Chain of Love by Anne Stuart Page B

him in full force, and for the first time Cathy
    was actually frightened of him. It wasn’t so much the violence with which he subdued her pitiful attack. It was the speedy professionalism of it that
    filled her with horror and suspicions she couldn’t even begin to name.
    Sin’s breathing slowed to a normal rate, and that dangerous look began to recede. He checked the thin gold watch on one tanned wrist, then met her
    wary gaze. “The plane leaves in an hour and a half. You have exactly fifteen minutes to get ready, or we’ll leave without your luggage.”
    “I’m not going.” She could have wished her voice was somewhat stronger than the reedy whisper, but she continued to glare at him
    defiantly.
    Bending to pick up the knife and toss it back in the drawer, he took her arm in a gentle grip that belied the steel in his long fingers.
    “Haven’t I made it perfectly clear?” he inquired silkily. “You’re going to do what I say if I have to knock you unconscious
    and carry you aboard in a suitcase.”
    “You’d do just that, wouldn’t you, if you thought you could get away with it?” she stormed. “You’re nothing but
    a—a—” Various words flitted though her mind. What exactly was he? A terrorist, a gangster, a mercenary?
    Apparently Sin was just as interested in her opinion. A faintly amused light entered his previously grim eyes. “I’m nothing but a what,
    Cathy?”
    “A bully!” she said defiantly, her voice stronger.
    The smile reached his mobile mouth. “I can’t argue with that. Are you going to pack?”
    She tried once more. “Give me one reason why I should accompany you?” she demanded. “Just one.”
    “I can give you several. First, because I’m a hell of a lot bigger than you are and I’m not giving you any choice. Second, because
    despite your martyred air, you know perfectly well that your father doesn’t even want you around. So all this noble self-sacrifice is a joke. If
    you’re worried about me being around let me assure you that I’ll keep as far away from you as you like.” Why did he have to look so
    desperately handsome when he made that magnificent concession? “But most of all, your sister really needs you. She’s desperately afraid
    she’ll lose this baby like she lost the other one, even though her doctor says it’s fine for her to travel. She needs another woman with her,
    one she can trust and confide her fears in, and...” His voice trailed off before the combination of wrath and concern in her sea-green eyes.
    “Someone she can confide in? It seems unlikely that I’m that person, since she didn’t bother to confide the simple fact that she was
    pregnant again. How was I supposed to know why she needed me so desperately? Do you think I’m completely heartless? No, don’t bother to answer
    that. Obviously you do.”
    Concern wiped the last trace of anger from Sin’s tanned face. “I’m sure she meant to tell you before your father got sick. She only found
    out a couple of weeks ago, and she’s been afraid to talk about it to anyone but Charles.”
    “And you,” Cathy added bitterly.
    “And me,” he agreed. “Well, now that you know, what do you intend to do about it? Are you going to let her make the trip alone and worry
    herself sick?”
    “Don’t be absurd,” she snapped. “I’ll be ready in ten minutes.”
    “Make it five. I don’t know about the traffic at this hour,” he ordered lightly, taking her acquiescence quietly. If he’d gloated,
    Cathy thought, she would have gone for him again, no matter how efficiently he managed to repel attackers.
    The ride to the airport was accomplished in silence. Sin kept his eyes straight ahead, all his concentration on rush hour traffic, while Cathy leaned back
    against the seat and closed her weary eyes, trying to remember what she had thrown in the one suitcase she’d had time to pack. For all she knew
    she’d end up in St. Alphonse with very outdated ski-wear, and she had the