Page 48 of Daddy's Claim

I felt like shit. My head ached and my throat was as dry as the Sahara. Like the world’s worst hangover, without the benefit of a fun night of debauchery to ease the pain the next day.

And my heart. Oh, my heart was shattering in my chest with every word from Rissa’s venomous lips. How could she do this to me? Was the money really worth betraying me this way?

To her, it obviously was. But I still couldn’t wrap my mind around it. Someone had to be forcing her. Blackmailing her, maybe. “Rissa.” I swallowed, wincing at the feeling of a dozen razor blades slicing at the inside of my throat. “You-you don’t have to do this.”

“I know.” Still holding the phone up so we were both visible on the screen, she looked over her shoulder and flashed a smile. “But I so want to.”

“Why?” Tears burned at the backs of my eyes, but I held them back. I would rather die than give her the satisfaction of seeing me cry. “You’re my best friend in the whole world.”

“And isn’t that a fucking shame? That should really tell you something about yourself, honey. Your best friend in the whole wide world can’t wait to get rid of you. Honestly, it’s a toss-up for me on what I’m looking forward to more. Getting control of the DeCosta empire or fucking endingyou.”

“Marissa.” At the snap of Cole’s voice, Rissa sobered, focusing on the screen once again. “If there is so much as a scratch or a bruise on her, not only will you get nothing from me, I will personally see to it you meet the slowest, most painful end I can imagine. And I promise you, I have a very vivid imagination.”

“Don’t worry. Your sweet little princess is safe. As long as you do what I ask, she won’t be harmed.”

“Thank you. It’s going to take some time to get things together. As a good faith gesture, why don’t you untie my cousin’s wife? She doesn’t look very comfortable.”

“And risk the little bitch attacking me? Not a chance. And you’d better hurry. I’m not a patient woman. I’ll call back in halfan hour. If you don’t at least have a list of names for me by then, I’m going to start slicing off parts of her.”

Cole’s face disappeared from the screen, leaving me alone with this complete psycho I’d once considered a friend. “What happened to you? Who’s making you do this?”

“Nobody is making me do anything, darling.” Her lips curved up again in that smile that turned my stomach. “This was all my idea. See, unlike you, I refuse to surround myself with men who treat me like some precious little doll. They know I can take care of myself.”

“Who does?”

She opened her mouth, then snapped it shut again with a scowl. “Nice try. On the off chance you actually make it out of this alive, I can’t have you blabbing all of my secrets to the DeCostas.”

Dread sat in my gut like a rock. “You know they can’t do what you asked. You never intended for me to survive this, did you?”

“Ding ding ding, we have a winner! You’re not as stupid as you act, you know that, Nora? And that’s the shame of it, really. We could have done great things together. But you’d rather play the spoiled, vapid princess than actually use the brain God gave you.”

“But why? What the hell do you gain from my death?”

“Come on, Nora. I bet you can figure it out. Who do you think dear old Dad is going to hold responsible if something happens to you, hmm?”

A logical man would place the blame squarely on Rissa’s shoulders. But knowing my father, he would look to Mikey, and by extension the rest of the DeCostas. Horror filled me as the pieces fell into place. “Jesus… you’re trying to start a war.”

“Bingo, bitch.”

Seventeen

Mikey

The audio cut off and a quick glance at my phone told me the video call had ended. A moment later a new call rang through, with Cole’s name lighting up the screen in my car.

“I’m still ten minutes out,” I said, the desperation in my tone ringing loud and clear even to my own ears.

“Alex and Luca are on their way with backup. Adele slipped out to call them while I kept Marissa busy. How the hell did she get to Nora?”

“I don’t know. But you can be damn sure I’m going to find out. I have a feeling my wife is going to find sitting very uncomfortable for the foreseeable future.”

“Good. Give her a couple licks from me for that ‘not worth it’ bullshit.”

“Will do.”

“You’d better.” He paused, swearing softly under his breath. “Luca’s calling. Hang on a second, I’ll patch him in.”

Silence filled the car, followed by the growl of my brother’s voice. “Who’s the bitch who has my sister-in-law?”