283 The right risk
Desmond clenched his fists and had to swallow to stop himself from hurling curses at her. “Are you out of your mind?”
Veronica looked pleased by his reaction. It was probably what she expected, and she smiled as she took a sip of her water while looking at them over her glass triumphantly.
“What do you think?” She asked as she looked at Zaria, expecting her to explode in anger at the thought of another woman directly hitting on her man.
However, Zaria’s response was unexpected. “You can have him if you want.” She shrugged, looking like she was ready to shove Desmond into a box, seal it and give him to Veronica as a present with a ribbon on top.
“Excuse me?” He stared at his fiancée in disbelief.
She shrugged as though she had not said anything outrageous. “She wants you, doesn’t she?”
He frowned at her lame reason. “And you are ready to just give me up willingly? Did you fry your brain in the fear of being ditched on an unknown island?”
She chuckled. “Of course not. I can’t stop a woman from dreaming of you, can I? She will go ahead and dream anyway. So she can have you in her fucking dreams but if she ever tries to get her claws near my man, she is going home without one leg.”
Veronica nearly choked. “I’m still here, you know. The two of you can quit pretending not to see me.”
.....
“I would ask for something else if I were you.” Zaria finally spoke seriously, but her expression darkened when she heard Veronica’s next words.
“Okay. I don’t want an engaged man anyway.” Veronica traced her eyes down Zaria’s hand. “However, engaged women are my weakness.”
Zaria’s jaw dropped while Desmond glared at her. “Are you sure you aren’t actually a West?” Why was everyone trying to take his woman away from him?
“I would make an assumption about that but... what do you think?” She threw the question back at him while eyeing Zaria like she actually wanted her.
He pulled her into his arms protectively while glaring daggers at the woman across them. “Eyes off my woman.”
Veronica scoffed. “You sound like a protective child.”
She thought deeply about their offer and sighed. “I have everything I need, you see. I really can’t ask for anything but an alluring beauty with a curvy butt to warm my bed.”
Zaria was repulsed. “Let me guess. That’s what you actually wanted to ask for.”
“How about just a night?” She pushed, making Desmond nearly launch a punch. He probably would if Zaria didn’t grab his hand.
“How about this?” Veronica continued, feeling great about having them right where she wanted them. “I will let you know if there is anything I want.”
“No. We have to seal the deal right now.” She retorted. They would be out of their minds if they agreed to a condition they didn’t know about yet.
Veronica was pissed off by her attitude. “You don’t get to decide what I have to do or not do. Don’t assume a little recording will make me your puppet.”
Zaria played with her bug, remembering that she had it but wanting to burst into laughter at the same time. It wasn’t even functional but at least it scared Veronica.
“A recording cannot make you my puppet but your “boyfriend can.” He spoke, smiling When Veronica’s face paled in horror. “Do you think he knows where Milana West’s body is?”
She was too shocked to say a word, and he took her silence as a yes.
“I thought so. Are you going to sign the deal?” He asked, not giving her the chance to say a word before he opened the folder he had been carrying around and whipped out a printed contract.
“You even had a contract ready.” She pursed her lips. He came here prepared to coerce her and he was not even trying to hide it.
“You need to be prepared for every outcome when you are dealing with a stray cat.” He grinned. “Just sign it. We don’t have time to wait for you to read through the terms.”
Why the hell would she sign a contract without reading it? She would never do it willingly, but she didn’t have a choice. There was no worse mistake than making Desmond lose his patience, as he would resort to extreme measures. He was already doing this to her-she definitely didn’t want to wait for the extremes.
So, hoping there was no clause in the contract that made her his slave or anything, she gritted her teeth and signed it.
“I will make you pay for this, Desmond Fort!” She growled when he took it back.
“Yeah, let’s talk about that when you actually get out of this alive yourself.” He grinned in response. “I’ll send you a copy if I remember to.”
They left the cottage and as soon as they were out, she asked about the woman whose name she had heard earlier.
“Milana West?”
“She was Evan’s aunt, who died young. I don’t know a thing about that woman.” He explained all he knew, baffling her even more.
“What? But you managed to scare her into signing the contract?” She was curious. It was shocking that Veronica went from acting all high and mighty to giving in that fast.
He found it unexpected too. “She simply disappeared.” He explained. “She went mountain climbing with her friends and just went missing. Her friends woke up to find her gone and that was it. She didn’t leave any information, and while everyone thinks she left home because she was under too much pressure, they know at the back of their minds that she is probably dead. Maybe she had a secret enemy who just knew how to dispose of a body without leaving any traces.”
“And that could be Veronica or her father .” She filled in.
“She was only twenty when it happened but you know, you cannot underestimate the capability of a twenty-year-old’s evil mind.” He speculated. “It was a bet when I threatened her with the body. Safe bet, I suppose.”
From Veronica’s reaction, she definitely had something to do with Milana’s disappearance. She didn’t want to think about what would have happened if Desmond had guessed wrong.
However, she also knew that her fiancé rarely ever took the wrong risks.
The helicopter returned as they tried to figure out what their next move should be.
“I guess it’s time to meet Gabriel.” She thought aloud and immediately changed her mind. “Nope. It’s time to go home.”
He chuckled and held her hand, leading her to the helicopter.
“Hey, did Evan send you?” She asked the pilot as soon as she saw him. “You can tell us now that we are already here and our business is done.”
“I’m sorry, ma’am. I cannot say a word.” He responded and disappeared back to the cockpit.
“Whatever. Let’s just go along.” She gave up asking. After all, their enemy wouldn’t ferry them right where they wanted to be.
Perhaps this was Desmond’s prank.
She was starting to look forward to their next destination but seeing his puzzled look when they landed at an island, she was confused. “I guess this is the actual location we were supposed to be dropped off to and they just wanted us to finish our business first.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” He looked around. Just like the previous island, there was a cottage in the distance. It made one wonder how the person behind this got to discover so many identical islands.
“This is for you, miss.” The pilot finally spoke to her without looking like he would rather scurry away. He held out an envelope which she took from his hand in confusion.
“Who is it from?” She asked.
Of course, the only response she received was the pilot finding the first chance he could get to get back on the helicopter and ignore her.
“I really don’t bite.” She spoke to the empty air, earning a laugh from Desmond.
She ripped the envelope open and pulled out the pink card inside to find out who the sender was. Her eyes widened when she read the content.
“I knew it!” She cursed.
He looked over her shoulder at the card and was amused at the message. [Enjoy your stay, sis]
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