Zac

Zac watched as Toni drove away with that dim-witted scientist. Andrews had been a thorn in James's side for years now, and he had a feeling he could expect the same treatment from the erosion committee once Nico Andrews filed his report. And now, Toni was tied up with him and that could ruin all his plans. Hell, Toni being alive was a threat to his company and everything he'd built in the last year. Zac was so close to having everything he wanted, between the empire he and his father built and inheriting James's development company, he was about to land the biggest deal of his life. He couldn't let his past mistakes come back to destroy that for him, he'd worked too hard to get where he was.

He hoped Toni bought his story about what he thought was his last day with her over a year ago. She had called him the night before her accident, giving him some story about not being in love with him and wanting to follow her heart. She fucked up his plans and he couldn't allow that. Love had nothing to do with his marriage proposal, that was pure greed. But God, Zac loved her. He'd never admit it to her, but he had been in love with Toni since they were just kids. Her father was against him having anything to do with her back then. He vowed that one day, he'd grow up and build an empire as big as James Bernston had. Then he'd convince Toni to be his and James wouldn't have a fucking thing to say about it. James Bernston had the clout and knowledge to build one of the largest island resorts and Zac wanted to do the same on the Isle of Palms. He couldn't go around Bernston's ties, so he decided to use them, and the best way to do that would be to use his daughter, Toni. He knew he was playing dirty, but he didn't care. He wanted her, and if James got in the way, he'd make him pay.

Honestly, she wasn't a bad way to kill time. She wasn't hard on the eyes and her body was built for sin; he knew that firsthand. Getting into her pants was easy; earning her love was another matter altogether. He spent months trying to get Toni to love him and he thought he had made headway, but when she called him and told him she wouldn't be able to see him again, he felt the need to take drastic measures. So, he called her the next morning and asked her to meet him at his boat. Toni was reluctant to meet with him, giving him some bullshit story about being too upset to see him. James had called him earlier, telling him about their little tiff and he knew he'd found his window to put a wedge between Toni and her father, and hopefully convince her to join him in his business dealings.

Zac couldn't convince her to go out on his sailboat, since Toni hated boats with a passion. She had vicious spells of motion sickness and avoided all sea-going vessels. He and his gun were very insistent, and she had no choice but to allow him to take her out. He spent the night trying to convince her to help him with his development plans, and the possibility of joining their families' companies, but Toni refused.

He tried to use the rift between her and her father to his advantage, but Toni refused his requests for her to be reasonable, even saying he was a monster for asking her to go against her father. Maybe he was, but he couldn't let her walk away knowing what she did about his plans, so he knocked her out and threw her body overboard. He fucked up though and left her life jacket on. It was an oversight and one he'd always regret because now Toni was back, and she alone had the power to bring all his plans to a halt. If Toni Bernston remembered what happened that night, the way he tried to end her life, she would fuck up everything—and he couldn't allow that.

With James gone now, he would have to make sure there were no more slip-ups. Things had to progress smoothly until he had all the contracts signed, making him the owner of most of the southern portion of the island. He'd monopolize the development of the entire island, driving out his competition and gaining everything he and his father worked so hard for. He was so close, and he wouldn't let that little bitch and her scientist boyfriend ruin everything he ever wanted.