I hesitate.
Uncle Rye.
I’m supposed to be her dad. She’s breaking character. Something in the way she says it puts my teeth on edge. And there’s a flatness to her voice. Like she’s in a daze.
“See, I’m okay, but I have a lot to do today, so I just wanted to call and tell you I’m fine. Okay?”
A man’s voice echoes in the background. I can’t make out what he says, but I don’t miss the second of fear flash on Elodie’s face.
“I have to go. Things are going well. Can you tell mom and dad I’m making it all happen for them. Tell them, okay? I need Dad to know, so he’ll be okay.”
“Wait—”
She clicks off before I can say anything else and the muscles down my back turn into knots.
CHAPTER 9
Rye
I’m in my Mercedes, not my brother’s fucking minivan. So when I see the security fence protecting that motherfucker’s house, I put my foot down instead of easing off.
The truck slams into the fence. Sparks fly as it’s torn from its setting. I think the front of my vehicle is wrecked, but I don’t give a shit.
I don’t ease off the accelerator until I squeal to a stop in front of the door, the door already opening.
And who should emerge?
The motherfucker I warned not to let her out of his sight.
He flinches back as I climb out of the car and take the steps two at a time.
“I tried to… I mean, I just figured out that she wasn’t acting right, and I went to her room but she wasn’t there! Mr. McAllister, you have to believe me, I didn’t know—”
“Know what?”
I grab him by the collar and he shrieks as I slam him into the doorframe. His mouth moves but no sound comes out.
“Fucking know what?”
He takes a moment to compose himself, and when he talks his voice comes out strangled, even though I’m not holding him that tight.
“I didn’t… I mean, she’s in the dance hall. She’s just doing everything she’s told.Everything. If you understand—”
I roar as I drop him, forgetting he even exists in an instant as I pound down the hall.
I don’t even know which way I’m going, but it’s like I’m a bloodhound on a scent as I sprint through hallways and rooms toward the back of the house.
I hear Patrykov’s voice before I get to them.
“This is the final test, Elodie. You’re doing great, and you want to be a dancer, don’t you? I can make that happen. All you have to do is prove how committed you are, how much you want this. Make me believe it, little girl, and I’ll make all your dreams come true. We are going to perform the Bella Figura. So, time for you to take your top off and dance your way over to me--”
“Motherfucker,” I roar as I slam into the door, not even bothering to try the handle. Hinges rip through wood, and it flies open with a crash, and as I take in the scene my vision turns red.
He’s seated in some gilded throne chair, his pants open as he waves for Elodie to come to him, a pillow on the floor between his feet.
She’s shaking her head and doesn’t even seem to have noticed me enter.
But he does.
