like the same man, except for the eyes. Those were the same.
Fear clawed at my insides. Not caring how it looked, I drew my knife.
His pleased expression didn’t falter a bit at the sight of the blade in my hand.
“You are a sight for sore eyes,” he said, his gaze roving over me. “I never thought I’d see you again.”
“I’d hoped that would be the case,” I said.
His expression clouded slightly.
“That hurts, Brenna.”
“You raped me, Van. Did you think I would forget that? Why are you here?”
“Rape? You said yes. I didn’t hold you down. And, you enjoyed it.” He stepped closer, his brow furrowing. “I felt you tighten around me. I treated you like a damn princess and fed your brother, too.”
I shook my head at him, unable to believe he honestly didn’t see what he’d done was rape. Not only was there no guilt in his eyes, the hunger was still there.
“I want you back, Brenna. I’ll keep you, and any children we have, safe.”
I made a choked sound.
“In what world do you ever think I’d willingly hook up with you?”
“In this one. You wouldn’t want me picking someone else, would you?”
Given everyone’s desperations, it wouldn’t be hard for him to find some other woman to use. Then, he’d have everything he wanted. The safety of these walls and someone to rape whenever he had the itch. The idea that the next girl might believe like I’d believed, that she’d made the choice she had to in order to survive, made my insides twist. Van was right about one thing; I didn’t want him picking someone else. But, I also sure as hell didn’t want him picking me.
“I don’t think you deserve to pick anyone. Even me.”
“Aw, now you don’t mean that. We’ll be good together, just you wait and see.”
He was insane, talking as if me being with him was a foregone conclusion. My grip on my knife tightened. I could already visualize it going through the soft underside of his jaw.
“Does what I want even matter?” I asked.
He smiled with a handsome tilt of his lips that made me sick.
“It does if you want me as much as I want you.”
His gaze shifted ever so slightly just behind me. I had no chance to turn before something covered my head and a thick arm closed around my throat. I couldn’t breathe. Instead of using the knife like I should have, I flailed in panic. Someone pinned my arms to my sides and took my knife while another grabbed my legs.
“Don’t kill her. I need her.”
The words barely registered as I continued to try to suck in air and the world grew dark.
My head throbbed like a bitch, and I groggily wondered if the doctor had gotten me drunk again. I moaned at my stupidity, and the sound came out oddly muffled. Frowning, I tried to sit up.
It took a moment for the fog in my head to clear enough to understand why I couldn’t.
I lay on my side with my hands bound behind my back and a cloth filling my mouth. I tried to force it out with my tongue, but it wouldn’t move. Gagging from my efforts, I stopped and just concentrated on breathing through my nose.
When I was under control again, I lifted my head from the mattress and looked around. Across the room, a girl lay on another bed. She was young. Barely a teen. Her eyes were wide with fear as she stared back. Like me, she was bound and gagged and lying on her side.
Seeing the terror in her eyes forced me to calm my own. I nodded at her and noticed another girl on the floor between our beds. Hannah’s curls were unmistakable.
Relaxing my head on the mattress, I tried to move my feet. They were bound, too, but had more wriggle room than my hands. In my hurry this morning, I hadn’t tied my boots tightly. If I could—
“You’re awake,” Van said.
I looked up as he entered the bedroom. He had a tray with three glasses of water, which he placed on the dresser. He didn’t look at the girl or Hannah but studied me intently.
“Seeing you like that…” He shook his head, his gaze heating. “It’s sexy as hell. When we get to where we’re going, you and I need to play with some rope. Don’t worry. I don’t plan on tying you. You can tie me. It’s only fair, right?”
The only rope I wanted to tie on