Page 34 of Their Stolen Obsession

Phoenix answered, “Goddamn positive. No one has seen Chamberlain for weeks.”

Sebastian. My no-good idiot-to-be. The man who abused me, used me, and threatened my life along with my parents.

I saw Sebastian right before our wedding day. A moment I wouldn’t forget until he was dead, rotting in the ground. My mind might fog, but I’d never forget, and I regretted choosing to stay with him whenI should’ve fucking run.

“What the hell are we going to do?” Preston asked, a hand running down his face.

Phoenix shrugged his shoulders. “Fuck if I know.”

The floor creaked below my feet. Shit. Preston saw me and he slowly stood.

“Well, well, well… Look who has joined the party.” Preston grinned as he put out his smoke and pressed down his black dress shirt.

Preston walked toward me and pushed up his sleeves. A gold chain dangled from his neck. A pit bull came out from under the desk and anxiety crept over me. I had PTSD from the last time I laid eyes on one of his mutts, and my arm still hurt from the bite. The dog growled at me, salivating from the mouth. One word out of Preston to attack, and I was as good as dead. I better behave, or this could be the end.

“Not of my own free will,” I said.

Phoenix laughed. The sound was uglier than anything I had ever heard after experiencing what he does to women without their permission. He deserved a slow, painful death, and Knoxlee had every right to watch. A chill ran down my spine at the vengeance she’d experience.

Preston pet his dog on the head and the animal sat. The growl stopped and the savage beast licked its jaws. Saliva fell to the floor. I gulped down the lump in my throat and Zane remained silent. Phoenix leftthe side of the desk and came in our direction. His chin tilted downward and his eyes hooded as he ambled leisurely.

“We need to have a discussion,” Preston said as he snapped at his brother.

Before I could think, Phoenix had a knife at my jugular. The blade nicked my tender flesh, and I yelped at the instant pain. I felt blood trickle from the wound, prompting me into action and grabbing his forearm. Every inch of me tried to fight back, but there wasn’t much I could do.

I’d either have my neck slit, a pit bull eat me alive, Zane shoot me in the head, or Preston watch me burn. I was completely at these monsters’ mercy, hoping to escape this room with my life and go back to the cage they kept me locked in, where I’d wait for my phantoms to save me.

“Please. Please don’t kill me,” I pleaded, unable to stop the tears in my eyes.

No matter how hard I wanted to be a tough chick, fear consumed me.

“Then talk, bitch!” Phoenix whisper-shouted at me as he shook me, and I trembled. “Where is your beloved hubby-to-be?”

Snot dripped from my nostrils, and I cried, “I don’t know! How would I when I’m locked up in here? You kidnapped me! Remember?”

“How could we forget?” Preston took one step forward and sniffed me. “You’ve been stinking up the place with your awful stench.”

I laughed like a crazy person who had lost my mind. “Good! At least you know I’m still here.”

The knife pressed further into my neck, cutting off my hysterics. Perspiration coated my forehead and dribbled down into my eyes. The sting from the sweat made me blink, but I couldn’t keep them shut. I had to watch the enemy.

Phoenix whispered hoarsely, “We think Sebastian is dead.”

What?

No. Sebastian wasn’t dead. These assholes had lost their heads.

Wait.

Had Sin or Saint killed him?

No. My phantoms wouldn’t do that because I had given them a strict order not to end his life. They listened to me but were insane. Maybe those fuckers had decided otherwise. Sebastian had disappeared without a trace and those damn men had sealed my death warrant. Shit! I needed to buy some time.

“Sebastian probably went on a vacation and is screwing one of his whores,” I said.

The brothers laughed in unison.

Preston pointed at me. “And you were going to marry that scum? Pretty fucking desperate, if you ask me.”