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He laughs as if I told the funniest joke. I’m aware of his men at my back and the one standing behind him. Aurelia and I are outnumbered. There is no way we can fight our way to freedom, and Jeremiah knows this. That’s why my threat is so laughable. I can’t even move off my knees unless the grip on my neck is loosened.
“Fraser gave you a backbone, bitch, but I think I preferred you when you were a frozen lump of ice.” He leans down, his mouth inches from my ear. “I’m going to fuck you bloody, and then I’m going to do the same to your little friend.”
He wraps his fingers around my throat and forces me to my feet. His grip is so hard it cuts off my air for a moment. He moves me over to the desk and pushes me over onto it, my back bowing as he forces me down onto the wood. When he grinds against my pussy, I feel nausea rise in my throat. I will die before I let him take me like this. I slap at his hands as he tries to hold my wrists over my head. I can hear Aurelia screaming my name, but my only focus is on trying to survive whatever Jeremiah is going to do to me. Is he going to rape me in front of all these people? Is he going to take something from me that I can’t get back? Is he going to undo me in ways I cannot fix?
He grinds harder against me, letting out a groan. Then he releases his hold on me. “I have the power here. Don’t fucking forget it.”
He hits me, slamming his fist into my jaw so hard I see stars. I’m used to taking a punch. Declan used to beat me ruthlessly, but now I realise how much he pulled his punches.
Because Jeremiah does not.
It’s like being hit with a block of cement. I taste blood in my mouth, the copper tang of it coating my tongue. I feel like my brain has been rattled inside my skull as the skin starts to tighten over my cheek.
I straighten quickly, pulling my T-shirt back into place. My heart is racing, and my stomach churns viciously. I know how bad things could have got in that moment, and I don’t know why he stopped, but I’m grateful he did.
My eyes slide towards Aurelia, who is still on her knees. Her chest is heaving with each breath she drags in, and I can see the fear in her eyes. For the first time, she realises her name is not going to protect her. Because I am a Fraser now and Jeremiah would have raped me without a second thought. We are both in a precarious situation, and that terrifies me. I can only hope that Aurelia managed to get the text off to whoever she was messaging before Aaron took the phone from her. That is our only hope.
Aurelia is dragged to her feet, and we are both shoved into a back office. Jeremiah stands in the doorway and stares at me with a disgusting downturn of his lips. He closes the door and I hear the lock engage as he does.
I turn to my sister-in-law and hug her tight against me. I have no idea what Jeremiah is going to do with us and that terrifies me. I just found my life again and am eager to live it. The thought that it could be taken from me makes anger flood my veins. I’m tired of being a pawn in everyone’s game. I just want to live my life, have a family, have fun.
“Did you manage to send the text?” I ask in a low voice. I’m not sure if anyone is listening and I don’t want our plan to unravel before it’s begun.
“I wasn’t texting. I was sending an emergency alert. I have an app on my phone and a tracker that allows me to tell my family when I’m in danger. I think they would have chipped me if they could have.”
Hope soars within me at her words. “Did you get the alert off?”
She shifts her shoulders. “I’m not sure. I think so. Aaron snatched my phone off me, so I didn’t see if it went through completely.”
She pulls out of my grasp to go over to the window and tries to yank the board that covers it away from the frame, but it’s nailed shut. “My brothers are paranoid about something happening to me. It used to piss me off, but right now I’m grateful for their weirdness.”
I can imagine Luke being like that. He is possessive over things that he cares about.
“As well as the emergency alert, I have a GPS tracker embedded in my phone. They’ll find us, I promise.”
Whether they’ll do it before Jeremiah kills us or worse, I don’t know. But I keep my negative thoughts to myself. Strangely, I feel the need to protect her from what is happening.
“So, you know who that guy is out there?” Aurelia asks as I sink onto a beat-up sofa pushed against the wall.
I let out a breath, not sure how to explain my situation. “His name is Jeremiah Wood. I was supposed to marry him instead of your brother. He’s a little annoyed that never happened.”
Aurelia’s brows climb up her forehead. “I knew you were promised to another. It was all my brothers would tell me. But you were promised to him? He’s so… old.”
Not to mention a raging psychopath. “I wasn’t keen on the idea.”
“I guess everything worked out the way it was meant to. You and Luke are good together.”
“I love your brother.” As I say those words, I realise how true they are. I do love Luke. I have loved him from the moment I saw him in the club. He treated me like a person. He was the first one to do that in my life, outside of my mother.
Aurelia stares at me. “I can see that. I think he loves you too, even if he is not quite ready to say it yet. I’ve never seen him like this with a woman before.”
Her words warm me. Knowing Luke might feel the same eases some of the pressure in my chest. I married him because there was little choice in the matter, but I also did it because I wanted to.
“Luke will come,” I say with so much authority I believe my own words. “Your brothers will come.”
“I hope so. For both of our sakes.”
