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“You’ll have them.” I pocket the list and glare at the empty seats. “I’ll give her one more minute.”
Both boys tense. As they should. It’s been a long goddamn time since I’ve resorted to punishment. I hate it as much as they do, but it’s the only way to deal with this.
I glance at my watch just as the entryway door opens.
Kody steps through, removing weapons and holsters. “She’s right behind me.”
The tension doesn’t dissipate, and it won’t until Frankie walks in carrying a full bag of berries.
My hand twitches on my lap. Is she stubborn enough to disobey?
Absolutely.
But only once. After tonight, she’ll never disobey again.
Kody quickly returns his weapons to the armory and takes his seat across from me at the opposite end of the table.
As always, his face rests in a sulky pout, his eyes heavy-lidded, guarding his thoughts and emotions. But I understand the nuances of his hidden expressions and body language. He’s tired tonight but not on edge.
Perhaps she followed my order after all.
The exterior door sounds, followed by stomping and other ungodly racket in the entryway. Christ, she’s loud.
When the interior door opens, I don’t turn to look at her. Instead, I watch my boys, marking the loosening of their shoulders.
I recline in the chair as she pads into view carrying a bag filled with plump, ripe blueberries.
Surprise, surprise. She obeyed.
Long red hair tangled from the wind, chapped lips beaten by the cold, thick copper lashes fluttering nervously—she’s so fucking beautiful. And scared. Something other than the dipping temperature colors her cheeks as her eyes flit around the kitchen with reckless determination.
Something happened.
I look at Kody, his brows pinched in confusion as he tracks her movements.
Hasn’t he been following her all day? He would’ve warned me if something was off-kilter.
“You’re late.” I rest an arm beside my empty plate, my fingers tapping the fillet knife.
She approaches the empty seat beside Wolf, clutching the bag of berries to her chest. Her livid gaze locks on mine as she upturns the bag and dumps the contents onto the kitchen table.
Unwashed blueberries tumble across the platters of food. All over the meal I so painstakingly made. More continue to fall, covered in dirt and ash.
Ash?
My pulse kicks up.
Tension swallows the room.
She shakes the bag, and a bone clatters to the table. Then more bones, pieces of skull, and human teeth.
Splattered all over our dinner. Ruined.
She leans in with a vicious expression. “Who’s hungry?”
“I gave up cannibalism for Lent.” Wolf scoots back his chair.
Kody rises to his feet, his wide eyes latching onto mine.
I glare at him. You followed her today.
“She found the pit, but I didn’t know about this.” His nostrils flare.
He didn’t see her fill the bag with bones?
I sigh. “That was the last of our fish.”
“Who did you burn in that fireplace?” She smacks her palms on the table, quivering from head to toe. “How many women have you taken? Raped? Murdered? How many, you fucking monster?”
I don’t find her little snit becoming. In fact, she’s about to learn how much it displeases me.
“Clean it up.” I lean forward, my tone as quiet and as deadly as the fillet knife beneath my fingers. “Now.”
“Tell me who this is!” she screams, motioning at the bones. “What are you hiding?”
Calmly, I stand and grip Wolf’s wrist, forcing his hand to flatten against the table. He doesn’t fight me. None of the boys move or say a word. They know better.
But Frankie is clueless.
“Start talking, son of a bitch!” Her chest heaves. “I know there were other women. Others you took. How many? What happened to them?”
I lift the knife with my free hand and angle it toward the stigmata drawing on Wolf’s.
Her gaze narrows.
Wolf’s eyes lose focus, and a vein pulses in his throat, beating with the bob of his Adam’s apple. Such a beautiful boy. So brave. I hate to hurt him this way.
“What are you doing?” She steps toward us, paling. “Leave him alone.”
Kody hooks an arm around her waist, holding her back.
“You did this.” I nick the point of the blade into the top of Wolf’s twitching hand, making his breaths come faster, harder. “Bad behavior requires punishment.”
“You’ll punish him?” Her chin trembles. “Why?”
“Explain it to her, Wolf.”
“Kin punishment.” He pushes a hiss past his clamped teeth. “The family shares the responsibility for a crime committed by one of its members. In other words…” He closes his eyes, voice wobbling. “When you fuck up, one of us pays the price.”
“What the fuck?” She draws herself up, going still in Kody’s hold. “What is this? The Soviet Union? North Korea? Are you a fucking Nazi?”
“Hoss rules.” Wolf lowers his chin, resigned.
“You don’t have to do this.” She shakes her head. “I’m not a member of this family. Let him go.”
“Not him.” Kody pushes her aside and casually approaches me. “He won’t be able to play. You’ll hit muscle and nerves. The damage will be permanent.”
