“Seriously, Rook. I’m gross.”
He turns his face to nuzzle the side of my neck. “Then we’ll be gross together.”
We sit like that for a long while, and I almost find myself dozing off in his comforting company, despite our circumstances, but then the screech of the lock has me jerking fully awake. That sound never means anything good for me. Rook hears it, too, and we both scramble to our feet.
“Stay behind me,” Rook says, positioning himself in front of me.
I appreciate him wanting to protect me, but I know it won’t make any difference.
Two men walk into the room, Ledger behind them.
“Oh, look at this,” Ledger says. “How touching. You know you can’t protect her, right?” He walks toward us, so he’s nose to nose with Rook. “Trouble is, my friend, that woman you’re trying to protect is my bride-to-be. She’s mine to do with as I please. I’m sure you understand.”
Rook’s shoulders tense beneath his t-shirt and he balls his fists. “Fuck you.”
Ledger chuckles. “Big words for a man who’s so clearly outnumbered.”
He turns to the two big men he’d followed into the room and gestures for them to come over. “Let’s see if she’ll sing, finally, when her friend’s the one being hurt instead of her.”
One of the men huffs out a laugh. He’s got startlinglyred hair, so in my mind I name him Ginger. It’s hardly imaginative, but it fits. The other guy has a large tattoo of a lion on his forearm, so I name him Lion.
I commit their faces to memory, because I want to be in the room when the Riders arrive and make them scream.
They approach Rook from both sides, so it’s impossible for him to fight both of them at once. Even so, he tries, throwing a fist at Ginger and kicking out at Lion.
“Leave him alone!” I cry, lunging forward to help Rook.
But two strong hands wrap around my upper arms, fingers gouging into my skin, and hold me in place. Ledger presses his nose against the side of my neck.
“No, you don’t,wife.”
Between them, they manage to grab Rook.
“Get the fuck off me!” he yells, struggling. I can’t bear to watch. I know what they’re about to do to him.
“I hate you,” I seethe at Ledger, yanking away from his grip. “Even if you take me back with you, to be your bride, I’ll spend the rest of my waking hours plotting how to end your life if you harm him.”
“Well, then, I’ll just have to make sure you never get a moment alone to do such a thing, won’t I? Although I think, like most women, once you’re mine, you’ll soon realize the way to a comfortable life is to submit and obey. I’ve seen it repeatedly with my mother, my sister-in-law, and my cousins. Eventually, they all give in, you know? And you won’t be any different.”
Oh, I’ll be different all right. I will make sure that if it’s the last thing I do, I’ll remove Ledger from this earth.
How will Rook cope with the water torture? I found it horrendous, but maybe he’ll tolerate it better.However, they don’t reach for the hose or the bucket. Instead, one of the men rights the chair they’d previously had me tied to. Ginger pushes Rook down into it roughly, threads his fingers through Rook’s beautiful hair, gripping it tight, and yanks his head back.
Ledger’s fingers tighten around my arms. “Last chance to tell me where the safehouse is.”
Tears fill my eyes, but I shake my head. “I swear to you that I don’t know its location. There is no need for this. I can’t help you. But you have me, and that’s what you want. Let him go,” I bargain.
“You are such a bad little liar.” He gives a deep chuckle. “That’s what I’ll call you. That can be your name when you’re my wife. No one will call you Camile, it will just be Little Liar.”
God, I hate him so much I can taste it. It’s like a metallic, acidic flavor coating my tongue. My hatred of him tastes like blood.
Ledger turns to the two men and gives a brisk nod. Ginger tightens his hold on Rook’s hair, yanking his head back even harder, allowing Lion to go straight in with a vicious one-two punch right to Rook’s gut. Rook jerks as he attempts to bend forward instinctively with the pain of the blow, but Ginger keeps his head held back. The sound Rook makes is horrible, and I want to slam my hands over my ears, but I don’t. I’m the reason this is happening, so I can at least be brave enough to witness it. I just hope he can forgive me when he realizes I could have stopped this by telling them the location of the safehouse.
Thankfully, Ginger lets go of Rook’s hair and his head snaps forward. He doubles over, clutching his stomach and coughing. However, Ginger didn’t do that as an actof mercy, but so Lion could pull back again and smash his meaty fist right into Rook’s face.
They are going to kill him.¡Plegue a dios! Let this just stop.
Two more vicious punches to Rook’s gut follow the one to his face. He bends low and groans, then vomits bile on to the floor between his legs, his shoulders heaving.
