“I’ll get it,” Jerome says, taking off.
“Hold on,” I call after him, but I can already hear the door opening.
“Daddy!”
Everything freezes.
My body locks tight.
Then the first thing I do is reach for a knife and slide it into my pants before I walk out to see Scott standing there, holding Jerome in his arms.
“We’re cooking pizzas. You want some?” Jerome asks him with a big smile.
“Yes, of course. Think Mummy will share?” he asks sweetly.
Jerome looks back at me, and I give him a fake smile and nod my head.
“How about you go wash your hands?” I tell Jerome.
Scott puts him down and steps in, shutting and locking the door behind him. His eyes scan the apartment as I walk up to him and reach for the knife in my pants. I pull it out and hold it to his throat—the asshole doesn’t even flinch.
“You and knives.” He tsks. “Do you plan to slit my throat while my son is in the other room?” he asks, nodding at Jerome.
“Yes,” I reply without hesitation. “Just as you had no issues putting your hands on me.” I press the knife deeper into his skin.
“It’s sharp, that one.”
I see blood start to trickle from beneath the knife’s blade.
“Mummy.” I pull the knife away as Jerome runs out. That was my first mistake because I hide it behind my back when I turn, which let Scott take it from me, and I feel it press into my back.
“You can live without a kidney,” he whispers into my ear and presses the knife harder. It cuts through my clothes, and I feel the stab instantly. I try to hide the cry as Scott speaks to Jerome, “Go and check on your pizza.”
Jerome happily runs off again.
I push away from Scott, and he smirks while he holds out the knife, which has both our blood on it now. “This is yours.” I snatch it back. “Remember that I let you live.”
“Remember that I did the same for you,” I tell him. “Especially considering you should be six feet under.”
“Yeah, that’s not going to happen anytime soon.”
“Oh, and why is that?”
He looks around, stepping in closer. “We have Bianca, thanks to your sister.” He smiles, and that look in his eyes has my blood running cold.
“My sister?”
“She came straight back to tell me where you were when Bianca refused to tell us even after we cut her. Strong old lady, that one. But she’s old-school and had your address written down on a notepad.” His smile grows evilly. “So, ta-da, here I am. That’s an American word, right? I used it correctly?”
“You need to leave.”
“You want her dead?” he challenges.
“Keir and Joey would never allow you to kill their mother.”
“Oh, are you talking about the one you let violate you in public?” He sneers, referring to that video he sent of Joey and me.
“You’ve been spying on me?”