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Anger rushed through her. Anger that he'd made her a victim. Anger that she'd let him take her life from her. Anger that she'd been afraid for so long.
Now that the moment was here, it felt so old. Like she'd relived it a thousand times already. Gabby wasn't home, so he couldn't get her. Gabby had a dad and a family, so if anything happened to Sofia, her daughter would be okay. So, the fear of being killed and leaving her daughter alone and unprotected slid away, leaving behind the woman who was done with being a victim.
He pointed the gun at her and moved toward her. "A gun is too easy for you. You'll suffer, and then I'll find your daughter---"
"You won't find her. You won't be able to hurt her. She's protected now." It felt so good and empowering to say that, to know it was true. She began to inch toward her nightstand, toward the gun she kept in there. "You don't get to have her."
"I can get to anyone." He watched her move. "I found your gun. You think I'm that stupid?"
She stopped. "You are stupid, yes. I do think that," she said, goading him. She'd never goaded him before. She'd sat quietly and tried not to piss him off, which had empowered the bully. But she didn't want to sit quietly anymore. She'd come too far, and it wasn't until this moment, facing him that she truly understood how far she had come over the last decade and a half.
He cursed at her and lunged at her, but she saw him coming and dove to the side, toward the nightstand. She grabbed the cord of the lamp as she dove, yanked it off the nightstand and swung the lamp by the cord as hard as she could.
It crashed into the side of his head and shattered as he dropped.
She grabbed his gun and bolted for the door, then paused in the threshold, turning back to look at him.
He was motionless on the floor, a lump of man on her carpet.
She stopped and stared at him, letting her breathe in the fact she'd beaten him. She knew it was because he hadn't expected her to fight back, and he hadn't been prepared. Next time, she wouldn't get him, but right now, she felt powerful and strong, a woman who could choose her life and choose her future.
His fingers started to move, and she stepped back. She raised the gun and pointed it at him, but she didn't want to shoot him. She didn't want to have to be that person.
The front door slammed. "Mom! Mom!"
Then Keegan's voice rang out. "Sofia! Where are you?"
Relief rushed through her. "Upstairs! In my room. I'm okay!"
Feet thundered on the stairs, but by the time Keegan appeared at the top of the steps, the man she'd feared for so long had made it to his hands and knees. "You little—"
Keegan reached her, and she handed him the gun. "You can finish it."
Keegan grabbed the gun and aimed it into her bedroom. "Get down," he snapped. "Now."
As the monster she'd feared for so long dropped back down at the sight of Keegan with the gun, Sofia grabbed Gabby and pulled her back from the door, so she didn't have to look inside. "Hey, baby, Keegan's got it."
"He's here?" Gabby looked terrified, and Sofia realized she'd done that to her daughter, made her terrified of a nameless, faceless ghost.
It was time to disempower what she'd created. "Come see." She put her arm around Gabby and led her to the bedroom. They walked to the doorway and peered inside. Keegan was on the phone, and her ex-husband was face-down on the carpet, blood oozing from the side of his head.
"Did you kill him?" Gabby whispered.
"No. I didn't need to."
Keegan didn't take his gaze off his target. "Sofia? Are you all right?"
"I'm perfect. And I love you."
He grinned. "You can't tell me that when I can't even look at you, let alone tackle you and shower you with love."
"I can do whatever I want, actually. And I want to love you. And I want to figure out how to make this work without either of us giving up what we love."
Gabby squealed and hugged her. "I totally thought you were going to dump Keegan."
Sofia laughed, feeling so liberated and free. With Keegan handling the gun, and her own new power, the fear was gone. "I thought about it, but he's just so rich, I thought it was silly."
Keegan grunted. "As soon as I don't have to hold this jerk at gunpoint, I'm going to have to clarify that thinking. You get my money anyway."
