Miss Taken by Milly Taiden Page A

haven’t forgotten,” he roared.
    “You two go,” Bastien instructed. “I will handle her.”
    She followed Luke inside the house, barely aware of the cold between the buildings. He was mad at her. She knew he was. She hadn’t really lied to him. Dick Peter was in charge of the company. She’d be misrepresenting Rakida if she said she was the owner and had voice over Peter. What a fucking mess.
    Luke didn’t say anything. The fact he wasn’t talking wasn’t a worry. It was the anger rolling off him in waves.
    “I never lied to you,” she started the minute they entered the kitchen. “I told you who I worked for. I told you my mother left it to me.”
    Shit, she did. He’d been so engulfed with getting her into bed, he never put it all together. “You own the company,” he threw back. “Own it. Have final say.”
    “I did tell you I owned a business. I am not in charge,” she snapped. Why was he only focusing on what he wanted to? “I told you my father gave control to my brother.” She sat on a kitchen chair with a sigh. “Peter is an asshole. He tends to upset anyone when he wants something.” She met his gaze with determination. “Right now, he wants this land. He has stubborn down to a science. I don’t know what is so special about this land, but he is hell bent on getting it.”
    “I didn’t realize that was the business you were referring to when you explained about your parents. As for Rakida, the lawyer for the owners declined his offers,” Luke said through clenched teeth.
    “You think that will stop him? He’s a brat. My father indulged him in everything he wanted. He feels Rakida is his. Until I get married or turn forty, he’s in charge.” She shook her head. “Three more years of this hell. I don’t know if I can take it.”
    There was another moment of silence. “If you were in charge, you wouldn’t continue the harassment over the land?”
    She laughed. “I know the meaning of the word no. I would pull back. You can’t force someone to sell you anything. I came here to talk, to smooth ruffled feathers. One day I will get control of my company and I want to make sure there is a company to go to.”
    He nodded. “You said you can’t be in control until you marry?”
    “That’s the fine print of my dad’s very fucked up way of trying to control my life via his will. Get married or Peter keeps Rakida.”
    “Have you taken this to court?” he asked, not seeming as angry, but still way too serious for her taste.
    “My lawyers have been looking for a loophole for years. I refuse to be forced into marriage.” She shrugged. “That means the owners of Raging Falls will need to deal with him until he gets tired or finds another more interesting piece of property, I just wouldn’t hold your breath for that to happen. You need to urge the owners to talk to him, to put an end to this, but please don’t let them destroy my company over anger at him. It’s all I have left of my mother.”
    “I need to see about Melissa,” he said. “I’ll be back soon.”
    He walked out and his mother waltzed in.
    “How are you feeling, Kira?” Luna asked. The older woman reminded her of her mother. With short, wavy black hair and beautiful golden skin much like Kira’s, she appeared much younger than she was.
    “Okay,” she said. Frustration was alive and well in Kira’s chest. She wanted to go home and slap Peter upside the head. It was his fault she was in this predicament.
    “Is there anything I can do for you?”
    “Yes,” she said, finally remembering she needed to figure out a way to get back to her office. “I need to use a phone.”
    “Oh, sure, darling,” Luna said, taking hers out of her pocket.
    Kira searched up her company information and dialed Carly. She watched Luna leave the room and head for the kitchen.
    “Hello?”
    “Carly? It’s me,” she said in a hurry. “You have to get me out of here. I need to go back to the office and talk to our