Page 25 of Under Their Watch

“There isn’t a record of you anywhere,” she says simply.

“Dad knew I wasn’t missing though,” I say. “He would come to the house and-”

“And what?”

“It was expected of me since I was twelve that when he wanted, I was to let him take me,” I say. “He fucked me regularly, so there is no way he would say I was missing if he knew I wasn’t.”

“Rhea… He didn’t want anyone to know you were alive,” Theo says. “If you were listed as deceased, David was free to give you a new identity and move you somewhere else.”

“David mentioned that Marvin has a deposit. So, I guess David paid for me,” I say.

“If Quinn and Jace hadn’t known her,” Emma starts.

“It’s a good thing they did,” Casey says. “I need for you all to keep an eye on Rhea. Do not let her be alone. The lab is going to run DNA as fast as they can. I need a DNA sample from you, Rhea. We need to rule you out of any findings so that if we find anything, we will know if it’s you or someone else.”

“Uhm… okay,” I say. Casey gets what she needs out of her bag before asking me to open my mouth. She swabs the inside of my cheek before sealing everything up.

“I’m taking this straight to the lab. Any chance Marvin will know where the house is?” she asks Emma.

“No. We have a gate and a wired alarm system anyway,” Emma says.

“It’s probably a good idea that we work from home,” Rowan says.

I stand up and back away from everyone. I am not letting everyone turn their lives upside down for me. Quinn reaches for me, but I pull out of his grasp and go toward the door.

“Rhea,” Quinn says. He touches my arm, and I snap.

“Stop,” I scream as I turn and shove him backward. “I’m done. I can’t do this.”

“Yeah, gonna just run back to Marvin?” he snaps.

“Fuck you,” I yell at him as I start to cry. Jace steps close, and I stop him. “Don’t fucking touch me. I’m done. Y’all did fine without me for nine goddamn years. You’ll be fine. Everyone will be better off without me here.”

“Is that what you think? You think we were okay without you?” Quinn says, raising his voice.

“Why does everyone care so goddamn much?!” I scream. “Why is everyone so fucking nice? I’m not worth any of this bullshit. You’re turning your lives upside down for someone who is broken. I’m fucking broken, Quinny. I am not the girl you secretly fed and rocked to sleep until she was eighteen and disappeared because her parents would beat and starve her when she got in trouble. That girl is long fucking gone. She had hopes and dreams of happiness. What’s left is fucking worthless. You should have just let him fucking kill me. Why did you have to fucking save me, Quinn? Why?”

“Rhea,” Quinn says gently.

“I’m sorry, but I’m done. I shouldn’t have let anyone help me,” I say as my tears take over. I turn to run from them but smack into Theo. “Move.”

“Kneel,” Theo says with aggression seeping into his tone. It stuns me, so I just stare at him. “Now, Rhea. Kneel.”

“No,” I say defiantly.

“Kneel or I’ll make you kneel,” he growls at me.

“Theo, stop it,” Jace scolds.

“No. I told you two to meet her where she is comfortable. I have watched you two coddle her and give her free rein when that is not what she’s used to. She’s scared out of her mind, and she doesn’t know how to function without control. You can guide her without abusing her. You can still show her the same level of affection and compassion while still helping ease her out of total control,” Theo says. “Rhea, kneel. Now.”

“Okay,” I whisper and dip my head. Before I can kneel, he lifts my chin.

“Sir,” he says. “I don’t even want to hear you call any of us master because you are not our slave. You will address us as sir. Understand?”

“Yes, Sir,” I say, relaxing a bit. He nods and steps back to watch me. I kneel in front of him and sit back on my heels with my head bowed.

“Look at me,” Theo says. “When someone is speaking, you look them in the eye.”

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