Page 158 of Reaper and Ruin

I’d been waiting for this day. Known it was coming. “No,” I said again.

My father sighed. “Nyah Louise, I have been incredibly patient with you. I allowed you to run off and spread your wings because your mother wanted you to have that freedom. But playtime is over. I need you home.”

This man had never needed a woman for anything in his life, apart from to fuck or raise his children. Since I wouldn’t be doing either of those, there was only one other reason he would be summoning me home.

And I didn’t even have to wait for him to say it. “Your marriage has been arranged.”

I tried to breathe. But suddenly, I was back in that pit in Francine’s house, with the walls closing in on me, the air stale, no light or hope. “No.”

It was all I could whisper.

My father went on like I hadn’t even spoken. Like what I wanted didn’t even matter. It never had. This shouldn’t have been a surprise.

“You’ll leave now. Stand up and meet me in the parking lot. Everything has already been taken care of. Your things have all been packed and are already on their way back here.”

I jerked. “What? No.”

I was like a broken record, just repeating the same thing over and over. But nobody was coming to repair the scratch. I was about to be tossed in the garbage.

“You can’t make me.” I knew I sounded like a stubborn two-year-old, but I had no idea what else to say.

Violet kept shooting me little looks of worry in between watching the game, and I knew it was only a matter of time before Dax noticed too.

Dax.

I clutched his hand. He was everything that was good and sweet. Everything I wanted. When he talked about forever, in my heart, I was right there with him.

But my head knew that sort of future had never been possible. And now my father was on the other end of the line, reminding me of my place.

“Turn to your left, Nyah.”

My stomach sank, but I did as he said.

My father’s second-in-command sat barely ten seats away, in the row in front, staring up at me instead of at the game in front of him.

“Now to your right.”

I already knew who I’d see. My uncle raised one hand in greeting, like his presence there was no big deal.

And to most people it wasn’t. But to me, it might as well have been my death warrant.

“Look around you and you’ll see at least a dozen more of my men, princess.”

The hopelessness flooded in. Even with Whip and Levi just feet away, and knowing what they were capable of, I knew they were no match for my father and his men. If he’d brought them all, there would be no fighting back. Violet had her kids here. There were families all around us.

That wouldn’t matter to my father’s men. If they had to slaughter an entire arena to bring me home, that’s what they would do, and they wouldn’t lose a wink of sleep over it.

But I would.

I’d already felt the pain of losing a baby. I wouldn’t be the reason another mother lost hers.

“Say goodbye to your friends. Put on the show of your life, princess, because if they follow us, you will not like what happens.”

I found myself nodding, resigned, knowing there was nothing more I could do.

I’d left knowing this day would come.

I tried to memorize Dax’s features, the warmth of his skin, the kindness in his eyes. And I wished so much that my life could have been different.