“Oh, but it was. Didn’t you see? He laid me out on your front lawn last night. I even have a witness who saw it happen.”
She stared at him, her heart sinking as she remembered the shadowed figure near Doug’s car last night. “You’ve lost your goddamned mind.”
“And I’ve heard Vandergriff has a nasty little custody fight on his hands. You’d think he’d be more careful with his anger. I mean, who would trust him with a little girl when he can’t control his temper or his fists?”
Her whole body went cold.
“Shut the door, Tessa,” he said evenly. “Like I said, we have a few things to discuss.”
Her bones felt like they would splinter she’d gone so stiff, but she managed to reach out and slowly shut the door. When she he
ard the click, it felt like she’d just locked herself in a cage with a venomous snake. On wooden legs, she made her way into the living room and sat down in a chair. “Why are you doing this? Haven’t you done enough to Kade?”
“Ah, poor Kaden Fowler, always getting in my way when it comes to you. He should know that’s not going to work for me.” He pointed to his battered face. “I’m willing to go to any lengths to handle my business.”
Her jaw clenched. He’d probably paid some bum to beat the shit out of him. “I’m not with you anymore. He’s not in the way of anything.”
“No, maybe not, but you are. Do you know how much of my congregation I’ve lost over the last year because of the scandal you created? Not just because of the rumors that I cheated but because I got a divorce? You know how long I preached about the sanctity of marriage and how it was a sin to give up on that sacred bond. You made me look like a hypocrite and a fool. The church has lost a lot of money, Tessa. I’ve lost a lot of money and respect. And that’s on you.”
“You are a hypocrite. I told the truth. If you didn’t want scandal, you should’ve kept your dick out of other women.”
His eyes narrowed. “You talking like a whore now, too? I know Fowler has made you his bitch. What kind of sick shit have you gotten into with him?”
Her fingers tightened on the arms of the chair. “What are you talking about?”
He pulled folded pages from inside his coat and flattened them on the coffee table. In them, though the images were hazy from being shot through her sheer curtains, was Kade standing over her, her hair looped around his fist, as she crawled for him.
Her stomach lurched. “You fucking bastard. You watched through my windows?”
He shrugged. “No, but you know how Marilyn is, always the reporter. She came with me last night because she really did want to apologize for the bad blood between you two, so she stayed behind when you sent me off. But when she went to knock on your door, she saw what was going on and was worried for you. She snapped a few cell phone pictures for evidence in case you wanted to press rape charges. But of course, she figured out quickly that you weren’t saying no to him.” He leaned over the coffee table as if examining them closely. “But really, it’s hard to tell. If the press got ahold of these, Kaden would have lots of explaining to do.”
Everything in the room was spinning, her skin like ice. Assault charges and hard proof that Kade was rough with women. He may never see his daughter again if all this got out. She swallowed past the jagged knot in her throat. “What do you want, Doug?”
He gave her a sharp-toothed grin and slapped his thighs. “Now, we’re talking. There’s my practical Tessa.”
She wanted to vomit on his expensive shoes.
“I will drop the charges and give you these pictures if you agree to come back to Atlanta with me. You’ll give Marilyn an exclusive interview and tell everyone that I never cheated. Tell them that you were the one who strayed in the marriage because you’re into this demented S&M shit. But you’re ready to come back to me, get help, and work on putting our marriage back together. And you will beg my forgiveness in front of the congregation on the live Sunday broadcast.”
The walls around her seemed to shrink inward, pressing on her. He wanted her to go back to Atlanta with him? She’d rather be dead. But if she didn’t do something, Doug would annihilate Kade’s chances with his daughter and his reputation. She couldn’t do that to Kade. Wouldn’t. Last time she’d had to make a choice between herself and Kade, she’d chosen the easiest path for her. But she refused to hurt the man she loved, maybe had always loved, again.
“I can’t be your wife again,” she whispered, almost more to herself.
“Sure you can,” he said, malice underlying his easy tone. “You know how to put on a happy face. You’ll get your nice house back, a generous allowance in your account each month. You can drop this ridiculous pauper’s lifestyle you’ve been trying out. I’ll even throw some money at your precious charity. All you’ll need to do is turn your head and keep your mouth shut if you see something you shouldn’t. Isn’t that what you’re setting yourself up for with Kaden anyway? You get to be his little whore and he takes care of everything for you? You strive to be useless. It’s always been your career goal.”
She lifted her head, wishing she could kill him with the look she shot at him. “If you think so poorly of me, why do you want me in your life again? Get Marilyn to divorce her husband and marry her.”
“Marilyn will never leave him. He has more money than I do. Plus, she’s stated publicly that she’s an atheist. I can’t have that in my church. And maybe I won’t need her around anymore anyway. I’m thinking you may be more fun to be around now. I tried to treat you well before, respect you like a wife. But I see now that you needed something different. If you want to be treated like my whore, I can happily oblige you.”
The up and down look made her feel like bugs were running over her skin. She wrapped her arms around herself. “You will never touch me. Never. Do you understand? I’ll go with you, but you’re not ever allowed in my bed.”
He smiled. “That’s going to get mighty lonely for you. We’ll see how long you last. But I can agree to that for now, if you come with me this morning.”
“Now? I can’t. I need to go to the police station and see Kade. Tell him I’m leaving.”
“No,” he said, standing and smoothing his slacks. “You don’t get to talk this out with him. Pack a suitcase. We have a flight that leaves in two and a half hours. He can figure it out. He’s used to you walking away from him to be with me.”
The statement was like a slap across her cheek.