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“Hut,” I ground out, finally giving him the name he’d obviously earned. “Let go.”
He laughed, the echo of it screaming of how unhinged he’d become. He was losing his damn mind right in front of me. “Was that meant to be your version of a threat, dear sister?”
Tears burned at the back of my eyes. There was no one else here. Not one person to step in if things got really bad. They were all out on jobs, most probably at Hut’s request. We were in this house alone. Something I dreaded when he was sober, never mind high.
“Please,” I whispered, trying to appeal to the boy who had once lived inside his heart.
He groaned and pressed his body against mine. “I do love it when you beg.”
My hand twitched by my side, and there was nothing I could do to stop my instincts to protect myself. There’d been a time a year ago where I’d never have dared to slam my hand on his chest and push him away from me, but that was before.
Before he’d held a knife to my throat and pinned me on my bed.
Before he’d strangled me in a house full of people.
Before he’d used me to get what he wanted.
Before Brody.
My palm connected with his chest, and I put all my weight into it, managing to break his connection on my wrist and for him to stumble back. I was as shocked as he was, and that was the only reason it took my body crucial seconds to catch up with my brain and to run.
“What the fuck?” His roar hurt my ears as I scrambled across the living room and made it to the stairs. My soles pounded on the steps, but I only made it halfway up when his
body tackled mine from behind.
“Who the fuck do you think you are?” he sneered, pressing his weight into my back and pushing his fingers into my hair.
He pulled my head back, and I caught sight of his wild eyes for a second. Then he shoved my head forward, smacking my chin off the carpet. My teeth sank into my bottom lip, a copper tang filling my mouth and wetness dripping down my chin.
I stared in fascination as a drop of blood pooled on the carpet, closely followed by another one. And then he repeated the action. This time I was more aware and curled my lips over my teeth.
“Don’t.” He slammed my face into the edge of the stair, and pain exploded over my eye. “You.” He yanked me back, and I screamed at the agony. “Ever.” His other hand squirmed between me and the stairs, his fingers wrapping around my throat. “Touch.” I felt his body lift off me slightly, and for a second, I thought he’d let go, but then his boot appeared next to my face, and I realized in horror that he was finding leverage so he could manufacture more pain. “Me.”
“Please, Hut.” I scraped my nails down his arm attached to the hand around my throat. “Please, you’re scaring me.” I hated admitting it to him, but a small part of me hoped he’d listen and it’d make him open his eyes to see what he was doing.
He let go of my hair, but I daren’t take a breath, not when he still held my throat in the palm of his hand. “You should have listened to me, Lola.” His voice was softer now as his free hand moved to my hip. He spun me around and pushed me down, the stairs biting into my back. He loomed over me like the grim reaper as he waited for the dying to take their last breath.
His fingers gripped my throat harder, squeezing with a strength I didn’t know he had. “You should have adhered to the rules, because now you’re going to get your punishment, and so will Brody.” He shook his head and dipped his hand into his pocket, the glint of the metal shining like a beacon. “No one touches what is mine.”
I wanted to scream in his face, tell him I was never his and never will be. But I had to bide my time. “Hut.” I bucked my hips, my fight kicking in for what felt like the millionth time as he brought the knife closer.
“You know why that is, Lola?” The cold metal tip touched my cheek, and I shivered. He dipped it into the blood flowing from my eye, and I blinked. “You know why you’re mine?” He pushed the metal between my lips, his nostrils flaring at the action. “Because you’ve belonged to me from the moment your dad moved you into this house.” He pulled the knife back, flicked it closed, and pocketed it. “You’ll never get away from me, no matter where you go or who you’re with.”
He squeezed my neck harder still, testing my limits, and then he grinned. “You’re the property of Hut, and no one messes with what’s mine. Least of all you.”
I choked out a cough, my hands desperately clawing at his arm. He finally let go, and I still felt like I couldn’t breathe. His words had punctured me more than any knife ever could. His threat was loud and clear.
My vision was hazy, tears leaking from my eyes and down my face, mixing in with the blood, so I didn’t see the fist coming toward me, but I felt his knuckles ripping the already broken skin of my eye even more, and I was thankful. Thankful he’d taken me out of my head because darkness greeted me and I was safe.
If only for a little while…
* * *
BRODY
Ford pulled up outside the house, his grin overtaking his face. Spending time with him alone had made me realize he wasn’t like all the other guys in the crew. He wasn’t taking drugs at every opportunity and partying until the sun rose. He wasn’t looking to be a “bad guy.” He was trying to protect his cousin from Hut, and was doing what he had to so he could achieve that. I admired him for doing whatever he could to protect his family.
We’d been talking shit about Ted and Jace for the last fifteen minutes as we drove back from a pickup. Once a week, all of the dealers would meet us in one place, and we’d collect all the money. It was a tedious job that Hut usually sent Quinn on, but apparently, we’d been given the task this week. A task I hated almost as much as being in Hut’s presence.
