Girl Gone Viral - Alisha Rai Page 0,104
Andy later. For now . . .
She touched the check on the far left. “Ten million dollars. That’s what that ransom was for, right?” She touched the paper on the far right. “Over here, one million dollars.” She sat back. “I will pay you if you admit you tried to blackmail me yesterday.” She tapped her phone, and the recording icon lit up. She made sure he could see it.
Sweat had broken out on Thomas’s brow. “There’s nothing to admit!”
Doodle’s deep bark caught everyone’s attention. The pup came to her feet and took a menacing step, teeth bared, a growl rumbling in her throat. For the first time, Katrina could see why some people may be startled by her dog’s size. “D—”
“Death, heel.” Jas’s sharp command cut through the dog’s growl.
Death. Katrina hid her smile, but Doodle did heel despite the strange name. She supposed Doodle wasn’t very intimidating.
“Don’t raise your voice to Katrina again,” Jas said coolly. “Death doesn’t like it, and neither do I.”
Katrina cleared her throat, delighted despite the tense atmosphere. “Where were we? Ah yes. Confess to the blackmail, and you can take the money and go. You never contact me again. You don’t tell anyone anything about me. My name never so much as passes your lips. If it does . . . well, I make sure that everyone in the world knows what a piece of shit you are.” Katrina’s eyes widened. “Imagine that. People discovering that CuteCafeGirl is a former cover model who disappeared would be titillating, but finding out her sordid history, how awful her father was? How he manipulated and controlled her for years? How he blackmailed her?” She tsked. “Have you ever gone viral? It’s not everything it’s cracked up to be. You can avoid that, though. Admit that you’re blackmailing me.”
“I will not.”
“Cool. I take a million away for every second you waste my time.”
“This is preposterous,” Thomas spluttered.
She picked up the ten-million-dollar check and ripped it in half. “Nine million left. Don’t worry, the millions you lose will be donated to charity,” she added, almost as an afterthought. “I’m not a monster.”
“I’m not incriminating myself on tape.”
Another check ripped. “Eight million.”
Thomas scrubbed his face. “How can I trust you won’t go to the police with that recording?”
“You can’t.” Another rip. “Seven million.”
Another check bit the dust. “Six million.” This was so satisfying. “Five million.”
“Okay, stop. Wait. Let me think.”
“No.” Rip. “Four million.”
“Fine! Fine, I’ll take it.”
Katrina paused with her hand on the four-million-dollar check. “Say it.”
His face contorted, like he was swallowing something bitter. She hoped it did taste like that, like the grossest medicine a person could imbibe. “I tried to blackmail you.”
“Say you were a shitty father.” She paused. “And a worse manager.”
He repeated the words through gritted teeth.
“Thanks. That was lovely.” She slid a paper across the table. “Sign this.”
“What is it?”
“Basically everything you just said, in writing. I like to cover my bases.”
He scowled, but signed it.
She waved the check in front of him. “You are officially gagged. Are we clear?”
“Yes. Fine.” Thomas grabbed the check and tucked it into his suit pocket. He rose to his feet and sneered. “Goodbye, you crazy bitch.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“I THINK WE’RE DONE.” If nothing else, Jas was done. Katrina’s cheeks were flushed, her eyes sparkling, her back straight. She looked magnificent, not cowed, but he’d be damned if he’d let Thomas insult her, especially after she’d given him millions.
Jas grabbed the older man’s arm harder than he needed to, and marched him to the door. “Don’t say another word,” he breathed as the man opened his mouth, no doubt ready to launch another insult at his daughter. Doodle—or Death, he’d had to think quick—obediently followed behind them.
Mona had left the back door open. “Oops,” Jas murmured, as he knocked Thomas into the frame of the door.
“Oh, so sorry,” he added, when he stuck his foot out as they descended the back steps. After he fell, Thomas scrambled to his feet and glared at him. His cheek was scraped, blood welling.
Jas had a flashback to Katrina all those years ago, injured and bleeding, and he felt a sudden, violent urge to destroy Thomas, even though the man hadn’t been responsible for that particular wound. Something in his eyes must have telegraphed his rage, because Thomas stumbled backward, tripping on his own feet and landing on his ass in the alley.
Jas didn’t believe in violence as a rule, but if anyone deserved to get knocked around a little, it was