Page 53 of Sweetest Sin

“No, just stating facts. If you don’t think I’ll use my connections to make sure I have our son in my life, you didn’t do your research.”

I step back to give her some space. She’s going to need it because once I return and bring her back to my place, her days of having space are over.

“I will stop at nothing to ensure I don’t lose another minute of time with our son, and I promise, I have the money and resources to make it happen.”

I turn my back on her and saunter to the door. “Pack your shit, Peyton,” I say as I open the front door. “I’ll be back in two days, and our son is coming with me. With or without you.”

I slide back into the town car and pull out my phone, needing to get shit rolling, when I notice a text from a number I don’t recognize.

Unknown:An eye for an eye.

I forward it to our IT guy so he can run a trace on it, tell my driver to take me to my hotel, and then shoot a text to my assistant.

Dominick:Send packing supplies over to Peyton’s apartment.

Peyton has two days, and then I’m coming for both her and our son. If I have to take her back to Harbor Point, kicking and screaming, that’s what I’ll do.

She played this game her way. Now, it’s time to play it mine.

19

Peyton

“I want a tree like that,”Damien says, cuddling into my side as I closeThe Giving Tree—his recent favorite book that’s about a tree who has a special friendship with a boy as he grows up. “Can we get a tree like that?”

He looks up at me with a serious expression, and I stifle a chuckle, not wanting my three-year-old to think that I’m mocking him.

“We’d have to grow it,” I tell him. “And that would take years.”

He sighs and thinks for several seconds before his eyes light up. “Or we can find a tree no one wants and then dig it up and bring it here.”

“Where would we put it?”

“I don’t know,” he says thoughtfully. “We need a yard like Frankie.”

Frankie is his friend from preschool. Ever since Damien went over to his house for a playdate, he’s been begging me for a yard with a swing set and a pool.

It’s tough, living in an apartment complex with a child. The place is small, and there isn’t really any room to play. Because it’s a one-bedroom apartment, we share a room. As he gets older, he’s going to need more space, but in order to find a bigger place, I need to get a better job. I could easily go full-time at the company I work for, but that would mean flying for longer flights, sometimes even overnight, and I don’t want to be away from Damien that long.

“One day,” I tell him, kissing the top of his head. “Now, get some sleep. You have school in the morning.”

He nods, his eyes already closing. “I’m gonna draw a picture of the tree,” he mutters.

“I can’t wait to see it.”

I kiss him once more, then tiptoe out of the room. I’ll be back in a few hours to go to sleep as well, but I tend to work in the living room to give him a chance to fall into a deep sleep.

I’m workingon my laptop, applying to every job possible that will get my foot in the door with my degrees, when I hear some shuffling near the front door. The only person with a key to my apartment is my babysitter, Lisa, but she’s not scheduled to come by tonight.

There’s more shuffling, and I stand, wondering what’s going on. Maybe Lisa forgot something when she babysat for Damien.

“Lisa, did you forget—” I start, unlocking and swinging the door open.

Only, instead of Lisa standing on the other side, two men shove me back inside. They’re dressed in black with balaclavas covering their faces.

Out of instinct, I scream and then attempt to run, but one of the men catches me by my waist while the other man stalks past him, heading straight for my bedroom.

To Damien.