Page 95 of Westin

I’m on my knees on the hard, wooden floor. My hands are weak, but my body is strong. I know Thomas, and if I go as willingly as I can, he won’t hurt me. I have my doubts it will be pleasurable, but I don’t think he’s violent like that.

Avery, on the other hand…I know he is.

Heart in my throat, I wash in the little half bath off my room. My slip hangs on the back of the door. I strip naked and pull it on. Then,I brush my hair out and dig through my clothes to find my dressing gown. There’s no way I’m leaving this room and walking upstairs to Thomas’ bed in just a slip. It was bad enough that Avery saw me in my bra a moment ago.

I square my shoulders.

I can do this.

My eyes close. My mind fills with the soft scent of field grass, the cool of Nana’s headstone, the silvery willow blowing overhead. Someday, I’ll go home, and when my life is done, I’ll sleep forever beside the people I loved most.

That and Westin Quinn are the only things I’ve ever wanted.

I take a deep breath. They took my freedom, but they’ll never take my pride. I’m the only granddaughter of the strongest woman I’ve ever known.

Hands unsteady but heart brave enough to carry me through the night, I walk out to meet them.

Thomas and Avery are still on the back porch, the door hanging open even though it’s cold. I wonder where Billie went, maybe out the back to get away from Avery. She hates him.

The front door is unlatched. I turn to head down the front hall and freeze.

Why is the knob turning?

I stumble back, the hair on the back of my neck rising. It swings open, and Gerard Sovereign strides into the hallway, like the first vengeful horse of the apocalypse. Behind him comes Westin, his face hard as stone. Bringing up the rear is a tall man with his face half covered by a dark bandana, his narrowed green eyes zero in on me.

My heart goes crazy.

No, no.

He promised he wouldn’t do this until Carter Farms was secure. He promised he wouldn’t kill Thomas. My mind goes into overdrive, racking my brain until it starts to sink in.

No, Westin saidhewouldn’t kill Thomas.

He never said Sovereign wouldn’t.

Before I can speak, Westin skirts around Sovereign and takes hold of me, dragging me back against his body. I open my mouth, unsure if I want to scream at him or scream to give the Garrisons a fighting chance. I’m so fucking angry right now, I can’t see straight.

I don’t want death and bloodshed. I just want freedom.

“Hush, darling,” Westin breathes against my neck. “We’re not here for you.”

I kick back, hitting him hard in the shin with a crack. My chest seizes and my vision tunnels. Darkness creeps in like frost.

I can’t control my panic. I’m so tired from everything that’s happened since that day at the swimming hole. Every fiber of my being is raw and bruised. I think my heart that has been crumbling at the edges for weeks is shattering into a million pieces.

I’m at my breaking point.

“Fuck,” Westin snaps.

“Where’s your husband?” Sovereign says, his voice low.

My eyes widen, darting back down the hall to the open back door before I can stop myself.

Sovereign nods once. “Take her to the kitchen.”

Westin pulls me back, and I let him, because I know his strength intimately. We duck out of view as Sovereign and the man with the covered face disappear down the hall. As soon as they’re gone, I expect Westin to release me.

But he doesn’t.

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