Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 134133 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 671(@200wpm)___ 537(@250wpm)___ 447(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134133 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 671(@200wpm)___ 537(@250wpm)___ 447(@300wpm)
My skin is as pale as parchment, my eyes as wide as saucers.
“If you play ball, you’ll have a nice life. You’re not the kind of girl I would have picked out for Silvan, but I don’t have a problem with you. I’ll accept you if you’re what he wants. Who my son loves is of little consequence to me as long as she’s not too much of a troublemaker. But you’ll have to learn the art of compromising. Maybe Silvan’s methods in capturing your attention have been a little unconventional, but his motives are pure. He’s utterly infatuated with you. Will it last? I can’t say for sure, but I’d put my money on yes. I love my wife more today than I did the day I married her, and I already loved her an awful lot. The men in my family tend to be laser-focused, and while Silvan is a touch more impulsive than the rest of us, he’s not fickle. He’s also still young. He might grow out of it. If he grows out of you, then we’ll take good care of you, set you up with your own place, a job you enjoy, and a nice little nest egg. But if he remains determined to keep you, then he will, and if you prove more trouble than you’re worth, I will personally see to it that you are jettisoned from all our lives—permanently. Silvan will be crushed, of course, but debutantes prettier and more obedient than you will line up down the street waiting for their turn to make him feel better. I promise you, he will eventually recover.”
My jaw is on the floor when his steely gaze meets mine.
“Consider your choices, Sophie. You could do much worse than someone who’s willing to do absolutely anything to keep you. Most of the people you’ll call friends in your lifetime won’t care about you at all. When you find the ones that truly do, hold on to them, even if they aren’t perfect.”
I don’t speak. I don’t think I can. In the last few minutes, this man has just admitted to murder and other atrocities, threatened me with murder and those other atrocities, and essentially demanded that I accept his son—or else.
I can scarcely breathe.
“So, will you play ball, Sophie?”
I nod my head.
Is there any other answer?
He smiles. “Good.” He stands, pushing back his chair and moving around the desk.
On instinct, I back away from him.
His smile transforms into a smirk that reminds me a bit of Silvan, but a much, much meaner Silvan. “You don’t have to be afraid of me, Sophie. As long as you make my son happy, you’re part of my family. I won’t hurt you unless you give me a reason to. Your destiny is really in your own hands.” He meets my gaze. “Everybody serves a master whether they realize it or not. At least you know who yours is.”
I gasp softly when he drapes an arm around my shoulders. My leg muscles feel wobbly when he leads me toward the door.
It’s like I’m not in control of my own body. Someone else is walking. I can’t even feel the weight of his arm around me, but I can see it as if I’m floating outside myself.
I think maybe I’m in shock.
This is reminiscent of how I felt the night I left Dylan.
This assault was a lot different than that one.
Richard opens the door and Silvan is waiting anxiously outside. His gaze darts to his father’s arm around my shoulder and confusion flickers across his face. Richard releases me and heads back to his wife’s side, sliding an arm around her waist.
Silvan grabs my face and searches it. “Are you all right? You look pale.”
I nod, but I still can’t speak.
“She’s fine,” Richard says, his tone even like nothing is amiss.
I want to rally and pretend the same thing, I just can’t. I’ve reached capacity for what I can endure tonight, and I just want to climb into bed and sleep it off.
“Sophie’s part of the family now,” he says easily. “As long as she’s with you, anyway. Had to give her a formal welcome.”
Silvan slides his father a look to let him know he’s displeased as he curls an arm protectively around me. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
I’m more than happy to leave.
Richard and Melanie follow us out. The sight of Hugh standing outside the limo pierces the fog and relief slips in through the pinprick hole.
A noise from somewhere off to our left destroys it. Especially when I look and it’s not an animal or my imagination. Two hulking, shady-looking men stand in the shadows.
I grab Silvan’s arm and his gaze snaps in that direction to see what’s startled me.
His hand finds the small of my back and he pushes me toward the car. “It’s all right,” he murmurs lowly. “They work for my dad.”