Page 60 of Tainted Truth

My eyes bug open, and I finally let out the scream lodged in my throat as Anthony grips my hands and drags me out from under the bed.

He grabs my hair at the crown of my head and lifts me to my feet. I hold on to his wrist in an attempt to ease some of the pain radiating across my scalp.

“You shouldn’t have run,” Anthony spits in my face.

“No! Let go!” I get my feet under me and kick in the one spot I know will hurt him the most—right between his legs. Anthony groans and falls to his knees, freeing my hair.

With Anthony blocking the doorway, I turn and run for the window, my only escape. I’m sure I can jump in a way that won’t injure me too badly.

I wrench open the window as rainwater flows onto the carpet. Bracing my hands on either side of the sill, I step up.

But before I can make it out, a hand snags my foot and pulls me backward. My legs slip out from under me, and my head crashes into the glass. Bile rises in my throat as the room spins. Blood slides down my cheek from the top of my head.

Anthony grips my hair again. “Now look what you did! You’re a mess!” He turns with his hand still in my hair and drags me out of our room.

“You’re hurting me,” I whimper as tears roll down my face. “Please stop.”

“There’s the little troublemaker.” Pierce’s smile is too wide when he sees me at the top of the stairs. He’s waiting at the bottom next to the buffet table that sits behind the couch.

I trip as Anthony forces me down the steps, but he doesn’t stop to allow me to right myself. Instead, he drags me by my hair the rest of the way, and I cry out harder.

“Please, honey. It hurts.”

Anthony doesn’t even spare me a glance. “Good. Let this be a lesson.” He drags me right by Pierce and into the kitchen. My scalp is on fire as he holds on firmly to my hair. I couldn’t stop the tears even if I wanted to.

His hold loosens and he throws my head at the tile like I’m nothing more than a ball that will bounce right back up. But I don’t bounce back. My head meets the ceramic tile with a crash, and I see stars. My vision threatens to go black, but I fight to stay conscious.

“P-please don’t hurt me. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“Old Henry said the same thing, but he wasn’t really sorry.” Pierce looms over me.

I scramble back in a crab walk until I hit the front of the oven.

“Spencer, Spencer. What am I going to do with you now?” Anthony has his gun out now and waves it around.

My sob brings his focus back to me on the floor. He casually saunters over to me and crouches down so he’s at eye level with me. “If you weren’t my Flower, I’d kill you right here. Right now.”

He uses the barrel of his gun to move hair that had fallen in my face. I freeze when I feel the cold metal drag across my skin. “You need to learn your place. Over the last few years, I let you roam and be free. I let your petals dance in the wind. But the time has come to understand that your place is at my side, andbeing by my side means I’m in charge. You do what I say, when I say.”

My mouth goes dry, but I still force the words out. “Okay. I will. I promise. I won’t say anything.”

“Not good enough, Flower.” He shakes his head at me and scratches his forehead with the barrel. “What were you doing in my office?”

He aims the gun at my head, and I struggle to turn my thoughts into words. All I’m able to do is stare at the small black hole in the center.

“I would answer his question, Flower.” Pierce flourishes his gun to the side. He looks way too happy watching the scene in front of him.

“You don’t call her that!”

Pierce holds his hands out in a placating gesture. “No problem, man. Just you.”

My mouth flops open and closed. “I was coming to tell you dinner is ready.” Snot mixes with my tears.

Anthony stares me down like he’s trying to find the lie. But there’s no lie. If he would just look in the oven, he’d find the lasagna where I left it to keep warm.

“I swear. I made your favorite.”

“Just like a good little wife.” Pierce laughs.

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