Page 120 of Home With You

"Holy shit," I say, kneeling down to him. "What happened?"

"He came up to me, shoved a knife in me, and ran off. I didn't even know the guy."

"Levi, you need an ambulance. Where's your phone?"

One of Levi's nightly customers bought him a phone so he could reach him whenever he needed 'attention' his wife wasn't giving him. The guy is loaded and is always buying Levi stuff. I can't believe his wife doesn't have a clue this is going on.

"He took it," Levi says. "The guy ran off with it." He rolls on his side. "Fuck, it hurts."

"I'm going to get you help, okay? Just stay here." I stand up, then jerk back as someone grabs my hair.

"You call and you'll end up just like him," a man's voice says.

I turn my head to look at the guy but can't. He's gripping my hair so tight I can't move my head.

"Okay, I won't. I won't call. Just leave me alone."

He yanks on my hair as he backs us up next to the dumpster so people from the street can't see us. He lets go of my hair and turns me around, shoving me against the brick wall.

"No fucking way," he says when he sees me.

My heart pounds, fear and shock hitting me all at once.

It's him. It's Rob.

My mind races as I try to figure out what to do. Physical strength won't get me out of this. I have to get in his head. Play to his ego. And never show fear.

I hate this man, but I know him. I know how he thinks. And I can use that as a weapon against him.

Rob doesn't like to be surprised. He likes to know what's going to happen so he can react accordingly and keep control. Right now, he's expecting me to scream, cry, and try to fight him—all things I want to do but can't. I have to remain calm and keep him guessing if I want to survive this.

I lock eyes with him and force myself to relax, which isn't easy when his hand's around my throat and I'm pinned against the wall. One wrong move and he'll snap my neck.

"Hey, baby," I say, smiling at him. "How you been?"

As expected, he looks surprised. "You on something?"

"Not at all. Why do you ask?"

"I need help!" Levi yells.

"Shut the fuck up!" Rob yells back, then he smiles at me. "I'm going to kill you, bitch. For real this time."

"But then we can't be together." Keeping my eyes on his, I slowly raise my hand to his waist. He doesn't stop me so I trail it up his chest. "Don't you miss me, babe? You used to love me. Don't you still love me?"

He cocks his head, studying me like he's trying to figure me out. Like he thinks I might really want him back. That's his ego reacting. I'm getting to him. I just need to keep going.

"I still dream about you every night," I say, undoing the top button of his shirt. "About us. Wishing we could be together again."

His eyes bounce all over my face. He can't figure out what's happening. There's a part of him that truly does want me back, and that part of him is confusing the part of him that wants to kill me right now.

He blinks a few times and shakes his head. "You're lying. You fucking hate me. You were going to leave me."

"But I didn't. I couldn't. Because I love you, Rob. I could never leave you."

"Help!" Levi yells but his voice is getting weaker. "Help me!"

"Shut up!" Rob snaps.

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