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confronted her father before. She had never needed to because he was never around. But she loved Reid. She’d die inside without him.
    Her father bent his head and whispered into her ear, “If you leave, I will destroy him. He will be kicked out of college, and his father will be audited by the IRS and the SEC for starters. I’ll have their mortgages and loans called in and his sisters blacklisted from every college in this country. I’ll bring down the full power of every committee I’m on to send that family not only back across the railroad tracks to where they belong, but to jail as well. Do you understand me?”
    Mallory swayed on her feet and felt a weight on her chest pressing until her heart broke. She gave a slight nod of her head before her eyes filled with tears.
    “I’m sorry, Reid. I can’t go with you. My duty is to my family.”
    Reid paused as he buttoned his jeans. “Mallory, you don’t mean that. We love each other. We don’t need anything else. I promise you, I will love you and take care of you. I’ll make you happy,” he pleaded to her.
    Mallory died in that moment. It was as if her soul had left her body and was looking at this scene from above. She was numb, empty. “I’m sorry, Reid. I’m so sorry. I need you to leave.”
    “And never come back,” her father whispered. “If he ever comes back into your life, I will annihilate him and his entire family. Do you understand me, Mallory? End this now.”
    “What is he saying to you?” Reid asked. “It doesn’t matter. He’s just manipulating you. Mallory, what can he do if we leave together? He’ll cut you off. Fine. I can take care of you. Let me love you. Let me cherish you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Mallory, come with me now, please,” Reid begged.
    “I’m sorry, Reid. My father is right. It would never work with an upstart like you. You’ll never amount to anything. This was just a fling to cross off my list. Every girl loves the bad boy, right? But, she doesn’t marry him.”
    Mallory didn’t move as she watched Reid’s heart breaking. Her face was blank even though she wanted to rush to him, to tell him she was doing this to protect him. She wanted to beg him to wait for her—wait until she was thirty-five and came into possession of all the land and money her grandmother left her. Even if her father did what he threatened, she could protect his whole family with her inheritance. There was enough in her trust for all of them to live with her. However, thirty-five was a lifetime away.
    “Do you mean that?” Reid asked, his voice suddenly so very small.
    “Yes. I mean it. It was fun while it lasted, but you and I both know I was destined for things larger than being your wife. You’ve known the plans for me, and you know they can’t include you.”
    Mallory implored him with her eyes to see the hidden meaning in her words, but Reid suddenly couldn’t look at her. He slid his T-shirt on over his head and walked out of the room. He didn’t look back.
    “Reid,” Mallory gasped as she fell to the floor at her father’s feet. She couldn’t breathe. She tried to gulp in the air as her world spun out of control. The sharp crack of her father’s hand against her face made her blink the world back into focus—her father’s angry face front and center.
    “Stop being so dramatic. Get dressed and do your job. I’ll meet you downstairs.”
    “I hate you,” she stated with no feeling. Her emotions were gone. Her heart was frozen and her body numb.
    “You’ll see this is for the best. That boy will never amount to a hill of beans.”
    “And if he does, I’ll love every minute of it. But I’ll never love you. And I’ll never marry some preppy mama’s boy just because you want me to. No, I gave you this win to protect the Simpsons, but I’ll never do anything for you again.”

     

CHAPTER ONE
     
    Keeneston, Kentucky, Current Day . . .
     
    Mallory Westin, president of Westin Security,