Page 57 of Pin-up Girl

My family, what was left of it.

My life, even though I’d never had one.

And my love, not that they wanted it anyway.

Chapter Fifteen

I’d never liked who I had to be, but I was a survivor. If there was an opportunity to save my sister, I’d take it. An act that would gain the upper hand, I’d commit it. But these boys, their arrogant, cocky asses burrowed their way under my skin, and the way they were looking at me now—it seared like hot pokers against every exposed inch of me.

“You’re hurting me,” I grunted as I tried to free myself again. The pain from Milo’s fingers was nothing compared to the tears in my heart, but I’d rather not be touching them when they hated me.

With good reason, but I doubt they wanted to talk it out.

I tried to catch his eye, but with his height, it was all too easy for him to look right over me.

Jules shoved me into the side of the car, my head smacking against the glass. He slammed his hands on either side of my head, his jade green eyes alight with a fury that scared me. A grimace curled his lips, and if he could voice his words, there would be nothing kind for me.

I’d seen how disconnected they could be, how cold. Now it was all directed at me, sending an ugly emotion coursing through my blood.

“Put her in the fucking back. I can’t stand to look at her right now.” Emmett breezed past us, hopping into the front passenger side.

“Good idea.” The trunk opened, and Milo came around to the side with a length of rope.

“Tell me you don’t carry duct tape and rope around like a serial killer,” I sneered because I had to, or I was going to cry. And these dickasses didn’t deserve my tears. Only Ellie did.

“You don’t get to ask any questions. Now, be a good little girl and keep your mouth shut while we decide if you live or die. I didn’t think anyone would be stupid enough to go against us, but Infinity foundyou.” Milo shook his head while he bound my wrists and looped it around my body. Jules hoisted me into his arms to dump me in the back. The trunk almost caught my foot, but I pulled it back at the last second.

“Can you fucking believe this?” Emmett’s smooth voice was coarse and low. The charmer was gone. “Your fucking,fuckingdad. We should thank him, and I can barely stomach him.” A sharp crack made me jump. Did he bust his hand open on the dash?

“I know. Strange time for him to try his hand at being a dad, but can’t say I’m not glad he told us the truth. How much longer would this have gone on because we were too blinded to see it?Damn it,” Milo cursed. “Where should we go? We can’t take her back to the Shack. Too many witnesses.”

I should be worried, stressed, afraid for my life. But an odd numbness settled over me. Was this what shock felt like?

Jules must have typed something out, because Milo continued.

“Good idea. That’s secluded, and there’s nothing out there for miles.”

My stomach dropped. They were really going to hurt me. The last month meant nothing if they could discard me so fucking easily.

Did I want to try and make them understand why I did what I did? Did I want to stop them?

Fuck yes, I had Ellie to take care of. Even if she didn’t want it, she needed at least one person in her life to look out for her. Going quietly into the night—giving up—was not an option.

I breathed through my nose to tone down the burn in my throat. This was all for Ellie. She was worth it, and I’d trade myself for her every single time.

It took forever to get to wherever the fuck they were going. My legs were cramped from the odd angle, and my fingers were asleep from the tight binding. Somehow I’d dozed off, but I hit my head from the abrupt halt.

The car turned off, the darkness from the night sky seeping in. It was a new moon with so little light, I could see almost nothing. For a second, I could pretend none of this ever happened, and I had told Robert to fuck off before he sent me to Wellington.

“I’ll get the flashlights. Who’s going to carry her?” Emmett, my handsome, charming Emmett sounded like he wanted to see me as much as he wanted to stick glass through his eyelids.

“I’ll get her. Jules, open the door and make sure nothing’s on the floor.”

The ground crunched under their feet, but not in the way of grass, more like rocks or gravel. A bright light hit me in the eyes as the trunk lifted. I couldn’t see Milo’s face, or maybe Emmett’s behind the flashlight. That was probably better, I didn’t think I could stand to see the hatred and anger on their faces.

Didn’t they know this was hard for me? That I might have been a traitor, but I didn’t have a choice? I did the best I could in an impossible situation, I just had to make them see that. If they let me.

Cold hands picked me up. As soon as I was out of the trunk, I frantically looked around for some kind of clue as to where we were. It was much colder here, with patches of snow on the ground. We had to be in a higher altitude for the early snow. If they weren’t going to listen, I needed to escape.

---