Page 31 of Ramsay

My skin tingles at the perusal but I ignore it saying sourly, “You shouldn't listen to rumors. They’re often lies.”

When he laughs, I pause because his icy facade melts into a human being with the face of an angel. He should never fucking laugh again.

The ache that clenches my heart is so fucking acute I have to resist the urge to rub it, but just as quickly as he laughs, it's gone, thank fuck.

“Regardless, I wanted to warn you. The rumor about your dear sister isn’t the only information out there, and if you want all your pretty little lies to stay hidden, I suggest you back off.”

“Ah, more threats. This must mean I’ve hit a nerve, and after a couple fucking days,” I sneer.

My bravado is all for show because I can’t afford to show my panic, but my brain is already circling with the possibilities.

What does he know? Am I fucked already?

But no, why would he sit on that kind of information? He must not know. I hope. Fuck.

Ramsay straightens to his full height, looming over me and I’d step back, but I learned a long time ago not to show fear to predators, and this one is a vicious version, sniffing the air.

“I’m not fucking around, Willow. You value your precious world—stop. What we did is nowhere near what we can do. You were let off easy. Don’t make me fucking regret it.”

With that, he stalks away, and I stare after him, wondering what I did in another life to deserve the attention of the biggest fucking asshole on the planet. Yes, I ignore the fact that I was yearning for it a couple of days ago.

Setting aside the anxiety writhing in my chest, I find Dixie leaning against my car when I emerge. Apparently uninterested in my grim countenance, she jumps inside when I unlock the doors and other than giving me directions, the ride is silent while I stew over Ramsay’s threats.

There’s no way he would ignore what happened if he knew. So as much as I’d like to fuck up his world, I’ll perform as he expects for now.

But something is afoot with these guys, and even if I have to wait years, I’ll make them pay. I’ll let them think I’m cowed. A mistake on their part because they don't know me.

They took the one thing I had control over, my fucking body, and used it against me. I don't care about their little empire. I don't care about Diem’s passionate rage nor his family connections, Oliver’s blank eyes, or Ramsay’s ice-cold heart. But I do care about my freedom, and I won't let a single one of them think they can get away with taking it. After all, in the animal kingdom, only the most cunning survive.

∞∞∞

Penny and Dixie live in a modest two-story home, with white siding and a tire swing hanging from a tree in the front yard. When we arrive, Dixie exits without comment, and I follow.

I barely knew Penny when the shit with Sabrina went down, only what I observed from afar as I marveled at the savagery amongst these middle-class girls.

Dixie lets me inside, and we find Penny in the kitchen, sitting at the scarred oak table with an open laptop before her. She glances up absently before muttering something and looking back at her computer.

She’s lost weight, her small frame even tinier than I remember. Her once lustrous dark hair is pulled back in a messy bun, and she’s got glasses hanging from her nose.

After a minute, her head shoots back up, and with narrowed eyes, she looks me over critically before giving her sister a stern glare as she asks, “Don't I know you?”

Dixie speaks before I can. “This is Willow. Willow hates Sabrina. She’s here for the dirt. This is your chance, Penny, don’t fuck it up.”

Penny’s eyes widen and then narrow, her brow furrowing as she looks between Dixie and me. Finally, she nods her chin toward the chair across from her, and I slide into it.

“Before I do jack shit, I want to know why you hate her,” she says, eyeing me like I’m a shady fucking hitchhiker asking for a ride.

Slowly I speak, formulating the words that want to trip from my tongue in a torrent, “She’s a fucking bitch. By accident, I ran into Ramsay Yates, and she found us, and of course, because she has a pathetic crush on the dick, she decided to make my life miserable.”

Penny eyes me avidly, soaking up every word, nodding at my remarks about Ramsay, and gazing at me speculatively when I stop. “That’s all?”

“Isn’t that enough?” I ask. “She’s already spreading rumors about my damn sister, who’s been missing for five years. Fucking ice cold.”

Penny skips right over my sad story and nods her head, her gaze unfocused. “I’ve been or was friends with Sabrina since kindergarten. Back then, she was a gross little shit with frizzy hair and a lame ankle, but we were besties, and she told me everything.”

Her eyes refocus on me with a gleam, and I smile wide. “What do you want to know?”

“Everything,” I breathe.

---