Satisfaction stretched his lips into a grisly smile, the smile I saw in my nightmares.
“That’s right, little sister,” he whispered, brushing his fingers across my cheeks and down to my lips. “This pretty face belongs to me. You don’t go anywhere without my permission. You don’t talk to anyone without my say-so. You don’t go to the mall, a place filled with horny teenage fucks who are just looking for an innocent blonde to screw. No one touches you but me.”
At this point, his creepy attitude toward me was old news, and I was eternally grateful that he’d never tried to sexually assault me. If he ever found out I wasn’t a virgin anymore, I was pretty sure he would beat me until I couldn’t move.
Rough hands gripped both of my arms hard as he yanked me closer, his hot breath fanning over my face, making me gag. “I’m heading out of town for business,” he said, “but we will revisit this when I return. Until then, you’re not to leave these grounds at all. Security and Mary have been informed.”
I wiggled, arms aching under his grip. “What about school?” It was my one allowed escape from this house.
Blake shook his head. “No. You’re done for the year. I need you to keep an eye on the house.”
Done for the year? It was only the middle of freaking October.
“When can I leave the house again?”
He looked pleased. “Actually, glad you asked. There’s a boot camp in about six weeks that you’ll be attending. I have another extended trip away in early December, and I want to know someone else will be keeping you in line when I’m out of town.”
“Boot camp?” I choked out.
Blake smirked. “It’s a camp to teach you discipline and respect. I expect you to be a different person when you return, one that’s not quite so”—he played with my hair, twirling it around his fingers—“willful.”
Willful. Stupid asshole. I was about as docile as a human could be that was still in possession of all their wits. I’d had to be to survive.
“I’ll also be sending Jonnie along to keep an eye on you. I’d hate for you to get any ideas about escaping.”
Jonnie. Motherfucker. He was the worst of Blake’s guys, with more muscle than brains, but there was nothing I could do to fight this. Blake decided everything. “Okay, I’ll do my best,” I said quietly.
His eyes narrowed. “More than your best, Brooklyn. I’ve seen your best, and it’s just not the level that this family requires.”
I wanted to shout at him, tell him what a horrible human he was—hurting people, stealing and lying for money and power—and really reiterate that if he was the best of this family, I hoped I was the worst. But I didn’t let a single word fall.
Somehow, he still saw it in my eyes.
His fist slammed into my sternum, just above my left breast, and immediately my chest ached as a wheezing cough escaped. One day he’d make a mistake and hit me too hard; at least then I’d finally be free of him.
Crumpling forward, I protected myself the best I could as he slammed more fists into me. He knew exactly where to hit to inflict maximum pain with minimal evidence and was always very careful about that since hospitals asked questions and that was the last thing he wanted in his life.
Appearances mattered to Blake, and for that reason alone, I was slightly spared.
Small mercies.
2
Hot water beat down on me as I scrubbed my skin, needing to remove the memories of my brother’s hands on me. I could already see some bruises and welts, and if I didn’t desperately need this evening with Dylan, I would have canceled.
I’d just have to insist on no lights so that awkward questions were avoided.
Dylan didn’t give a fuck; he was only there for… well, the fucking. Full sunlight or pitch black, it didn’t matter as long as his cock could find my pussy. He wouldn’t notice my puffy, red eyes or the slight tremble in my limbs.
And for once, I was thankful to be nothing more than a warm body available when he visited Colorado.
When I was done showering, I stepped out and toweled off quickly. It took me a few minutes to run a brush through my long hair before I rubbed some styling gel into it to stop the curls from frizzing into a hot mess. The green in my hazel eyes was brighter than usual—typical after I’d