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"I’m not?"
I shake my head. "You’re going to leave me and Avery alone. You’re not going to come near us. You’re done scaring me with your browbeating. You’re not going to petition the court for sole custody of our daughter. You don’t want her anyway. You know it’s best if she stays with me. You don’t love her; not like I do. You will walk away from us, and not come near us again, do you her me?"
He gapes a little. "Let me get this right. You want me to turn my back on you and my daughter, and let you get on with your life with your new husband. Is that what you want?"
I nod.
"That’s why you came to my house? To tell me to leave you alone?"
"You don’t want Avery. You never wanted me or my daughter. I was merely a pawn for you. Someone you intimidate and control because it feeds your ego. It’s the only reason you keep me around."
"Now that you mention it—" He rubs his chin. "You’re probably right."
"I know I am. You married me, not because you loved me, but because you wanted someone you could push around. It made you feel good to have me dependent on you, and then when I had Avery, you had someone you could threaten me with. You used her to make me feel even more helpless."
"When you lay it all out that way, I can see how badly I’ve treated you. I did you an injustice by keeping you away from Avery. You’re her mother, after all. She needs you more than anyone. You’ve made your case with such passion, I have no choice but to accept that you’re right. You don’t need to bring Avery back to me after this weekend. You can have sole custody of her."
Hope buoys me, and a flush rises under my skin. I did it. I stood up to Fabio and told him off. I knew if I faced him, he would back off. I knew it.
"Thank you." I dip my chin at him. "I’m going to leave now."
I pivot on my heels when I hear, "Where are you going?" His voice follows me.
I turn around to face him. "I need to get back home before Avery wakes up."
"Why don’t you come in, have something to drink before you leave?"
"No thanks." I take a step back. "I think it's best I leave now."
I sense him move, know what he’s going to do, even before he reaches for my wrist. I evade him, then reach into my purse and pull out the handgun Cass sourced for me. I point it at him.
He freezes, and his gaze widens. He glances from the gun to my face, then back to the gun. "Now, let's not be hasty," he cajoles, "you know I was only trying to be hospitable."
"Were you?" I cock the gun and the sound seems to blast through the quiet night. "Put your hands up," I snap.
"Come on, Elsa, honey—"
"Don’t you ‘honey’ me, you bastard."
"Elsa, sweetheart, do you even know how to use that?" He takes a step forward, and adrenaline spikes my blood. My heart collides with my ribcage. I depress the trigger.
Despite the silencer, the sound of the shot slaps me in the face, and ricochets around my ears, but I hold firm.
"Fuck," Fabio curses. Droplets of blood dot his side. It's only a graze, but still! I shot him. I fucking shot him. Something like exhilaration fills my chest. I toss my handbag to the ground, then grip the fingers of both of my hands around the weapon. So, this is why men prefer to shoot first and ask questions later. The power, the absolute certainty that you have the upper hand, it’s as if the most addictive drug has been injected into my brain.
"Put your goddamn hands up, you motherfucker," I snap.
Asshole seems shaken, but this time, he complies.
"Good." I wave the gun in the direction of the front room. "Get the fuck inside. Now."
He sidles back.
I keep the gun trained on him. "Further back, you piece of shit."
He stumbles back a step, then another, and another. When he pauses, I wave the gun at him, and he moves all the way into the room until the back of his legs touch a chair.
"Sit the fuck down."
