Always Yours (Roommate Duet 6)

She inches closer, reaching out before clamping her fingers around my arm. “You won’t do that, Liam.”

“And why’s that?”

Victoria retreats and places her hands on her hips. “I have Maddie.”

“Hmm…that’s right.” I put a finger on my chin, pretending to be concerned. “You give me a divorce, and I won’t send these to your father.”

She scoffs. “You send those to my father, and Maddie pays.”

I tsk. “I’m pretty sure you and Mickey will be the ones paying.”

Victoria walks around me and grabs her iPad from her nightstand. “I’ll tell my men to kill her.” She returns, standing in front of me. “Unless you hand everything over. Duplicates, copies. Everything.” Victoria looks me dead in the eyes, and in about five seconds, she’ll realize Maddie’s gone.

I lean down and whisper softly, “Then do it.”

Her eyes widen in shock. “Liam, I’m serious. If I give the order to shoot her, they won’t think twice about it.”

“And your father will know the truth.” I shrug. Victoria swallows hard. “Oh wait…” I snap my fingers, smiling. “I don’t need to bargain with you because you have nothing I want, and I have everything you want.”

“What does that mean? You’d never let Maddie get hurt.”

“Correcto.” I point my finger at her. “Why don’t you show me how she’s doing on your little surveillance cam?”

Immediately, she signs into her iPad and opens the app, then logs on. I watch as she swipes, looking from room to room in the cabin with no one in sight.

“This is impossible,” she mutters.

Walking behind Victoria, I look over her shoulder. “Hmm…interesting. Looks like it’s empty.”

“What the fuck did you do?” she shouts, tossing her iPad on the bed. “Where are my guards?”

“Like I said, princess. You’re not the only one who has connections.”

She grinds her teeth, contemplating her next move. Before she can walk around me, I grab her wrist and pull her back into my chest. With my lips to her ear, I speak low. “Don’t think so. You’re not the only one with a gun, and as much as I’d really hate to use it, especially on a pregnant woman, I will if I have to defend myself.”

I managed to get a gun from Tyler’s place since I knew Victoria kept one in her bedroom. Shooting me was her only option to get out of this, but I’m not about to let her do that. “You have two options,” I whisper in her ear. “Give me a divorce and this all ends for good. Confess I’m not the father so your dad doesn’t come after me, and we both walk away without pissing him off. Or he gets all the evidence of your betrayal. If he doesn’t kill you for it, he’ll for sure wipe you of your little trust fund, and you’ll be out on your ass. In fact, he’d probably keep you alive and feed you to the wolves instead. Plenty of people would love to get their hands on a mafia princess.” I hum, knowing it’ll piss her off. “You could shoot me now, but just know if I don’t come home in one piece, the photos will be sent to him from someone else. Either way, baby, you lose if you don’t obey my orders this time.”

“Let me go,” she growls.

Slowly, I remove my arms, and she jumps away. “Just stay married to me for a year, after the twins are born, then I’ll grant you the divorce. I’ll tell my family it’s my fault, and no one has to know the whole story.”

Oh, hello bargaining. I expected you.

She’s desperate. Neither options are favorable to her, but I gotta say, the truth not being revealed should be an obvious choice.

“No,” I say firmly, then twist my ring off and flick it into the air. She watches with horror as it flies across the room. I’ve been wearing that dreaded thing since we announced the marriage in July. To keep up the act around my friends, I wore it at all times. Feels good to finally get rid of the damn thing. “I want papers drawn up today. We both sign and then await a court date. You let me walk away and leave us alone, for good.”

She shakes her head. “Being a pregnant divorcee would be as bad as the truth. I can’t.”

I shrug nonchalantly. “Okay then.” I take my phone and start swiping.

“Wait! Wait, please!” She reaches for my cell, but I retreat so she can’t grab it. Victoria stays silent as if she’s trying to buy time, but my patience is wearing thin. It looks like she needs a reminder of what she’s done.

Shoving my phone in my front pocket, I steeple my fingers. “Let’s go down memory lane, shall we? You start fucking Mickey DeFranco. Damn, he must be good because you kept going back for more. Even though you told me months ago you don’t do relationships, I’m thinking you have real feelings for him. You know it’s wrong to be with him, so of course it has to be a secret. No one can ever find out. But…oopsies. You fall pregnant. Now what? You’re Catholic, so abortion is out of the question. However, getting hitched without a big church ceremony would be more forgivable, but who’s gonna be the lucky bastard to walk down the aisle with you?” I snap my fingers. “JJ’s gambling buddy. He owes the family a shit ton of money, so saving my life and my debt being forgiven meant I now owe you big time. I’m desperate and thankful to be alive, so I take your six-month agreement and become your husband. If only that was the actual deal you stuck to. You knew the only way for me to believe you’re pregnant is for us to have sex so you coerce me into it, knowing my hands are tied due to your threats of hurting my friends or telling your father. If he found out our marriage was a sham, he’d kill me instantly, so I had no choice. So that brings me to the moment you arrive at my house two weeks ago with my father and announce you’re having twins!” I flash a crooked smile at her. “You have me followed, ruin the only relationship I’ve ever wanted, and then you fucking kidnap the woman I love. So please, Victoria, tell me how I should have any fucking sympathy for you…”