“Don’t even think about it, the locks are engaged.”
Fuck. Was I going to catch a break before I was handed over to my father in Mincrow? I had six hundred kilometers to hope and pray I’d get an opportunity to escape this man’s clutches. If I escaped I could go to the police and have my father arrested. He couldn’t have them all in his pocket. Could he?
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
WENDY
I dozed on and off as Jace drove through the night. When he stopped for fuel and snacks, I was locked in the car. He warned me, if I attempted to get out, the alarm would go off and he wouldn’t hesitate to shoot me. I believed him, but it wasn’t me I was concerned about, I was worried he’d fire at some innocent bystander.
Around halfway, despite having only a few sips of the water he’d bought me, I found myself desperately needing to pee. The road we were on was deserted, we hadn’t passed another car for hours, and it was heavily lined with trees. Jace pulled off and parked the car behind a grove of trees before turning toward me.
“One wrong move and you’ll be going home with a bullet in your leg.”
“I’m not peeing out here, I want a restroom.”
He clucked his tongue, a particularly annoying habit he had. “Suit yourself, it’s here or your pants. I don’t care which but make a decision so we can get moving.
I stared into his face lit by moonlight. A blank glare reflected back from his eyes. I had a terrible feeling this man might be a little insane, or maybe a lot. Despite thinking I wanted to die, self-preservation kicked in. I didn’t want to push him to snap so I climbed from the car. He did the same and followed me to where I stopped behind a thick trunked tree.
“Turn around,” I ordered while unfastening my jeans.
“Not happening, sweetie. Not taking my eyes off you.”
I felt angry, humiliated, and turned my back on him before pushing down my jeans and panties. Crouching low, I peed. Relief swept over me when I finally stopped and could stand to get dressed. I felt his eyes burning into my back as I straightened myself. When I turned to head back to the car, I didn’t miss the smirk on his face and the hungry sexual glint in his eyes.
“Nice arse, I just might keep you.” Again, with the fucking tongue clicking. He shook his head. “On second thought, nah, your daddy has powerful friends and he’d find us.”
“Why are you doing this?” I slipped back into my seat and clipped the seatbelt back in place.
“Honey, I do anything for half a mil.”
“Half a million dollars?” I was surprised my father was willing to pay so much to get me back. Me…the mistake. The worthless female he couldn’t stand being anywhere near him. The woman who’d tarnished his fucking name. I hated the man with every fiber of my being. The only people I hated more were my brothers.
***
Jace pulled up at my parents’ sprawling mansion that I’d once called home and nausea overwhelmed me. I remained seated in the car even after Jace stepped out and strode towards the house.
My father and two eldest brothers—Charles and Richard, greeted him with a handshake. What happened next had me going from scared to full-blown terrified.
Charles wrapped his arm around Jace’s neck and seconds later a large patch of red appeared on the front of his shirt. He crumpled to the ground, I knew he was dead. My father waved his arm in the air and spoke to his sons, but I couldn’t hear what was said from the locked car. They lifted the body from the ground, and while they carried him around the side of the adjacent barn toward the back where we had a large fire pit, father stomped toward me. I shrank down in the seat.
The door flew open, I was dragged from the car by my hair, slapped hard across the face and thrown to the ground. My cheek burned and throbbed and I tried hard to hold back the tears. Nothing enraged my father more than tears and a show of weakness. Despite my efforts, tears slipped free. I knew this was going to be so much worse than I’d feared.
My brothers appeared from the side of the barn, laughing and clapping each other’s backs. The desperate need for self-preservation overwhelmed me, it was a need I’d felt so many times before. I clambered to my feet, but before I could set off running, my brothers had reached me and each grabbed hold of one of my arms. The pain as they pulled them out to the sides was excruciating and I struggled to stay calm. I failed.
Flashbacks of the reason I’d left home flooded back as I screamed and writhed against their vicious hold. Another hard slap to the side of my head had my ears ringing and I quieted.