Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 63626 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 318(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63626 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 318(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
“Exactly,” Jay said with a nod. “And it’s going to be a lot of work. The three of us are going to try to work and live off the land like our family once did. Which will leave Kit alone a lot, and though the cabin isn’t anywhere near as bad as the rest of the place as it was built to stand the test of time, we don’t see her being able to keep the home up on her own.”
“So you fuckers kidnapped me to be a housekeeper? A cook? You kidnapped your sister a friend? Are you fucking kidding me?” I shouted.
My voice was absorbed by the thick earthen walls, and somehow I seemed to be the only crazy person in the room. The brothers were both so calm and acted as if what they were thinking was absolutely sane.
“Call it what you want, but yes,” Rye said evenly. “Like a mail-order bride.”
“She seems to be more like a foul-mouthed sailor than a sweet-hearted bride,” Jay said to his brother with a laugh.
Rye rolled his eyes and punched his brother’s arm. “Shut up.” He then returned his stare toward me. “You may not like this situation, but it is your situation whether you like it or not. We aren’t asking. We aren’t suggesting in any way. You will either live here with us under one roof, functioning as part of the family, never revealing to Kit how or why you are here other than the fact that you want to be here, or we will kill you.”
“To act as your wife?” I asked, shooting daggers with my eyes at Jay. “Is that some sick way of saying you’re going to be… what? Demanding your husbandly rights?”
“Actually,” Jay said, with his face growing serious, the smile he’d maintained since the beginning of this conversation slipping away. “No. If you agree to our terms, you will get your own room, and we will leave you alone. We won’t expect anything from you”—he paused and took a long hungry stare at my body—“sexually.” His lips slowly turned up, his smile returning as he lifted his gaze to mine. “Unless you want it, that is.” And then came the laugh I was growing to detest.
“We won’t lay a finger on you as long as you keep our sister happy,” Rye added.
“Then why the fuck am I tied and half naked on this bed?” I snapped.
“Because if you say no,” Jay said, leaning in. “We will have all the fun with you we want until we discard your used and abused body where it will never be found.”
I swallowed back the scream ready to be unleashed and cursed the tear that fell.
Jay placed his fingertip on the single tear and swiped it from my face. “Save your tears, Goldie. Save them for if you decide to say no.”
“And if I say yes?”
“Then you live. And hopefully, you’ll be happy,” Rye said. “My brothers and I are men of our words. No harm will ever come to you as long as you care for our sister as we do. We plan to make this family estate a place to call home. You won’t be our captive. You won’t be our victim. That much we promise you.”
“But Kit must never know,” Jay warned. “And you trying to escape, or you doing anything but cook, clean, care for Kit, and somehow find a life on this property will land you in a shallow grave.”
“It’s a lot to take in,” Rye said. “We understand that.” He began to walk toward the door. “Which is why you have until tonight to decide. Kit will be here, and we won’t risk her seeing you unless you are full of smiles and hope.”
Smiles and hope.
Smiles and hope.
Were these men serious? How the fuck would I ever again manage to smile or to hope?
Without saying anything else, they both left the shed, closing the door firmly behind them.
Kit was a broken bird, they said.
I was a ghost in purgatory, they said.
Rebirth.
Rebirth.
“Wait!” I screamed. “Don’t leave me here! Come back!”
I waited, desperately hoping they wouldn’t make me wait and stew on my decision. I didn’t have a decision. I was a dead person. I was nothing but a shell with but one chance to survive by doing as they asked. I couldn’t fight these men. I couldn’t fight this new life. My decision was made for me, and I didn’t need to spend any more time in this woodshed to figure that out.
I sat there and listened but heard nothing. “Please!” I screamed. My body ached. I needed water, food, sleep, and my sanity to return. “Don’t fucking leave me here.”
As the door opened and a bright light flooded in, I knew.
I knew what I’d chosen.
Rebirth.
9
Goldie
I stood in the middle of the room, staring at the lace curtains and the floral wallpaper. Everything about the kidnapping had been a whirlwind. Despite having to accept there was no escape—not if I didn’t want to risk dying or harming Kit—I was still struggling to wrap my head around everything. Was I crazy? Had I really agreed to this? Well… it was either this or being used and abused and left to rot in some shallow grave.