“I’m not here to toast to you.” Bryce glances at Jude’s hold on me, then looks me in the eye. “What you said in my office—does it still hold?”
Confusion clouds my mind as I desperately try to remember exactly what I said. Didn’t he trample all over me and basically tell me to go fuck myself? “Well—”
“Yes or no?”
My mouth dries. I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true. “Yes. But—”
“Fine.” He raises his hand, palm up. “Let’s finish our talk.”
“Our talk…?”
“The favor.”
Shock snuffs all the thoughts in my head. I stare at his hand blankly for a moment, trying to decide if I’m hallucinating. He was so resolute and final when he had me dragged out of Huxley & Webber.
Bryce’s eyes remain as calm as a lake, but he cocks an eyebrow. Thesmall shift in his expression jolts me out of stupefaction.He won’t wait forever.
I don’t know what he’ll demand. Two million is a lot of money, and we never got around to discussing how I’d pay it back before he kicked me out. But…
My heart pounds so hard I feel half dazed, my body trembling. Bryce couldn’t possibly be any worse than Jude, could he? The memory of the two years of abuse and humiliation Jude heaped upon me is a weight that may never leave. And he hasn’t gotten any better since. Being with him will mean—
Dread clamps around my neck. I can’t be with him again, especially when I might have another option. Bryce might not be much better, but at least he isn’t an out-and-out sociopath. He might hate me, but at least he’ll try to be respectful in public. Jude loved to humiliate me in public. It stroked his ego, made him feel powerful and manly.
I lunge forward before Jude can react, flying down the aisle in my heels toward Bryce. Brilliant exultation flares in the depths of his eyes.
“You whore!” Jude spits. I can hear him running behind me, trying to catch up.
And then it all becomes too much. My knees buckle in mid-stride and I start to fall. Surprise flashes in Bryce’s eyes as he lunges forward, catching me and throwing me over a shoulder in one smooth motion.
Aaron takes a few steps forward. Some of the guests jump to their feet as well, seemingly ready to take action. But Aaron hesitates, obviously unwilling to put himself between Bryce and Jude. The guests look at each other, unsure what to do. Only Sherry breaks the tableau, counting her beads and chanting her mantra, her gaze fixed somewhere beyond the white cross on the wall.
“What thefuckare you doing?” Aaron shouts finally, his chest heaving.
“Sealing a deal and saving the family,” I say, but it’s anybody’s guess as to whether or not he hears me.
Bryce turns and starts walking out, but something tugs at my train.
“Stop!” Jude says. “She’s my woman!”
I lift my head and look at his distorted face, his eyes burning withunholy fury. I flip him the bird—something I’ve wanted to do for a long, long time. I’m not anybody’s woman, andespeciallynot his.
Bryce spins around. I grab his jacket and twist to see what’s about to happen between the two men.
“Put her down!” Jude snarls. “She’s mine—”
The rest ends in a high-pitched whimper as Bryce’s foot connects with his knee with a shudder-inducing crunch. I gasp with shock—and schadenfreude.
Jude’s face goes bright red, his eyes bulging. His mouth gapes open in a silent scream then closes as he clenches his jaw. Veins stand out on his temples as he clutches his knee with one hand, the other still grasping my train.
Bryce gathers some of the material in his own hand and yanks the train out of Jude’s grasp. He turns and starts to walk out with me still on his shoulder. “Might want to do something about your grip strength,” he says in a voice loud enough to carry through the entire chapel, “if you plan to use that hand for more than just jerking off.”
Chapter Two
Fiona
–two months earlier
The SoCal sky is an immaculate blue as the dark mahogany coffin with copper details is lowered into the ground. Only the best for my adoptive father, Zachary Oberman, even in death.
