Ha! You poor bastard. You couldn’t help but get hard from her moans.
I wanted to punch him in the face. I fisted my hands. "You just sleep here because a judge said you could. Temporarily."
He tried to straighten up, to look intimidating, but his body betrayed him. He swayed and then caught himself. "I'll call the police. I'll tell them what you did—"
"Go ahead." I smiled, and it wasn't friendly. "Tell them how you forced your way back into your ex-wife's house with a court order. How you did cocaine while your kids slept. How you got so high you can barely stand up. Call them!"
His mouth opened and closed.
“Go ahead. You can use my phone." I pointed to my pocket where the device sat. “Do you want it?”
"You're insane—"
"No. I'm precise. You’re pathetic. You neglected her, betrayed her, abandoned her. Step aside before I fucking kill you—"
"Ah!" Scott stumbled backward, then turned and lurched toward the home office.
His movements were erratic—shoulder hitting the doorframe, hand slapping against the wall for balance. He left a trail of sweat on the wallpaper as he hurried down the hallway.
"Dominic—" Teyonah rushed to my side, her voice high and tight with fear. She'd pulled her dress down but her hands were shaking. "He always carries a gun in his briefcase. I don’t know if he is going to get it, but just in case you have to leave so I can—"
"No." I cut her off, keeping my eyes on him as he stumbled into the office. "I'm not going anywhere."
"But—"
"Go upstairs." I turned to look at her. "Call the police. Put on some new clothes. Don't come downstairs until I call you."
"What?" Fear hit her eyes. "I can't just leave you—"
"Please, Teyonah. Do as I say."
She stepped closer, and I could see her calculating—the same way I'd just calculated with Scott.
Weighing options.
Measuring risks.
"He has a gun, Dominic." Her voice dropped. "You could die. You could—"
She couldn't finish. Her hand reached toward me, then pulled back, like she wanted to touch me but was afraid it would make it real.
"I won't die." I said it with absolute certainty, even though we both knew that was a promise no one could make. "But I need you safe. I need the boys protected. And I need you to trustme."
That word hung between us:trust.
She'd heard it before, hadn't she?
From Scott.
Promises that dissolved the moment they were tested.
“Trust me, I'm working late.”
“Trust me, she's just a colleague.”
“Trust me, I love you. I wouldn’t cheat. I’ll always love you.”
All lies.
