For Your Own Protection(61)

‘I don’t understand.’

A smile formed on her moist lips. ‘You think us sleeping together was an accident, fuelled by alcohol and party spirit? Well, it wasn’t. It was carefully planned.’

‘Planned. By you?’

She laughed, patting Matt playfully on the arm. ‘God, no. No, Matt, if I’d wanted you, I would have done things differently.’

‘Jessica, I really don’t get what you’re saying.’

‘Matt, I’m saying that I didn’t conjure up the plan to seduce you and ruin your relationship with Beth. But someone else did.’

Suddenly it was so obvious. ‘James Farrah.’

She nodded. ‘He did it because he wanted Beth.’

Matt thought back to the speed with which James had moved in on Beth. It was just enough time after her split from Matt, but not much longer. ‘Son of a . . .’

‘He knew how Beth would react.’

Of course he knew.

‘He persuaded me to approach you that night. I waited for the right time, then moved in, and things went from there.’

She had made it all seem so natural, so effortless. They’d bumped into one another at the bar, and had got chatting. He remembered being flattered by her flirting. What a fool he had been. ‘Why did you do it?’

‘Because I was stupid and naive.’ She waited a beat. ‘Because I wanted to please him. He had a hold on me – control, power over me, call it what you like. I guess I was willing to do almost anything to keep him.’

‘You and him were in a relationship?’

‘I thought so. But I’ve been kidding myself. It’s Beth he really wants. I’m sorry, Matt.’

‘He always gets what he wants,’ Matt said, partly to himself.

‘Maybe not this time,’ she replied.

‘Why tell me this now?’

Jessica played with the rim of her wine glass and flashed him a white smile. ‘Because he thinks he can treat me like a piece of dirt he can scrape off his shoe. But I’m not going to let him get away with it.’

‘So now you’re looking to break up another relationship?’

She looked affronted that he hadn’t embraced her aim. ‘I would have thought you’d be delighted at the thought.’

He was thinking of Beth and how this new betrayal would affect her. ‘I hurt Beth a lot by what I did.’

‘By what he set you up to do.’

‘No. By what I did. I might have been in a bad place, but no one dragged me to bed with you that night. James might have set things up, but it was my mistake. James Farrah didn’t take Beth from me, as much as I’ve liked to think that over this past year or so. I lost her.’

‘Does it matter?’

‘Yes, it does. I won’t win her back by telling her what a bad person James Farrah is. And I won’t get my family back by taking revenge on the person I blamed for tearing it apart.’

‘Well, I want revenge,’ she said. ‘And I’m not afraid to admit it. I want to see him suffer.’

Matt stood. ‘I’d better go.’

‘There’s one more thing you should know,’ she said, ‘that might change things for you.’

He waited.

‘James might be playing the happy family man, the stepdaddy extraordinaire. But he really isn’t that person.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘He doesn’t like children at all. Least of all your son. Charlie, isn’t it? He can’t stand him. Said he’s a constant reminder of you, and he just cramps his style. Calls him the “snotty little brat”, among other things.’

Matt struggled to suppress his anger. But he was determined not to let Jessica see her vengeful arrow had hit its target.

Not quite getting the reaction she had hoped for, Jessica pressed home her point. ‘Do you really want your son to be thousands of miles away, controlled by a man who not only destroyed your relationship, but also hates the sight of him?’

‘I think you know the answer to that.’

She nodded, satisfied. ‘There’s something else. Something you need to know.’ She unbuttoned the top three buttons of her shirt and pulled back the fabric to reveal the full extent of her neck.

Matt could see blossoming bruises on each side of her throat.

‘He did this,’ she said, buttoning her shirt back up. ‘We were having an argument. He wrapped his hands around me and squeezed tight. Then he threw me against a wall. I thought he was going to kill me.’

‘You need to go to the police.’

‘I’ll be fine. I’m not planning on going near him again.’

‘Has he been violent with you before?’

She nodded. ‘Once or twice.’

‘Tell the police.’

‘Maybe. But it’s more important you know what kind of man he is. That’s why I wanted to speak to you – to warn you. I honestly think your little boy could be in danger. You need to get your son away from him.’





CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR


Later that night, Matt found himself approaching Samson’s casino with a sense of trepidation. He’d made the decision to go there shortly after the meeting with Jessica. The revelation about James’s scheming, cheating, and violence had convinced him that whatever had placed Charlie at risk was linked to James Farrah. If the money had come from the casino, then perhaps he’d find some answers there as to where James was and what was going on.