His cavalier attitude was like a punch to the stomach, stealing the breath from her lungs and making it impossible to draw another. She opened her mouth, but no words would come. How could the man she'd been so intimate with now be so hateful?
"Before you tell me how much you detest me, maybe you should consider one point, Keely. What if it's true? What if your father really is responsible for the death of my father?"
"It-it can't be true," she said, her voice trembling.
"I think it is. All the evidence points that way, Keely."
She walked to the window, then braced her hands on the sill, gripping it with white knuckles. "What about me? Was I all a part of this scheme? Were you going to use me against my own family?"
Rafe stood up, but she backed away as he approached, unwilling to allow him to touch her again. "That night in front of the pub, I didn't know who you were. Imagine my surprise when you told me you were really a Quinn."
"And you didn't have any second thoughts about what you were doing? Even after you knew I was Seamus's daughter?"
"Why would I?"
Keely spun on him, then made to slap him across the face. But he caught her hand just in time and she slowly let it drop. "No, I guess you wouldn't," she murmured. "I was just the woman you were sleeping with. Well, that's the end of it then. You've chosen your side and I've chosen mine." She drew a ragged breath. "You're not going to win, you know. I'll do everything I can to make sure you don't hurt my family."
"That's not going to happen."
His voice was so coldly confident it sent a shiver down her spine. "Try me," Keely dared.
With a low curse, Rafe stepped forward and grabbed her by the arm, then pulled her toward the door. At first she thought he simply meant to throw her out of his apartment. But then he picked up his keys on the way out and punched the button for the elevator. No, he meant to embarrass her by throwing her out on the street.
"Let go of me," Keely demanded.
"No," Rafe said. The elevator descended, but it didn't stop in the lobby of his building. Instead, it went down to the parking level. "You and I are going to talk this out. And after you hear my side of the story, you're welcome to go running to the Quinns. But you are going to listen."
Twisting and turning, she tried to pull out of his grasp. "I don't want to listen to anything you have to say. It's all lies." But as she fought him, Keely secretly prayed that he did have an explanation for his behavior. Or that somehow, between the two of them, they'd figure out that this was all just a big misunderstanding.
He yanked open the car door. "Get in."
"No," she muttered.
"Get in," he repeated, his frustration tightly checked.
"If you want to talk, we can talk right here."
"No, we can't." He paused. "I need to show you something." He took her arm and gently pushed her into the car. Keely knew she should have fought him, knew that he'd suddenly become the enemy. But she also knew Rafe and he wasn't the kind of man to accuse someone of murder lightly. Did he have some kind of proof to show her?
Keely reluctantly slid into the passenger seat. She wasn't abandoning her family by going with him. She simply needed to know all the facts. But even that reassurance didn't make her feel any better. In truth, it made her ashamed. Her feelings for Rafe had overwhelmed her loyalty for her family. She was treading on thin ice and if she wasn't careful, she'd fall through.
"Where are we going?" she asked as Rafe got inside.
"Someplace where we can talk." He turned the ignition, then locked all the doors with a flick of a button. A few minutes later, they were out on the street, speeding through late-afternoon traffic. But when Rafe steered the car onto the northbound interstate, Keely frowned. "Where are you taking me?" she demanded.
He didn't answer her this time. Instead, he punched a number into his car phone, then picked it up. "Hi, it's Rafe. I'm on my way up to Aspen Lake. Make sure the kitchen is stocked and the heat is turned on. We'll be staying for a few days at the least." Rafe hung up the phone, then turned his full attention back to the road.
Keely's stomach tightened. She'd never seen Rafe in such a black mood, so filled with anger he was ready to explode. "Where the hell is Aspen Lake?"
"It's in Vermont," Rafe replied.
"Vermont?" she cried. "Vermont? I don't want to go to Vermont."
"I don't care. That's where we're going." His voice was cold and emotionless.
"You don't have anything to show me, do you? You lied to me to get me in this car."
"You wouldn't have gotten in if I hadn't."
"Are you kidnapping me? Kidnapping is against the law. If I don't want to go to Vermont, then this is kidnapping. I could have you arrested."
Rafe shrugged. "I suppose you could. But then, since I'm kidnapping you, I'm not exactly going to let you run to the police."
Keely crossed her arms over her chest. "Take me back to Boston right now."
"No."
She reached out and grabbed the wheel and the car swerved wildly. Rafe cursed as he brought it back under control, along with his temper. "You and I are going to Vermont. Now you can either waste the next three hours shouting at me or trying to kill us both, or you can enjoy the ride. I'd prefer to enjoy the ride." He reached out and pushed a CD into the player. The sound of classical music filled the car.
Just as quickly, Keely reached out and shut it off. "What do you think you're going to accomplish with this?"
"I don't know yet."
"You can talk at me all you want and it's not going to change my mind. I'm still not going to believe my father capable of murder. Or do you think you'll gain an advantage by kidnapping me, that my family will somehow suffer because of it?"
Rafe glanced her way, then chuckled. "Your family doesn't know you exist. It might be hard to collect a ransom on a daughter Seamus Quinn doesn't even know he has. Besides, I'm not after ransom. I have plenty of money."
"Then what?"
"Time," Rafe said. He reached over and turned up the volume on the CD player.
But Keely was far from done with him. She pressed the Eject button on the CD player and when the CD popped out, she tossed it into the back seat. "I'm not going to let you get away with this. The first time this car stops, I'm going to jump out. And then I'm going to call the police and have you arrested."
He glanced over his shoulder as he changed lanes, the car accelerating smoothly. "The one thing I required when I decided on vacation property was that it had to be quick to get to. You'll find it interesting that there isn't a single stop sign between here and my place on Aspen Lake. Really quite amazing, don't you think?"
Keely gritted her teeth and then growled in frustration. He had an answer for everything. God, why hadn't she noticed before what a smug bastard he really was? She eyed the car phone and wondered if she might dial 911 before he had a chance to take it from her.
But Rafe saw what she was looking at and grabbed the phone. He unhooked the cord with one hand, then rolled down the window and tossed it out. "You can add littering to that charge of kidnapping," he said.
Keely slouched down in the seat. She wasn't going to win this round. But she had three hours to plot her escape. Once she did that, she'd capitalize on the first opportunity that presented itself. And in the process, she'd make Rafe Kendrick pay for everything he'd done to her. For those long, deep kisses and those earth-shattering orgasms. For those quiet conversations over dinner and for the fun and games in the shower. For making her doubt her loyalty to the Quinns. For everything he made herfeel.
But as she thought about her own revenge, Keely wondered if she'd be the one paying the greatest price. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she had fallen in love with Rafe Kendrick. And that could be the most costly mistake she'd ever made.
BY THE TIME they reached the cabin, Rafe was ready to unlock the doors and let Keely jump out of the speeding car of her own free will. She'd been nothing but a shrew and a harpy and a royal pain in the ass the entire way to Aspen Lake and he seriously wondered at his decision to bring her to his weekend getaway. But all her demands for an explanation and threats of retribution didn't seem to quell his desire to strip her naked and make wild, uninhibited love to her.
In truth, the reason he hadn't answered her questions was that he didn't have answers yet. He wasn't sure why he'd decided to kidnap her, only that he was certain if he let her out of his sight again, something disastrous might happen. And trying to keep Keely locked in his apartment until he pleaded his case with her would be damn near impossible. At Aspen Lake they'd have the peace and quiet to sort everything out. And when he was satisfied that she understood his side of the story, they'd return to Boston.
The driveway into the cabin was difficult to find during the summer months, but in the dark of a winter night, it was nearly impossible. He slowed the car as they were getting close then spotted the wooden sign tacked up on a tree. "Kendrick" was all it said. Rafe carefully maneuvered the car between the snowbanks, then down a long hill to the cabin, which was set on the shore of the lake.
He glanced over at Keely to find her studying the surroundings carefully-no doubt planning her escape. But Kencor owned all the property around the lake as well as the lake itself. "The nearest neighbors are at least two miles away," he said. "And they're summer residents. You've got a four-mile walk into town, if you can find your way."
The cabin hadn't been opened since Labor Day. Snow crusted the roof and icicles hung from the eaves, but the caretaker had managed to plow the drive and shovel the porch since Rafe's call. The porch light beamed brightly, welcoming them and reflecting the snowflakes that had begun to fall.
Rafe parked the car, then reached over and opened the glove compartment. He pulled out a flashlight. "We're here." He pushed open his door and stepped outside.
Keely refused to get out of the car, stubbornly staring straight ahead, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. Rafe circled to her side, opened the door, then dragged her out. "Come with me. I have something to show you." She trudged along beside him, eyeing the dark woods on either side of the path and struggling through deep snow.