Page 16 of Saving Her

I know.

God, how I know.

And I’ll accept his violations without protest over the hell of being sent away from here. He can hurt me as much as he likes as long as I don’t have to step foot inside one of his brothels.

“Dad,” Cole warns. “I’m growing tired of the adolescent distractions from these women. Can’t we get the fuck out of here already?”

My heart stutters. Stops.

I don’t want a delayed sentence. Giving Luther more time to think is dangerous. I need him to react on instinct, not with well-thought-out deviance.

When Luther doesn’t respond, Cole huffs.

“Fine. We’ll leave.” He starts toward the doorway, murmuring something to Tobias along the way before he disappears down the hall.

I don’t drag my gaze from my tormentor. I don’t quit praying for him to strike. Not even when Luca’s intense stare remains potent in my periphery.

I ignore the jagged seed of hope he planted under my skin. I fight to claw myself back to stability as I blink the heat from my eyes.

Maybe if I hadn’t been here so long I could fall heavily into the fantasy of Luca being my savior. Back then I would’ve done anything,givenanything for a warrior to haul me out of this nightmare.

But I’ve learned the hard way that there’s no escape from this hell. And my reality is only cemented in place when Luca follows after Cole, leaving me alone with a little boy who betrayed me and a vicious man who I know is more disgusted in my show of weakness than my rebellion.

3

Penny

Luther didn’t hit me.

He did far worse. He left me kneeling on the cold tile, my thoughts in turmoil as he stormed from the kitchen.

I don’t know where he went. Chloe informed me that Chris drove them from the house. Cole and Luca included. But even with the distance between us, it took hours to steady my rampant pulse.

“What are you going to do?” Lilly snuggles in bed behind me, returning the comfort I gave her earlier in the day, while the other women remain in their beds. “He’s going to be horrible to you.”

“I’ll do what I’ve always done—be strong and fight back.”

I spent the entire day, and well into the night, berating myself for falling victim to something I’ve built walls against since my first days in this living nightmare. I never should’ve taken Luca’s bait. I’d thought I was immune to those types of taunts.

I’d thought my defenses held more strength.

“Where do you think they went?” Abigail asks from the bunk above. “They’ve been gone a long time.”

“It’s an event night.” I clutch my pillow close to my chest and try to lessen my self-pity with thoughts of all the women currently being violated to make Luther money. “He won’t be home until after midnight.”

I still have a few hours.

I tucked Tobias in bed earlier and collapsed onto mine within minutes. Tomorrow will be challenging and I want to be at the top of my game. Not that sleep feels likely to bless me tonight.

“Are you ready to tell us what happened?” Chloe positions herself up on one elbow from the farthest bottom bunk. “What did that man do?”

I sigh.

I should tell them the error of my ways. Make it a learning experience. But the wound is still raw.

I’m humiliated by the few seconds of hope Luca awakened.

And frightened over how susceptible my family made me.

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