Page 37 of Desperate Vows

“Okay, don’t panic yet. See how the date goes, and then, if I need to smuggle you out of the country, I will.” I gave her a big cheesy grin.

Anna chuckled, and a little of her sadness lightened. “Maybe if I have you for a sister-in-law, it won’t be so bad.” She leaned in. “Thea scares the crap out of me.”

“Her bark is just as bad as her bite, but give her a chance. She’s no-nonsense and loyal. Every girl needs a Thea. She does the killing, and all we need to do is provide the alibi.”

Anna smiled. “Thank you, Claire.” She pulled me into a hug. “I was dreading tonight, but I’m so glad I came.”

“I am glad you came too.”

Taking a deep breath, she replied, “I guess I should go back out there.”

“I’ll see you in sec.”

Once I was alone, I leaned my hip against the counter and crossed my arms. I needed to take a moment to regroup. I loved being out tonight and all the new people, but it was a little overwhelming to go from nothing to a posse in zero point five seconds.

The door opened. I lifted my head and instantly plastered my back against the stall wall.

My father locked the door and then leveled his eyes at me. “I found that little speech very touching. It’ll be good PR for that young woman to talk about how kind and generous the Benoit family is.”

“You weren’t?—”

“Supposed to be back until tomorrow? Yes, well, schedules change.”

“What do you want?” I couldn’t believe that came out of my mouth, but I was in a nice restaurant, and my soon-to-be sister-in-law enjoyed maiming people. I figured if I was going to be sassy, now would be a good time to test it.

His head tilted, and that sick smile he got when he’d planned something especially awful for me stretched across his face. “I find it interesting that you like Lucas. I guess he’s better at getting in a woman’s pants than I thought.”

“Why are you like this? What did I do to make you hate me so much?”

His lips curled. “Your whore of a mother, that’s why.”

“She never cheated on you. Her dad was white. Haven’t you ever heard of genetics?” I didn’t watch my volume at all. He was the one who cared about appearances.

“Have you ever heard of a woman having a premature baby? Making the man she’s married think it’s his child when it’s not. She was pregnant when she met me.” He growled. “She said she didn’t know. That she’d just left the relationship, but I was wealthy. That’s why she targeted me. She was a used third-world tramp looking for her meal ticket and lied to me.”

“But I didn’t do that. Why hate me? I remember loving you. I remember you loving me and then…”

“I found out the truth, and I hated you both. The more I punished you, the more I punished her. You should have seen the look in her eyes when I told her about that night in the club.”

The room spun, and I struggled to stay upright. “You told me that if I ever spoke a word of it to her, you’d kill her.”

“And I told her if she ever told you she knew, I’d kill you.” He laughed as his eyes roamed up and down my body. All the sneering stopped. “I made it last. I made her final months as painful as possible, and I enjoyed every bit of her suffering. I’m only sad that it didn’t last longer.” He lunged for me and wrapped his hand around my throat. “No one gets away with lying to me. No one.”

“I hate you.”

“Not nearly as much as I hate you. You look like her, talk like her, and you’re young enough to endure a lot more than she could. Her agony didn’t last nearly as long as the heartbreak I suffered, knowing my wife was carrying another man’s child. She was a whore, and you were so desperate to be just like her, so I made sure you were.” He squeezed a little harder, and my airways were cut off.

I clawed at his hand, but it was too tight against my neck. Black spots blurred my vision. My lungs burned so badly.

He brought his face closer to mine. “You think Lucas just happened to show up at that charity that day? He was following you.” And like he could see the questions in my eyes, he added, “The only way their business survives is that trust fund. Marco, Lucas, and I plan to run this city, and for once, you’ll have been useful. Marco has so many plans for you. You think that night at the club was painful? Just wait until they string you up naked and sell you to the highest bidder.”

“He told me he followed me.” I forced out the words with the little bit of air I had left.

“He held you in his car, too, and spoke sweet nothings to you. That you didn’t need to tell him about what happened.”

I knew he could see the doubt building in my eyes. It was devouring my heart like acid. Had Lucas reported back to him?

Lucas told me that my father said I wasn’t pure. He’d looked at me like he didn’t have the whole story. Had I projected what I’d wanted to see in his eyes? I’d even let him hold me. The last thought that rolled through my head was how stupid I’d been. I knew he was working with my father, and I’d let him play me.

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