“No?”
“You wouldn’t hurt the mother of your child.”
“I have no intention of harming a single hair on Rachel’s head.”
“The other mother.”
“She’s already dead. There’s no need to harm her.”
Wow, Dante. Three baby mamas and not one of them can stand to be near you. What a catch you are!
I didn’t know when Rachel became the voice in my head, but I wished she’d get the fuck out of my mind.
“You can deny it all you want but—”
Her words were cut off as I seized her throat and squeezed until her eyes widened with fear.
“Let’s clear a few things up,” I ground out, walking her backwards until she was pinned against the wall by her throat. “I don’t give a fuck what delusions you’ve told yourself, but if you think I’d let you carry my baby to term, you’ve lost what tiny little mind you had to start with.”
“It’s… not… up… to… you…” she breathed, clawing at my hands in a desperate attempt to get me off her. I pulled back slightly, only to slam her against the wall once more, this time with even more force.
“No? Because the way I see it, I could put an end to this entire charade, right here, right now. But luckily for you, I’vegrown soft since the love of my life is back where she belongs. So I’m going to give you the opportunity to get rid of it yourself. Because if you make me come back here and finish the job, I’ll make sure you can never pull this shit on any other guy.”
“It… takes… two… to… tango… Dante…”
“And you told me you were on the fucking pill!” I yelled at her, tightening my grip on her throat. I waited until her eyes were rolling into the back of her head and her legs began to give out before I let go of her, dropping her to the floor.
Her hands instantly came up to her throat as she pulled in heaving gasps of breath, looking up at me with pitiful eyes.
“You were a quick fuck, Vicky. Nothing more, nothing less. I used you to get information on the police. If you’ve deluded yourself into thinking it was something more, then that’s on fucking you. I never once lied to you. I never once offered you false promises. I told you we had no future, and I told you that you would never be anything more to me. You lied, and now you can face the consequences. Get rid of the bastard you’re carrying, final warning.”
“I’ll ask my dad to put me in protective custody. You can’t force me to get rid of my baby. Yourbaby!” she wheezed.
“Do it. And by the time you’ve given birth, there won’t be a single member of your family left alive. And believe me when I say I’ll be at the hospital ready to snuff out the life that never should have begun. Look at the state of you,” I spat at her. “You’re off your head on coke most days. You can’t go a morning without having a drink. And you sure as hell can’t take care of yourself, never mind anyone else. If you want to call yourself a mother, then be fucking selfless. Get rid of it before your poison infects it. I assure you, neither you nor that thing will leave the hospital if you call my bluff.”
“Is that the man you’ve become? A baby murderer?” she screamed at me as I walked the length of the room, heading tothe door. I turned around and grinned at her. She took one look at my face and shrank back.
“It’s who I’ve always been, Vicky.”
“Rachel won’t let you do this.”
I laughed out loud at that one.
“Rachel will skin you alive and claim that baby as her own. Either way, you’re still not going to be its mother. The decision is yours, I’ve given you the options.”
I pulled the door open and gave her one last smirk before I slammed it shut behind me.
Chapter 51
Rachel
After bringing Bee home from school, she asked if it would be okay for her to help Steph walk the dogs, and I happily agreed. Anything to get her out of her bedroom and out of her own thoughts.
I wasn’t stupid. I knew that my actions hadn’t solved anything. I was well aware of the damage words could do—my tongue was my strongest weapon. And for Bee, the damage was done. She was still healing. All I had done was put a bandage over her wounds, but they were still under there, waiting to be addressed. However, we were doing things at her pace, and it had already been a hectic few hours for her. She had things to process, and she deserved this time to relax.
So, after catching Steph up on what had happened, I took Axel to visit Kitty.
In for a penny, in for a pound. I had already tried to solve one problem area of this family today; I figured it wouldn’t hurt to try another one. I was always a fucking glutton for punishment.
