Watching Will in his element all week left me respecting the man even more than I already did. He handled each acquisition meeting with a professional poise I admired while he charmed everyone with his easy candor. It was no wonder the vineyard owner wanted to work with him. Four days of meetings, and the deal was pretty much done. I’d emailed copies of the paperwork back to Janet for her review, but so far she hadn’t found any issues. If all went according to plan, the merger would move forward as soon as next month.

I jumped as Will grabbed my ass. “Mershano!” I chastised, laughing.

“In a dress like that, what the hell did you expect?”

“You picked this one out.”

He waggled his brows. “I know, and I can’t wait to strip it off you later.”

“Mister Mershano,” a deep voice called from behind us. We turned as Javier, the vineyard owner, approached in the hotel lobby. My face flamed in response to what he’d just witnessed, but he didn’t say anything or acknowledge it. “I was hoping to run one idea past you before you go,” he said, his gaze hopeful. “It’s about an aging technique I want to try, but since you’ll be the one selling the product, I’d like to get your opinion first.”

“Of course.” Will glanced my way. “I know you need to check in with Baker Brown, so I’ll meet you upstairs.”

Right. Janet wanted me to call her with an update after today’s meetings. It was just after eleven in the morning in Chicago, which made it a perfect time to touch base. I shook Javier’s hand again and headed to the elevators with a wave. I could feel Will’s gaze on my ass the whole way, which excited me for what would happen when he joined me in the suite. I had a feeling dinner would come second to sex again. His appetite was insatiable, and not just for food.

My phone buzzed as I stepped into the elevator, and I glanced at it, expecting it to be work. Instead, it was a number I didn’t recognize. I snorted and hit ignore. Since I hadn’t bothered to answer Ryan’s calls all week, it was probably him trying on a new line. When it vibrated again, I silenced it and then did that three more times on the way to the room before something in me broke. This had to end once and for all. I was finally happy for the first time in forever, and I needed it to be permanent. That required me to reject Ryan with a finality he couldn’t ignore.

When the number flashed a fifth time, I answered. “Look, this—”

“He’s there. He’s in the hotel.”

Okay, not the voice I expected to hear. “Caleb?”

“Rachel, listen to me, he’s in the fucking hotel. You need to run, right now. Go!”

His urgent tone froze me in the hallway. I hadn’t spoken to my brother in months. “What are you talking about? Who—”

“Rach—”

Something hard slammed into the back of my head, causing the phone to slip from my fingers. “What the—”

An expensive leather shoe appeared in my blurry peripheral vision and stepped on the mobile, shattering it against the marble floor. Dread tightened a noose around my neck as a familiar aftershave overwhelmed my senses.

“Hello, little whore,” Ryan drawled as he knotted his fingers in my hair and half dragged me down the hallway. My purse fell from my arm as I struggled to loosen his grip.

“Ryan—”

He backhanded me across the face so hard my world spun, and then he wrapped his fingers around my throat to keep me from falling. My shoulders hit the wall with a force that knocked the wind out of me.

“Shut. The. Fuck. Up,” he said through gritted teeth, squeezing harder with each word. “You want to be a slut—I’ll treat you like one.”

He yanked me forward and started down the corridor toward the stairwell again.

Holy shit.

This could not be happening.

Where are Beau and Sam?

In their rooms.

Right. Because Will dismissed them after the meeting and said he would escort me.

Fuck.

I tried to gain purpose with my heels, to push away from him and run, but his grip on my windpipe left me too weak to fight. My feet barely held me up enough to walk as he pulled me down two flights of stairs. Black spots danced behind my eyes as I fought to breathe, and then I was sucking in sweet air as he shoved me onto the ground of a guest room that was significantly smaller than the one I’d meant to enter upstairs.

I curled into a ball as he circled me, and waited for the first kick to come. He moved slowly as his cruel gaze raked over my prone form. His snort of disgust tainted the too-silent air. “Fucking pathetic.”

He dragged a chair over and lit up a cigar while he studied me in that eerie way of his. Those vivid blue eyes narrowed as he blew out a string of smoke that only seemed to add to the ominous atmosphere.

“You know, alcohol trade laws are a fickle thing.” He paused to take a long drag on his cigar, those midnight eyes glowing with malcontent in the dim lighting of the room. “It would be a real shame if someone like Mershano made a mistake on one of his many filings. Could even jeopardize his little empire, or at least set it back for a few months, maybe years. Would be even worse if, say, some of the paperwork disappeared. Especially while in the middle of an international acquisition. Have I mentioned my friends with the US Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau?”

My blood ran cold. “Ryan . . .”

His foot connected with my jaw, silencing me. It wasn’t so much a kick as a stern tap and served as a warning that he could do worse if he wanted. I massaged the tender spot with my palm and fought off the tears brewing behind my eyes.

“What did I say about talking? Fuck, Rach. You’re smarter than that, unless all this whoring has gone to your brain.” He puffed his cigar again, his expression bored.

“Well, I thought it would be good for my career to have an accomplished woman at my side, but apparently, allowing you to work on this project has backfired. You’ll be going home with me in the morning, and we’ll be starting over. The first thing you’ll do is quit your job. All your time will be focused on planning our wedding and the campaign anyway, so that shouldn’t be a big deal. While you’re doing that, I’ll have your things moved back into my house. Then we’ll start working on your behavioral issues and my expectations.”

My stomach revolted at his words, and my limbs tensed.

No.

I would not be going anywhere with him.

The woman he used to push around retreated to the back of my mind as the confident one who confided in Will stepped forward. Ryan didn’t control this new version of me, nor would he ever own it. He could kick and hit me all he wanted, but I would not bow down to him. Not again.

“No,” I whispered.

This time I anticipated his foot and moved away from him to put my back to the wall and curl my knees into my chest.

I narrowed my eyes at him when he stood. “Go ahead, Ryan. Do your worst.”

He had likely already given me a concussion if the throbbing at the back of my head was anything to go by, and my throat would have a hand print around it in the morning, just like the last time he choked me, but my heart would be free. My mind, too. And that’s what mattered.

His gaze ran over me as he set his cigar aside and stood. I expected to see anger darken his features, but instead, they brightened with lust. My throat convulsed at the sight of it. Furious Ryan I could handle, but not this. It froze me in place, so much so that I couldn’t even breathe. He must have sensed my overwhelming fear, because he smiled.

“Oh, Rachel. I’ve always enjoyed whores with attitudes.” He grabbed a fistful of my hair again and forced me to my knees. “It’s so fun to fuck their mouths into submission.” His free hand was on his zipper when the door flew open.

One minute my skull was on fire from his grip, and the next, Ryan was on the floor beside me, cradling his jaw. A livid Will Mershano loomed over us, his gaze on my neck. His jaw clenched at the sight, but he said nothing as he held a hand out to help me up from the floor. I managed to stand with a wince, and he immediately pulled me to his side with an arm around my shoulders.

“If you ever touch her again, I will end you.” No hesitation, no anger, just an unerring threat delivered in the calmest tone I’d ever heard from Will.

Ryan spat out a mouthful of blood and stood to take his opponent’s measure. They stood at an equal height, both broad-shouldered and athletic, but the man beside me had more muscle on him. My ex’s lithe form was crafted from an expensive personal trainer, while Will earned his doing manual labor.

I half expected Ryan to try something stupid, like punch Will, but he was too suave for that. Instead, he smiled that damn charming smile and shrugged. “What happened to your security detail, Mershano? They seem to have dropped the ball.” He fixed his tie and smoothed it with a hand. “You might want to check on that.”

Will grinned. “Your connections don’t scare me, Albertson. But thanks for the not-so-subtle warning.” I had no idea what he was talking about but sensed something bad had happened to Beau and Sam. Ryan wouldn’t kill anyone, would he?

“Well, you can’t say I didn’t try.” My ex put his hands in his pockets, the picture of nonchalance. “Last chance, Mershano.”

“As previously stated, you don’t scare me. Now get the fuck out of my family’s hotel.”

Ryan nodded once in acquiescence, then caught my gaze for a long moment and held it. “See you soon, baby girl.”