“Fitch, take the whore back to Lucky’s room. If he doesn’t want her, call Demon,” Douglas growls.
“You said I’d get my freedom. I did everything you told me to do,” I tell him. I’m not above begging at this point.
“And you will,” he says again, his voice soft like he’s talking to a favorite pet—a dog that worships him and he trains to accept the evil he doles out for just a pat on the head and scraps from his table. “Eventually,” he adds with a sinister look that instantly sends chills through me.
Fitch pulls me away from my brother and I stiffen my back and walk out easily, with my head held up. I don’t want him to think he’s broken me. He hasn’t.
End Flashback
If only I had known what was waiting for me …
7 ARWEN
“Are you okay, Livy?” I ask Olivia when she begins to zone out. There’s this habit that she’s trained herself to do. It’s a fight-or-flight instinct—only for her, flight is all that matters. She retreats completely into herself to escape. Some days it’s almost impossible to drag her out.
“I think she saw a ghost,” the man in front of me laughs.
My gaze moves to the man in front of me, and I know that this must be Bear’s brother. Olivia has spent hours with me in therapy, talking to me about the two brothers—both of whom carried pieces of her heart at one time. Beside him is some woman who looks more like she’s dressed for a high-end brothel than a graveside service.
“Is there some reason you’re here, Mr. Aetos?” I question him while rubbing circles on Olivia’s back, trying to get her to snap out of whatever dark hole she’s found refuge in this time.
“I’m here to pay my respects.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s the furthest thing from your mind. I think it would be better if you just leave.”
“You can’t tell us what to do. My man practically owns this town, bitch.”
“Odd, for a man who owns a town, I’d think he’d find a better class of woman to be on his side.”
“Are you thinking of throwing your application in?” he purrs, his gaze roving over my body lazily.
“Blade!” the woman screeches. He seems to ignore her.
“He belongs to me,” she huffs at me when she fails to get a response from him.
“You should tell him that. I don’t really care,” I answer truthfully. I put both hands on Olivia’s face because I can sense she’s slipping away. Her whole body is trembling. There are tears sliding down her cheeks. She hasn’t had a panic attack this large in a while.
“What’s wrong with her?” Blade asks. He almost sounds concerned, but I don’t turn around to see.
“She’s freaking out,” the woman laughs. “Stupid bitch can’t handle seeing me and you happy together, Blade,” the girl says in her nasally voice.
“Livy, breathe slowly. In. Out. In. Out,” I demand slowly, keeping my voice steady, calm and monotone. I keep her eyes focused on me. “You’re safe here. Safe. Do you hear me?”
Tears slide from her eyes as she inhales, trying to control her crying. “Winnie,” she whimpers.
“That’s it. You’re coming back. Remember what we learned. Count with me, okay?”
“K,” Olivia says, gasping for breath, her entire body still vibrating with terror as she fights her fear.
“Ten.” I wait, and in a second, she repeats the number. “Nine.” We do this over and over until we count down to one. Olivia stares at me a moment and then holds her head down. I move my hands from her cheeks to her hands and interlock my fingers with hers. “It’s okay, Livy. You’re okay.”
“It hasn’t been this bad in a while,” she whispers, and I know she’s zoned out to the point she doesn’t remember Blade is standing just a couple of feet away. Although, to his credit, he’s backed further away from us. Maybe he’s not a complete asshole. As a therapist, I try not to judge him, since what he and Olivia have both been through is scarring, to say the least. In Olivia’s case, the scars are inside and out.
“Cool show you just put on,” Blade butts in, just as I was starting to give him credit.
I feel Olivia tense as she squeezes my fingers to the point of pain. I just keep eye contact, mentally imploring her to stand strong. It has taken a year of therapy to get where we are now. She’s still fragile, and that’s the one reason I was hoping she would think about moving to Black Stone Ranch. I know Carson would keep her safe from her brother. He’s also very adept at dealing with PTSD and POWs in general. Olivia may not have been in the military, but what she survived was brutal and soul-destroying just the same. I’m still hopeful I can talk her into it, but I can only do so much.
“Why are you here?” Olivia asks, keeping hold of my hands, but looking up at him like the warrior she is—even if she doesn’t feel like it.
