A few hours later, they all climbed down from a carriage in front of a mid-sized country manor.Samantha’s breathing was shaky as she stared at the dark house.She must be absolutely terrified seeing it again.It was a house of horrors for her.
“We can still turn around and leave.You don’t have to do this.”
She shook her head.“I want to.I need to know why.”
He offered his hand.She gripped it as if she was hanging from the edge of a cliff, and he was the only thing keeping her from falling.
“We’re not breaking down the door this time, Brennan,” Allister said quietly.
Brennan merely held up his hands.
Allister had the door open in but a moment.Not his first time picking a lock, then.Probably not his first time pickingthatlock.
Once they were inside, he gestured for them to wait and disappeared up a flight of stairs while Brennan began lighting lamps.From down the hall, Allister’s voice was just audible.
“Good evening, Norman.”
A moment later, the man limped and struggled as Allister forced him down the stairs in his pajamas.When he was four steps up, Brennan grabbed the front of his shirt and yanked him down to the bottom with a yelp.
“I’ve already told you all the names I know, Allister.”
But then his gaze landed on Samantha, his eyes roving over her from head to toe and back again.His lip curled in disgust.“You cut your pretty hair.That’s a shame.No one will want you now.”
Samantha inhaled a quick breath and pressed herself against Trent’s side.
“You’re safe,” he reminded her, even as anger boiled in his belly.
Allister’s razor was against the man’s throat.“She isn’t here for you to look at,” he growled.“The next time you remark on her appearance, I’ll remove both of your eyes.”
“Easy, Allister,” Trent warned.He squeezed Samantha’s hand.“I know he’s scary, but you’re strong, and you’re not alone.”
She squeezed him back and briefly pressed her cheek against his bicep.
Allister removed his razor from the man’s throat.“Kneel.”
“I can’t, thanks to you.”
Brennan snatched the man’s cane and slammed it against the back of his legs, forcing him to his knees with a howl of pain.
Allister gave him a nod of approval.
“He’s all yours, Samantha.”
Trent wrapped cloth around each of her hands.“Remember your form,” he whispered.
She looked up at him with just a hint of a nervous smile growing before she nodded.“Thank you.”
Letting go of his hand, she took one step toward Norman.
“That’s the hardest step,” Trent said quietly, “and you’ve already conquered it.”
She straightened her spine and nodded once more.
“You’re a horrible man, Norman.A horrible, wicked, evil man.”He sneered at her, but she curled her right hand into a first and slammed it into his face.
His head rocked back.Perhaps more from shock than actual force, but it knocked off his sneer.He was stunned.
And then she did it again.
