Chapter 49

Within a couple hours Rossalyn found herself sitting at the table in a hotel room. To give them credit the hotel room was a suite at the Hampton Inn. Ever since they had arrived and she was more or less frog marched into the room she had been left to her own devices. She had been in the room for what felt like hours and she was starting to feel sick from needing food. She was just starting to stomp over to the door to yank it open when it opened to reveal George and Jake carrying two sacks of what looked like to-go containers. She glared at him, but her ire was helped by the smell of food.

"What am I doing here?" She demanded as she watched the men set the table up with the food containers.

"Have a seat and we will talk about it while you eat. Jake told me you didn't have a chance to eat your lunch and I know you are probably very hungry." George told her as he pulled a chair out in front of one of the food containers.

"I also got you some juice." Jake offered, pulling out a bottle of fruit punch from a different sack that she hadn't noticed in the bunch.

She held out for a little longer before her hunger won out and she highly doubted George intended to poison her. One of the few things she was sure of was that he'd stand to lose a lot if word got out he harmed a pregnant woman, much less the mother of the child he intended to have married into his family. She took a seat at the table, though she gave a wary glare at George who was waiting for her to sit before he took his own seat. Jake followed suit staying quiet under Rossalyn's glare.

"So you wanted to know why you're here. I will explain that for you now." George said once Rossalyn had picked up her utensils to start eating the chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes he had brought her. "I have it on good word that there were severe doubts about you and your...husband....were going to go through with our agreement." He informed her.

"Oh really? By whom?" Rossalyn asked cocking an eyebrow then shot a glare at Jake who had no doubt heard some private conversations.

"Oh, I'll not reveal my sources. But I can tell you right now that I believe the information. After much discussion with Cylvia, we agreed that it was time to take it into our own hands to make some.....assurances." George told her.

She looked up at him, shocked. "Assurances? What does that mean?" She demanded.

"That means, you'll be our guest until the baby is born. Then once she is safely born, you'll be returned to Josiah. She will be well cared for and raised to be the wife of our grandson." George told her.

"Like hell I will. It is still three months until the baby is due. Do you think there is a chance that Josiah won't get me back before then?" She said, horrified.

"Oh I can guarantee that he will try. But he won't be too forceful because he will be scared that I'll hurt you. I'll do what I must to make a point. There are many things I can do that won't cause much harm to you and no harm to the baby that will be....unpleasant." George said. "I don't want to do any of those things so maybe if he is reasonable, he will bide his time and realize this had to happen to keep the peace."

"You kidnapped his wife and unborn child. There is no amount of hope that he won't have your head on a pike. Not even if you promise my safe return because he would never just write off his child." Rossalyn said then rolled her eyes. "You should take me back home now before there is no chance of saving the situation." Rossalyn advised, though she had no hope of him listening.

"All you need to worry about is growing that baby. I'll worry about the rest. The conversation is over. Eat your food quickly because we're going to be leaving here in the next thirty minutes." George's tone went from polite conversation to harsh almost instantly.

Rossalyn stared at him in shock for a moment. His demeanor changed so quickly he'd startled her. The whole situation was insane. He couldn't really believe that it would work out in his favor. At a stern glare from George she moved her attention back to her food even though she wasn't feeling very hungry after their exchange. She knew she needed to eat, if only to delay their leaving as long as she could. The further away George managed to get her, the lower the chance Josiah would successfully get her back. The bad thing was she wasn't sure if he had any idea where she was at at the moment. Though all of his men had locators in their vehicles and their phones, the two men that George had put with her had flat out refused to allow Josiah to put locators in their phones. She knew they had not put her into the SUV that Josiah designated for her use and since Bart wasn't with them either, she knew there was no way that Josiah could trace her. Her phone was in her purse at the table when she'd went to the restroom.

George had no intentions of harming her for a while. She had time to work something out and for Josiah to find her. It wouldn't be a hard guess as to who got her since George had been the only threat to her the entire time they'd known each other. Josiah had constantly been in doubt as to George's motives so when she didn't come home and George's men were suddenly out of the picture it wouldn't be long before Josiah started trying to track them down, starting with George. She just hoped that he didn't do anything too drastic that got anyone killed. With an internal sigh, she knew that hope was a far fetched one. There would be no chance that Josiah wouldn't make George pay for what he did.