Chapter 96
My breath catches. Not from shock, but from disbelief that she really said that out loud. Who does this woman think she ist.
Knox steps in front of me now. “Okay, that’s it. You need to leave. And drop your keys on the table while you’re at it.”
“Why do I need to leave?” she says. “She should be the one leaving.”
*You just admitted that you paid a PI to investigate her, and then you accused her of plotting with my brother to manipulate me. I’ve heard enough. You’re probably having a hard time processing this, so I’ll give you until the end of the week to sort your shit out. And then you’ll sign those papers. know you still have them.”
T
“No, Knox. I’m not signing them. Her stupid best friend set me up for shoplifting. And I feel like someone’s following me around lately. You’re not the only one affected by whatever’s going on here. And since you’re not seeing the pattern, then I’ll be your eyes. They are up to something.”
I almost laugh. She must’ve hurt her back stretching this hard. Does she actually believe I’m colluding with Finn to ruin Knox’s life, or is this her way of avoiding a divorce by cooking up stories? Where’s all this passion coming from, by the way? Is the settlement amount not enough for her? Or is it just pride? Ego? Because from where I’m standing, they weren’t even in a real relationship. No sex. No romance. Just lingering history and a refusal to let go.
I close the distance between us until my face is inches from hers. She flinches, just barely, but holds her ground.
“You really should’ve done more homework about me, Soraya,” I say, my voice cold. “Because you don’t want to piss me off.”
She’s breathing faster now, chest rising and falling beneath her blouse. Her eyes don’t waver from mine. I stare right back.
“What are you going to do, Sloane?” she asks. “Make Knox take the divorce to court and force my hand? That’s only going to open a can of worms we all
don’t want.”
Oh, right. The illegal marriage.
“Like I said,” she continues, chin lifting, “if you want to be with him, I’m going to have to see that you’re being genuine with him. People don’t forget the feelings they’ve had for ten years that easily. For all his bravado, Knox has a lot of shit eating him up. His brother’s pet isn’t going to become one of them. Not when I’m alive.”
My jaw tightens.
“I guess death will just have to do you both part,” I say quietly.
“Is that a threat?”
“It’s a statement. You better sign those papers within the timeline Knox gave you, or I swear to God-
”
“You can’t do anything, Sloane,” she cuts in, her voice rising. “Take your ass back to your psychopathic friend, and tell him to stay away from me and Knox. You won’t use Knox to try to make your best friend jealous.”
My voice sharpens. “Oh, now I’m making Finn jealous? Just now you said it was a conspiracy between me and Finn to hurt Knox. Get your story straight.”
“No, you get out of my face, bitch.”
That’s it.
I grab a fistful of her hair, swiping a foot under hers to tackle her down. She screams as I slam her face into the table. The thud echoes through the house.
Her arms flail against the wood. “Aww, get off me!”
“Say it,” I growl. “Say you’ll sign the papers!
She struggles beneath me, twisting her torso, but I shift with her, keeping my grip on her scalp. Her legs kick against the floor, making hollow thumps
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Chapter 96
against the wood.
“Knox, get your girlhiend off me!” she shrieks.
From behind me, I hear his voice, calm but laced with dry amusement. “You should probably give her what she wants, Soraya. Even cant get in her way when she’s mad.”
I would have smiled if i wasn’t boiling with rage. Instead, I dig my elbow into the space between her shoulder blades and press down.
“You’re not getting away with this, Sloane,” she hisses, hei voice muffled by the table..
“Say it.”
“I’m not signing anything!”
Lean in harder. She thrashes like a fish on a dock, but I adjust quickly, climbing over her legs and kneeling on them. She screams again—raw and high- pitched–trying to twist her hips and buck me off.
I’m not letting go.
“Is this really how you want to die?” I say through clenched teeth.
“Get off me!”
She claws at the table, trying to reach for the nearly empty Macallan bottle on the table. I grab it instead and raise it, my fingers white–knuckled around
the neck.
That’s when Knox moves.
Fast.
He’s behind me in a second, his arms wrapping tight around my middle, pulling me back with a strength that nearly lifts me off the floor. The bottle is still in my hand, hovering in the air. I’m breathing hard, like I’ve just run five miles uphill.
“Let it go, Bunny. Please,” he says, his voice a whisper at my ear, face buried in my neck. “I really don’t want to be the guy showing up for conjugal visits at a correctional facility.”
“She’s getting on my damn nerves,” I say, struggling against his grip, the bottle trembling in
my grip.
“I know.” He presses me closer to him, the heat of his chest calming some invisible wire inside me. “I know.”
His hand slips over mine, gently pulling the bottle away. He walks to the couch and tosses it onto a cushion.
At the table, Soraya is pulling herself upright, her curls wild, one side of her face slightly red and flattened where I’d slammed her into the table. Her hands go to her hair, smoothing it down with jerky motions.
“She’s a barbarian, Knox,” she says, combing through her curls with trembling fingers. “You’ll see it soon enough. You’re just blinded by it because it excites you.”
“Jus
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down.”
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