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Swallowing around the lump in my throat, I hold my head high as I repeat, “No. I won’t marry him. I won’t be obedient. I won’t go for a trial run. I will kill myself before he ever touches me.”
Both my parents laugh, and the cruelty in my mother’s next words sucks all rationality from my brain. “You’ve tried that once and failed. It’s unfortunate we came home. However, Walter is providing us with a great deal of money to make up for the embarrassment you brought upon this family.”
I flinch as the man’s hand grabs a chunk of my hair, dragging me forward. “You smell…divine.” I wish I stunk. “I’ll have a car pick you up from school on Friday. Your guard dogs can have a weekend off. I’m certain they’re desperate to be away from you, anyway.” His words hit where they were meant to.
Right in my heart.
Erasing all logic that he knows nothing about the men behind me. He has no clue the words they spoke. But does it even matter? I’m a nobody. Unwanted trash just waiting to be taken out.
It seems Walter is destined to be the garbage collector.
ABEL
Little lamb is excellent at concealing her emotions. With a lifetime of practice, she was able to throw on an impenetrable mask after being kicked out of her father’s den, but not until Walter Charles left. Because heaven forbid someone else realizes how much they genuinely despise their daughter.
After her parents dismissed her, little lamb retreated to her bedroom, and it killed my brother and me not to hold her, to offer the warmth of comfort she craved. She stood in the middle of her room for nearly half an hour, silently crying, stoic as ever, with her back to us, before taking a seat at her vanity and turning on one of her YouTube videos.
She picked up a makeup brush and a pallet of colors but didn’t move for another three hours. One video played into another until she finally put everything down and shut it off, moving from her vanity to her bed to lie down on top of the covers. In my line of work, helplessness is not something I’ve ever felt, but watching our little lamb stare across the room at her vision board, I could only imagine the life she was picturing. And we were both helpless to do anything. We couldn’t offer her any sort of hope for the future, even with all the things we wished to do for her.
Are doing for her.
As night fell, the room darkened, and she remained in place—not shutting off lights, not changing out of her clothes and into her usual shorts and shirt. She didn’t even remove her shoes. Cain and I shared a look before he left for a quick shower, returning in shorts and a tank top. Once he settled in, I went for my own.
Only, on my way back, I hacked into every security feed on the block and disabled them all. They’ll never figure out it was me. No one ever does. But they will be pissed as hell when they realize they can’t relish in the anguish their daughter suffered all night, but I just don’t fucking care. Her parents’ perverse pleasure in torturing her is the meanest thing I’ve ever witnessed.
Entering her room again, I wave a hand at Cain to follow me. “You cut the cameras?” he asks, and I nod. “About fucking time.” I smirk at his annoyance. If Cain had his way, I’d do it every night, but that’d raise suspicion.
Together we gently strip our lamb out of her shoes, pants, and sweater before placing one of my t-shirts over her head. Her eyes remain fixed on the wall behind me, and I can see that she’s gone to a safe place in her mind where she can get away from the torment of everyday life. I’ve been there before. I know the sub-space a person needs when the agony gets too much to bear.
“Little lamb,” I whisper as I slide into the bed on one side while Cain takes the other. “Come back to us.” I kiss her forehead, hoping she’ll be curious enough to disengage from wherever she went off to.
Cain lifts one of her legs to cross over my thighs as he leans into her back, rubbing his brawny hand up and down her side. “We’re right here, little lamb.” My brother’s voice sounds just as tumultuous as my thoughts.
Her body shudders, and she lets out a loud gasp as she comes back to her mind. Her body stiffens between us. Confused. Afraid.
“You’re safe, lamb.” I kiss her head again, clasping our hands together and dragging them over my chest. “The camera feed is off tonight.” Her body melts between us as I say those words.
I feel her shifting, trying to get closer to me but not wanting to leave my brother behind. Gripping her leg, I slide a hand behind her head and drag her as close as I dare. Cain follows until she’s sandwiched between us, with only enough space to breathe.
“What are your names?” Her voice is soft like a whisp of a caress across my flesh.
“I’m Cain, that’s Abel.” She twists to look back as my brother answers, her eyes wide and filled with tears.
“Like the bible?” Turning so the front of my body faces her, I pull her thigh up to rest on my hip as my hand skims along her throat.
“Kind of, but not quite.” Unable to help myself, I press my lips to hers. I don’t deepen it. Don’t try to go farther.
My mouth swallows her gasp before I let her go, and I watch my brother do the same. That small taste wasn’t nearly enough, but still perfect; the urgency to get her out of here now outweighed my senses. I need to protect her from everything but Cain and me. She belongs somewhere she can flourish.
“Oh,” she breathes out as Cain pulls away, her gaze darting between the two of us. It’s a lot, two men. Even for a worldly woman, it could be too much. “Why?” she asks after a few minutes of silence.
“From the minute we met you, we knew you were going to be ours; there was no dispute about that. Waiting has been torture, but it’s going to happen,” I explain softly. She nods and closes her eyes. Breathing out a relaxed breath, she falls asleep between us, no further explanation required.
Hours pass as she sleeps, though fitfully, for the first time since meeting her. Cain and I realize that with her parents sending her to spend the weekend with Walter Charles, we must do something. We didn’t let it show during the meeting, but we know the man’s reputation. He’s cruel and spiteful. If any of the fire she showed in that den makes a pass in his home, he’ll shred her to pieces, and we won’t be there to protect her.
Her birthday is just around the bend, which means she can make the choice to leave her parents’ clutches, and we plan to give her that option. Cain already has her passport tucked away, and I’ve made note of the things she couldn’t stand to leave behind. All we need is to get through the next few days, and we can make our way to Greece. Somewhere her parents won’t be able to touch her, and she can begin the life she doesn’t believe she deserves.
Of course, we want to be by her side, and we’re prepared to do just that, but she’ll be given the option to choose us if that’s her desire. And with the way she’s clinging to our warm bodies as the sun begins to rise, I suspect we’ll be at her side until the day we die. Precisely where we want to be. Where we were meant to be from first sight.
