Page 103 of Cruel Secrets

His smug smile makes me feel sick to my stomach. “Long time, no see, Gia.”

I reach for the gun in my waistband, only to realize it’s still sitting on the kitchen island where I left it while I was making Bianca lunch.

Noah slams the door shut behind him and twists the lock. “You know, I would’ve thought you would find a better hiding spot after this long. The safe house that everybody knows about is getting a little old, isn’t it?”

Squaring my shoulders, I stand taller. “How the hell did you find me here?”

Jace leans back against the wall, wiggling his fingers at me. “You didn’t think that someone wouldn’t be following you after the last time you tried to get away, did you?”

“You’ve been following us for weeks, then,” I say the words without emotion, but inside I’m terrified.

That means that the attack on the road was nothing more than an attempt to drill more fear into me. Noah knew where we were the entire time, and he was content to play a game of cat and mouse until he got what he wanted.

Noah shrugs, his body shifting to his left just before he lunges. I don’t have time to get out of his way, but I try, spinning to the side.

His fist slams into the side of my stomach, driving the air from my lungs. I wheeze as he sweeps my legs out from beneath me, sending me to the ground.

Before I can even begin to process what’s happening, his hand is in my hair.

The pain as he hauls me to my feet is blinding, and I’m sure that he’s going to tear my hair from my scalp if that’s what it takes.

Noah smirks and slams my head into the mirror hanging on the wall. “I’m not going to stand here and talk to you, Gia. Not when you’ve spent weeks turning your back on your family.”

He holds my head against the mirror, jagged shards digging into my cheek and ear, though thankfully none cut my eye.

I grab his wrist, trying to keep him from grinding my face into the mirror. “Noah, you don’t have to do this.”

“What did you think was going to happen?” The words come out a rough growl as he hauls me away from the mirror and throws me to the ground in front of him. “You knew that this was coming, and you still decided to turn your back on your family.”

The pounding pain in my skull has little white stars dancing across my vision. I don’t know what to do or say, but right now, I know I need to get away from him.

Flipping onto my back, I try to get to my feet, but his boot collides with my spine, sending me sprawling into the shining shards of glass.

Blood pools on my hands as the glass goes deep. I glare up at him, biting the inside of my cheek so hard I taste blood. “I found my family. You’ve never been it.”

He crouches down in front of me, one hand on my ankle. “Who’s the one that fed you and kept you safe for years? Who took care of you and your sisterandyour mother after our father died?”

“You manipulated us.”

His shrug is casual, even as his fingers dig deeper into my ankle, putting so much pressure on the tendon that I scream.

“You’re never going to get away from me,” Noah says, chuckling as I kick out, catching him in the jaw and snapping his head to the side. He spits a mouthful of blood onto the floor. “You’ve always been a disgrace to this family, Gia, but that was almost respectable.”

“Fuck you.” I spit the mouthful of blood at him, smirking when it splatters against his face.

Noah lifts my ankle before slamming it into the ground. “You stupid bitch.”

Though the ankle doesn’t break, I know I’m going to have a hard time walking on it in the morning.

If I’m still alive in the morning.

The back door slides open, and half a dozen men enter the room, Ellie unconscious and draped over a shoulder while the other three are held at gunpoint.

Noah’s face shines with delight as he looks at Sean. “How’s the brand treating you these days? I hope you haven’t forgotten who you belong to.”

I use his distraction against him, surging to my feet despite the pain and taking him to the ground.

His arms strain against my legs where I have him pinned as I straddle his chest. “You should think about what you’re doing right now, Gia.”

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