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PERCI STAYED RIGHT where she was until she was certain Rhea had had time to get Ivy inside. Then she moved closer to Pan’s SUV. “I don’t know what you expect me to say. What your son did was wrong. It led to his death, nothing I did. Or my family. He did it. I don’t know what you want from me.”
Her eyes never left the gun in his hand. She wanted to run. To get as far away from him as possible.
Every single time he’d pulled her over at night, he’d had that same pistol in his hand. He’d forced her to cooperate while he searched her car. While he made her kneel in the mud on four separate occasions.
While he kept her there next to the road while he’d eaten a damned sub sandwich once. She’d despised subs ever since. Telling her things she would never repeat to anyone.
He’d loom over her, threaten her. Every time she’d wonder if that time was when he’d make good on his threats.
Whatever he could do to keep it clear to her that she was in his control. That she was powerless.
She wasn’t powerless any longer. She wasn’t.
Perci also wasn’t about to leave Clive Gunderson anywhere near Ivy.
She would not let herself be intimidated by him ever again. She turned her back on him and headed back inside, gambling that he wouldn’t do anything to her in broad daylight.
He never had before.
She’d wait until he was gone—or call Joel.
Her brother-in-law could deal with Gunderson far better than she could.
She was tired of giving her energy to this man. It was time she let go of the hold he had on her and moved on.
With Nate.