Page 69 of Assassin's Mark
Derricklaughed. Hands in his pockets like he was wandering his club instead of beating his daughter, he laughed. “I believe you’re the one who was fucked, were you not?”
My mind blanked. How could he—
Right, the pictures. I ignored the jab and struggled to my feet.
“I had finally decided the fact that you were frigid would work in my favor. Southern families prefer virgins for their well-bred wives.Pellen was particularly excited at the thought of deflowering you.” Derrick turned, his smile smug. “If only I’d known how accommodating you could be, I might’ve received a higher price.”
“You sold me?” I mean, I knew he had, metaphorically. But he’d actually taken money to…
How did you explain that on your taxes?
The thought—and the laugh that followed—came out of nowhere. When Derrick’s facedarkened, his anger returning, I embraced both. “Guess you lost out, huh?”
He took a step forward, and my gut clenched, but the grin stayed on my face. I’d learned a thing or two under dear old Dad’s thumb.
I took a step of my own, then another. “How did you know I’d be here?”
“When else would you arrive? It was only logical.” He jangled the change in his pants pocket, a sound I’d heard a milliontimes in my life. A frown curved his lips downward. “If you were going to betray me, it would be now. And I couldn’t be certain it was beneath you. The man I hired seemed very…persuasive…on the security videos I saw.”
“You seem to have an abnormal interest in your daughter’s sex life,” I pointed out.
“In human nature, my dear. How do you think I got this far in life? By understanding how peoplethink.”
“The man who kidnapped me must’ve been a surprise, then.” I didn’t want to give him Levi’s name if he didn’t already have it, but I did want to rub his failure in his face. “I don’t think it was the best insight into human nature that got you this far, though, was it,Dad? More like murder.”
He was mere feet away when my hand closed around the hammer lying on the shelf next to me. Iswung, but not fast enough. Derrick blocked the blow with a forearm as his fingers closed around my neck.
“You really should be careful, Abigail,” he snarled. “You don’t want to end up like your mother.”
“Which one?”
