“You gave me a week to leave,” I stammer, backing away.
“And you chose to spend that time with the family pet.” He advances like a panther closing in on its prey.
My back hits a tree trunk. Rough bark digs into my shoulders through the dress’s delicate fabric. Rochester’s dark eyes drop to my throat. When his lips curve in a sadistic smile, my breath slows to a stutter.
I’m trapped.
“Interesting marks around your neck. Care to explain?”
My free hand flies to cover the bruises. I tighten my grip on the knife with the other. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Rochester throws back his head and laughs. It’s a cruel, vicious sound that sets my teeth on edge. “Oh, this is priceless. Did my simple-minded brother finally get laid?”
I bristle. He’s talking about Rowland like he’s defective. Like what we shared was a pity fuck.
“What do you mean?” I snap.
He flashes his teeth. “Rowland was unusually spirited. He fought me like a man protecting something precious.”
My breath stills. My eyes sting with tears. This monster has my Rowland. Before I can stop myself, I blurt, “Where is he?”
“You’ll be reunited soon enough.”
He shoots out a hand, grabs my throat with an iron grip, and slams me back into the tree trunk. Pain explodes across the base of my skull, making my vision go white. I clench my teeth, forcing myself to fight back. My hand shoots up with the knife, but he’s faster. His hand clamps around my wrist and twists hard, jerking my arm off course.
“Are you flirting with me, Miss Burlington? Bad girls who play with toys without my permission get punished.”
He squeezes my fingers, grinding the bones until the knife falls loose and hits the ground with a thud. I cry out as he drags me through the orchard toward that cottage.
“Let go of me, you psycho?—”
“I know what you did in my study. Did you really think I wouldn’t notice the stench of your little tryst? Did you think I’d leave an insult like that unpunished?”
We reach the cottage, its windows gaping like dead eyes. With a roar, he kicks open the door and shoves me inside. I stumble into the dark room, my hands flying for balance, and crash into the table. A lantern I noticed days ago knocks to the side, spilling oil across the wood.
Rochester closes the door, encasing us in the semidarkness. Moonlight streams in through the filthywindows, illuminating his monstrous silhouette. After securing the lock, he turns toward me, and bares his teeth.
Terror kicks me in the gut. He’s walking over the graves of all those women he lured to this accursed house, worked half to death and then murdered. Did he add Rowland to the list of corpses?
He takes a slow step forward, his feet creaking on the rotted floorboards. I stagger backward, using the table as a barrier.
“Tell me something, Miss Burlington. What was it like to fuck an animal? How did it feel to take pleasure from a man who spent years writhing in his own filth?”
Rage explodes in my chest, white-hot and consuming. I snatch the nearest thing off the table. It’s cool and round, like a snow globe. I don’t dare drop my gaze to check.
“I thought even you would have better taste after all that salivating you did over me,” he says, his voice lilting with amusement. “Or did my rejection drive you into the arms of my drooling brother?”
“Rowland is twice the man you could ever be,” I yell.
His eyes flash with something inhuman. “That whimpering stray I kept alive out of boredom?”
“At least he’s not a child-killing psychopath.”
Rochester’s mask slips, his features twisting with contempt. He glares at me from across the shack like I’m filth. “Careful, Miss Burlington. You’re in no position to make accusations.”
But I’m beyond caring. This sadistic bastard has done something to Rowland, and I won’t give into fear. Not when the only man who ever treated me like I was precious is locked away, suffering.
Rochester crosses the room, stopping closeenough that I can smell his expensive cologne. I cringe into the wall, wishing I could sink through the bricks.
