Page 75 of Tusk's Fury

“I had to leave her in the care of friends and put some distance between us to avoid suspicion. That’s why I need more money, to pay them for taking care of her.”

“I want the baby delivered to me immediately.”

“What about my extra money?”

“I’ll pay you fifteen grand to cover the extra expenses, but I want the child delivered to me in good health and unmarked. My Eve grieves for her daughter, and I would see them reunited.”

My ex says slyly, “Maybe we can meet up again in a week or two.”

Harper sighs, “Fine. I will reward you with twenty grand if you deliver the child within twenty-four hours. Is that enough incentive to make it worth your time?”

“Absolutely,” my Gina responds in a pleased voice. “Where do you want to meet me? I can come to your church.”

“No. I don’t want you anywhere near my church. I prefer a public place, like the Las Salinas mall after closing hours. Be there at midnight with the baby and come alone.”

Gina laughs darkly, “What? Didn’t you like Silver?”

Harper responds crisply, “You’re both whores, and I can’t say I like either of you.”

She makes an indignant sound, but he cuts her off.

“Be on time and bring the baby. Don’t mess this up for me or you will regret it.”

My ex swallows thickly, “You’re sure going through a lot of trouble for this woman. Are you sure she’s worth it?”

“My Eve is worth five million times the likes of you.”

“If you knew me, you’d think differently, Silas.”

The way she purrs his name is almost sensual. My jaw goes slack with shock. I literally cannot believe my ex is actually flirting with the religious fanatic that abducted my old lady.

Harper responds tightly, “I told you, it’s Bishop Harper. Be present at the appointed hour with my stepdaughter or suffer my wrath.”

The second her screen goes blank, I jerk her phone out of her hand and slap it down onto the table. “What the actual fuck was that?”

Siege interjects, “Were you just flirting with the asshole who’s paying you to abduct a goddamn baby?”

Gina rolls her eyes. “I was just buttering him up. He’s paying me twenty grand, so he’ll expect to be flattered and coddled.”

I lean down until we’re face to face, boxing her in by putting my hands on either side of her chair. “Really? This was just some ploy to soften him up? Because it looked an awful lot like you were trying to cozy up to this bastard because he has money.”

Her expression turns stormy, and she shoves me back. “Jealous? So, what if I am? You don’t want me and he’s got money.”

I stare into her eyes, trying to figure out if she’s being serious or if this is some kind of manipulation to make me want her again.

I feel Siege grab my shoulder and pull me back. “Don’t argue with crazy, man. It’s not worth it to try and unpick this kind of lunacy.”

Chapter 26

Brittany

Iknew this day was coming. The day when both my parents and Silas Harper ganged up on me to leverage me into marrying him. Sitting across the dinner table from him with my parents sitting at each end like nothing unusual was going on. They clearly believed they could control the situation by simply creating a new reality, one where I hadn’t been abducted and forced back into their world.

As the meal wound down, Harper’s kitchen workers place a lemon pound cake on the table with dessert plates and flatware. After a short silence spins out in the room, my mother speaks, “Have you forgotten your manners, Brittany?”

I know what she wants from me, but I’ve decided to refuse to cooperate. “I only serve people I care about, not assholes who pay to have me abducted or parents trying their best to traffic me for their own benefit.”

My parents are shocked by my response. I’m not sure what shocks them more, my cursing or my flat-out refusal to live up to the subservient role they have in mind for me. Truth be told, I don’t particularly care.

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