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Felix suddenly threw me to the side, the cold edge of the knife slicing over my throat, and he launched himself forward. I hit the ground hard and he reached Bonnie in three leaps, scooping her up into his arms. She yelped just once as he manhandled her under his arm, a hollow laugh echoing from his lungs. I pressed a desperate hand to my throat, half-expecting the rush of blood but the knife had thankfully only nicked my skin.
I was fine.
I stood slowly, suddenly very aware of every single movement Felix made with Bonnie in his arms. He twirled the knife in his other hand and started to pace at the bottom of the stairs while Kane, his eyes filling with tears, lingered by the door.
“Kane, sweetie,” I began softly, wrestling to keep my voice steady. “Go back inside.”
“No,” Felix barked as Kane stepped back. “Come out and play.”
“Kane, stay.”
Kane, unsure what to do, clutched at his crepe paper cape and cried. “I-I want my dad…”
Felix’s eyes narrowed to slits. “Is your dad here, little champ?” he asked, holding Bonnie as if she was nothing more than a sack of flour. Kane looked at me and I shook my head softly.
“Felix.” I approached as cautiously as I dared. I had no plan other than to get Bonnie away from Felix; I didn’t care where the knife ended up in my body. “Felix put Bonnie down.”
“No!” Felix snapped, whirling back to me and successfully turning his attention off of Kane and onto me. “You neverlistento me, Summer. That’s the problem, the real problem. You didn’t believe me back in New York, did you? I told you I was going to make you suffer, and what did you do? You thought you could just move on with a new job, fly across the world. Did you really think I wouldn’t find you?”
I raised both hands and pressed my lips together, taking another subtle step forward.
“I know.” I forced my voice to be steady even though my legs had turned to jelly, and I could no longer decipher heartbeats with how rapidly my heart was pounding. Bonnie continued to sob, her arms flailing, and every noise of distress from her was cutting through me sharper than Felix’s knife ever could.
“Do you?” Felix snapped, and he tapped the knife to his own temple. “You never gave me credit, Summer. Following you here was as easy as following you back then. Every time you tried to run away, I found you. Did you forget that?”
“No,” I whispered. “Although I guess I thought time in prison would have changed you.”
“It only changed how I feel about you. Look at you Summer, living in this big place with men andchildrenas if any part of this life could actually be yours.”
“You’re right!” I didn’t have a plan, not really. Appeasing Felix in any way seemed the only path I had. “I don’t belong here. I’m not rich. I’m not good. There’s nothing here for me. I don’t belong here, you’re right.”
Felix’s brows narrowed, and he slowly lowered the knife from his own temple. “You belong with me, Summer. You have topayfor everything you put me through. You actually thought you could get away with that?”
“I was stupid,” I said, taking another shuffling step forward. “You know me, I don’t know what’s good for me. But Felix…” I wet my lips and fought not to look at Bonnie. The second I did, my resolve would crumble. “You have to put Bonnie down.”
“What?” Felix’s hand waved dangerously, the blade glinting sharply in the light. “You think I’m stopping now? I’m here to hurt you, Summer.”
“I know,” I said hurriedly. “I know. But… but if you hurt Bonnie then you won’t have a chance to hurt me, don’t you see?” I wet my lips again, my throat running dry as I shuffled forward. “The second you hurt her, or any of them, the full weight of Helix will come crashing down on you, and I know—I know that doesn’t seem like much, but they will crush you before you get a chance to do what you want to me. You see?”
I held out my hands, palms spread. “You won’t be able to make me suffer all the ways you dreamed if things end here.”
Felix, in his drunken state, actually seemed to be finding some logic in my words, and the knife lowered a fraction.
“Think about it. You worked with Marina right, and did that get you what you wanted? No. Because when the rich are around, it goes their way, not yours. These kids are the same. It won’t work the way you want, and that’s— that’s not fair.”
“But you care about them,” Felix spat, his arm straightening.
“No, I don’t,” I lied, “I’m paid to care for them, there’s a difference.” Uttering those words with both Bonnie and Kane nearby was torture, but at this point I would do anything to save them. “It’s a paycheck, Felix. Nothing more.”
“You’re engaged,” Felix challenged.
“I’m not! It was a lie. A lie to make Jax look good in front of Marina. Just another job,” I swore to him. “See? No ring.” Lifting my hand, I turned my palms flat and back to show him. “You know me, I’ll do anything for money.”
“I don’t believe you,” Felix hissed, and I forced a small smile, taking another step forward.
“You know me, Felix, better than anyone. You can tell when I’m lying. Look at me. Am I lying?”
I had never prayed harder than I did at that moment as Felix studied me with narrowed eyes and his stance swayed slightly. He was definitely more violent when he was drunk but years as his girlfriend had taught me how to manipulate him in order to protect myself.
