a woman. Promise me that you’ll guard yourself against them; don’t fall for pretty speeches or promises of wealth and status.”
Stunned, she’d only been able to nod her head and squeak out, “Yes, Mom, I will.”
Her mother reached out and grabbed her arm, squeezing just enough that Janice felt a twinge of pain. “Listen to me carefully. If the day comes that you find yourself forced to choose between your freedom and marrying a man you don’t love, choose freedom, no matter what the cost,” she said, her eyes locked on Janice’s. “Do you understand?”
“I think so,” Janice said, not sure she did, but alarmed by the change in her mother. “I think you should try to calm down, Mom; it can’t be good for you to get this upset.”
But her mother wouldn’t be calmed. “I forbid it, Janice. Do you hear me? I won’t let what happened to me happen to you. Fight until the end, don’t give in, and watch your back. Don’t trust anyone,” she said. “Promise me that you’ll never give up, that you’ll never marry a man in the clan. No matter what he tells you, none of them can be trusted; they’re only after wealth and power and they’ll use anything and anyone to get what they want.”
At the time, she hadn’t paid any attention to her mother’s words, had only been desperate to get her calmed down. “I promise, Mom. I won’t, I promise,” she’d said, then threw herself into her mother’s arms.
Only a few minutes later, her mother had closed her eyes, told her that she loved her once more, then quietly passed away. She’d been shoved out of the room away from her mother, shocked and heartsick, alone in the world and frightened by her mother’s words. Before she knew what was happening, she’d been swept away by social services and placed in a temporary home, a devastated teen, the promise she’d made to her mother lost in the pain and anguish.
Now, sitting in the deep leather chair, her mother’s words rolling over her, she knew that she wasn’t going to let her father or his clan force her to marry anyone. Wiping the tears from her face, she got up and quickly shed the white silk dress, tempted to throw it in the trash, then went to the closet, hoping to find anything that might be suitable to wear for her escape.
Chapter Twelve
***Reggie***
Reggie looked up and down the hallway, then shut the door behind Jacob. “Do you want a drink?” he asked, crossing over to the bar.
“After the night we’ve had, I could use one,” he said, accepting the glass Reggie handed him and downing it in one swallow.
“That was sipping wine,” Reggie said, holding up the bottle, then pouring himself a glass. “If I’d known you were going to treat it like a shot, I would have given you some whisky.”
“I’ve never been much of a wine drinker,” Jacob said, leaning back in the chair and closing his eyes, “but I think that did the job.”
Reggie took his own glass and sat down in the other chair, he took a sip and let the wine slip down his throat. He’d denied himself all night long, but it was worth it, he decided, looking at the white wine sparkling in his glass. After taking another sip, he set it down on the table and turned to face Jacob, the silence between them getting more uncomfortable by the second.
“Look, I know you’re not happy about this, but I don’t know what else to do,” he finally said.
“She’s my sister,” Jacob said, looking over at him. “Can you blame me for not wanting her involved in a clan war? You of all people should understand that. We got her out once before, we can do it again.”
Reggie shook his head. “And do what with her? It worked before because your father didn’t want her or your mother; he put on a big show, but in the end, it worked out for him,” he said. “It’s not going to be like that this time. The council is scared, Jacob. I spent the night listening to one member after another complain about the way things have been going. They see their way of life ending; it frightens them; they’re not going to give up easily. There’s going to be bloodshed before this is over.”
“And you’re putting my sister directly in the middle of it,” Jacob said, stubbornly.
“Only long enough to give my father and