Her lips pinched, but she swallowed down her retort. “Please repeat yourself.”
I leaned in, getting in her face. “You will give me the next six months of your life in exchange for my signature on those papers. Otherwise, I will make your life a living hell.”
This time around, the ball was in my court, and I planned to play the game to its fullest.
I would use this time to my own career advantage.
“The decision is yours, but I suggest you make the right one,” I taunted, folding my arms over my chest.
CHAPTER4
Savannah
Not for the first time, life had decided to toss me around like a ragdoll. A week after Ace issued his ultimatum, I found myself lugging suitcases out of the backseat of my Mazda.
Obviously, I conceded and decided to give in, in exchange for his signature on those divorce papers.
Aside from the fact that we had to pack up our entire lives, I resented that I’d dragged Aiden into this chaos. I’d lied to him and said that we were moving to Texas because I found a job down here, and Mr. Ace was kind enough to let us stay with him.
“Yeah, right,” I muttered as I rolled my suitcase toward the front door.
I paused and peered up at the two-story house. It sat at a spacious thirty-five hundred square feet with stone siding and a sizeable front yard. I could only assume that the backyard was significant as well.
In the early days of our marriage, Ace and I often daydreamed about buying our first house together. Tears filled my eyes upon recognizing that was yet another dream he’d fulfilled without me.
“Dammit.” I cursed myself for getting emotional.
“That’s my last suitcase, Mama,” Aiden said, plopping his Superman suitcase on the floor just inside the door.
“Where am I going to put my stuff?” Aiden asked as I glanced around the house, still trying to get ahold of my new reality.
“Your bedroom’s on the second floor, down the hall, to the left,” Ace’s deep baritone said, emerging from the living room.
“Thanks, Mr. Ace,” Aiden said as he went to run off, but I grabbed his arm, stopping him.
“You know better than to run in the house,” I scolded, trying to assert some sort of control over the situation.
“Sorry, Mama. Sorry, Mr. Ace,” Aiden said, shifting his body to look behind me to where Ace stood. I could feel his presence back there, but I refused to turn to look at him.
“No problem, kid,” Ace replied.
“It is a problem,” I shot back. “He knows better than to run wild in someone’s home.”
Ace moved around me, coming to stand in front. He cocked his head to the side and lifted an eyebrow. He didn’t say anything but the look was challenging enough.
“This is his home for now.”
My belly quivered at hearing Ace calling his home Aiden’s. But then I remembered what was truly happening. Ace was holding me hostage in exchange for his signature on the dotted line of the divorce papers.
A signature I desperately needed if I was to gain the inheritance from my grandmother and pay off Vincent Reyes, the man blackmailing me.
“Hey, kid. Why don’t you head upstairs to check out your room?” Ace suggested.
Aiden looked to me, silently asking for permission. Slowly, I released his arm and nodded.
He took off, but before I could remind him of the no-running-in-the-house rule, Ace stepped closer. He got in my space, but I didn’t back down.
I squared my shoulders and looked him in the eyes. No matter how difficult it was to look into those windows to his soul and see the venom that stared back at me.
