Page 63 of Like An Animal
He releases my wrist to grab my arm and drags me toward the plane.
“Where’s my daughter?” I press again, hoping he’ll give me some answers.
No such luck.
“Just shut up and get on the plane or I’ll punish you,” he warns, but I just glare at him before ripping my arm out of his hold.
“No! Tell me where she is. I’m not going anywhere without my fucking child, Jeremy!”
Without any warning, he jams his shoulder into my waist and throws me over his shoulder. “Punishment it is.”
“Jeremy Borza, put me down right now!”
Instead of listening to me, he smacks my ass so hard, my pelvis has probably left a bruise on his shoulder.
“Jeremy,” I groan his name as he walks up the steps into the plane and I look over my shoulder to see a long sofa along the wall of the plane with Val, my golden retriever, sleeping at the end. Xavi sits at the other end with Lottie who is playing with her favorite doll.
That’s why he just wanted me to get on the plane. Because she’s here.
“Lottie!” I cry her name and her head pops up with a smile.
“Mommy!” She tries to run to me, but Xavi grabs her as Jeremy carries me toward the back of the plane.
“Everything’s going to be okay, baby!”
I kick and flail in Jeremy’s hold, trying like hell to get to my little girl, but every move just earns me another hard slap on my ass.
“Let me down.”
“No.”
Jeremy throws open a door and steps inside before dropping me down on my feet. Then, he reaches behind me and removes his belt from around my wrists.
I thought he said he was going to punish me. Is this supposed to be a part of the punishment?
“This is theonlyreprieve you get, little ghost,” he growls in my ear before stepping away. Maybe he thinks I’ll accept that and be okay with everything, but he should remember who it is he’s dealing with. I’m a fighter if nothing else.
I push him away and run for the door, but before I can pull it open, he pushes my body against it, plastering me between him and the door.
“Bad fucking move,” he growls before tearing the dress down my back and unhooking my bra.
What’s the worst he could do? Kill me? That would be a blessing except that Lottie would be left with him. I don’t know what he would do to her if I wasn’t here. It wouldn’t be anything near what the Fathers would.
“What are you going to do about it, emo boy? I’ve been through worse than anything you could do. You want to break me? Beat me, punch me? Someone else beat you to it.”
His hand stills on my spine for just a moment before he takes my hair in his hand, yanking it back hard.
“I’ll do whatever the fuck I want to you. That’s how this works. You’re my property and what I say goes. If I say you won’t ever see your little girl again, that’s how it will be. If I say you’ll sleep under the stairs, that’s exactly what will happen. Your experience depends on how you behave. Misbehaved brats don’t get privileges. Here’s a taste of that, Bronwyn.”
He pulls me away from the door, pushing off my clothes until all I have on are my heels and he kicks open a big wooden box with nothing inside.
“What are you doing?” I ask, eying the box warily.
“Showing you what happens to brats who don’t listen.”
Jeremy pushes me into the box and my eyes widen when I realize what he’s doing.
He can’t do this. Jeremy knows I’m claustrophobic. I could never handle walking into small closets or even the pantry.
