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Cheryl stayed silent. She’d stated her case and nothing he could say would change her mind.
“I saw the looks you were giving Nick Santoro the other night—or should I say Nick Sinclair.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She schooled her reaction.
“I noticed how you and him went missing at the same time, then magically reappeared.” Johnny laughed without humor. “I also noticed the striking resemblance between Nick and Portia.”
Cheryl’s eyes widened as she silently gripped her coffee cup.
“I just figured she was the result of a random fuck. I never put two and two together until the other night. The timeline fits and you can’t deny she’s a dead ringer for him.”
“My wanting a divorce has nothing to do with Portia or Nick. One thing has nothing to do with the other.”
“Sure it does, especially since it doesn’t seem like Nick knows about his own kid—Am I right?”
Johnny putting this puzzle together sent a chill down her spine.
“So, is that your plan? You’re gonna hook up with your baby daddy and live happily ever after.”
“You don’t care about me any more than I care about you. I just want to lead my best life.”
“Ohhh shit. Where the fuck did you get that bullshit from, Oprah or Dr. Phil?” He huffed out a mean laugh. “Fuckin’ unbelievable but you’re right, I don’t give a shit about you or what you and that bastard kid do. You wanna fuck Nick Santoro every day of the week, fine, but you do it on the down-low. Then you come home to me at night, and you continue to be my doting wife in public and wherever else I need you.”
She pushed out of the chair. “You can’t make me.”
Quick as a viper he snatched her hair in his fist and twisted her head into an unnatural position. Her hands flew to her burning scalp, but he pulled harder, glaring down at her. “You forget any ideas about a divorce or I’ll call in some favors. Your father’s not the only one with connections, and it would be a shame if something happened to Nick’s club ‘cause the people I know don’t fuck around. They also don’t give a shit about hurting women—or children. And the beauty part is it can never be traced back to me.”
He released her so suddenly she faltered and fell to her knees.
He glared down at her. “Have a nice day.” Then strode out of the kitchen like he hadn’t just threatened her and Portia.
Cheryl crumbled into herself surrounded by Johnny’s hateful words. A combination of fear, anger, and disgust welled up in her gut. She wrapped her arms around her waist and waited for the nausea to pass.
If anything she was more determined than ever to break away from him. She just had to try another way. She pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes, but she didn’t cry. Tears rarely came for Cheryl. She guessed because she feared if she ever started she’d never stop.
Nick dragged himself out of bed the next day with Frank’s words still ringing in his ears. Frank made it seem like the arrangement between Cheryl and Johnny was a mutual agreement but how bad could the situation be if Johnny Russo was the solution?
He replayed Frank’s explanation of the past in his brain. Amazingly, Frank believed sending Cheryl away ten years ago was a good thing. Somewhere along the line Frank’s brain learned to equate caring and affection with favors and money. It didn’t even occur to him what he did was a form of manipulation or how setting his daughter up with someone like Russo for the sake of business was wrong. In his head he set up his daughter in a cushy home with money and completely left out the part about feelings.
Nick poured another cup of coffee then sat in his living room scrolling through his laptop. He searched both Johnny and Cheryl’s alias, Marie, but came up with nothing but generic information regarding the jazz clubs in L.A. A few shots of fundraisers Johnny attended. His face always front and center. The asshole went out of his way to sell his new image and play the role of concerned, upstanding citizen.
Assumably he attended with Cheryl, although there were no pictures of her by his side. She’d obviously gone to great lengths to keep a low profile far away from social media—and there was absolutely no mention of a child. Smart move on her part especially with Johnny’s list of enemies from the old days. Nick doubted he cleaned up his act, he just learned how to dress it up and be more discreet.
Cheryl having a child with Johnny dropped another piece of the puzzle especially since she obviously disliked Johnny.
His phone buzzed and he was so engrossed in his Google search he let it ring a few times before he picked up. “Yeah?”
“I need to see you.” Cheryl’s whispered plea shot straight to his gut.
“Are you all right?”
“Where can we meet?”
“I got a penthouse at the Vegas Towers.” He gave her the address, and waited.
“I can be there in half an hour.”
“Check in with the doorman and he’ll buzz you up.”
