Page 106 of Coup De Grâce
“Tell me what?”
“About his other family.” My stomach dropped out at his declaration. My husband couldn’t have another family. It wasn’t possible. He was always with me. Always…working. He was gone all the time. Yes, when he was here, he was by my side, but I had no idea what he did when he was on a job.
I stumbled back a step, gripping the wall so I didn’t fall over. His words shredded me, tearing me to pieces. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because Rafe is your husband’s son. Well, one of them.”
“One of them,” I repeated. Acid churned in my stomach at his words, but I pushed it down. Now wasn’t the time to break down.
“What does Rafe have to do with my daughter?”
“He’s been working to find her and bring her home. I’ve been watching him for about a year.”
“And…do you think he can do this?”
“With time,” the man shrugged. “It won’t happen overnight.”
My mind whirled with all the information thrown at me. Second family, other kids, a man going after my daughter…
“What do you want?”
He stepped forward, getting in my face. “I could put a stop to all of this right now. With a single order, I could not only kill Rafe but also stop anyone from ever going after Isabelle again. Or…”
“Or what?” I asked, looking up at him hopefully.
“Or I could look the other way. For a price.”
Whatever that price was, I knew it would be too much. No one agreed to something like this unless there was something good in it for them.
“And what is that price?”
“A future favor. There will be a time when I come to you for information, and you will give it to me.”
“Information? But…I don’t know anything. I’m not part of Michael’s world. I?—”
“You’ll find a way to get it,” he snapped. “If you want your daughter back, you will do this.”
Betray my husband. I didn’t even know what information the man wanted. It could be anything, and I doubted it would be something simple. But the need to see my daughter again, to help the innocent young adult who was snatched from her life, I would give anything.
“I’ll do it.”
I’m calling in my favor.
I satin the living room, my finger tapping on the arm of the couch as I awaited my fate. The message had come in yesterday, and I knew it wouldn’t be too much longer before he arrived. I had waited for years for him to call in his favor, always on pinsand needles, wondering every morning if today would be the day I would have to do something I could never take back.
But it had been worth it.
That’s what I hoped, anyway. My daughter was safe, had found love and was finally living the life she deserved. I couldn’t have asked for any more than that. Well, I really hoped we would reconcile, but I knew that would take time.
Time that I now felt was quickly slipping through my fingers.
My heart pounded with anxiety at the thought of betraying the man I loved.
So many memories ran through my mind, playing on repeat. Everything from my earliest days as a new mother, to the day I watched my daughter walk down the aisle and graduate high school, and then college. Those were some of the proudest days of my life, but they were followed by so many torturous nights.
I just wanted it all to be over, to finally live my life in peace, but I knew now that would never happen. Whatever this man was asking, I knew it would be too much, that I would regret ever making that deal.
Gravel crunching outside signaled his arrival, but I didn’t stand. I didn’t greet him at the door as he walked up my steps, and as he strode into the house uninvited, I refused to move a muscle. This was the end.
