There would never be anything I could do to erase it from my mind.
A noxious spice that under any other circumstances should have been pleasant.
But pair it with something vile, the memories of his body dictating mine—that scent soaking my nose and clogging my throat—and it was as if I were suddenly eighteen again. Just a scared little girl with a voice so many proclaimed adoration for…yet never really heard.
Regret curled my stomach with nausea, and Martin Jennings laughed, low and malignant.
I refused to bend to him. Slowly, I turned around and lifted my chin, my eyes narrowed as I took in the man who’d sought to take everything from me.
Using me up.
All too happy to hang me out to dry.
It was the same second I heard the driver’s side door click open.
A shimmer of violence pitched through the darkening day, a crack of aggression struck the dense air.
From behind me, I could sense every step Sebastian took as he carefully approached, making his way around the front of the Suburban.
Slow.
Purposeful.
Poised to protect.
I latched onto his controlled disdain, allowed it to multiply—to be enough for both of us—and stared at the face I wished I could forget.
My voice wavered, but I held strong. “If you hurt my daughter…in any way…I swear to God, I won’t stop until you wish you were dead.”
Martin Jennings tsked. “So angry, Delaney. Funny, I always thought you a pushover.”
His breath spread across my face as he inched closer. Eyes, so dark they were almost black, glinted with contempt.
A sneer curled his mouth. “You’d always been so anxious to please. Stumbling all over yourself for a little praise. You surprise me.”
Every cell in my body squeezed as memories of the mistakes I’d made surged forward.
Taunting.
Reminders of a past I had never wanted to live.
“You don’t know anything about me,” I spat, holding my ground while I felt as if it might crumble out from beneath my feet.
Memories of myself as a teenager swamped me. Growing up, every path I’d ever traveled had been with my mother at the reins. Leading me. I strove to conform to who she wanted me to be, always hungering for her attention. Anxious to make her proud. Desperate for a soft touch or a gentle hug or some kind of affection, rather than bearing the brunt of all her hateful dissatisfaction.
Sadness closed over me.
Both she and Martin had used that to their advantage.
Took advantage of me.
She had allowed him to take over everything in my life. Changing my image. My name. The songs I sang. I had been nothing more than his pretty little puppet, there to do with as he’d wished, which quickly included him claiming me as his own.
Just an ignorant lamb willingly led to the slaughter. Blind to what was waiting around the corner.
Until I’d discovered what was lurking behind it.
I could feel Sebastian edge forward. Tension wound in the force of his breaths, and Martin’s gaze darted over my shoulder at him, before it flitted back to me. He sent me a mocking smirk.
“I see you’ve gone digging through the trash for a little of that attention you’ve always been so desperate for,” he taunted with a chuckle. “Such a shame. A waste.”
The last dropped with slow insult, and I could feel Sebastian’s rage pulsing at my back, the man at war with himself to keep from attacking.
Air shot from Martin’s nose, and I knew he felt it, too.
“By all means, Mr. Stone, come at me. There would be no better way to end this day than watching you get hauled away in cuffs.”
“Stay away from us,” I warned through a barely heard whisper.
Martin laughed. “Do you really think you won today, Delaney? You think this is over?” His voice dropped. “Had you forgotten?”
Dread prickled across my skin.
Dark eyes glinted malevolent satisfaction and his mouth twisted in a morbid sneer as if he found glee with it. “Besides, I’m just getting to know my daughter.”