“The police work for us just like everyone else in this town,” Vincent sneers with a crack of his neck.
“Of course, how could I forget,” I say sarcastically with a sharp, hopeless exhale. “This is fucking useless.”
“You’re still dumb enough to think everything is just happening by coincidence,” Vivian sneers. “There’s a reason you’re here, Ophelia. At this school. Your father waged war with our families before you were born, and it’s still going.”
“How!? What did he do? I don’t know anything!”
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out in time,” she smiles. “But for now…you have one job. Get him to stop coming after our parents.”
“Great…except I have no clue how to do that,” I fire back dryly. “You don’t seem to be getting it. We have nothing to do with each other and I don’t know anything about this supposed war he’s in with you and your stupid fucking families.”
“You don’t have to know anything. You just have to get him to respond to our messages. Or else you’re dead,” she turns her back to me impatiently.
“Ophelia,” Emmett finally chimes in, practically begging me to comply. “You’ll help us. Or we’ll kill you. And that’s the end of it.” It almost sounds like he wants me to give in so I’ll be spared any more torture.
“I’m not helping you with anything,” I growl, sparking a pleased grin across Emmett’s face. It’s as if he wants to kill me. Maybe that’d be easier for him than dealing with whatever’s going on between us.
Trey and Vincent lunge forward again, their rough hands twisting into my shoulders and wrists. I’m still sore from Vivian’s beating, but try to buckle down and brace myself against the wall the best I can, but they’re too strong. My teeth grind as their hands circle my arms tightly, burning and pinching the skin as they go. I wince and take tentative steps beneath their grip, my eyes watering up from the sensation. They don’t stop. My head flails back against the wall with my face twisted into a grimace.
“Let me go!” I scream in a panic in between grunts and pained hisses, wondering if they really do have the balls to kill me right here and now. That might be better than having to help them or have anything to do with my father. Their fingers twist into my skin with a burning sensation. “Stop! Just leave me alone!”
My breath saws in and out rapidly as Vivian marches toward me again, sending her foot back into my shin despite Emmett’s disapproval. I yowl out in pain as I crash back down to the floor.
“Fuck!” I cry, rubbing my hand across my stinging leg bone that is already turning purple. Within seconds, I am lifted back into the air, propping me up for more of Vivian’s blows. But to my surprise, Emmett appears just a foot away from me. I wonder how he felt about Vivian denying his orders to leave my legs alone. After all, he enjoys looking at these muscular legs of mine. If I can’t run, they go to flabby shit…which just isn’t in his best interests.
He scowls toward the others, prompting them to back up. It’s as if he watched for as long as he could, but now he has to have me to himself again. Whether Vivian is watching or not.
“Quit fighting us,” he barks. “Just make sure your dad responds to our parents. And do what we tell you.”
“I don’t even know how to reach him,” I growl, fighting back sobs.
His feet inch closer to me, propelling me back to the day before. We were exactly like this. Him seething before me as I was pinned up against the wall. My eyes dart over to Vivian as I wonder if I should kiss him again right in front of her.
“We can take care of that,” he murmurs into my ear. “You just need to be a good little pet and do as you’re told.”
My eyes dart back to the ticking clock hands every few seconds, noting how painfully slow they are moving. Almost backward.
I hate that we’re back to this and I feel stupid for believing even for a moment that he could be innocent in all of this. Just as stuck as I was. No, he was a willing participant. Getting off on it all just as much as the rest of them.
But as I consider how trapped I am, the bigger questions at hand flood my mind. What could my dad possibly be doing to have them this riled up? And what kind of ultimatum was he being given?
“And if I can get him to respond?” I test lightly with my brows raised, purposefully keeping my face too close to his in hopes that it will drive Vivian insane. “If I do whatever you say and get my dad to do what you want…when all of this is over…do I ever get to be free from this bullshit? Are you ever going to leave me alone?”
“Do you want me to leave you alone?” he whispers boldly into my ear, his hot breath rolling down my neck. “Don’t waste your time asking what happens if everything goes right. You’re better off focusing on what’s going to happen to you if it doesn’t.”
“But I don’t know how to help you,” I try again through gritted teeth, spurring him to push into me harder.
“I think you do, baby,” he jeers in a low tone that burns straight into my gut.
Baby. The sound of it on his lips used to make me sick. And it still does, but now my stomach twists with nauseating desperation.
I sigh dejectedly, slumping my shoulders. My eyes meet his with blank features, stooping below him as my feet shuffle to steady myself against the wall. “Okay, so what happens next?” I resign with a monotone voice, my chin trembling.
Emmett’s lips curl into a pleased grin, his gray eyes piercing across my skin as he looks me up and down, violating me with his gaze in a way only he can.
“Emmett!” Vivian barks disapprovingly from over his shoulder. “Let’s get on with it already!”
I can’t help but smile at her impatience. She can’t stand to see Emmett lusting for me so fearlessly, right in front of her and everyone else. We struck a nerve, and for once she wasn’t able to hide it.