Deadly Coincidence (Brantley Walker Off the Books #4) - Nicole Edwards Page 0,76

does he keep doing this?” she ground out through clenched teeth.

She was sick and fucking tired of making the effort only to have it backfire in her face. And that do-gooder Travis Walker continued to get away with destroying her life.

He had single-handedly brought everything down around her with that stupid resort of his. If her pathetic ex-husband hadn’t insisted they go do perverse things with other couples, Juliet would be back in Mississippi, getting her hair and nails done, going shopping whenever she wanted, buying whatever she wanted.

She damn sure wouldn’t be in this moldy, roach-infested motel in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She’d been hoping to make it to Canada and slip out of the US unnoticed, but something kept holding her back, so she was stuck here.

All thanks to Travis Walker, who’d taken her entire life away from her by sending Nicholas that stupid invitation to come live out his fantasies at that stupid fetish resort. And because Juliet had felt her relationship with Nicholas beginning to fray at the edges, she’d had no choice but to agree to accompany her husband.

No, maybe she hadn’t actually loved Nicholas, but who gave a shit? He hadn’t seemed to notice. Or maybe he had and she hadn’t cared enough to realize it. So, when he told her he wanted to participate in partner swapping to spice things up between them, she’d figured why not. She would’ve taken it all back if she’d known the guy she got to screw was only a smite better in bed than Nicholas, which meant she’d been yawning before he ever rammed his dick inside her.

It wasn’t long after they’d left Alluring Indulgence Resort that Nicholas started acting funny. He became secretive, going on more business trips than usual, not coming home for days on end. Juliet probably should’ve given a shit, or pretended to, because if she had, Nicholas wouldn’t have blindsided her with his demand for a divorce.

Divorce!

It wasn’t like she missed him. Hell, she didn’t even like him. But her kid … she did miss Lana most of the time. She definitely missed the money she should’ve gotten when the courts granted her full custody. Only they hadn’t because Nicholas had brought up that stupid incident when Juliet had left Lana in the backseat of the car that one time. One freaking time. It wasn’t her fault she’d had to get her hair done and the nanny had failed her, claiming she had something else to do at the time. And it wasn’t like Lana had died. It hadn’t been all that hot or anything. The EMTs had gotten her to the hospital, and they’d hooked Lana up to an IV, but only for fluids. She’d been a little dehydrated, that was all. Juliet still didn’t understand why anyone made a big deal out of it.

But Nicholas had used it against her, telling the courts she was unfit. Juliet knew she wasn’t unfit, she just didn’t want to be bogged down with a child all the time. She hadn’t been the one who wanted to have a baby. That was Nicholas’s idea, and she’d agreed to it because she knew it would get her more money if he ever did divorce her, which he’d threatened to do on more than one occasion.

In one fell swoop, thanks to that fucking visit to that fucking resort, Juliet had lost every good thing she ever had. No child support, no alimony. The only thing she had left was the measly seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars that she’d drained from the bank accounts before Nicholas cut her off.

All thanks to Travis Walker.

She growled, her fury igniting into rage.

Pacing back and forth between the queen bed and the wall in the tiny room, Juliet attempted to come up with a new plan.

Her thoughts drifted to Dante. More accurately to his extortion plan.

She could do that.

Taking a deep breath, Juliet shoved her hair out of her face, stood up straight.

Yes, dammit. She could do that. But not a kid this time. She didn’t have the time or energy to put up with a whiny brat.

Maybe she could take the resort hostage. The whole place. She’d be able to get some money out of Travis Walker that way. He’d probably pass it hand over fist to get his precious hotel back.

Juliet shook her head. No, that wouldn’t work. Too much of a risk. Too many variables.

She needed to take the one thing Travis loved the most. From the articles