“Who’s going to stop us?” Damon argued.
But I looked to Michael, dealing only with him. “I’ll call your father,” I threatened.
He let out a laugh, shaking his head as he stood up from his chair. “I hope you do,” he replied. “I’d love to see the look on his face when he realizes that the Fane fortune is gone, and Trevor will get you”—his heated eyes fell down my body before continuing—“in less than pristine condition.”
I heard Will laugh under his breath as the rest of them stood up, avoiding the mess on the floor.
Michael circled the table, coming around to stand in front of me. “Now we’ve got spectators, and I don’t like that.” He glanced around the room full of gentlemen who were still watching us. “We’re heading back to my parents’ house in Thunder Bay for the weekend, and we’ll expect you within the hour.”
And he pinned me with a warning look, letting me know it wasn’t a request.
I stopped breathing and watched as he walked away, through the dining room, followed by his friends. And without a single backward glance from any of them.
Thunder Bay? Alone with them?
I shook my head. No. I couldn’t. I needed to get help. I needed to reach someone.
But I squeezed my eyes shut, fighting away the tears as I ran my hand through my hair.
There was no one. I had no one to turn to.
Who was going to stop them?
Present
CLIMBING OUT OF THE CAR, I grabbed the baseball bat from the passenger’s seat and shut the door. My pulse pumped violently, heat washing over my entire body and sweat breaking out on my forehead. I could barely breathe.
I’ll be safe. Michael and Kai would go far, but they wouldn’t hurt me. I’ll be safe.
My mother was out there somewhere, God knows where, and she was the only reason I was here.
I walked for the house, noticing that none of the lights were on, inside or out. The windows were black, and I approached the door, stepping into the shadows of the tree overhead as it blocked out the moonlight.
My hands shook. Everything was so dark.
My mother. Don’t back down, and don’t leave until you get answers.
If I called the police, it would take weeks to sort through the mess as they looked for her. She was on the yacht. She wasn’t on the yacht. She was abroad, so of course it was difficult to reach her. Give it some time, go back to school, and leave it in our capable hands.
No.
Turning the handle on the door, I tightened all of my muscles, hearing the crackling of the packing tape stuck to the inside of my forearm.
The baseball bat was a decoy. If they thought they got one weapon away from me, they might not suspect I had another. Hence, the Damascus blade I’d taped to the inside of my arm, under my sleeve, when I went back to my apartment to get my car earlier.
I forced in a deep breath and inched open the door, putting a foot inside the dark house.
A cold hand snatched my wrist and yanked me inside. I cried out, the door slamming behind me as the baseball bat was torn out of my hand.
“You came.”
Will. I sucked in a breath as his arm came down in front of me and wrapped around my neck, putting me in a lock.
“That was really fucking stupid,” he whispered in my ear.
He released me and shoved me forward, and I whipped around, gasping for breath.
Oh, my God. I immediately shot back, away from him.
He wore a black hoodie with the hood drawn, as well as a mask. But the mask wasn’t like the ones they usually wore. This one was plain white, and I’d never seen it before.
I hunched down just an inch or so and kept my hands out, preparing for him to come at me again.
Holding up the bat, he took slow steps toward me. “What are you going to do with this, huh?” He held it to his groin and began stroking it as if it were his cock. “Yeah, that’s what you like, isn’t it?”
And then he shot out his arm, launching the bat off to the side of the foyer, the wood clanking against the marble floor.
Eyeing me through his white mask, he stalked slowly toward me.
I backed away. “No.”
But then someone else came down on my back, and I screamed as he wrapped his arms around me.
“He may not be as big as that bat, but I am,” a sinister voice threatened in my ear.
Damon.
I steeled every muscle, twisting and fighting against him as I tried to keep my forearm tucked close to me. I didn’t want them to find the dagger, and I didn’t want to use it unless I had to.
Unless I had the opportunity to run, because I wouldn’t be able to take all of them at once.
“Hey, fuck you,” Will shot out. “Rika’s going to love me the most.”
I sucked in short, hard breaths, my abs burning as I fought against his hold. “Fuck off, and let me go!”
Damon grabbed me by the back of my shirt and shoved me away, but it was straight back into Will’s arms.