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“No,” I said, not even having to think about my answer.

“So you do hold the control, stop pretending like you don't.”

“You want to get out?” I asked, slowing the car down and pulling over into the thin breakdown lane. “Go, get out.”

Snapping her eyes in my direction, her jaw crooked. “Right here? But we're in the middle of nowhere, in the fucking mountains.”

“But you want to get out, so go.” Leaning across her, I popped open her door. “There, get the fuck out.”

“Virgo will kill you if you set me free.”

“I'm not afraid of that man, no matter how much you might be.” Giving her a light push against her shoulder, I said, “So go, get the fuck out. You want out, I'm letting you out.”

Looking around in the blackness, Berlin's muscles loosened as she closed the door. “Just drive, I'd fucking freeze to death out there.”

“I'm glad to see your common sense is still in tact.”

Hitting the gas, I pulled back onto the road and drove towards my hotel. I didn't say anything else, there was no need to. I could see her submitting to the idea that she was going wherever the hell I was taking her. Even if she hated the thought.

She looked so small, so frail, as if she would break apart with a big gust of wind. I could see the small bones on her wrists and the thin veins spidering across the back of her palms. Her skin was the color of white hot ash, as if she hadn't seen the sun in years.

Because she hasn't. She hasn't had that luxury.

But within that cracked exterior, I could see the woman who lived inside. She was strong, bold, a fighter inside and out. She wouldn't be alive if she wasn't.

There were certain things that even the worst person couldn't take from someone they were trying to tear apart. And for her, it was everything that Virgo could never reach.

I thought maybe that was why he held onto her so tightly, because she fought like no one else ever had. She refused to give him all of herself, holding on to those pieces that he couldn't touch, or beat, or carve away.

“We're here,” I said, parking the car and turning off the engine. “Let's go.” Climbing out, I shut the door and stood at the front of the car, waiting for her to come to my side.

Berlin watched me for a second through the windshield, then folded her arms across her chest and turned her head away, looking out into the dark parking lot.

Are you fucking kidding me?

Letting out an annoyed breath, I stalked to her door and tore it open. “Get out.”

Twisting her face in the opposite direction, she hugged herself tighter. Her silence returned as if that would save her from me. It wouldn't.

“Fine,” I said, leaning in across her body to unbuckle her myself. “I'll fucking carry your ass out then.”

Her hands feverishly tried to keep the buckle clicked securely in place, as she pulled her knees into her chest, trying to push me away with her legs.

“Stop acting like a fucking child and get out of the damn car.” Grabbing her knees, I forced them down, holding them in place. Using my free hand, I drove it into the crook of her hip and the seat and tore the buckle from its holster.

I wasn't going to deal with this nonsense, bullshit, stupid fucking hissy-fit she was throwing. Some men might just give up, some might strike her until she's unconscious and can't fight for herself. I was not that man.

But that didn't mean I wasn't going to take what wanted.

She was mine for the night, no matter how much she hated the idea.

Flailing her arms, Berlin was grunting and growling as she slapped aimlessly at my body. I could feel her hitting me, a smack to the side of the head, a whack to the shoulder, a slap to my chest. But I didn't stop.

Wrapping my arms around her body, I ripped her from the car, throwing her over my shoulder and slamming the door shut with my foot.

Her beating was relentless. She punched with her small fists, kicking her legs and bucking her body. But still she stayed silent.

She didn't scream for help. She didn't call out for someone to dial the police. It was like she had been so brainwashed into thinking that no one would ever come to her rescue, that the words didn't exist in her head.