Page 123 of Heart Sick Hate

“There’s no use trying.” Rhett’s voice comes from across the room as he slowly makes his way into the light.

His face is placid. Serene even. The opposite of what I saw before something hit me over the side of the head. And the calmness might be more terrifying as the memories flood back.

The church.

Angelina.

Violence.

And Rhett stands here looking at me with the same expression he did when he was in the hospital. Soft, unaffected. Like someone I should be able to trust.

“Why are you doing this?” I scoot back as he gets closer, but the chain only allows me to go so far, and my back strikes a wall.

Rhett crouches down in front of me, skimming my bare legs, before looking back up at me. “You’re a little troublemaker, you know that?”

He tilts his head to the side, narrowing his gaze, but I don’t dare to respond. Because if I had to guess from the scene in my dad’s office, one wrong thing could set him off.

“You seemed so sweet back then. Innocent. You could have been the perfect little prize if you’d just stayed that way.”

Reaching up, he tries to graze my cheek with his thumb, but I pull away. A swift movement that draws an amused smirk across his lips.

“Your father should have kept a tighter leash on you.”

“I’m not an animal.” I can’t help but spit it out as my anger boils to the surface.

“Unfortunately.” Rhett stands back up, pacing to the other side of the room. “Animals are much easier to tame. And your father let you run wild far too long. Do you know what happens to a dog without the proper training? A dog who refuses to behave.”

I’m not sure what’s more concerning, that he’s scanning something on the table in front of him, or that he’s comparing me to a dog like this is casual conversation.

“Do you?” he asks again, firmer this time.

I shake my head. “No.”

I shouldn’t answer, but I’m out of options if I’m chained up, and he’s unhinged.

“I’ll tell you.” Rhett spins around, and there’s something in his hand, but I can’t make it out from this far across the dark room. “They get put down.”

My back stiffens, and I swallow hard. The fact that he doesn’t seem to be drawing a line between me and an animal isn’t a good sign, especially considering where this is going.

“Why are you doing this, Rhett?”

I hate the tear that rolls down my cheek. I hate my blurred vision making it hard to see what’s right in front of me. I hate that I never told Crew I love him when I’ll never get the chance.

“Because when my mother died, I saw my destiny.” Rhett lets out a long breath. “A calling. I’d spent years burying what I felt just beneath the surface. Denying what I deserved. My father and brothers like to thinkthey’re so important when really they’re pointless. They don’t understand true influence. Adam chases money. Crew chases whatever he’s interested in at any given moment. ButI’mthe smart one. Nothing is more powerful than faith.”

“And that’s why your father helped mine. So you could play God?”

“I don’tplayanything. Iamtheir God.”

He’s so lost in his own fantasy, I see the situation clearly. He truly believes every word, which makes him the most dangerous monster there is. A devil who thinks he’s a god. And I’m chained up like a sacrifice for his egotistical cause.

My only hope for survival is to try and lean into it. Pray for mercy, even if I doubt he’ll show any.

“They already love you.” Tears brim in my eyes, but I try to fight them back. “Nothing will change that.”

It’s a lie. If they knew the truth, he’d lose everything. Which is why I’m in this situation.

“You can be with Angelina. I’ll say that publicly. You can blame me. Make me the bad guy.”

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