Page 47 of Forgotten Sacrifice

He silently picks me up and tosses me over his shoulder, and I futilely thrash against the man. “Vince, stop!” I scream as he walks to the pit, turning around to where I’m looking death in the eyes. “Please,” I beg, clinging to the back of his shirt.

“Last warning. Do as I say, or I’m writingyouoff as bad debt. For good.”

A sob escapes my lips as he turns around and walks us back to the SUV.

I’m placed on my feet, and they immediately give out. Vince catches me before I fall, and I’ve never hated him more than I do in this moment.

We don’t speak on the ride “home,” and I toss Vince’s cheating devices on the coffee table.

“Luna,” he starts, but I refuse to make eye contact with the man as I storm to my room and slam the door.

I strip and take a shower, falling to the tile floor as I wrap my arms around myself—crying until the warm water runs cold.

There. Now that’s out of my system, it’s time to plan my next move. Vince thinks I’m oblivious, but after I came home from the boardwalk and he confronted me, I noticed his dick was hard. Figuring it was some kind of fluke, I was going to pretend I never saw it. That is, until I went to his room and heard him call my name while he was in the shower…

“What other kind of trouble can we get into?” Olivia wonders as we step out of the tattoo shop.

My phone buzzes in my purse. “Hold that thought.” Retrieving it, my new ink high whooshes out of me like a deflated birthday balloon.

Get your ass home NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“Oh, shit. I forgot I have chess practice this afternoon,” I lie. “I need to go.”

“Boo,” Olivia says. “Don’t you get a break on your birthday?”

“No rest for the weary.” Or the extorted.

On the drive back to Vince’s, Olivia prattles on, and I murmur, “That’s crazy,” here and there, but I’m not really listening. Instead,I’m going over my case with Vince. I wanted to celebrate my birthday, and the tutor was a complete bitch. I mean, does Vince expect me to be a chess robot devoid of any personal life? It’s fucking unreasonable, is what it is.

Having settled that in my mind, Olivia drops me off at the end of the street. I lean over and give her a hug. “Thanks for the fun day.”

“Of course. And I’ll see you at my birthday extravaganza.”

“Sure thing,” I say, realizing that’s probably not going to happen after today’s little field trip.

“Love you. Try not to get mugged on your way back,” she says in a rush as I close the passenger door.

I hurry to Vince’s house, unlocking the front door with my key. The man’s waiting on me, and he looks angrier than I’ve ever seen him. I close the door and start, “Vince?—”

“You know what bad debt is, piccola?”

Confused, I shake my head. “No?”

“Credit advanced to a debtor that is deemed unrecoverable. The debtor is unable to pay, or it’s not worth my time trying to collect, to name two examples. It’s a risk of operating on credit, sure, but when a debt becomes bad, I have to eat those losses. Do you know what happens to the debtor when I have to eat those losses?” His fury pins me in place.

“They die,” I whisper with a gulp.

“Mm-hum.” Vince advances while I backpedal, bumping into the door. He wraps his big hand around my throat, the vein in his forehead bulging. “Your debt is teetering dangerously close to the bad debt column.”

My eyes wide with fear, I reach up to pry his hand away.

“Take your dress off,” Vince orders.

“What?” I gasp.

“Don’t make me repeat myself.” He gives my neck a warning squeeze before releasing me, and I take in big gulps of air as I move my shaky hands and lift her dress up and over my head, clutching it to my chest. It’s deja vu, except this time, Vince has a wildnessabout him, like his cool and controlled facade is dangerously close to snapping.

Vince yanks my arms down by the wrists, his good eye taking in my string bikini top, and I couldn’t move right now, even if I wanted to.