Read Online His Stolen Bride (Chicago Sons) by Barbara Dunlop - Free Book Online

the church. She hasn’t come out of her room all morning. The doctor’s with her now.”
    “It wasn’t my—”
    “Three hundred people,” Gerhard interjected. “The mayor was there, for God’s sake. And who is this?” Vern’s beady black eyes peered in Jackson’s direction.
    Jackson stepped forward, his sense of justice winning over his instinct for self-preservation. “Do you even want to know what happened?”
    “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what happened .” Gerhard’s attention turned back to Crista. “She got scared. Well, sweetheart, we all get scared. But you don’t get scared two minutes before the wedding. You do it the day before, and we talk about it. Or do you do it the day after, and we get a divorce.”
    Crista’s posture sagged. “A divorce?”
    Jackson took her elbow, afraid she might go down.
    “You’d want a divorce?” she asked Gerhard in a tone of amazement.
    “There are ways to do this,” he answered. “And this wasn’t one of them.”
    “That’s not what happened,” said Jackson.
    She grasped the hand on her elbow. “Don’t.”
    “Crista didn’t get scared,” he said. “I’m the one who stopped your wedding.”
    “Let it go,” she whispered. “Don’t do it.”
    He glanced down at her expression. It looked like she’d changed her mind and didn’t want him to confess. Well, that worked fine for him.
    “Just who are you?” Gerhard demanded again.
    “I’m an old boyfriend,” he said, crafting a story on the fly. “I showed up at the church. I begged her for another chance. I told her she couldn’t marry you until we’d talked.”
    Vern’s jaw went tight. There was anger in his expression, but it didn’t exactly look like jealousy. “You ran off with another man?”
    “I insisted,” said Jackson, bracing for Vern to come at him. If the tables had been turned and Crista had been his bride, Jackson would have taken the man’s head off.
    Gerhard didn’t move. His attention swung back to Crista. “What do you expect me to do?”
    “I don’t care what you do,” she said, determination returning to her tone.
    Gerhard took a step forward, and Jackson stepped between them. “Don’t touch her.”
    “Crista, get in the house.”
    Jackson countered. “Crista, get in the car.”
    “Mother and Father are owed an explanation,” said Gerhard.
    “You weren’t even interested in her explanation,” said Jackson.
    “Get out of my way.”
    “No.” Jackson had no intention of leaving Crista behind.
    “This is none of your business.”
    “I’m making it my business.”
    Gerhard took another step.
    Jackson braced his feet apart, willing the guy to take a swing. All he needed was an excuse, and he’d wipe the cocky confidence right off Gerhard’s face.
    “Please don’t hurt him,” said Crista.
    “Okay,” said Jackson.
    “She’s talking to me,” said Gerhard.
    Jackson couldn’t help but smile at that.
    “Please,” Crista repeated.
    “Get in the car,” said Jackson.
    “You won’t?” she asked.
    “I won’t,” he promised.
    “We are not done talking,” Gerhard called to Crista.
    “Oh, yes, you are.” Jackson listened to her footfalls until she slammed the passenger door.
    “Make any move, and I’ll defend myself,” he told Gerhard.
    Gerhard didn’t look like he was going to try.
    Still, Jackson kept an eye over his shoulder as he returned to the vehicle. Half of him hoped Gerhard would come at him. But the smarter half just wanted to get Crista away from this family.
    He planted himself behind the wheel.
    “Just take me home,” she said, yanking her dress into place around her legs.
    He started the engine and put the vehicle into gear. “You got it.”
    They drove away in silence.
    It was five minutes before she spoke up. “You know where you’re going?”
    “I know where you live.” He checked his rearview mirror again, making a mental note of vehicles in the block behind them.
    “How do you know