I grabbed the door and tried to slam it shut, but my shock had lost me a second, and I wasn’t fast enough. He slapped his hand against the door and shoved, knocking me back. I would’ve fallen if he hadn’t reached out and grabbed the front of my shirt. Jalen’s shirt.

“Not a word,” my father hissed as he yanked me forward.

Cold steel slid along the side of my neck, and I braced myself for pain. I’d die without a sound if it meant keeping Jalen safe.

“Don’t walk away from me!”

Elise’s shrill voice destroyed any hope I’d had that Willis would kill me and go before he realized we weren’t alone.

“Rona is–” Jalen’s question dropped away as he stepped into view. “If you hurt her, I’ll kill you.”

Willis spun me around, holding me in front of him like a shield. “I remember you from my trial. You were there for the whore.”

Jalen’s hands curled into fists, but his eyes found mine. “It’s going to be okay.”

“Who else is here?” My dad demanded.

“No one,” Jalen said quickly.

“I’m ‘no one’ now?”

Not quick enough.

Elise stomped out of the living room and skidded to a stop as she saw what was happening. She held up her hands and took a step backward.

“Stop!” Willis pointed his knife at her. “I came here to finish my job. Let me do that, and you get to live.”

“Jalen?”

“Do what he says.”

My brain scrambled to find a way out of this situation. I knew this. At Quantico, we’d gone over the different sorts of moves to make when being held from behind. Flip him over my back? Smash his instep? An elbow to the solar plexus? I couldn’t remember what we’d been told to do if our captor had a knife. Any movement felt like it’d be my last.

“Don’t hurt me,” Elise pleaded. She put her hands on her stomach. “I’m pregnant. Please don’t hurt me or my baby.”

My father hadn’t cared about killing his own wife and unborn child. A stranger and her baby wouldn’t move him. I didn’t tell Elise that though. As much as I despised her, this wasn’t something I’d wish on anyone.

“Who’s the father?” Willis asked.

“He is,” Elise said immediately, pointing at Jalen.

“I’m not,” Jalen said, taking a step toward me. “They have nothing to do with me.”

“You’re really going to deny it now?” Elise wailed. The tears spilling down her cheeks now were probably real. “All you care about is her!”

I could’ve told her that Jalen was trying to protect her and the baby by making Willis think that they wouldn’t be leverage, but every time I swallowed, I felt the sting of the knife’s blade. Talking wouldn’t be the smartest thing to do right now.

“She’s trying to make you think her bastard is yours?”

The air in the room shifted with the question. Elise and Jalen looked confused, but I knew exactly what had changed. My father was identifying with Jalen now, not as a potential threat, but as an ally.

“My cheating bitch of a wife tried to do that to me too.”

The knife at my throat moved slightly as Willis adjusted his grip on me. Instead of it being positioned so that he could cut my throat straight across without needing to apply much pressure, it was at an angle and now half an inch from my skin. The slight flick of Jalen’s gaze told me that he’d seen it too. It wasn’t much, but it was more than I’d had a minute ago.

“After I’m rid of this slut, you can do that one, and then we can get a drink before we take care of the bodies. That’s what went wrong last time. I didn’t get the chance to get rid of the evidence.”

The casual way my father spoke of murder and body disposal was more chilling than the shouting and ranting.

“Can I take care of her too?” Jalen asked, his expression a mask of calm. “I mean, she’s not pregnant, but she’s been a lot of trouble.”

“Do you think I’m an idiot?!” Willis shouted. “You’re going to kill them and blame it on me!”

I felt his muscles tense a split second before he moved, and I acted on instinct, spinning toward the knife rather than away from it. I jerked my head down and away as I dropped to my knees and rolled, ignoring the agony ripping across my jaw and up my cheek. I couldn’t tell how bad the damage was as hot liquid spilled down my face, but I could see and breathe, and that was enough.

Everything seemed to happen all at once.

Jalen shouted my name.

Willis cursed and kicked at me.

Elise screamed and covered her stomach.

She really was pregnant.

The realization hit me a moment before I knew what my father was going to do next.

I reached out and grabbed his foot, the sickest feeling of déjà vu coming over me. He twisted as he fell, and for a moment, his eyes met mine. Something that looked a lot like relief flashed across his face, and then he slammed into the floor. The world went still, as if everything held its breath to see what would happen next.

He didn’t move.

Jalen knelt, putting himself between me and Willis. Cautiously, he reached down, fingers pressing against my father’s neck. When he turned toward me, I knew it was over. I closed my eyes and let Jalen wrap his arms around me as he shouted at Elise to stop freaking out and call the police. I might cry later, but right now, I was just glad that it was done.