Page 257 of Redeemed

“The… the what?”

“He wouldn’t have married you if he didn’t trust you,” Mark snaps, and the unhinged determination in his eyes has my lungs constricting. “That means he’s let you in on his plans. What are they?”

“I don’t know anything, I swear,” I manage. “He doesn’t tell me about those types of—”

He slaps me, and I yelp in shock before I can stop myself.Stupid, stupid, stupid.Showing weakness only emboldens monsters like him.

“You think I can’t force the truth from you?” he grits out. “You think I can’t wring every drop of my son’s plans out of your brain like you’re nothing more than a wet rag?”

One moment, I’m glaring up at him, wondering if I can scratch his eyes out, and the next, he has his hands around my throat. He squeezes just enough to make me panic. I grab at his arms, trying to push him off me, but he’s too strong.

“Tell me,” he growls, “or I’ll drag you back to that cult so they can kill you.”

My limbs freeze in terror, but then I hear Colton’s voice in my head.

Mark will stop at nothing to get what he wants, which means we have to match his drive plus more.

When Colton told me that, I wasn’t included in thewehe was talking about. But right now, I’m as much a part of it as the boys are. That means I’ll protect their secrets to my grave. It also means I have to think like them—go as far as they would.

With a yell, I claw at Mark’s face. Scratch marks appear on his skin, and I manage to poke his eye before the lack of blood flow has my brain going fuzzy.

“Stupid girl!”

Mark throws me away from him, and my head collides with the counter before I collapse to the floor, vision blurry. My movements are sluggish as I drag myself away from Mark, but all it takes is a few strides, and he’s towering over me again.

Pain explodes in my side when his shoe connects with my ribcage. It forces a cry from my throat, but I don’t let myself focus on how much it hurts. My mind is yelling at me to fight, tosurvive,possibly for the first time in my entire life.

So when Mark bends down and makes a grab for my hair, I kick him in the face. His head jerks back, and when he straightens, his eyes are filled with fury.

“Don’t think you can get the best of me,” he warns. “I’m twice as big as you and ten times stronger.” He grabs my leg when I try to kick him again, and his grip is too firm for me to break free. “Now tell me what Colton is planning.”

“F-fuck you.”

His eyes flash, and then he’s on top of me, his hands wrapped around my throat again. Something falls from his jacket and clatters to the floor—a small, black case. But before I can figure out what it is, Mark lifts me up only to slam me back down, and my head cracks against the tiles. Everything goes black for a split second, and in my disorientation, I swear I hear Colton calling my name.

But that can’t be. He’s miles away at his meeting.

No one is coming to save me.

Loosening his grip around my throat, Mark slaps me again. “Is he planning on forcing me out? Is that it?”

“I’ll never tell you anything,” I seethe.

A shadow passes over both of us, and then Mark’s body is yanked off mine. I heave in a breath as he disappears from my field of vision completely.

What…?

“Haven, get out of here,” Colton yells.

Colton.

Colton?

Rubbing at my throat, I push myself upward, andthere.Colton is fighting his father, dodging blow after blow while managing to land a few of his own.

“How…”

“Go.”

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