Page 64 of Broken Princess
“At least I’m smart enough to get away with it,” he said with a nonchalant shrug, as if the body count he’d racked up was nothing more than a casual joke.
I narrowed my eyes again. “You won’t. Someone will figure out the truth eventually.”
“Like who?” Jamie asked, raising his brows. Before I could reply, he grinned and raised his palms, fingers spread out wide. “Wait, let me guess… some deluded little part of you still thinks Loganmight find you and help you. Am I right?”
“If anyone can, it’s him,” I murmured.
“No. A few days from now, he’ll start grieving your death without knowing any better. Eventually he’ll move on and marry someone else, and you’ll just be a sad footnote in his history. It’s pointless and stupid to think otherwise.” He rose to his feet and looked down at me. “Anyway, let’s stop talking about that. I need to discuss a few things with you.”
“Like what?”
He waved a hand around the room. “Our arrangement here. Obviously I have a life back in the city, so I can’t be with you as often as I’d like, but I want you to know that you’ll be fine here on your own. There’s enough food and water to keep you healthy whenever I’m gone, and there are enough books and movies to keep you from losing your mind out of boredom.”
“What’s stopping me from going out the window and running away?”
“Nothing. There are no locks anywhere here. But you won’t do it.”
I crossed my arms. “Are you kidding?”
“You can try, of course, but you won’t get far,” he said with a smug curl to his upper lip. “That’s not just a regular beach out there.”
My heart sank. “Are you saying we’re on an island?” I asked in a small voice.
“Yes,” he replied. “I suppose you could always try to swim away, but the nearest piece of land is a neighboring island thirty miles away, and the seas around here are rough and freezing. You’d be dead within minutes.”
“What if I’d rather die than be here?” I said stubbornly.
Jamie hooked a fingertip under my chin and slowly stroked it. “You’ve never seemed like the suicidal type, Willow. But if that’s something you might actually consider, then I’ll have to stop you from going outside after all. I’m sure I can barricade you in here for long enough to get some bolts installed, along with a nice little shock collar that will prevent you from straying too close to the water’s edge in case you manage to break a lock while I’m gone.”
I gulped and looked down.
“Are we clear?” Jamie asked, forcing my chin up again. “Are you going to keep yourself alive, or do I need to take extra measures?”
“I won’t kill myself,” I muttered.
“Good girl,” he said, lips curling upward again. “And speaking of good girls… when I’m here, I expect you to serve me like the good little girl I know you can be.”
“Not gonna happen,” I blurted out before I could stop myself.
He lunged forward and wrapped his hand around my throat, almost lifting me right off the bed. My eyes watered as I tried to pry his fingers off me to no avail. I kicked my legs out at him, hoping that would unbalance him enough to loosen his grip, but it didn’t work.
Finally, he let go. I slumped down and rubbed my throat, dragging painful gasps of air into my lungs as he stared down at me. “What happened to you, Willow?” he asked, eyes narrowed slightly. “You were being so good for me the other day, and now you’ve developed this attitude all over again. It’s a real shame.”
“You didn’t break me in that mansion,” I said, fixing him with a fevered stare. “I only thought you did because you were torturing me, but I won’t let it happen again. You can do whatever you want to me. Choke me. Hit me. I’ll still never do anything for you willingly.”
“You will.”
“No. You’ll always have to force me.”
He sighed. “All women break in the end. It just takes the right push from the right man.”
“You aren’t the right man for me, Jamie,” I said in a ragged whisper.
“You say that now, but you unintentionally gave me a weapon that night at the White House,” he replied. “Do you remember our conversation in the bathroom?”
“I think so.”
“So you remember opening up to me about how awful Logan used to be. How he used to make you do things by threatening your little brother’s life.”
