He let out a sharp breath and glared. “This is where I grew up.” He stepped closer and his face hardened, icing over so fast it left me breathless. “If you make trouble for my sisters, I will rip out your fucking throat and feed your corpse to the pigs. Do you understand?”
I blinked slowly. I thought Darren was supposed to be a good guy. “You have pigs?”
“Two. They’re surprisingly smart.” He loomed over me and gestured with his head toward my room. “Get inside. Let’s talk.”
I opened my mouth to argue—but felt too weak and drained to bother.
Might as well hear what the bastard had to say.
I pushed past him, my shoulder brushing against his arm like caressing stone, then shoved into the room.
He followed and closed the door behind him.
2
Winter
Darren gestured toward the bed, and for one second, I stood there, eyebrow arched, staring at him.
His face darkened. “Sit, please.” He grabbed one of the chairs in front of the fireplace and turned it around.
“I’m not sure I’m comfortable being anywhere near a bed right now.”
“If I wanted that, I’d take it from you.” His voice was annoyed, and his face was scrunched up as if he smelled something distasteful. “Now please, sit down so we can talk.”
I decided not to push this too hard. I was still exhausted and light-headed from whatever drug he’d used to knock me out, and if I was honest with myself, I really needed to rest.
I sat on the end of the bed. My feet swung in the air a few inches off the floor, and I felt like a little girl as Darren sat and crossed his legs.
I held up a hand before he could launch into what I assumed would be a fantastic speech. “Is this the part where you tell me that if I don’t obey your every command, you’ll take me over your knee and spank me? Because I’m pretty sure that’s not going to be much of a deterrent.”
“You’ve never been kidnapped before, I take it.”
“No, I haven’t.”
“Typically, the punishments are much more severe.” He rubbed his eyes with one hand. “In this case, however, I plan on keeping you as whole as I can.”
“That’s… good, I think.”
“It’s better than the alternative. So no, you won’t be spanked, but you will lose privileges.”
I tilted my head, frowning. “Privileges?”
“Access. Comforts.” He gestured at the room. “This is a privilege. That bathroom is a privilege. Your ability to walk out into the hall is a privilege. If you break my rules and make this arrangement difficult, then I will take those rights away one by one until you’re left in a cage in the darkness.” He leaned forward, eyes hard. “I don’t need you comfortable, love. I need you alive.”
I shivered at that word. Love.
It made me think of the first time we’d met, back at my apartment. He’d sat in a chair just like he was now, exuding confidence, except this time he looked more frustrated than amused, and this time he didn’t have a gun at hand.
Though he probably had one nearby.
Not that he needed it.
The threat of more restrictions was a shotgun aimed at my skull.
“Penny said you didn’t have a murder basement.”
“Penny was correct, if a little presumptuous. Our basement is used for storage, and I’d be happy to store you down there, too.”
I drummed my fingers on my knees. “What do you want from me? What are these stupid rules?”
He held up a finger. God, I hated that. What a dick.
“First rule. Do not leave the house unaccompanied. That includes trying to escape.”
“Fine. No running.”
“You will have access to the grounds, but my men will escort you whenever you’re outdoors.”
That was surprisingly fair. “What else?”
He held up a second finger. I wanted to cut them off with a rusty chainsaw.
“You cannot attempt to contact the outside world. You will be tempted. This is a house, after all, and there are phones everywhere. But know that they are all monitored and none of them have a direct line, and if you do somehow get your hands on a computer, or a cell, or anything with a connection that I can’t directly control, I will find out, and I will make your life hell. Do you understand?”
I rolled my eyes and waved a hand in the air. “Fine, sure, no calling in the cavalry or whatever. Get to the good stuff.”
He smiled and held up a third finger. “Last rule. You will not threaten or hurt anyone in this house.” He stared for several long heartbeats. “Especially not my sisters or my brother. If you speak to them out of line, if you make them uncomfortable, if you so much as touch them the wrong way, I will bury you.”
I let out a slow breath. So Darren was protective of his siblings. Very interesting. He didn’t strike me as a family man, but I’d been wrong about people in the past, and I could easily be wrong about him.