It took a few minutes to reach the Hummer, which she could now see clearly through the trees. Ellie waited until Egan pushed her toward the passenger side of the car and opened the door. Knowing it was her last chance, she went for the gun, but Egan jerked his hand free and backhanded her hard across the face. Ellie stumbled but didn’t fall. When she regained her balance, she saw the pistol pointed at the center of her chest.

“You little wildcat. I’m really going to enjoy you.” Egan’s fist hit her squarely in the jaw, and she went down. Ellie groaned as he kicked her in the stomach with a heavy leather boot, once, twice. Then he kicked her in the head, and everything went black.

* * *

As Rick drove the Hummer toward his destination, his thoughts strayed from the unconscious woman and the pleasures that lay ahead to another woman he had known. Barbara Meeks wasn’t as beautiful as Heather, but she was undeniably lovely. He figured fate had played a role in bringing the two of them together.

After the police had found Heather’s car, emotions returned that he had managed to bury for years. Memories of Heather and how deeply he had loved her. How happy he had been when they were together.

Thoughts of her swelled inside his head, pounding, pounding, like a hammer battering the inside of his skull until the pain was nearly unbearable. Warm memories clashed with ugly dark images, the memory of her last-minute refusal to leave her husband, the rejection that had sent him spiraling out of control.

Fighting to crawl out of the quagmire of pain that had started when the cops found her car, he’d returned to Vail, the place he and Heather had met, the first time he had made love to her.

That Friday night, he’d gone to the same pub, one of their favorites, and just as before, a beautiful woman had sat down beside him at the bar. Rick recognized Barbara Meeks from the Denver society pages, had even met her and her husband once at a charity benefit in the city.

Bryan Meeks was a corporate executive, CEO of some big software company. A powerful man—like Rick’s father, who held the fate of his employees in one of his godlike hands. Like Mose Egan, who disrespected Rick again and again, even chose Rick’s sister and her husband for the highest positions in the company, instead of his eldest son.

Seducing Barbara was easy. Just a few sweet words to a woman starved for affection, followed by a few lusty hours in bed.

Nothing gave him a rush like cuckolding a wealthy, influential man, to secretly know he had taken what the man held most dear—his wife’s fidelity.