Page 13 of Hope and Country

She was like a big sister to me. We had got along great. If my stepbrother hurt her, she never opened up to me about it. And the idea she had to go through this filled my heart with so much pain.

Fury. Anger. Dread. Sorrow. All bubbled up inside me. Would this hell be my life forever? Would I be condemned to the abuse like my mother used to be?

I wanted to cry, but that well had dried up a long time ago.

I wanted to scream, but no sound came out.

I wanted to fight back, but I’d learned a long time ago this would be in vain and would hurt me more than him in the end.

I wanted to run away, but through the years, I’d learned Robbie always found me. No matter where I hid. He had eyes everywhere. People on the lookout for me. That was how this whole thing started. Because one of his dear friends opened his mouth about my whereabouts, and it got me in trouble. Now I was an easy prey because he watched me. All the time. Morning and night. And I had no way out. I tried. And tried. Many times. But it always ended up with another round of beating. Worse than the previous one.

From others’ point of view, Robbie was a selfless brother, caring for his little orphan sister.

Pure hero material. Only I knew the truth. He was the devil himself.

I steeled myself for the violence about to break on me once more. Shattering me. And it had nothing to do with bones. Well, it had, but now this went well over the physical abuse. This stilled my entire being, scarring it. If Robbie could have my soul, he would burn it and savor the ashes. But I refused to show him how much his breach of my trust hurt. He might hit me; I might cry in pain. He might scare me; I might quiver in fear. But I would keep trying, find a way to escape, to stop the abuse, a way to get someone to believe in me. And heal. A flicker of my essence still burned deep within me

With a swift movement, I jerked my arm from Robbie’s bruising grip, but he only squeezed me harder in response, deliberately marking me. He might consider that as his possession, but those marks would remind me of my few hours of freedom. Of meeting Riley. For an hour, I was just Devon, free to breathe, free to live, free to be happy, away from fear.

But freedom came with a cost. I knew I had to pay the price. I swallowed a ball of tears blocking my airways, pivoted on my heels, and met Riley’s panicked eyes one last time.

Lines of worry appeared as his gaze took in the too tight a hold that Robbie had over my arm. His jaw flexed, his eyebrows furrowed. At that moment, I would have given everything I owned, even my soul to spend more time with him, to shore up my happy memories, a barrier against the darkness. If Robbie got a whiff of him, he would destroy Riley just so that he could destroy my happiness.

Unable to look away, I stepped forward, Riley’s stare powerful enough to draw me in, but Robbie fisted the back of my dress, making it impossible for me to move away from his side.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Riley weaving through people as he hurried toward us—toward me. My knight. Maybe he really existed. Maybe I could find support and be saved after all. I prayed he’d get here in time. I couldn’t live like this anymore. Always looking over my shoulder, worrying Robbie would show up each time I went out.

Riley got closer, his eyes locked on mine, promises swirling in them that I’d be okay. That he’d get to me. End this misery.

My heart exploded into millions of pieces with no way to glue them back together when the elevator doors closed and torched every drop of hope left in me. The pieces sank so deep in my chest that I believed they could end up on the shiny steeled floor. My body bleeding to death.

“Who’s the guy?” Robbie asked, tightening his grip on me. I could hear the venom in his voice. How did he become this man? Was he always like his, just hidden? The Robbie I used to know—nice, caring, and loving—was still in him, wasn’t it? Somewhere. Maybe.

“Nobody,” I said, evening my voice so he wouldn’t get a glimpse of my fear.

My stepbrother let out a chuckle that froze the blood inside my veins. “Good. You’re all I have left in life, Devon. That’s why I need to make sure you’re safe and sound. Don’t ever walk away from me. And you don’t need distractions, so no boyfriend, you hear me?”

I nodded, keeping my gaze down and head low.

“Good girl.”

The elevator opened on the basement level. My stepbrother squeezed my elbow—stronger than he needed to—and led me through a series of hallways and doors until we reached his police cruiser. He looked back and nodded to the security detail. I knew the surveillance tapes would be erased of my presence. My friend or even Riley would never know what had happened to me. With a shake of Robbie’s head, I had become a ghost. A short-lived mirage passing through Riley’s life.

Robbie pushed me into the passenger seat, and I hit my forehead on the console between the seats. It stung, but I refused to rub the spot to soothe the pain. No way was I going to show he’d hurt me. Robbie hauled himself behind the wheel, and I shifted closer to the door, as far away from him as I could get. The bruises made today would show. I would have to stay at home for a few days until they healed. He would make sure of it. A deliberate thing to do by Robbie.

“I am not thrilled about your little excursion tonight, sis. I hate it when you leave your apartment. Remove that sour look from your face. I’m only looking out for you. The world is a bad place, you know. Nice girls like you can get hurt.” He lowered his voice and smirked, then extended his arm to grab my hand. The same way he did that night our parents died. And so many times before. “I want you safe. And I can’t do it if you run around town dressed like this.” He jerked his chin, motioning to my red dress. “Do you understand?”

I nodded.

Because I’d learned to agree with everything Robbie said when he was in his protective mode. Pissing him off never ended well for me. That much I knew.

“Great. Now let me drive you home. You need to change. I hate knowing men are looking at you as if you were theirs to play with. Nobody messes with my little sister.” Robbie smiled. A crooked tilt of his lips that wrapped my spine in an icy chill.

We rode in silence, the air in the car so thick with fear. My fear.

My stepbrother kissed my cheek and dropped me off on the sidewalk in front of my apartment building. He rolled his window down, and I held my breath, preparing myself for whatever he had to say. “No more parties, do you understand? Stay inside and lock your door. And I’ll try to see you after my shift.” He winked and drove away.

No, please, no more visits tonight.