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“I’m all over it, boss. Be right back.”
Darkness turned back to him. “Any idea who she was calling last night when she thought I was asleep?”
Abby’s head snapped up, wearing the same look of shock Ryder felt, and she opened her mouth, probably intending to tell a bunch of lies, but she caught the look on their faces and buttoned it up.
Openly glaring at the woman in question, Ryder told him, “She texted with Devil, and they tried to hack our wireless network. She calls him her Honey Bear.”
Staring at his little daughter, Darkness muttered, “Well, this is turning out to be a total shitstorm. What are your recommendations?”
Waiting for the prospects to finish putting their food down, Ryder sighed. “First of all, I think you need someone with actual experience taking care of babies. This trying to feed your little one cold milk is all kinds of crazy. I can call my little sister. She’s good with kids and babysits for actual babies, as well as older kids. She’s going to know more than most of us.”
Shoveling a bite of eggs into his mouth, Darkness nodded. “Do it.”
Pulling out his cell phone, Ryder made quick work of texting his father asking if it was okay for Rose to take care of the baby and if he’d talk to her about it. “Done.”
Barking a gruff command to Abby, Darkness continued to devour his food like a starving man. “Let Tiffany hold the baby while you eat.”
Without thought or question, Abby handed over her little one and dug into her food. Tiffany’s eyes lifted to Ryder’s, and he jerked his chin. No one really knew what to make of the situation.
Darkness leaned forward to speak directly to Abby. “I’m going to give you one chance to tell me what the hell Devil wants from me. I’ll have the boys take you out back if you lie to me.”
At the blatant threat, she stopped eating mid-bite and stared at him. “You ain’t my ex on paper. You know that, right?”
“You want a divorce. Hell’s bells, girl, you could have mailed me that shit.”
“Devil wants cold, hard cash. We took out an insurance policy on you for a quarter of a million. He wants you dead, or you can just pay him the same amount in cash.”
“Why in the fuck would I do something like that, when I could just kill you and be done with it?” Darkness said with a hell of a lot calmer than Ryder was feeling, but he knew well the kind of storm that was likely brewing beneath the surface of his president’s carefully collected demeanor.
“Devil is the secondary beneficiary,” Abby said with a self-assured air that Ryder would love to knock right out of her. “If anything happens to me, he’ll still get the payout if anything happens to you. He says you’d always be looking over your shoulder, and he can get to you when you least expect it. Maybe when you’re riding down the highway, when you’re shopping, or just walking down the street. For that kind of money, one of his brothers would kill you, claim it was self-defense, and risk doing a little time.”
“Why didn’t he just take out a policy on you?”
“We aren’t related, and I’m married to you. Insurance companies aren’t stupid.”
And this kind of thing was exactly the reason men like Ryder and his brothers hesitated when it came to that little piece of legal paperwork. It was easy to get into and hard as hell to get out of.
“This whole scheme is a little complex for the likes of you and Devil to concoct,” Darkness observed.
“His old man got out of prison and took the gavel back. Ratchet has been looking to make some quick cash.”
“Well, darlin’,” Darkness drawled, “I’m still not understanding what in God’s name makes the man think I’ll just give you a quarter of a million dollars for no good reason.”
“You will if you want me to sign over sole custody of your daughter.”
“I can just wait for the paternity test and file for custody.”
“Yeah, but I could tie things up in court for a long time. Also, she’s mine in the meanwhile, and if I go back empty-handed… Well, let’s just say Devil and his dad can get real spiteful.”
A muscle under Darkness’ left eye twitched. “Did you have sex with me just to make a baby?”
Putting down her fork, Abby looked right at him. “Don’t ask questions you don’t want to hear the answers to, babe.”
“You ever call me babe again,” Darkness gritted out, “and I’ll personally break your fucking jaw.”
Jerking back slightly, Abby closed her eyes. “I never wanted any of this.”
“Don’t pretend to be the victim now. You had a choice, and you made it.” Turning to Hickory, Darkness jerked his chin. “Call in our attorney. I want him to begin drafting divorce and custody papers immediately.”
