Page 28 of Sacrifice

Curling into Vincent, I put my head on his shoulder. “Our father made us promise to stick together, but Carlos was close to getting us killed a few times. I wanted to move out of the state. He swore that he would do what was right for us. It just never happened.”

His hands run along my back as I sit here, trying to reconcile what’s happened.

“At least I know the truth and that Carlos isn’t off somewhere being tortured or worse, lying in a pile of puke from his drug addiction.”

My head is forced upward by Vincent’s hand. “Carlos got off easy, if you ask me.” He growls and makes me keep eye contact with him.

I flinch at his words. “And this is why I can’t forgive you. There’s absolutely no remorse for what you have done.”

His face turns to stone before my eyes. I tremble as he looks at me and growls. “I told you that you’re free to go.” His words anger me. Another lie.

“That’s a lie, Vincent, and you know it. You took the words back and I can tell right now if I try to leave, you’ll block me,” I laugh bitterly. “You think I’m naive enough to believe you won’t hunt me down?”

As he squeezes his hand in my hair, he snarls at me. “You’re correct. I would hunt you down like the beast I am.”

He moves so fast I yelp and Espresso meows as I end up on the floor with Vincent standing over me. Espresso jumps, but he never makes it to me.

“Don’t think about taking my cat from me again,” my voice cracks, but I stand up and square my shoulders back, ready for a fight.

Vincent rolls his eyes at me. “It’s not like any of my men would kill him. Mossimo is wrapped around his little paw.”

Something inside of me knows he’s not going to hurt me or Espresso. At least not today, so I smart off, looking him straight in the eyes. “And you’re wrapped around me.”

He says nothing as he grabs me by the arm and kisses me hard. His lips are unyielding and his wicked tongue barges into my mouth. I whimper a protest, but it goes against deaf ears as he controls me with his lips.

One moment we are kissing, the next he’s gone. He’s huffing and glaring at me. Espresso is by my feet purring.

“You need time to recover from our last session. But heed my words.”

He grabs my chin. “You…” I blink at how forceful his word is, “are mine, and I willneverlet you go.”

Vincent storms out of the room, and I’m left there with my thoughts and I am aching in more ways than one.

Crazy thoughts keep me rooted to the window as I watch the wind blow outside. On one hand, Vincent killed my brother and freed me from the burden of living in fear that he’d end up in a drug house. Or worse, having the police knock on our door. On the other hand, I’m not free at all, and Vincent doesn’t feel one bit of remorse.

I’m a prisoner here withThe Beast,and have to learn how to live with the knowledge that I’m living with a killer. One that has admitted he will hunt me down if I leave.

Do you want to leave?My brain throws at me. That’s the question that keeps me befuddled. There’s no real good reason to stay here. I could find a way to change my name and looks. Yet every time I close my eyes to think, I see Vincent’s deranged eyes.

The craziness of his words swirl inside of my head at the way he possessively proclaimsI’m his. My stomach interrupts me and I sigh. “I guess it’s time to get some food, Espresso.”

Maybe after I eat, I can talk to Vincent and haggle him into some better terms for my stay here. I make up my mind to stay for now, because I know I will be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life if I leave.Better the devil, you sort of know. Right?

Walking into the kitchen, I see Miss Terrington, and she smiles at me. “What can I get you, dear?”

Sitting down, I smile back. “Can I have something to eat?”

“Of course, sweetheart. I can make sandwiches and chips. For dinner, we are having shrimp scampi, salad, garlic bread, and tiramisu.”

“I’ll take it,” I laugh as she sets about to make me a ham and cheese sandwich.

“Here you go.” As she sets my food down, she turns around and opens a can of food for Espresso.

She winks at me. “I’m sure he’s hungry, too.”

With a tiny laugh, I watch my cat get on the counter and devour his food. Eating helps clear my mind and my stomach. I need to tell Vincent I won’t cause any problems if I’m allowed to have a friend or two and to go to school. Once I have my own money, I can try to get away.

Going to Vincent's office, I raise my hand to knock on the door when I hear him moaning.

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