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“I didn’t—” Abruptly, she cut herself off, screeching in pain. I came to the end of the hall and sucked in a deep breath before peeking around the corner, trying to steel myself for what I was about to witness and hopefully keep myself in control.
He had her in front of the baptism pit. With one hand, he shoved the lid off. It clattered loudly to the floor. Lillian sobbed, tears streaking down her cheeks, terror filling her wide, blue eyes.
He shoved her to her knees in front of the pit and yanked her head back by her hair so she was forced to look up at the wooden Jesus hanging on the cross that I had fucked her beneath just days ago. I hoped when she looked at Jesus and his cross, at the painted blood dripping from his hands, that she remembered what I’d done to her, that she remembered she wasmine, no matter what the fuck her father said.
And I hoped she knew that if he shoved her down into that pit, I’d step in. I wasalwayswatching. He just obviously hadn’t learned that fucking lesson yet.
“Beg him and God for their forgiveness!” he yelled at her, his spit hitting her face. She sobbed, her chest heaving, her entire body trembling. “Beg!” he barked.
I barely kept my feet rooted where I was standing. I wanted to bash his skull against the wooden legs of Jesus before I drowned him in that fucking pit.
“I’m sorry!” she cried.Don’t ever be sorry for leaning on me, little blondie.Don’t ever apologize for wanting me. “Please, Lord, forgive me.” Her words shook, snot running down her face. “I shoul-shouldn’t lust after a m-man that’s not mine. Please forgive me,” she sobbed, her shoulders shaking.
Her father crouched beside her and roughly gripped her chin, his fingers digging into her skin, making her lips pucker like a fish. “Do I need to cleanse you of your sins, or do I have your word that you’ll no longer make a fool of me in front of these people?” he sneered down at her.
With trembling lips, she whispered, “I promise. I’ll be good, Father.”
He released her and stood back up to his full height. “Get up. We’re leaving. And don’t even think you’re getting dinner tonight. You should have followed the rules, Lillian. You didn’t even have permission to eat, yet you let him feed you.” He shook his head in disgust. “I don’t know where I went wrong with you.”
You went wrong when you hooked her up with me, I wanted to tell him, but I kept my mouth shut.
I’d come to her tonight, treat her for any wounds or aches she had, and do my best to not slaughter her father on his front porch.
But right then, I vowed to myself that when Ezra, Solomon, and I left this fucking place, we’d be taking her with us. I wasnotleaving her behind.
She wasmine.
ChapterFifteen
Amadeus
My blood had been boiling for the past several hours, and it was with pure self-control that I kept myself in check.
But that didn’t keep me from picturing Lillian’s father covered in blood and eating through a fucking tube for the rest of his life. I wanted to slaughter him for putting his hands on her like that. And if he had tried shoving her face into that pit of water, I would have slain him at Jesus’s feet, to hell with the fucking consequences. I would have gone to prison, but at least she would be safe.
I scratched at my stubble-covered jaw as I stared through my windshield at the house she was being held captive in. I already knew she hadn’t eaten anything, and I was hoping he’d let her come with me tonight for a “date” so I could get some food into her system. But I was prepared just in case he said no and had a cold sub in my passenger seat—cold so he wouldn’t be able to smell it when I snuck in through her window.
He could try to keep me from her, but he’d fail. I was attached. She wasmine. I’d stalk her to the ends of this world. There was nothing he could do that would keep her away from me. Not permanently.
I just wish I knew whether I was handling this all correctly. I couldn’t protect her the way I protected Solomon, couldn’t go to the lengths I did with my little brother. I was navigating this blindly. And I didn’t like the feeling it left me with.
I pushed open my door and slid out, dropping my keys in my pocket. After quietly shutting my car door, I strode up the narrow walkway to their white front door, rapping my knuckles against it. I heard some low voices and then the shuffling of feet before the door unlocked and her father swung it open.
“Amadeus,” he greeted, forcing pleasantness into his voice. But I could see his hatred for me gleaming in his eyes. “Are you here for Lillian?”
“Yeah,” I told him. “Is she around? I’d like to take her out tonight.”
He shook his head. “She’s feeling ill this evening. But I’ll let her know you stopped by.”
I forced a pleasant smile on my face along with a look of concern. “Sure. You do that. Thank you, Mr. Warren.”
With that, I turned on my heel and strode back to my car to make like I was leaving. And sure, I would be leaving. But I would only be parking my car at Ezra’s house, which was right down the street. I’d make it look as if I was bunking with him tonight, and then I’d sneak into her room in the middle of the night to check on her and make sure she ate.
And hope I didn’t commit murder while I was there.
* * *
Ezra looked over at me, his arm bent behind his head as he lay on his bed. “Don’t do something stupid and get arrested, Amadeus,” he quietly warned me.
