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Dylan stared at me as if he knew it was a lie. But, this time, when I whisperedplease,he ran. Relief overwhelmed me.
I went to the room I shared with Nathan, paused at the door, wishing I could lock him out. But what if he went after Dylan instead, took his anger out on him?
I was standing at the door when Nathan came down the hallway. His gaze met mine and he stepped into the room with me.
At least when he closed the door behind him, he closed Dylan out from what would happen next.
CHAPTER8
Amelia
“Wake up, Amy.”
My head throbbed and waking up seemed impossible. But the voice wouldn’t leave me alone, and the hand on my arm wouldn’t stop shaking me.
“Come on. You’re okay. Wake up.”
The voice had a desperate edge that cut through the pain. I opened my eyes to find my sister staring down at me, her gaze wide and horrified. Beyond her, the view out the window was of a dark night sky, the curtains drifting around the window with the breeze.
She pressed her hand to her mouth. “Oh my god, Amy. I didn’t know . . .”
“It’s okay,” I whispered. “Is Dylan all right?”
“I didn’t see him. I snuck in.” She gestured toward the open window, the oak outside. My sister has always been a climber. “I was afraid of what Nathan did to you after . . .” She trailed off, shuddering. “But this is so much worse. I should have stopped him. I should have—”
“There was nothing you could have done.” My voice was a low, broken rasp. He’d choked me.
At the sound of footsteps downstairs, the two of us froze, staring at each other. He was still in the house.
“You’ve got to go,” I whispered.
He was on the stairs. Rose looked at me, wide-eyed with horror.
“Hide,” I said urgently. “My closet.”
She ran frantically for my closet off the bathroom. Since Nathan and I both had our own walk-in closets, there was no reason for him to go in there.
Frantically, I peeled myself off the floor and staggered toward the bathroom. Nathan was only likely to rage more if he saw me all bloodied and bruised. He felt guilty afterward—he had to convince himself I deserved it—and sometimes, that only made him furious all over again.
The sight in the mirror made me want to puke. Dark bruises spread along my jaw, and my eyes were swollen and bruised. I looked broken, and I did my best to clean myself up without looking. The shaking woman in the mirror didn’t look like a survivor.
Gingerly, but as quickly as possible, I washed off the blood and tried to smooth down my hair with shaking hands.
I turned to find him in the doorway.
“Always so vain,” he said. “But you are a very pretty girl.”
“Thank you,” I said, and he frowned at the rasp of my voice.
“Come here,” he said, gently. He held out a hand and drew me out of the bathroom, walking me to the bed. The two of us sat down together. “I hate hurting you. I just love you so much and sometimes I get a little crazy because of it. You understand, don’t you, sweetheart?”
I nodded.
“You have to behave, Amelia.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“Tomorrow, I’m taking some of my men on a trading trip with the Pine Valley pack. I miss you so much when we’re apart.” He brushed his lips over my forehead. “I’ll be thinking of you during every minute of that convoy.”
