Page 6 of Degrading Her

“I guess I was wrong,” my father chuckled. “That’sthe fire I want you to harness. You need it to beat your brother.”

I grabbed him again, banging his skull against the back wall until he swung at my face. I blocked him, then kicked him in the side until he doubled over. My punches railed into him, blow after blow, until finally, one of the ranchers appeared out of nowhere and ripped me off of him.

“It’s all right,” my father said, touching his nose, wiping away the blood. The rancher stepped back. My father’s eyes were cold and blank, the kind of face he had right before he finished an order, the same expression he had before he killed my mother.

But I was older now. I could finally beat him. I gestured at the rancher, who then took care of the woman’s body.

“She’s dead,” I said calmly. “My Feldman Offering is complete.”

“But you still have to have a son,andfight your brother,” my father said. “A few more years, then we’ll begin the Feldman Trial.”

I shook my head, pretending to be more disturbed than I was, then headed toward the parking area. Did my father believe me now? Or did he know that the burned corpsemeant nothing to me? I dismissed my driver, then slid inside of my SUV, driving back to the college town. There was no reason to go back there; no deliveries to monitor, no boyfriend to murder.

So why did I keep coming back to Fiona Ross?

Perhaps I wanted to break her. Executing her like the Feldman Offering dictated was too easy. I didn’t want to simply kill her; I wanted to crush her soul, to exert my power over her emotions, no matter how strong she thought she was, to show her that every lie she believed in wasn’t real. To teach her that I would always win.

With my eyes flicking between her bedroom window and my phone, I did another search for her on social media. Though there was no linked page, Fiona’s profile said she had a sister. How old was her sister? Could I torture her sister, using her to get information about Fiona?

Or could I convince Wilder to take her sister, using the two of them to draw Fiona closer to me, without having to step a single foot in her direction? Now,thatwas an interesting idea. I wouldn’t be surprised if Fiona was too intoxicated to remember me.

I scrolled back to her profile picture. Straight, white teeth. Innocent copper brown eyes. She was so determined to live out her dreamsby herself, and I wanted to destroy that vision of her future. To show her she wasn’t better than me. That she would fail too. And if I had to, I would fuck it out of her until she was nothing more than a sobbing mess of insecurities.

The light went out in her bedroom, and I stroked the head of my bulge through my pants. I would have her on her knees. Milky black tears running down her cheeks. And then she would realize that she wasn’t anything special, and she never would be.

A strong woman like her, broken in half, made me hard.

Chapter 1

Sawyer

present

The dice clinkedin my palm as I scanned the ballroom, filled with people celebrating my brother and his wife’s first anniversary. As the new leader of our family business, every social gathering was an opportunity. I made small talk, using my charm to put the guests at ease. It was easier to control others when they believed you were on their side, and I was good at that.

As I complimented the dress of my brother’s aunt-in-law, one of my men moved forward.

“Hatchcom Focus is in the building,” he said.

The owner of Hatchcom Focus had accepted my invitation. I was looking forward to meeting with him.

“And Ross?” I asked.

“No signs of her yet.”

Wilder, my older brother, crossed the threshold. I put the dice in my pocket and shook his hand.

“Thanks for coming,” he said, his voicemonotone, revealing his lack of desire to be hosting this party. We were on the same page then, though, I was much better at hiding it. “When I disappear later,” he nodded toward the double doors leading to the pool in the back, “Watch the place for me.”

So he had a tryst planned with his wife. How romantic.

Not.

“Happy Anniversary,” I said. In the past, neither of us had cared about women or family. It was surprising that my brother suddenly did. But I always respected him. He wanted privacy with his wife? Then so be it.

I shook his hand once again, and Wilder parted ways. I jingled the dice in my pocket. The day my father had given them to me was the day I realized they were a symbol of the erratic nature of life. That day, I was ten years old. It was my first real test.

Wilder had his chin lowered, his face swollen and covered in blood. Two men squeezed my brother’s arms, forcing him to kneel in silence.

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