Her brief struggle at the beginning earned her a backhanded slap that nearly whipped her head off. When she was tied, he hoisted her up to the saddle, laying her face down and climbed up in front of her.
    “This will all be over soon, girl.”

    * * * *

    Jake couldn’t ever recall feeling quite this good. The sun was shining, the sky was clear blue, and he was on his way to pick up his baby girl. He hummed a long forgotten tune. Of course the fact that he’d just had the best sex of his life didn’t hurt his mood none either.
    He heard the riders before he saw them, the hard pounding of hooves telling him somebody was riding fast this way. He slowed the horse at the head of his wagon. In no time flat, Jesse reigned in a huffing beast right up next to him, Regina Winthrop right behind him. What the…?
    “Where’s Melinda?”
    “She’s back at the house. Why?”
    “You left her alone? Jesus.”
    “What is this, Jesse? What’s wrong?”
    “Get on behind me, Reggie. Jake, take her horse and follow me back to the house as fast as you can. We may already be too late.”
    The speed with which Regina transferred herself from her horse to Jesse’s and they took off was damn worrisome. Jake jumped down from his wagon and up onto the saddle of the big mare and spurred her on after them, a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He was just a split second behind them when they got to the house and jumped off the horses, not bothering to tie them up. The door to the house was open.
    “Melinda?” Jake called, heading to the bedroom. The blue quilt lay in a tumble on the floor, the side table was knocked over, and Melinda was nowhere to be seen.
    Jesse crouched down and touched his finger to a dark stain near the discarded coverlet. He looked at his finger and then up at Jake. “It’s blood.”
    “Goddamn it, Jesse. What the hell has happened? What’s wrong? Where’s Melinda?”
    Regina Winthrop hesitated in the doorway.
    Jesse stood up. “Tell him.”
    “It’s my father, Jake. He’s gone insane. I’m afraid, well, I’m very much afraid he’s taken Melinda and…and will hurt her.”
    “Melinda? Why would he hurt Melinda? What’s going on?”
    “I’m sorry, Jake.”
    “Just tell me.”
    “When your wife died—”
    “What does Victoria have to do with this?”
    “Well, when she died, I, well, I worried that it was a little too convenient. My father, he-he talked all the time about how nice it would be if she passed and you could marry. I, well, I told myself that daddy had nothing to do with it. Everybody said she was sick, and I…I decided to put it out of my mind and just do what he wanted so nobody else would get hurt. So I tried. I tried to make you want me.”
    Jesse swore. “Tell him about today, Regina .”
    Regina took a deep breath. “Ever since the dance last night, Daddy’s been crazy, saying things about Melinda, acting…well… and when he called this one worker into his study this morning, this awful man who just showed up a few months ago and makes my skin crawl just to be in the same room with him, I listened in outside the door. I was worried, you see. They were shouting. This man said it was one thing smothering an invalid, but…”
    “Fuck.” Jake felt such a rage, but he clamped down on it. He had to find out what this all had to do with Melinda, though he very much feared he knew.
    “He said smothering an invalid and making