“I’m not that pussy-whipped, am I?” Lucas asks.
All heads turn to him.
“Yes, Lucas. You’re actually worse.”
He waves us off. “Sure, sure. I’ve got my balls intact in my relationship but can’t say the same about you two.” Lucas looks at Keir then me, but we stay quiet. It’ll either encourage him or I might just kill him.
“Chanel just called. Should I ring her back and tell her you’re going to the sex club tonight?” Sailor asks him, smirking.
“Don’t you dare. She will cut off my balls.” He cringes at the thought.
“Jake has her?” Keir affirms. I simply nod. “Okay.”
Seems I may be seeing my wife tomorrow.
NINE
ADORA
I wait.
My feet are hurting.
My hands won’t stop shaking.
But I have to go in there.
I wait ten minutes after the car leaves before I even move. He’s gone, andshe’sin there with him. Pushing the back door open, I hear his giggle as she says something. Then his footsteps as they run away. As I enter the kitchen area, I see her pouring herself a drink.
Should she be drinking while watching my son?Of course not!
It takes Brooke a moment to notice me, and when she does, her eyes go wide in recognition, and her hand reaches for her phone. I lift the gun I took from Jake and point it at her.
“Do it, and I’ll put a bullet in you.” The sound of approaching footsteps hits my ears, and Jerome stops when he sees me, the gun now hidden behind my back. I bend down until I am at eye level with him, then glance at her before I speak to him, “Go and pack a bag, buddy. We are gonna go on an adventure. Pack all your favorite things.” I smile at him and kiss the top of his head. He runs off, singing, as I raise the gun back to her.
“He will kill you for this.”
“He can try.” I shrug and walk over to her, adding the silencer to the gun.
“Do you love him?” I ask, and she nods with a hard swallow.
“Then you are as sick as him.” I shoot her in the head, and she drops to the floor. Stepping back, I wipe my face clean with a towel before I hide the gun and go get Jerome. His bag is already packed—it looks like maybe he has a bag packed in case they need it in a hurry, but he’s added a few things—and he’s smiling from ear to ear when I reach him.
“Time to go. You ready to run?”
“Run?” he asks, confused.
“Yeah, we have to beat the racing cars. What do you say, let’s see how fast we can go? Won’t that be fun?” He nods eagerly, and I take the backpack from him, then we leave the same way I came in. Running down the hill, I clutch his little hand to ensure he doesn’t fall as the car comes into view.
Opening the door, Jake is staring at me with narrowed eyes. “Kids are a no,” is the first thing he says, and I would laugh if it wouldn’t upset him more. I didn’t tell him what I needed to go back for, so he should have asked. “Where is my gun?”
“Gone,” I tell him with a smile taking over my face as I threw it out in the window into the closest river I could find. “I have his passport,” I add, as I toss Jerome’s bag inside and get him buckled in any way. Once he’s settled, I hop in beside him, leaning over the center console to speak quietly to Jake. “Please let me bring him without any trouble. You knew I had a son...”
He swears under his breath as the car takes off, and Jerome snuggles into me. I look back at what we’re leaving behind and can finally breathe again.
A new life.
A better life.