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"Now, Elsa, be reasonable, I—"
"Say another word and I swear I'll shoot you again." He firms his lips, and I allow mine to curve. "Good. Now, where were we?" I tilt my head. "You will not come near me or my daughter, or my husband, or anyone in my extended family again, you get me?"
He jerks his chin. "Anything you say; whatever you want. Now, will you lower the gun?"
"Why should I?" I narrow my gaze on him. "I like the feeling of having control over you for a change. How do you like it?” I don’t wait for him to answer. “I like having control over my own destiny, something which you denied me for so long. I realize now, I never should have given you my power. I should have claimed it for myself."
"Like you are doing now?" he interjects.
"Stop trying to talk down to me. I thought your life should be spared because you’re Avery's father. Now, I know that I was wrong. You add nothing of value to her life. You’re more like a cancer that should be cut out of our lives. I should have killed you much sooner. I should have—"
The skin around his eyes tightens, and his shoulders flex. I squeeze down on the trigger, but he's already grabbed my arm and pushed it up. The bullet hits the ceiling and bits of plaster rain down on us.
"Let me go." I try to pull free of his grasp, but he tightens his grip around my arm. Pain whips through my brain, and spots of black race across my line of sight. My fingers go numb, and then he's snatched the gun.
He points it at me. "You thought you could point a gun at me with no repercussions? You thought you could shoot me? You don’t think I'm letting you leave without paying a price, do you?" he growls.
My heartbeat booms with such force, it brushes my throat. My stomach churns, bile coats my tongue, and I'm sure I am going to throw up.
"You’re not going to shoot me," I say in a hard voice.
He looks me up and down and a crafty look enters his eyes. "You're right. I have other plans for you."
My skin crawls, and the hair on the back of my neck springs up.I am not going to let him touch him. I will not let him touch me.
I rush forward, but he grabs my arm and twists me around so I am pulled up against him. The heat of his body pours over me, and every part of my body shrinks. I can feel my heartbeat in my stomach, feel the blood pound at my temples. My chest feels so tight, it's like a snake has tied itself around me and is squeezing the breath out of me.
"I knew you couldn't stay away from me." He presses his cheek to mine and the sickening-sweet smell of rum, which is the alcohol this bastard favors, clogs my senses.
No, no, no. He's been drinking, something he did far too often when we were married. It means he'll be even more unpredictable than usual. I shouldn't have come. I should have stayed back and... What? Allowed him to find a way to take Avery from me? Given him another chance to hurt Seb? No, I have to do this. I have to see this through.
"Let me go!" I snarl.
"You came here of your own volition, remember?"
"I came here to tell you to leave me and my daughter alone."
"And I heard you out, didn’t I? Now it’s my turn." His grip around my waist tightens, and flickers of black fleck my vision. I raise my leg and bring my booted heel down on his bare foot.
"Fuck!" he yells. His hold on me loosens, and I dig my teeth into his arm.
"Cazzo di puttana!"he howls, but I don't let go. The metallic taste of blood fills my mouth, I still don't let go. My stomach heaves; sweat beads my hairline. I. Still. Don't. Let. Go.
"Fuck," he screams.
The gun slips from his grasp. It hits the floor and skids to the side. He grabs my hair and yanks with such force that I see stars. He flings me aside, and my body arcs through the air. I manage to throw my arm up to shield my face at the last moment before I hit the floor. The breath whooshes out of me, and my entire body trembles. My shoulder screams in agony. I can't feel my fingers or my toes.Avery. Think of Avery. Of Seb.I am not going to die—not like this. Thethud-thud-thudof footsteps approaches me, and my heart leaps into my throat. Adrenaline pumps through my veins. I force my eyes open and spot the gun. The gun! I grab it, then push myself up to standing.
"I’m going to teach you a lesson you won’t forget,stupida cagna," he snarls.
I fire at him, miss, fire again. This time, the bullet grazes his other side. "That's for Seb, you monster."
He yells and lurches toward me.
I scream, fire once more, but the shot is wide. I careen back out of his reach and depress the trigger, but an empty click sounds.
"No, no, no, no." I cry out.This can't be happening. Not now. Not when I am so close to being free.
Fabio’s mouth seems frozen in a grimace. "I’ve changed my mind. I'm going to kill you." He stumbles in my direction. I fling the gun at him, then pivot and race toward the doorway, but he rushes forward and grabs my arm. I scream, try to pull away, but he hauls me close to him. Once again, the heat of his body overwhelms me, and my skin crawls. Bile rises up my throat.
