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And I plan on it.
“King,” Atomic grunts.
“Nope,” I snap. “No King. That place is going up in goddamn flames.”
“That’s going to start a war,” Atomic mutters.
My gaze cuts to him, my eyes finding his, and I watch him for a moment. “You’re fucking serious with me right now?” I ask.
Clink and Atomic don’t say shit. They don’t have fucking shit to say. They know that even mentioning that any retaliation from me would start a war is bullshit. Because I’m not starting dick. I’m going to finish what they fucking started.
SHAWN
I’ve got my back against the corner of the cage, wondering what is going to happen next. I glance around, though I can’t see much because it’s pretty dark in here. But it seems like this might be the only cage, so I guess maybe that’s promising. It’s not like they have dozens of people caged up like animals.
Then I laugh at myself.
Like any number of cages are better than others. There shouldn’t even be one cage. I have no more tears to cry. Well, maybe I do, but I refuse to cry them, mainly because I’m scared to death of what’s going to happen to me.
The man who’s calling himself my father, I recognize him and all. But he walked away when I was little, and he never came back. He left me with my mother, and honest to God, as much of a piece of shit as she is, I think it was the right choice.
And what does that say about him and about me in this moment? I know what it says. He’s a fucking monster, and I’m in some deep fucking shit.
I’m not sure how long I stay in solitude in the cage, but when the door to the metal shop opens, the light shines in from outside and I realize it’s morning. He walks through the door, my father. He’s alone, so that could be a good thing. Maybe he’ll have some kind of heart and let me go home. Though, judging by the way he’s watching me as he moves closer, I doubt it.
A light flickers on, and he sits down in a chair across from my cage. I still cannot believe I’m in a damn cage. How inhumane. Though, I don’t think anything about him would be humane. He fucked my mother, created two lives, and then left us with her.
“Shawn Cotton,” he mutters.
“You’ve always known my name. And yet, I know nothing about you,” I state.
He tilts his head to the side, watching me for a silent moment. “Pineville isn’t that big. Are you so oblivious that you’ve never heard my name anywhere?” he asks.
Sliding my tongue out, I wet my dry bottom lip before I speak.
“My mother wasn’t really present if you must know. She was more worried about what was going up her nose and who was between her legs than her kids. She’s still that way. I worked my ass off from the time I was fourteen so I could get the fuck out of that hellhole. So, if I don’t know you, if I never heard your name, it’s because I was working.”
I’m not sure what I expect his reaction to be, but it’s not for him to smile. I don’t have outbursts, but I’ve been kidnapped and thrown into a cage. All decorum kind of goes out of the window when that happens.
“Seems like your mom hasn’t changed much,” he chuckles.
Rolling my eyes to the ceiling, I let out a heavy sigh. This would be the man who would make children with that woman. He seems like he almost finds her drugs and men cute. Gross. I mean, I don’t care who sleeps with whom, but my mother has always had horrible taste in men, every single one, this one included.
“Can you just tell me what the hell is going on?” I ask. “I’d like to get back to my life.”
I try to make myself sound completely unaffected by my surroundings, but I know I fail. I’m scared shitless, completely and totally terrified. He is still smiling as he watches me, then he stands and walks closer to the cage.
He crouches down, his eyes finding mine, and he lets out a little chuckle. “You aren’t going anywhere, Shawn,” he rasps. “At least not until you’re married.”
“What?” I hiss.
“You’re the princess of the Nomad Kings, and I’m not fucking around when I say that I will be damned if you are an old lady to a Dark Horse.”
I want to scream out in frustration. This is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. A man who didn’t raise me thinks he gets to decide who I am or am not with? And he kidnaps me to force me to do what he wants. What a fucking psychopath.
“I’m not marrying anyone.”
He barks out a laugh, his eyes focused on mine as he grips the bars of the cage in his hands. I watch his fingers curl around them and wonder if I could break those fingers. I would really like to.
