Tears spring up in Juniper’s beautiful eyes but I can tell she’s disturbed from her ordeal.
“Why don’t you hop into the steamy water and relax for a bit?” Stanton asks, his voice deep.
Juniper nods again and we help her remove her dirt-stained clothes before stepping delicately into the tub. Even now, with tangled hair and dirt smudges on her cheeks, she’s still ravishingly beautiful. Those big breasts sway, and I watch with hunger as her hairless pussy and big bottom descend into the water. But I keep myself in check.
“We’ll be back in a few minutes,” I say gently. “Just relax, okay sweetheart? Take your time with your bath.”
“Thank you,” Juniper whispers gratefully up at us, her eyes big. “I’ll never be able to thank you enough, Stanton and Shane.”
With a quick smile, I pull the bathroom door shut firmly behind us, and Stanton and I retreat into the hallway. Grimly, we make our way into the living room to figure out next steps.
“Now what?” I ask, although I already know the answer I want to hear.
“Now we handle the situation,” my brother says, his tone expressionless, and even more menacing because of it.
“Good,” I grunt.
Moments later, my twin and I are out the door, hell bent on exacting the worst sort of revenge.
11
Juniper
I splash around absently in the warm bath. I’ve already scrubbed the dirt off my body and face, surprised that the water isn’t more murky given how gross I felt. My mouth still tastes metallic and I’m desperate for a cup of coffee.
But now that I’m warming up slightly, last night is already beginning to feel far away and remote. How can that be possible? I was literally just rescued an hour ago. I should be shaking in my shoes.
It’s because of Stanton and Shane. I know that these men will care for me no matter what. I thought I was going to die, but the handsome twins made sure I didn’t, like a salvation sent from the gods.
But what if Karina tries it again?
At the unbidden thought, I stare at the closed bathroom door. For a brief moment of panic, I’m certain that Karina must know I’m in here and that she’ll coming charging in any second to kidnap me again. Who does that? I know this is a reform school for trouble girls, but still. Abduction and attempted murder? That seems to be going beyond the pale.
Dread fills my stomach once more, and I decide I don’t want to sit here any longer. Nude, I get out of the tub, water splashing everywhere in the process. I don a fluffy robe the brothers put aside for me, glad to be out of my ragged clothes from yesterday.
Hesitantly, I glance in the steam-covered bathroom mirror. My image isn’t great, but things could be a lot worse. There’s a slight carpet burn from where the burlap had been tied tightly around my eyes. A cut or two has popped up along my neck, likely from the prickly hay I slept in. My wrists are raw from the coarse rope, but the warm water seems to have alleviated most of the pain. Then, my stomach growls loudly, reminding me that I haven’t eaten since lunchtime yesterday.
Cinching the robe a little more tightly, I open the bathroom door and peer into the brightly lit hallway, still halfway convinced that Karina might be waiting in the shadows somewhere.
“Shane? Stanton?” I call out, but there’s no answer. A quick glance at the grandfather clock tells me that it’s getting close to time to start work, so maybe the guys have gone over to check in with Hester and let her know that I’m back.
Knowing they won’t mind if I make myself at home, I patter into the kitchen, my damp feet leaving a faint trail behind me. I turn on the coffee maker and pull a carton of eggs from the fridge. I’m in the middle of cutting up some orange slices when a commotion out the window makes me look up.
The kitchen faces roughly in the direction of the girls’ dorm, and out the window, I see a stream of women pouring out of the house in varying shades of undress with their hair askew. They’re chattering loudly, their eyes wide behind cupped hands. What the hell is going on?
But soon, it becomes clear because behind the throng of girls is none other than Stanton and Shane, with someone hunkered low between them. My eyes go wide as I recognize the fall of Karina’s long blonde hair, the tips trailing on the ground. But it’s not fear of Karina that startles me. No, it’s that the twins appear to have Karina by her ears and are dragging her down the porch between them. She’s yelling, screaming and crying while trying to wriggle free, but it’s clearly no use – Shane and Stanton are too strong and obviously very determined. I watch with my mouth open as the two men haul Karina across the yard and in the direction of some old machinery.