I peer up into the ocean-blue eyes that have been filling my dreams.
“Sam?”
He scoops me up into his arms, and my muscles relax. He’s like my human security blanket. I wrap my arms around his neck, nuzzling him.
“Your haircut is sexy, and you smell so good, Sammy. So, so good.”
Then my world goes black.
I’m slippingin and out of consciousness, but I’m aware of being inside a moving vehicle and one of my brothers shouting.
Is that Sterling? He sounds pissed.
No, it’s Duke.
Ahh, it might be Cash. Cash talks like that when he’s mad.
The moving vehicle is jerking me all around, but there’s still a warm body holding me close and smelling like pine needles and whiskey. My heart beats like a drum, but it’s too fast and uneven.
“Mmm, Sammy. You’re so sexy. I want you to tie me up again.” I’m rambling.
Am I dreaming?
When the car swerves, nausea overwhelms me, causing me to vomit. I empty my stomach on the floorboards, the thick smell of stomach acid making me feel even sicker.
“Shh, shh, baby. You’re okay,” I feel him whisper into my hair.
I wrap my arms around him tighter, holding on to him for dear life.
The shoutingof a voice I don’t recognize, along with bright, fluorescent lights burning my eyes, make me jerk awake. I scream for Sam.
When I don’t feel him holding me close anymore, I scream louder, crying and begging for them to find him. My heart is tripping inside my chest. I know I need to calm down. I can feel it beating in a way that isn’t right. It’s too fast and uneven. It’s faster than it’s ever been.
I cry harder, thrashing around as I’m whipped through the air. I feel like I’m floating in the clouds in a windstorm. I don’t know where I am. No one around me sounds or smells familiar.
Maybe I’m dying. I won’t get to see Birdie and Bonnie grow up.
At least I won’t die a virgin. Maybe Sam will miss me when I’m gone.
Maybe it was fated to be. Maybe the Redford women are just cursed to die too young.
31
SAM
Another punch to his shattered ribs doesn’t make me feel any better than the last one did. He’s strung up in my barn, his hands stretched out and tied above him to the fourteen-foot-high wooden rafters.
Duke and Holden are behind me, watching me deliver blow after blow. It’s not doing anything to soothe my rage.
“Why do you want to avenge Cain Dixon’s death? What’s your connection to him?” Holden steps up behind me, placing a hand on my shoulder to stop me.
I step away, wiping the sweat off my brow with my forearm. I don’t want to hear his whining excuses when he starts rambling.
“I wasn’t going to hurt her! We’ve been dating … I’m practically her boyfriend. I don’t know why you think I did anything!”
He starts crying, and I almost laugh at the string of bullshit he’s spewing.
“Shut the fuck up! I saw your face when she said his name. You know him. But if you don’t feel like talking, Sam here fights like a pit bull. He’ll keep hitting you just for fun.” He steps away, signaling that it’s my turn again.
