Page 51 of The Man Upstairs

That would never be happening again.

He tried to struggle, but it was useless. He stopped deadly still when I pressed the point of the knife into the base of his ribcage.

“Don’t even think about moving. Or I swear to God, you’ll fucking regret it.”

My chef’s knife was still threatening him as I let his mouth free.

“You’re fucking mental!” he said. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!”

He was shaking like a leaf. Not such a badass after all.

“I don’tthinkI’m doing anything,” I said calmly. “Iknowexactly what I’m doing, and that’s giving you one chance. You have one tiny chance to save your life, or believe me, I’ll be taking it from you. Call it mercy and give me fucking thanks.”

He likely didn’t believe me, until he saw the true depth of hate in my stare.

His common sense didn’t believe his heart, though. His idiocy still battled the truth.

“You’re a fucking headcase!” he said, but his tone was weaker now.

I pulled the knife away, because I wasn’t scared of him in the slightest. I’d have had him in a chokehold within seconds if I needed to.

“I fucking mean it,” I told him, eyes cold as ice. “If you ever so much as look at Rosie again, I will kill you.”

His pitiful eyes widened as my threat registered.

“Rosie? What the fuck?! What did she say to you?”

I pressed my arm up tight to his neck.

“I’m sure you know what she said to me, and I can assure you, I’m not fucking playing. If you have any sense in that thick skull of yours, then you’ll pay heed, because I won’t be telling you again.” I smiled down at him. “You know, believe it or not, I used to do jujitsu when I was younger. I'm a bit out of practice, but I'm still perfectly capable of breaking someone's limbs one by one, and I'm also capable of putting a knife in your ribcage. If you go near Rosie again, I'll be showing you.”

“Are you out of your fucking head?!”

“Most likely,” I said. “Who really cares? The outcome will be the same, regardless. Rosie will be free of you, and so will Beverly. That’s worth both of our pitiful souls. I’ll give mine gladly, to take yours.”

“You’re joking, right?” he said. “You really are fucking mental. You’re hardly a fucking killer!”

He was wrong on that. The tension in my veins sang to a very different tune. In that moment, in the craze of the plummet to my true, honest darkness, I felt my soul being set free. One final light in the depths of my miserable end.

I watched my words penetrate his measly excuse for a brain.

“There’s nothing more dangerous than someone who has nothing to live for,” I said. “Believe me, I’ll kill you quite happily on my way out. I’ll be leaving anyway.”

Scottie didn’t speak after that, just kept his eyes locked on mine. My stare won. He lost the battle of wills as I gave him the instructions.

“I think you’ll have a pressing reason to leave this place before you’re due to come back tonight, won’t you? Who knows, maybe you’ll get an irresistible job offer from far away. A job overseas, perhaps? Something too opportunistic to ignore?”

He gave the slightest hint of a nod, which only confirmed it. He was too weak to fight me.

I carried on talking.

“You wouldn’t want to upset Beverly, of course. No, no. I’m sure you’ll address your sudden career exit in a way that doesn’t destroy her confidence. I’m positive you’ll be able to convey just how much you love her, despite you being away for the foreseeable.”

At that, I crushed his windpipe with my arm until he was retching. He sucked in a huge, desperate breath when I threw him to the floor.

“I’ve left no marks on you, of course,” I said, as he crawled away from me. “I can’t imagine the police would take any allegations you might make all that seriously. Karma is one hell of a callous bitch, isn’t she?”

Scottie didn’t try to protest, or fight, just kept on crawling until he reached the front door.