Page 30 of Dangerous Contract: Part 2

Of course, his father hadn’t wanted that to get out. When vultures smelled blood, they swooped in. If their enemies knew there was discord in the Cattaneo family, they’d pounce. His dadhad been trying to avoid that in the easiest way possible, with money.

“Your father entered an agreement with the Tatums. The agreement stated that neither side would ever contact the other again. This wasn’t really to keep Bethany away from Cas. It was to keep your uncle away from the Tatums. It was a warning to your uncle not to overstep again. And the payoff was to appease the Tatums for your uncle using their daughter and discarding her. But secretly, the Tatums weren’t happy with the deal. They wanted more. They were upset that Patrick hadn’t been able to find a way to take over the Don spot. So, when Bethany came home complaining about you calling her over just so Cas could show off that he had someone else, her father saw another way to get what he wanted. That's when he called me to vent and see if, legally, he could apply pressure to the Cattaneo family and find a way to get his daughter married off to the future Don."

"Her father wanted her to marry me?"

"Yeah," Trevor admitted, swallowing hard. "He thought it would secure a powerful alliance for his family and elevate their status. They're wealthy. But Mr. Tatum craves more than wealth. He wants to be feared. And being connected through marriage to the Cattaneos would've gotten him what he wanted. After you broke the contract and contacted Bethany, Mr. Tatum began telling his friends that soon, the Cattaneos would be bowing down to him. I’m pretty sure those rumors reached the Don’s ears quickly."

Raz snorted, amused by the sheer audacity of such a plan. He could see where Bethany got her delusions of grandeur from.

"And you were supposed to facilitate this arrangement, right?"

Trevor nodded, his eyes darting around nervously. "That's what he wanted, yes. Since Patrick didn't get his way and become Don, the next best thing, the next sure thing, was you. Mr.Tatum knew Don Cattaneo would be passing the title down to you. So, he ordered Beth to stay away from Cas, and set his sights on you," Trevor told him. "But the Don didn't like the fact that Mr. Tatum dared go up against him in a cocky manner. Which was why he involved you all and ordered you to kidnap the only son of Tatum."

Trevor knew everything, even things Raz didn’t. There was no way his father planned to keep him alive. Which meant his father had planned to kill Trevor and Monique.

"You were told to take Monique and do what with her?" Raz asked.

"He... he said he'd give me further instructions later. But that if she died, he wouldn't mind. And he was supposed to pay me for doing this behind the Tatum's back, without telling them that the Don was kidnapping his son. That's why I'm here. I'm just here to get my money," Trevor said.

"One more question, and then you can go," Raz told Trevor.

"Really?" Trevor asked, a smile appearing on his worried face.

"I swear," Raz vowed.

"Ask me anything. I won't lie. I swear."

"I believe you," Raz told him. "What about the deal with the Tatum's? Did my father agree to have me marry Bethany?"

Trevor nodded. "He did. But he took Jacob to teach them a lesson. He planned to return him, beaten but alive. After that, he would threaten the Tatum's not to try to bargain with him again. Then he’d planned to announce the wedding between you and Bethany to assure the Tatums’ that their families had no more beef. Wedding plans would ensue, and at the wedding, he'd have his guys come in and kill everyone there with the last name Tatum and those related to the Tatums."

Raz's mind raced as he tried to piece the puzzle together to figure out what his father's grand plan had been.

"So, he didn't just want to ruin the Tatum's. He needed a reason for them to invite the rest of their family to town, and then he'd kill them all."

"Exactly," Trevor said, nodding. "At your wedding to Bethany, the Don wanted to eradicate the Tatum family for daring to go up against him and for trying to assist his brother in stealing the title of Don. This would put your uncle in his place and remind your enemies of how powerful your family is. Oh, and somehow, I don’t know the details, but somehow, he was going to let the word get out at the wedding that it was Jacob Tatum who kidnapped Monique. That way, you’d be eager to kill the Tatums just as much as him."

Damn. "My dad has always been a ruthless motherfucker," Raz drawled, more to himself, than to Trevor.

Raz’s mind was reeling as all the pieces came together. The Don had planned to use Raz to get rid of the Tatum family. But first, he'd had to get rid of Monique to do it. But he hadn't wanted Raz to discover he was connected to Monique's disappearance.

He knew Raz, in his anger, would've believed the Tatums were responsible, especially since Bethany had seen Monique that night at the Casino's restaurant. Raz chuckled. His father was quick on his feet.

Raz had thought it was his idea to kidnap Jacob Tatum. He thought he’d come up with such a plan. He’d thought his father had been handling the Tatum’s with kids' gloves and thought he, himself, had elevated their plan to apply more pressure.

He was wrong. It hadn’t been him. He’d just been a puppet. All along, it had been his father steering him down that path, pulling his strings. His father had planned this out perfectly. And it would've worked if it hadn't been for Raz’s car accident and for Leo being loyal to Raz. Raz inhaled deeply, attempting to rein in his anger.

"Is there anything else you want to know?" Trevor asked, eyes darting left, then right.

Raz shook his head. "No, that's it. Oh, wait... one last thing."

"I'm listening."

"Did Monique scream when you hurt her?"

Trevor’s eyes widened. His nose flared. Trevor opened his mouth, then closed it. He opened it again, only to close it once more. Fear danced in his eyes as he glanced at Raz, struggling to find the right words that might save his life.

"She... I... She's... bruised. But not because of me. Her father did that! He was with me. I killed him to keep him from selling her to pay his debts. We may be divorced, but I don't want her hurt."

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