“She’s a bastard,” he called out. “One of my many. What makes you think marrying her gives you any power over me? You know I don’t give a shit about her.”
We stopped, and I turned my head over my shoulder, my eyes instantly locking on Banks.
She stood unmoving, staring at the desktop in front of her. Instinct told me to take her out of here right now. Take her home, and make sure she never had to hear anything like that again.
But she’d made her choices.
“You may not,” I replied, “but Damon does. He cares about her very much, doesn’t he? You could be dead in five years, but I’ll have your son—and sole heir—exactly where I want him.” I met Banks’s eyes. “If I have her.”
He took something I loved today. Now I take what he loves.
Banks
Present
Kai left the room, followed by Will and Michael, and the office fell silent until we heard the dull thud of the front door slamming shut.
Then my father launched out of his chair, swung around, and grabbed me with one hand, squeezing my jaw.
I gasped as his fingers dug in.
“I wish I could kill you,” he bit out, getting in my face. “I would snap your fucking neck in a second if I didn’t know that piece-of-shit son of mine would lose his little temper and do something stupid.”
He shoved me away, and I fell into David, who grabbed me before I fell and righted me.
“Make sure he gets her used,” he told David.
My breath shook. “What?”
But he didn’t answer me. He swung around the desk and charged out of the room, leaving me alone with the guys.
I pulled away from David and scurried off to the side, putting everyone in front of me. What the hell did he mean?
One of the young guys, McCandless, moved toward me slowly, a smile in his blue eyes.
But Ilia stepped up from the other side, putting a hand on his chest, stopping him.
A moment of relief hit me. I could take on one, but I couldn’t take them all. David, Lev, and Ilia wouldn’t hurt me.
But then Ilia’s icy blue eyes turned toward me, and he moved, taking off his jacket. “I’ve wanted this for a long time,” he said, tossing his jacket on my father’s desk.
My stomach sank to my feet, and my mouth fell open. God, I was going to throw up.
Combing a hand through his blond hair, he reached out and grabbed me, pulling me into his body.
I growled, twisting away, shoving him, and bolting. I ran for the door, but the two guards were there, and Ilia grabbed my jacket from behind, hauling me back and throwing me to the ground.
“Ah!” I cried out, pain shooting up my back, but I quickly flipped over and scrambled away.
The patio doors were there. It was only late afternoon, but it was getting dark. I could lose them in the forest.
Something caught my ankle, though, and pulled me back. I dug my nails into the hardwood floor, trying to get my knees under me to push off, but his weight crushed down, and I was panting for air as my lungs constricted.
My jacket, only secured with buttons, was ripped off me from behind, and hair hung in my face, my hat having fallen off at some point.
I looked around for David and Lev, not able to get my head up very far, but I couldn’t see them. Where were they? They wouldn’t let this happen, would they?
I squeezed my eyes shut, shaking with a silent sob I refused to let out.