Page 91 of Pray for the Damned

Both of those options seemed like hell, and he’s making Emmett choose between them?

A choked sob tears from my chest as I consider my future, or perhaps the lack therof.

If he handed me over to Salvatore Draper, I could only imagine the horrors I would face. The fear of the unknown is sometimes worse, but the alternative has my entire body rattling with fear. They’d make Emmett watch as they…

I can’t even think the words because they’re so horrific.

It’s an impossible choice. Even sitting where I am, I can’t choose what I’d prefer, so how is he supposed to?

Emmett flicks his gaze to me, and I see it now. I see what he was hiding from me in the van.

Emotions that shouldn’t be staring back at me are there, but I guess it makes sense. I may not have known he existed until recently, but he’s had years to accept his feelings toward me. And would you really stalk someone for ten years if there weren’t some serious emotions involved?

Likely not.

I bite down on the inside of my cheek until blood fills my mouth, desperate to keep my tears at bay. If I cry, it makes it worse.

Kade catches my eye, his calm persona setting me on edge. How can he be so settled right now? Unless everything he said to me was a lie. Unless our lazy morning of cuddles and sweet words whispered between us was nothing more than a farce.

That thought hurts almost as much as the position I’ve found myself in, but I search his face for more, for anything, as I remind myself this is how they grew up.

They were taught that caring for anything was a weakness, and he can’t show his hand if he wants any of us to make it out of here alive.

Because I can see this for what it is.

A test.

Not just for Emmett, but for Kade as well.

Maybe their father doesn’t know the extent of his involvement in me staying out of their grasp all these years, but I’m certain he suspects his favorite son played some role in it.

If Kade is the best at what he does, which it seems as if he is, he should have found me easily, especially because Emmett was always close by.

“What’s it going to be, son?”

“I’m not your son,” Emmett snaps, his eyes filling with a hatred I’ve never seen before. “No father makes their child make a decision like this. But I don’t know why I’m surprised. You’ve always pitted us against one another. Always forced us to fight so you could get your rocks off on our pain.”

His hand snaps out and wraps around Emmett’s throat while the guards at his back hold him steady. “You’ll do well to remember who’s running this show, Emmett. Just because my blood runs through your veins doesn’t mean I won’t end you. Now fucking choose.”

Emmett stares at his father for long seconds, and my breath catches in my throat. I’ve never allowed anyone else to hold my fate in their hands. Not since I escaped when I was sixteen, at least. But there’s a part of me that trusts him to make the right choice, if there is one at all.

“I’ll come back to the business,” Emmett forces through gritted teeth.

“And you’ll stop all the religious bullshit?”

He gives a stiff nod, and my stomach bottoms out. It seems cruel to force your child away from faith. Hell, it seems cruel to do that to anyone. Why would you begrudge someone having something to believe in during their darkest moments?

Personally, I don’t know if there’s a God, or a higher power, or whatever else out there, but I do know that I’ve seen people on the brink of giving up come back to life because that’s what they believed in, and I’d never tell anyone they were wrong for that.

“Excellent. I’ll call Draper with the good news. He’ll be thrilled that we finally found her.” He claps his hands and turns toward Kade. “Why don’t you make the call, son? He’s in town, so it won’t be long before he’s here to pick her up, and we can get the fuck out of this city. I’ve always hated New York.”

I drag in a steadying breath and tear my eyes away from the twins. It’s probably better that I get used to not seeing them, to not depending on them. All these years I thought I had a guardian angel, but it turns out I had a fallen angel and the devil himself standing in the shadows keeping me safe.

Kade gives a curt nod and steps away from the group to make the call, but I don’t have it in me to listen to the conversation. Instead, I focus on my breathing, on remaining calm, on figuring out how to survive in my new life, if I can at all.

A pair of expensive shoes appears in my eyeline, and I drag my eyes up to meet their father’s cool glare. “Your hold on my sons is over, you little whore.”

His fist comes down into my face, and darkness blurs my vision as the room spins around me.

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