I blink at Thomas. “What do you mean?”
“The priest will be here in a couple of hours, ready to marry us in the eyes of God,” he explains calmly, as if I asked about the weather.Why yes, it’s slightly overcast today.
“You’re kidding?” I wonder in disbelief. “Why do you want to marry so badly anyway?”
Weston bristles. “You’re mine. I bought you.” He tugs on his shirt sleeves, then wipes away an invisible speck of dirt. “You know, I was going to marry someone else… years ago. But she was almost as stubborn as you. Just wouldn’t give in. And when someone struggles like that, well… Accidents happen.”
He finishes the story with a crazed smile, even as my stomach churns. Is he talking about Adrian’s sister, Sylvie?
“You really do remind me of her, you know?” he continues. “Of course, she was one of those albino freaks, and her hair was white, not golden. But you have the same… fire. I’ll enjoy extinguishing your flame too. Though hopefully much more slowly.”
“You killed her,” I gasp in disbelief. “You killed Adrian’s sister.”
His grin turns razor sharp. “Not on purpose.”
“I think I’m going to be sick,” I murmur, my stomach roiling with nausea.
“Oh, grow up,” Weston snaps, his mood changing in a flash. “Someone’s going to come to get you ready for our wedding ceremony soon. I suggest you cooperate. After all, an accident could happen to your mother or father next.”
“You’re an evil snake,” I hiss, struggling again to free myself from my bonds, as if I could launch myself at him and take him down all by myself. “You’ll never get away with this. I’ll call the police and have you arrested for murder and kidnapping.”
Thomas throws his head back, his shoulders shaking as he laughs. “Oh, Goldie, sweetie. I’ve already gotten away with it. Who do you think told me where you were?”
The hair on the back of my neck stands on end. It can’t be.
“It was the sheriff who suspected something was amiss in that dirty cottage. It was easy enough to prove our suspicions.”
Thomas’s hand flashes out. My head turns with whiplash as I hear a crack—the pain from him slapping me comes after.
“I’ve been told of the vile things they did with your body.Mybody!” His breathing is hoarse, ragged, his icy control a thing of the past. “But I will reclaim it, Goldie. I’ll cleanse every inch they dared to touch with pain.”
“You’ve lost the plot,” I sputter. My eyes are blurry from tears of pain, of helplessness. “There’s no way my parents are going to watch you hurt me and do nothing.” At least, I hope not.
Weston’s smirk sends another spike of fear through my already-frayed system.
“That transaction is finished. I paid for you. There are no refunds.”
I shake my head in disbelief. “You’re a monster,” I whisper.
And my bears are going to make you pay. For everything.
20
ADRIAN
Itap my claws against the dashboard of Marcus’s truck, my eyes locked onto the Weston house in the distance.
Tap-tap-tap. Tap-tap-tap.
“Can you please stop doing that?” Kieran hisses from behind me. “It’s driving me up the wall. I’m anxious enough as it is.”
“I can’t help it,” I reply, my voice tight. “I’m having fucking deja vú over here. Waiting while someone I love is taken by these people… It didn’t end up well last time.”
Marcus’s big hand comes down on my shoulder, squeezing reassuringly.
“This is different, Adrian. Goldie’s small and cute as a button, but she’s fierce. Wily. She’ll take care of herself while she waits for us. She knows we’re coming.”
“She has to,” Kieran agrees. “She knows we don’t want to live without her.”
