Page 56 of The Alpha's Forbidden Secret Baby

Ralph had picked a coffee shop for their date and to get his money. It pained her to call what was about to happen a date between the two of them, but she would endure anything for her son.

Still, despite her personal pep talk, she shivered in disgust as she imagined his gleeful expression now that he finally got her exactly where he wanted her.

She drove faster, careful to not go past the speed limit but also fast enough that she would get there before he got impatient.

Rayla slowed as she neared the coffee shop. She recognized it. She’d been there a few times in the past, although she never quite liked her experience there. She’d never been able to escape the judgmental stares of the inhabitants of her village, not even during a coffee break.

She sucked in a deep breath as she tried to center herself.

“It’s alright, Rayla. This is going to be quick. Two hours at most and you’ll be out of here, then all of this will be forgotten, never to be thought of again.”

She stared at herself in the mirror and stepped out of her car, satisfied with her appearance. She hadn’t given it much thought on her way here, but now, it was about more than just Ralph. It was her armor to keep her safe from the nasty glares she was sure to get.

She pushed the door open and glanced around for her blackmailer as the bell jingled. It was impossible to miss him. He was exactly as she remembered the last time she had seen him. She shivered with disgust once again as small, beady eyes stared at her. His small face looked mousy as a result of his scruffy and unkempt beard.

Crumbs of bread hung on his beard, along with something wet she did not care to decipher. His lips were dry and cracked, almost covered by predator-like mustache. Everything about him looked so wrong, and as she sat down opposite him, she wished she was anywhere else.

“I was beginning to think you had stood me up,” he said sternly and then grinned, stretching the cracks in his lips in what Rayla imagined was a painful grin. “Although I suppose there’s no way you could do that, considering what I have up my sleeve.”

Rayla looked around, willing him to be quiet. Her eyes fixed on Martha, who owned the chicken coop down from her house. They had been friends once, before she fell pregnant and was rejected by everyone.

She watched for a moment as she struggled to balance her crying toddler on one hand and drink her coffee with the other, a weary expression stamped on her face showing just how exasperated she was.

She looked away quickly and saw young Tom hopping around, entertaining his little sister who giggled in excitement and tried to copy his actions, failing woefully, although that only led to more bouts of laughter.

“Do you have the money?”

She turned away from the scenery that screamed normalcy, although she couldn’t remember the last time anything had ever truly been normal in this town, for her at least.

“Yes, I do.”

“Good. Good. You’ll hand that over in a bit, but for now, how about we have a nice date and maybe afterwards we can see where the fun ends.”

His sleazy smile was too much for her to bear. Before she could force a calm, she reacted to his disgusting offer.

“Thank you, but I think I’d much rather drown than do anything like you’re suggesting.”

Rayla’s eyes widened, and she bit her lip in shock. She hadn’t meant to say that. At least, not until he deleted the video from his phone.

Instead of the outburst of anger she’d been expecting from him or more blackmail at the very least, he grinned at her.

Confused, she stared at him. She could see the barely veiled anger in his eyes but she had not expected him to try to mask it in any form.

Before she could give him any credit in her mind, she felt the atmosphere shift. The normalcy she’d felt only seconds ago seemed to have evaporated, and in its place was something sinister.

She turned around, and this time, instead of going about their activities, all eyes were on her, including the children’s. They stared at her with hate, which was not much of a surprise. However, it was the murderous intent behind their gazes that scared her.

She looked back at Ralph whose grin had widened some more. His eyes showed his madness in a way that she had never seen before, not even when he broke into her house.

“Witch.”

She’d been so distracted by the madness she saw in front of her that she did not realize someone had come up behind her until she heard the voice and felt a hand push her. She toppled forward and landed on the floor.

“Witch,” she heard again. This time from the other side of her. They had both been female voices, although she didn’t see who the first push came from.

The second came from the barista, Eliana, who stared at her with pure disgust.

“No!” Ralph shouted, raising his hand. He turned his face to her while his body faced them in a pose that would trouble her mind if she wasn’t already at risk.

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