Howard moved in a flash, slamming me against the wall. My head snapped back into the logs, and spots danced across my vision. His hand tightened around my neck, digging into the bruises Kenny had left there. “You’re a treasonous whore. You were promised to my son, and you dothisto him? When I offered you everything?”
“He doesn’t want me.” The words barely escaped my throat.
Howard’s grip on me loosened a fraction. “We’ll just see about that.”
He gave me one more hard shove and then released me. I couldn’t manage to stay on my feet. I dropped to the floor as if all the strength had left me. My ears rang, and my vision tilted. I didn’t know if I’d make it through a day with Howard, let alone the year he predicted.
The burn was back behind my eyes. I wanted home. Ramsey. Kai. Aidan and Elliott. Sky. Onyx. My nosy family butting into my life and telling me what they thought was best for me.
August strode into the room and threw a bottle at me. It landed at my feet. “Drink it.”
I squinted through my double vision to take in the bottle. It was orange juice, one of those single-serving deals. My hand shook as I picked it up. It took three tries to open it, but I heard the pop of the seal and sighed in relief. I guzzled it down.
Howard scowled at me. “Now you drink what we give you?”
He hadn’t forgotten all my refusals to eat or drink when I was ten. But things were different now. I knew they had nothing to gain by drugging me, and I desperately needed the sugar the juice would provide if I had any hope of fighting back.
A door slammed outside, and my gaze shot to the hallway. “Who is that?”
Howard grinned. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”
A door opened and closed. “August?” Footsteps echoed after Ian’s voice. “Where are you?”
“Back here.”
Those footsteps grew closer, and Ian’s large frame filled the doorway. His face went deathly pale. “Dad?”
“Hey, son.”
“Y-you died. They called me.”
Howard scoffed. “Don’t you know better than to trust a fuckin’ pig? I thought I taught you better than that.”
Ian simply stared at his father as if looking at a ghost.
Howard chuckled and gestured to me. “And I got you a present to apologize for not letting you in on the plan.”
Ian scowled at the not-letting-him-in-on-the-plan piece, sending a glare in August’s direction. His gaze moved where his father had gestured, his eyes widening as he took me in. “Have you lost your fucking mind? You took her?”
His voice made the pulse in my head intensify, the pain like icepicks to my brain.
“Watch your tone, young man. I did this for you! You need to show me some respect.”
“I don’t want her. I’ve never wanted her. The cops are already on my ass, and you dothis?”
Howard’s hand shot out, slapping Ian across the face. Ian blinked a few times, stunned in a way that told me his father had never been physically violent with him before. But I’d known that Howard Kemper had it in him. Cruelty. And a paranoia that everything else was powerless against.
Ian gritted his teeth. “I’m worried they’ll catch you because of this. Because ofher.”
Howard studied his son, a harshness in his gaze. “You need to trust that I know what’s best for you. As soon as Shiloh’s ready, you’ll take her as your wife. We’re going to build the life we should’ve always had.”
“A nice compound in Canada.” August shot me a lascivious grin. “We’ll take all the wives we want.”
Howard nodded. “Raise those children right. No traitors like your sisters,” he spat at Ian and then turned back to me. “You’ll birth me some righteous grandchildren.”
“No.” The single word slipped from my mouth without my permission.
Howard whirled on me. “You’ll submit, or you’ll die. Those are your choices.”