Page 104 of Playboy Pitcher
“No, fuckyou,” he seethes, pushing me against the car. “That’s why you stopped. It’s the same reason you’ve let me just sit by and watch you self-destruct.” Running a finger along my chin, he kisses my temple before whispering in my ear. “People only see what they want to see.”
I’m too livid to address any of the shit he just said, so I bat his hand away and glare at him. “Then why drag this out? Why not bust us the minute we got back from Georgia or after the interview?”
“Where’s the fun in that? It’s much more satisfying to watch you make an ass out of yourself first. Plus, it makes me laugh.”
This time when I swing, he doesn’t see it coming. He doesn’t grab my wrist. His chin doesn’t lift in that haughty way. In fact, his chin doesn’t do anything but snap clean across his shoulder as my fist pummels into it.
I hope that hurt like a son of a bitch, because I think I just broke my hand.
I brace myself for retaliation, but Drake just laughs and rubs his face. “Did hitting me with your fist make you feel better?”
“No. I’d rather have used a bat.” Then Ben and I could have a set of his and hers matching restraining orders.
The idea is so damn absurd, I laugh.
“You’re in a world of shit, princess. I don’t see a lot to be laughing at.”
My patience is wearing razor thin. If I don’t leave now, I’ll never make it to Ben’s on time, and now we have even more to talk about thanks to this asshole.
“It doesn’t matter. You still lose, Drake. Call us out,” I dare him, spreading my arms wide. “Tell whoever you want. No one cares. Everything is legal.”
My breath quickens as Drake reaches inside his suit jacket and pulls out a piece of paper. As he unfolds it and holds it up for my inspection, my stomach lurches. “Is that so?” he says, tapping the middle of the paper. “Well, maybe this might change your mind. I imagine leaking a prenup giving LaCroix full rights to the franchise would look a tad suspicious and poke a hole in your happy little story.”
My jaw tightens as I hold his eye. “Go ahead. It’s only important if we divorce. And we’re not going to.Ever.” I grind out the word, praying it holds more conviction than I feel.
“Oh, princess,” he says, shaking his head. “That’s what you think.” Grabbing my arm, he drags me across the parking lot toward a waiting black town car.
Shit.Twisting against his hold. I pull away, only to have him drag me like a ragdoll. “Let me go!” I yell, but my plea falls on deaf ears. As we reach the car, an asshole in a black suit and white gloves opens the rear passenger door.
“Take a ride with me, Willow,” Drake says, motioning for me to climb inside the car. “I think you’ll want to hear what I have to say.”
“Go to hell.” I fight against his hold again, only to have the breath knocked out of me as he jerks me against him.
“In three and a half weeks, haven’t you stopped to wonder why Roger would willingly put a clause in his will? One that backed his precious daughter in a corner with no other option but to sell to the only other man she hated most in the world?”
“Shut up!” I shout, but there’s no power behind it, I’m weakening, and he knows it.
“It was all in exchange for me keeping his dirty little secret.” He smiles, his entire demeanor shifting as he becomes a conduit for his own hate. “But then again. It wasn’t actually his, was it, Willow? He was protecting yours.”
Another lock snaps, and another box opens, releasing the memory of a veiled warning. One I didn’t understand at the time. One I should have taken seriously.
“What’s that old saying? ‘A father protects his daughter from crying or else makes those who make her cry pay for their crimes.’ Then again, you always were the eternal victim, weren’t you, Willow? That asshole protected you until the day he died.”
It feels like someone shoves a needle in my veins and injects me with liquid fire. “No…”
He knew. My father knew what Drake did to me. Those waivers. The blackballing. Hediddo it…and it was for me.
It was always all for me.
Drake leans in, the harsh fluorescent lighting bouncing off his white teeth. “Let me tell you a little story, princess. It involves my wife’s cousin, a tapped phone, and how Daddy spent years paying off people to keep his baby girl out of jail.” Releasing me, he steps back and gallantly bows, gesturing inside the car once again. “After you…”
This time, I don’t resist.
Chapter Thirty-One
Opening my palm,I stare at the twenty-nine distorted balls of wax all piled together in the center. Now they’re nothing. Useless pieces of trash I should have discarded hours ago. But for some damn reason, I’m holding onto them like a dumbass for no other reason than I can’t let them go.
Just like her.
