The door opened, and I was flung out of the car with little effort, stumbling into my mother’s arms before hearing the door slam shut again.
Someone grabbed my arm—my sister, I assumed—as I straightened myself.
“What was that about?” she snarled.
“Are you stupid?” I bit out in a low voice. Did she really not know?
None of this had anything to do with her, and she knew it.
My mother guided me into the house. I felt my sister’s gown brush past me as soon as we entered the marble foyer, and I let go, holding out my hand to find the stairs ahead. Once inside, I knew my way.
The stairs creaked above me. Probably Ari seeking out her room.
Some wedding day. No guests. No reception. No wedding night. At least not yet.
“Mom?” Ari called out as I swung around the bannister and headed to my room down the hall. “He and I will need a bigger room and more privacy, as well as the master bathroom.”
I clenched my jaw, lightly skimming the wooden bannister with my hand as I charged to my room. Opening the door, I ducked inside and slammed it shut, locking it behind me.
My nerves fired underneath my skin, and I felt to my right, immediately grabbing the dining room chair I’d stolen. I nudged it underneath my door handle for additional protection.
He might’ve left for now, but he could be back at any time.
Any day. Any hour of the night. Any minute.
Mikhail brushed his wet nose on my leg, and I crouched down, petting him and holding his head to mine, savoring the feel of the only thing that made me feel good anymore. Other than dancing.
I adopted the golden retriever last year, and while I adored the company, it would be hard to leave with him if I was going to run now.
I stood up, rubbing my eyes.
God, I couldn’t believe Ari. They were taking my mother’s bedroom.
Anger boiled my blood, but I guess it was a good thing. We shouldn’t hide under any illusions. We lived, ate, and slept under someone else’s good graces. Now, we were simply guests in our own home.
How could my father leave us to this?
If caught, he would’ve gone to prison, which I was sure was Damon’s desire. An eye for an eye. A little payback. A dose of his own medicine.
But my father had just enough time to run, and no one knew where he was now. If he had used some of the money to hide us away, get us out of the country with him, or put us under the protection of friends, I might’ve been able to forgive him. Or at least trust that he had a care in the world.
But he just left. And he left us high and dry at the mercy of anyone who came along. What was Damon going to do to us?
He would certainly have his fun. My sister was gorgeous. My mother still had her figure and face, judging from the comments I’d overheard around others. My sister would do anything he asked, and so would my mother. If she refused, he’d just threaten me, and she’d do anything.
She might’ve even been an option for this alliance, if not for the fact that she was still married to my father. And I wasn’t an ideal choice, either, because I’d fight him and never stop fighting him. Ari was the easy choice.
But dodging that bullet didn’t mean I was safe. What the hell else was I going to do? I had to leave. It was time. I knew th
is.
I should’ve just stayed gone. After high school, I’d completed two years of college in Rhode Island but quit to come home and focus on dancing, training, and trying to convince any choreographers or company directors to give me a chance. It had been a horrible year, though, and getting worse.
Kneeling down, I slid my hands under my bed skirt, feeling around for the nylon strap, and yanked a packed duffel bag out from underneath. The cool, oblong bag had been hidden in my closet since I sent Damon to jail five years ago, always ready for flight, because I knew I would lose in the inevitable fight. There were two changes of clothes, an extra pair of sneakers, a burner phone plus charger, a hat, sunglasses, a first aid kit, a Swiss Army knife, and all the cash I’d been secretly scrounging since then: nine thousand eighty-two dollars so far.
Of course, I had friends and family I could go to, but disappearing was the only fail-safe. I needed to be gone. Out of the country.
But I needed help getting there. Someone I trusted above everyone else who wasn’t afraid of Damon or his family or the elite in this town. Someone who could outwit my new sister’s husband and get me out of here.