Page 71 of What the Wife Knew

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 ano big dealedge 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?”

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