I had to stop torturing myself. The man was dead. I’d seen Wendy Madigan kill him so they could be together. I’d seen him double over. I’d seen the blood trickle from his wound. I’d fallen atop his immobile body, felt the life seep out of him…
Wendy had nearly killed Ryan as well, until Ruby shot her first.
That day was forever etched into my mind.
The scar on my thigh itched, and not in a good way. Not in a healing way.
No, it itched to be opened.
If I’d had my blade at this very moment, I’d be cutting my flesh to relieve the emotional torture swirling through me.
My father had so many facets that I’d never understand.
He was a man who could orchestrate his own death, purchase an island in the Caribbean. Hide himself and his mentally ill wife from the world.
From his children.
I forced myself out of my own head.
“You still haven’t explained Colin,” I said. “Why would my father care about protecting him?”
“We aren’t given the reasons,” Dominic said.
“So you’re okay with taking people against their will? Without knowing why?”
“We know simply that it’s for your protection. That’s enough for us.”
“That, and the money,” Dave added.
“Zip it, Dave,” Alex said.
“Hey, you two might not need the money, but I do.”
“For God’s sake,” I said. “Tell us what Colin has to do—”
Dominic looked at his phone. “Food’s here. Get it, will you, Dave?”
Dave feigned a bow and left the room.
My stomach gurgled as if on cue. How could I possibly be hungry with everything else going on? But I was.
Then it dawned on me. How long had I been gone? What time was it? Hell, what day was it?
“Are you going to let them eat at the table with us?” Alex asked.
“I don’t know. Can you behave yourselves?” Dominic eyed me.
“I won’t make any promises I can’t keep,” I said.
“I knew you were a spitfire when I first laid eyes on you,” Dominic said. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t find you absolutely intoxicating.”
Alex rolled her eyes. “Can you think with your big head, Dom? God. Every time there’s a pretty girl involved…”
Alex’s words struck me. I’d been going about this all wrong. I’d been fighting back the way I fought with my brothers—showing my strength and equality. Dominic’s words creeped me out to the point I wanted to barf, but I needed to look at the bigger picture. He was attracted to me. I could take advantage of that.
Though God only knew what I looked like at the moment.
But I had to try.
My mind was still a little fuzzy. Had I told him about Bryce?
Shit. Yeah, I had.
I could still flirt. The only problem? I wasn’t a great actress, and right now I hated the son of a bitch. He hadn’t convinced me that any of this was for my mother’s or my own good. My brothers and Bryce would protect us both with their lives if they had to. And what about Colin? Why was he even here?
“We’ll behave,” I said sweetly. But not too sweetly. I didn’t want to arouse suspicion. “What day is it, anyway? I don’t know the last time I ate.”
“It’s still the same day,” Dominic said. “Nearing evening.”
Okay. I’d only missed lunch, then.
Colin finally spoke. “Why exactly am I here? I didn’t even know Marj’s dad.”
“Like I said,” Dominic said. “We just do as we’re told. I’m going to untie your hands, both of you, and your feet, Colin. We’ll eat at the table in the kitchen. Don’t try to run away. You won’t get far.”
Stop threatening us.
The words hovered on the end of my tongue. I kept them inside. They wouldn’t help my new plan of flirting with Dominic.
I wasn’t a flirt by nature. I was anything but a girly girl. But I had to try. Nothing else was working.
“What are we having to eat?” I asked.
“Pizza,” Alex said dryly.
“Pizza?” I said. “You’re a personal trainer, Dominic.”
“And I can’t eat gluten,” Colin added.
“Then you’ll go hungry, won’t you?” Alex said, untying Colin’s ankles, and not gently.
“Just eat the toppings, Colin,” I said.
Dominic hadn’t responded to my personal training comment. I tried again.
“Don’t tell me you regularly eat pizza,” I said to him. “Not with that body.”
“Stop trying to suck up.” Alex yanked me off the couch.
“Who’s sucking up? Your brother’s ripped. So are you.” No lie there. Alex’s muscles put some men I knew to shame. Not my brothers, though. And certainly not Bryce.
I looked over at Colin. He’d been a good-looking man with a great physique once. Tom Simpson had stolen all of that from him. Now he was thin and scarred. A shadow of his former self.
“Just come on. You too.” She yanked Colin up by the arm.
“You’re pretty rough with us for someone who’s supposedly doing this to protect us,” I couldn’t help saying.
So much for trying to be nicer, though Dominic, not Alex, was my target.
“I can get rougher,” she said. “Come on. The food’s waiting.”
I was no shrinking violet, but Alex had muscles on her muscles. She could most likely take me, especially since I wasn’t at full capacity. I smiled—sort of—and followed her to the kitchen.
Dominic and Dave were already at the table.
“Help yourselves,” Dominic said. “There’s only water to drink. Sorry.”
“Water is the best way to hydrate,” I said sweetly. Sort of. “As a trainer, you should know that.”
“It is, except when extra electrolytes are necessary,” he said. “You two should be fine with plain water, though.”
“How did you get us here?” I asked. “My head doesn’t hurt, so you couldn’t have knocked me unconscious.”
“A small injection in your neck,” he said.
I trailed my fingers to my neck, feeling around. Sure enough, there was a tiny area of irritation. “You drugged us.”
“Very safely,” he said.
Again, I held back the words I wanted to spew at him. “What if one of us had had an allergy?”
“Unlikely,” he said.
I inhaled. The pizza smelled good to me, and my stomach growled again.
Dominic chuckled. “Go on. I can tell you’re hungry.”
“I need a fork,” Colin said. “I can’t eat the crust.”
Alex with the eye roll again. She opened a drawer and shoved a fork at Colin.
He grunted a thank-you.
I took a bite of pizza and nearly swallowed it whole. Run-of-the-mill pizza wasn’t really my thing. When I made pizza, I did it with style and panache—prosciutto and provolone, or kalamata olives and goat cheese. But damn, regular old pizza—pepperoni and mozzarella—was totally hitting the spot.
I had downed one piece and half of another before I spoke again. “Why is it unlikely that we’d have an allergic reaction to whatever you stuck us with?”