Chapter Forty-Six Her

Chapter Forty-Six Her

Married, Day Seventy-One

I picked up the espresso container right as the back door banged open. Everything happened at once—my yelp, the jump, the

grounds spilling over my hand onto the kitchen counter then the floor.

“What the hell, Richmond?”

He stormed inside, his eyes wild and clothing torn. Blood trickled down his cheek and the smell of burning rubber followed

him through the door.

“You fucking bitch.”

“What is wrong with you?” He left to have lunch with Wyatt. I only knew that because I overheard Richmond’s side of the phone

call a half hour ago. And now this.

“I’m going to kill you.” His voice shook with rage.

I ducked, but not in time. His hand wrapped around my throat. My back slammed against the edge of the sink as he loomed over

me, using his height advantage to push his palm tight against my windpipe. Pain shot through me from behind and from the weight

of him leaning on me. My gasp turned to a wheeze as he grinded and choked.

He shook me. “Did you think I’d let you go after me twice?”

I batted at his hand and fought and wiggled against his deadly hold. His fingers squeezed, cutting off my breath. A gagging sensation gave way to heaving as my lungs fought for air. In a frenetic race not to be too late, I reached out and slapped against the countertop. A pan crashed to the floor. A glass shattered. Shards crunched under my sneakers.

This fucker will not kill me .

Arms flailing and fists pounding, desperate to anchor my body and keep upright, I punched. Pulled back without aiming and

let go. I hit skin on the first strike.

The fierce grip vanished in an instant, taking my balance with it. I clutched the counter to steady myself. Knowing I needed

to run, I tried to concentrate and remember how close I was to the door. Blurry vision and muffled hearing had me stumbling.

When I took a step, my body bent forward, and I sucked in air. The sound repeated like a death rattle through the kitchen.

I couldn’t relax. Richmond was right there. Out of control. Homicidal.

Move! The order rang in my brain.

Harsh breaths and unsteady footsteps filled the kitchen. I shot straight up again and dodged to the left, hoping to land out

of hitting range. My hand smacked against the coffeemaker and my hip jammed into an open drawer. Energy pinged and ricocheted

around me. Equilibrium abandoned me while the kitchen whirled.

Backed up against the pantry door, my eyes finally focused again. Richmond stood a few feet away with a face alive with fury.

He pressed his hand against his throat as he visibly swallowed. He looked wide-eyed and feral but frozen in place.

Punch landed. I hope it hurt like hell.

“You tried to kill me.” His voice sounded scratchy and strained.

The alarm. I could set it off and the police would come. “What are you talking about? You stalked in here like a wild animal.”

His hand dropped from his neck and his expression changed. Determined and unblinking. “Because you tampered with my car.”

“That’s ridiculous.” The adrenaline continued its Olympic race through my body. “I’ve been right here.”

He took a step toward me.

“Not this time.” With no other choice, I grabbed a knife. Heard it slide out of the butcher’s block. The overhead light bounced

off the blade with a flash.

The handle fit in my palm. The sensation dumped me into an emotional hurricane. Confusion. Terror. Tightness stretched across

my shoulders.

“Give me that.” Richmond reached out.

The tip of the knife skimmed his forearm. He jumped back as a tiny thread of blood seeped out. Not a big slice but still shocking.

For both of us.

“You cut me.” His voice took on an otherworldly quality as he picked up a towel and held it to the minor wound.

“You were choking me. Then you threatened me.” When he glanced at the knife, I tucked it in closer to my body. If he tried

to tackle me, the blade would rip through flesh and plunge inside him. I would not hesitate. I’d fight through my revulsion

to knives and kill him. “I will not hesitate to use this, so do not move.”

“You’re acting like the victim.” He scoffed. “You poisoned me. You messed with my car.”

“I’m not responsible for either of those events.”

His heavy breathing calmed as he stared at me. “I don’t believe you.”

“I don’t care.” Don’t relax. That refrain spun around in my head, forcing me to tighten my grip on the knife. “And next time I’ll really stab you, so

back up.”

“Dad?”

The unexpected voice had me shifting as a new shot of panic wiped out the hold on my control. My nerves jumped and snapped

as my gaze shifted from father to son.

“You never showed up...” Wyatt’s voice trailed off as he looked at his dad and the bloody towel in his hands. “What happened?”

My focus stayed on Richmond. Say it. Tell him your theory and I will spill everything I know about your twisted past . I ached to issue the threat out loud.

“An accident.” Richmond’s mood shifted in a snap. His voice returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.

Fucking psychopath.

Wyatt didn’t look convinced by his father’s words. He hadn’t stepped fully into the kitchen. He hovered in the doorway. “How?”

Richmond looked at me.

Do it yourself, asshole. No way was I fixing this.

“I came up behind Addison while she was cleaning and I scared her.” He took a slow step toward me and slipped the knife out

of my hand. He placed it on the counter. “Right?”

He sounded calm and logical. His tone had a no big deal edge to it as if he weren’t lying his butt off.

I couldn’t answer. I didn’t trust my voice. Didn’t want to do anything but yell and kick.

“Is everyone okay?” Wyatt finally walked into the room. “There’s blood and—”

“It’s a nick.” Richmond threw the towel in the sink. “The bigger problem is my car. The brakes went out.”

“What?” Wyatt’s already anxious voice rose. “When?”

Richmond stared at me but answered Wyatt. “I went around the sharp corner over by the park and couldn’t stop. I hit a tree

but luckily I wasn’t going very fast and didn’t get hurt, so I walked back here to call the police.”

This time I didn’t stay quiet. “You didn’t have your cell?”

“I forgot to charge it.”

So fast. Richmond could lie on cue. He was a doctor. Not the type of man to get stuck somewhere without a phone, which meant

this, whatever this was, was intentional.

The smell of coffee battled with the smell of what I now guessed to be burning tires. The tainted food. This new accident

that he walked away from, looking like he rolled around on the ground for a few minutes. Wyatt right there, ready to act as

a witness.

This was a setup. All of it. Richmond couldn’t kill me outright, but he could suggest I was unhinged and after him. Make me

the liar and claim self-defense. His plan unrolled in front of me. So clear and so obvious.

“Wyatt, I need you to drive me back to the scene.” Richmond nodded toward the back door. “Go start your car.”

Wyatt frowned. “Are you sure—”

“I’ll be out in a second.” Richmond didn’t give his son a choice and waited until he left to continue. “This battle is not

going to end the way you think it is, Addison.”

Fake it. My insides trembled and my bones disintegrated to mush. He would never know what standing there cost me. “If you touch me or even look at me again, everything I have on you, about you, becomes public. I’m done playing with you, Richmond. Any more games and you won’t be able to hold on to the scraps I’d planned to leave you.”

“Empty threats.”

“Then try this one. I could carve you into pieces then sit down in a puddle of your blood and eat a sandwich. That’s how little

you mean to me.” I stepped away from the safety of the pantry door. “Consider that your last warning.”