Page 31 of The Hottest Daddy
Sunday sat up. “How so?”
“Well, for one thing, she brought her fiancé. Bitch is getting married. Poor guy.”
Sunday heard the amusement in River’s voice and was glad that he hadn’t been upset. “What did she say about Berry?”
“She wants visitation. I told her okay, but on certain conditions.”
“Like?”
“Like she gets supervised visits. She doesn’t relocate here. She doesn’t expect me to be there, but someone will always come with Berry.” He sighed. “I might have pushed it a little far when I told her to hand over her passport whenever she visits Berry.”
Sunday snorted. “With Angelina, nothing is pushing it.” She hesitated. “She saw me. I went to Daisy’s to grab some coffee and she came in. She looked right at me and I swear, River, there was nothing. She has no idea.”
River groaned. “Don’t say things like that. We can’t get complacent. Did you recognize the man with her?”
“Not at all. Who is he?”
“Some property guy from New York. If Angelina’s marrying him, he must be rich. Brian Scanlan. Are you sure you don’t know him?”
“Doesn’t ring a bell. I’ll do some research.”
“That’s my girl.” He sighed. “Is it weird that I worry about you being alone there?”
“You shouldn’t. I’m perfectly safe, baby. It’s only for a couple of days, then I’ll be back.”
“Yeah, I know.” River was quiet for a moment, and Sunday felt for him.
“Was it painful?”
“Yes. Just seeing her. I thought I’d lose it, tear her limb from limb, but I think that’s why she brought the fiancé.”
“What did you make of him?”
“Charming. Fake as hell. Good match.”
Sunday laughed. “I love it when you’re a bitch, Giotto. I love you.”
“I love you too, sweetheart.”
They talked for a little while longer then said good night. Sunday felt a pang of loneliness, listening to the quiet of the apartment. She went to the kitchen and grabbed some aspirin.Maybe I slept too long.Her eyes felt puffy from crying. She made some strong coffee and fired up her laptop, typing ‘Brian Scanlan’ into the search engine.
The top result was a professional website for Scanlan Properties, a high-end property firm in Manhattan. She clicked through the site until she got to the page about the owner. Brian Scanlan, forty-two, unmarried, was a self-made man, rich beyond belief thanks to a savvy business mind, handsome in a bland way. Ruthless in industry, he was a fixture of the Upper East Side society set.
“Then how come I’ve never heard of you?” Sunday muttered to herself. River was right. There was something hinky about this dude. She did a deep web search on his name but could only come up with the basic facts she already knew. “No one is this anonymous, especially someone as rich as you, Mr. Scanlan.”
Her journalistic curiosity was piqued now. If he was in a relationship with a viper like Angelina, there had to be something in it for him. Okay, so Angelina was supposedly considered beautiful, but her vile nature precluded anyone with an ounce of humanity being with her, surely? Sunday sighed. Was she being unfair?
No. She hated Angelina with the fury of a thousand suns and anyone involved with her had to be bad. “If you mess with my man, Scanlan, you are dead meat.” Like she could do anything about it. Scanlan, the little she’d seen of him, was a big guy.
She shut down her computer and went to bed, making sure the door to the apartment was locked. River’s warning had made her nervous after all.
It was dark when she opened her eyes and as they got used to the gloom, she heard someone breathing. No, no, she was just imagining it. She closed her eyes but then she heard the floorboard creak. She sat up. Her vision was weirdly blurry when she saw the figure come toward her …
Why can’t I move?
The intruder came closer and she could see his face had no features, his body was wiry and his hands … dear God, his hands wereknivesand he drove them into her …
Wake up.
