Page 35 of Dirty Little Vow
“Let’s not. Release Bella.”
“Let’s sit,” he bites out.
I don’t move.
“All right then,” he says. “We’ll stand. Yes, the file exists. I’ve got a copy. Your father had another copy. I assume you do now, as well. Give it to me, and I give you Bella. After which, we never have to talk again.”
“I don’t have the fucking file. Why do you think I’m looking for it? If I challenge the format of my father’s will, that file will be released to the public.”
“By who?”
“Withers.”
His eyes narrow. “Withers? He’s on our payroll.”
“I’m aware and to that point, my father’s will reads like a bluff, but per this conversation we’re having right now, you say it is not.”
“I don’t pretend to know your dead father’s intentions toward you, but I know what they were toward me. He made a point of paying me a visit after my father’s death.”
“To what end?”
“To make sure I knew he could hurt the family.”
I consider this premise and all I know about my father. Did he like games? Yes. Did he play them with no endgame? Never. “Why did he think your understanding of this matter and his extreme effort to solidify that threat necessary?”
His energy spikes, his expression indiscernible. “Why indeed?”
“That’s not an answer.”
“Yes, well it’s not pleasant now, is it?”
“Let me be clear with you. Bella—”
“Is safe.”
“And you are not until she’s back by my side, and even then, I’m your new enemy.”
“It doesn’t have to be that way. I have a proposition for you, Tyler Hawk.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Bella
The relief I feel about Oliver leaving without raping me or killing me is short lived.
What if Oliver comes back and he’s been ordered to kill me?
I sit on the floor for about five minutes before I pull myself up and walk to the door and start pounding and yelling. It’s really the only plan I can conjure right now, which isn’t exactly a grand plan at all, but I can’t do nothing. I try the door. I try random walls. And then I repeat. I’ve been at this for an hour, and my mind is starting to really mess with me.
What if Tyler is dead?
I’m queasy with the idea, and I just want to be back in time, back home earliertoday, this morning, loving on Molly and trying a new coffee with Tyler. I want to plan my wedding, and not think about the will, or the reasons we’re pressured into a long engagement. It shouldn’t matter. We need time to plan anyway. I want the world to see how different Tyler is from his father, and if they knew that, maybe we wouldn’t be living this hell.
If we get out of this, we’re not going to live in fear over the will. We’re going to be frank with everyone, including the partners, invite them to our wedding, and own our new life.
I’ve just finished pounding on the door for one more round, and sunk down to the floor, defeated, when I hear, “Hello,” spoken through the door.
My eyes go wide and my pulse leaps, hope filling me. “Yes. Yes. Hello!” I twist around and struggle with my hands to get to my feet.