Double Take by Brenda Joyce Read Free Book Online Page B

of her twin sister. And it was only for two days. Kait began to shake. Was her sister nuts? Surely she didn’t think to throw her marriage away!
    Should she still attempt to salvage Lana’s marriage for her?
    He was regarding her intently now, apparently having given up his act of searching through the papers on his desk. She said slowly, “Marriage is not something one throws aside lightly.”
    He leaned back in the leather swivel chair. “Lightly?” His expression hardened. “I am not the fool you took me for when we first were married, Lana,” he said, low and dangerous.
    She remained numb, but not numb enough to avoid flinching. “I have no idea what you mean,” she whispered truthfully.
    “No? Please! I suspected the truth a long time ago, but didn’t want to see it—I refused to see it. Because of Marni. That, and because you are so damn beautiful and you had your hooks in me.” He grimaced. “Six months ago I finally did what I should have done a long time ago—I sat down and faced some cold, hard, ugly facts about our marriage, about us.” His expression was disgusted now.
    Kait could only stare at him. What the hell was he talking about? What facts had he faced? Why was she filled with dread?
    “I know now that I refused to see what was happening right under my nose because of Marni,” he said harshly. “And I have spent the past six months coming to grips with the knowledge that Marni will be better off without you.”
    “Is that what you think?” She gasped. Kait stepped forward. This was a subject that she could not let slip by. “Every child needs a mother,” she said hoarsely, aghast. “What do you mean—she’d be better off without me?”
    “Only in functional circumstances with a functional mother,” he said dryly. “I wouldn’t exactly call you functional, my dear. Marni stays with me.”
    Kait cried out.
    He leapt up. “What the hell is this? What the hell is this innocent act? You know you’d be hobbled by having her—you’re too busy to be a mother. You’ve always been too busy to be a mother!”
    An image of the beautiful child seared Kait’s mind. If Trev thought he was taking Marni away from Lana, he was wrong! “She’s her...my daughter,” she managed, desperately wishing she could speak with Lana now. “You can’t take her away from me!”
    “She’s
my
daughter,” he retorted. “You want a good settlement from me, you’ll give me full custody. And that is nonnegotiable.” He bared his teeth, but not in a smile.
    Kait managed to shake her head. “Absolutely not.”
    He was startled, incredulous. “I will have custody,” he said, “and I will fight you tooth and nail to get it. If we go that route, do not expect me to be generous with you.”
    She had to get out. “I don’t care about your money,” she snapped. “This isn’t about money! This is about a child!”
    He burst into laughter. “Like hell! You don’t care about money? Now that is a good one if I ever heard one!”
    She stared, trying to comprehend his awful statement—did he really think that Lana cared more about money than their child?
    “Baby, you set me in your sights because of my money, and we both know it,” he said cruelly.
    “No, that’s not true!” She was horrified that he would think such a thing.
    “No?” He stood. “Like you’d have looked at me twice if I was some poor jerk making a couple hundred bucks a week. I should have listened to Rafe. He nailed you as a gold digger the moment he first laid eyes on you. But I refused to listen! Well, so be it. Now I am prepared to pay whatever price I have to, in order to get rid of you.” He stared.
    Kait was aghast. For one moment, their gazes locked, and cruelly— for there was such venom and loathing in his eyes. Kait could not stand being near him another moment—she could not bear his hatred. She turned and rushed from the room, so off-balance that she staggered. In the corridor, she hugged herself, gasping for