Page 21 of Sinner's Malice

Shaking her head, she took a step back. “No.”

“Inevitable.”

“Not without your consent, it wasn’t. Did you give him permission to do this to you? To brand you?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Yes, it does,” Linsey said firmly. “Because if you didn’t agree, you need to tell Montana immediately. If you don’t, I will, Silver. I mean it.”

Shaking my head, I panicked. Grabbing my throat, ignoring the pain, I whispered, “Please don’t. It will only make him angrier. Right now, he’s still grappling with everything. I am too. I don’t think neither of us wanted this, but our past decided it for us. We need time, Linsey. Please give us that before you alert the others.”

Linsey slowly shook her head. “Baby, I can’t keep this a secret. You are black and blue from head to toe. What are you going to tell Montana when he sees you at work? You can’t hide the bruises and that brand looks bad. Bane needs to see it and prescribe you antibiotics before it gets infected.”

I begged. “Please help me. Please keep my secret.”

“At least let me call Tessa. She can prescribe you the antibiotics and bandage up that wound.”

I shook my head. No one else could know. It was bad enough Linsey knew. If the others knew, all hell would break loose, and right now, I just wanted to find a way to move past what happened.

Sighing, Linsey looked around my bathroom.

“Fine. I will run to the pharmacy and get supplies, and I will do what I can, but you better think of what to tell Montana, because when he sees you, he won’t think twice before killing Malice. Brother or not, Malice is a dead man.”

She was right.

Montana would lose his shit when he saw me. The only thing I had in my favor was that he’d given me the weekend off to enjoy my new home. Maybe if I feigned being sick, that would give my body more time to heal? The second I thought of it, I knew it wouldn’t work. Montana treated me like Tessa and York. As soon as I told him I wasn’t feeling well, he’d send Bane over,demanding to fix what was wrong. The man didn’t give two shits about personal space with those he claimed.

And make no mistake.

He claimed me long before Malice ever did.

No. I had to come up with something that he would believe. Something that wouldn’t warrant a full-on barrage of the brothers. Something that I could pull off.

“Silver!”

Speak of the Devil himself.

My head whipped to Linsey’s as her eyes widened.

“Oh God,” I whispered.

Linsey moved fast, turning on the shower.

“Get in and stay in there. I will tell Montana you started your period. That you’re cramping badly. That should make him leave fast. I’ll leave with him, then head to the pharmacy. I’ll be back when I have everything.”

Nodding, I stepped under the spray, quickly covering my mouth, muffling the scream that threatened to erupt when the hot water hit my brand.

Later, wrapped in a soft white robe, I sat on my bed, and stared at the clock, counting the minutes until Linsey returned. She’d been gone for an hour now, and I wondered how long it took her to buy some Neosporin and some bandages.

I knew not to leave the bedroom. Not with the cameras in the main living area. The second I did, Pippen would see me and alert Montana and the others.

I was a captive in my own home.

Something I was all too familiar with.

For years, Petrovitch held me captive in a hell not of my making. This time, I only had myself to blame. Before, I knew when to expect punishment. Now, it was anyone’s guess. There was no manual to read from. No note to warn me when he wouldreturn. Because he would return. That much, I knew, as sure as the sun rose in the east and set in the west.

Watching the minutes tick by, my mind swirled dark with images of him last night.

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