The Brink by Shayla Black

Dawn broke over the San Gabriel Mountains in the distance as Hammer pulled into Shadows’ parking lot, now choked with police cars. Plainclothes officers gathered evidence. The camera’s constant flash reflected off Raine’s little compact like strobes. The driver’s side door still hung open—a stark reminder that he’d failed to protect her from Bill after all these years.

Hammer remembered the day he’d given her the keys. He could still hear her squeal of excitement, see delight twinkle in her blue eyes. The memory only deepened his guilt. Desperation tore his heart from his chest. Fear made every anxious second feel like a century because he knew if Bill wasn’t waiting around for his money, he’d chosen to end their cat-and-mouse game. He’d want maximum pleasure out of the pain he inflicted—on both Hammer and Raine.

Bill would probably torture her unspeakably and kill her.

Hammer dragged in a shuddering breath, trying to hold himself together and hang on to hope that somehow, some way he’d find Raine alive.

“Bloody hell,” Liam complained. “The car park is a circus. We don’t have time for this.”

Beck snorted. “Just wait until the reporters show up.”

With a curse, Hammer stopped the car and killed the engine. “Reporters don’t give a shit about anonymity. If you need to get out of here, go.”

Beck shrugged. “I’m done caring about being outed. If my vanilla patients don’t want a kink doctor, fuck them. I’m not leaving until we find Raine.”

“I thought you were supposed to be in surgery. Isn’t that why we left the lodge?” Liam asked with a puzzled expression.

Hammer hadn’t thought to ask. He’d been too busy worrying about Raine.

“After I left you at the emergency room, I got a call from the head of the harvesting team. The donor died, but when they retrieved the heart, it was wasted. So my patient is back on the waiting list again,” Beck explained. “I sure as fuck wasn’t staying in my condo with your ex. Shadows was closer than my house, so I crashed here.”

A hard tap at the window made Hammer jerk in his seat. An officer wearing a scowl bent to peer into the car. “You’ll have to leave. This is a crime scene.”

Hammer wasn’t in the mood to deal with bureaucracy. Opening the door, he stepped out. Instinctively, the cop snapped back and put a palm on his revolver.

“Easy,” Hammer soothed. “I’m the owner of this club. These men are with me.”

Liam and Beck climbed out of the car and flanked him.

As they stood shoulder to shoulder, the officer eyed them. “I need to see some ID from all of you. Where have you been?”

I can’t afford to placate you, fucker.

“Breakfast meeting,” he replied curtly, digging into his wallet.

“Mr. Hammerman,” a familiar voice in a uniform called out as he approached the group. Macen bit back a smile when he spotted Dean Gorman, a fellow Dom and member of Shadows. “Hey, I haven’t seen you since the Policeman’s Ball.”

Dean extended his hand, and Hammer shook it, feeling a bit of relief. “Glad you’re here, Sergeant. I was just explaining to your cohort that I own this club.”

“I’ve got this,” Dean dismissed the other officer, who grunted and walked away.

The sergeant turned to make sure his fellow cop was out of earshot. “I’m sorry to hear about Raine. Bill Kendall is her dad?”

“’Fraid so,” Hammer answered. “Do you have any leads on him?”

“No.” Dean sighed. “A couple of units left Kendall’s house a few minutes ago. They said the place was a pigsty and should be condemned.”

He knew that but played dumb so he didn’t put Dean in the awkward position of keeping his B and E a secret. “And they didn’t find anyone?”

“Kendall’s clothes are gone, so the assumption is he’s skipped town and taken Raine with him.”

“Maybe, but that monster has been itching to get his hands on her for years. I don’t think he’d put off whatever he had planned to flee the city. My guess is, he’ll stash her somewhere close but isolated where he can hurt her or…” Fuck. Saying the words stabbed Hammer with terror. “Maybe even kill her. Then he’ll leave.”

Dean winced. “I told the detectives that Raine is a family friend. They issued a BOLO for Kendall, his truck, the van, and Raine. Since everyone in my precinct now knows this is personal for me, they’re not wasting a moment.”

Hammer knew with every second that ticked by, the odds of finding a kidnap victim alive dropped exponentially. A thick lump of panic lodged in his throat. He couldn’t speak. All he could do was nod in appreciation for Dean’s help.

“Thank you.” Liam gripped the officer’s shoulder with a grateful squeeze.

“No worries.” Dean glanced between Hammer and Liam as if he wondered which one of them she belonged to now. “She’s irreplaceable to a lot of us. Shadows isn’t our kinky home without her. Hang in there. We’re doing all we can.”

Please let her be alive. I can’t lose her now.

Struggling to maintain his composure, Hammer stared at the cops still examining the crime scene. He wanted to rail at them to find Raine faster.

Then Macen saw two big television vans pull to the curb and clenched his jaw. “The vultures have landed. Let’s get inside.”

When they entered the club, the few members who’d been sleeping in the new rooms on the other side of the club were awake and looking shell-shocked as they gave statements to a pair of detectives. Hammer made a mental note to stress the importance of guarding his members’ identities.

Scrubbing a hand through his hair, he spotted Seth at the bar, nursing a bottle of water and looking desolate. Before Hammer headed over, Dean and one of the detectives intercepted him.

Hammer directed them to his office, then spent the next thirty minutes answering questions about Raine and Bill. He tiptoed around the fact that he’d bribed Kendall to stay away from her. To prove the urgency of the case, Hammer showed the man pictures of a beaten and bruised Raine as a teenager. After that, the detective radiated fury.

Then Hammer joined Liam, Beck, and Seth at the bar, hoping to God something broke soon.

“How did the inquisition go?” Liam asked, nervously tapping his fingers.

“It was tedious but necessary.” Hammer took a seat next to him.

Liam gave him a sympathetic stare. “What did you tell him?”

“Everything I could without explaining the ‘contact’ Bill and I have had over the years,” Hammer replied bitterly. “I didn’t want to give them any reason to look at me as a suspect. It would only waste time.”

On his right, a couple who had joined the club after moving to Los Angeles a few months ago stepped up beside him. Submissive Vivian placed several steaming mugs of coffee on the bar under her Dominant’s watchful eye.

“Our hearts are breaking for what’s happened to Raine, Sirs,” Vivian offered. “If there’s anything Master Donald and I can do for you, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

Hammer forced a tender smile for the older couple. They were a genuinely warm-hearted pair whose children were grown and gone. Donald often took on the role of DM when Hammer found himself shorthanded, and Vivian watched over the unattached subs like a mother hen.

“Thank you. We appreciate that,” Liam replied.

“If you guys want to look for Raine, I can hold down the fort here,” Donald offered.

“Thanks, man.” Hammer slapped the older Dom on the shoulder. “Honestly, if I had a fucking clue where to look, I’d take you up on that.”

Hammer sucked in a deep breath, then took a sip of coffee. It tasted good…but it definitely wasn’t Raine’s. At the thought, he fought another wave of hopelessness that threatened to swallow him whole.

Suddenly, Dean poked his head around the corner. “O’Neill, your wife is here?”

Hammer heard more than a little steel in that question, as if the Dom wondered how Liam could be married but pursuing Raine.

Beside him, Liam groaned at Dean. “Ex-wife. I don’t want her here.”

But it was too late. Gwyneth struggled through the portal, rolling her suitcase and balancing the playpen on top with one hand. She schlepped Kyle awkwardly in the car seat with the other. A diaper bag weighed down her left shoulder, her purse the right. Hammer was fairly certain the bitch had never carried her own luggage in her life.

“Bloody fucking hell,” Liam groused as he stood.

Hammer also stood, narrowing his eyes on the viper as Liam took the car seat from her and made his way toward his stool, propping the baby up beside him. Gwyneth scurried over, looking flushed and anxious.

Instantly, Vivian smiled and began cooing at Kyle. The little tyke responded, kicking his feet as a wide, drooling grin spread across his cherubic face.

Gwyneth dropped the playpen, purse, and diaper bag on the floor, then leaned over her suitcase with a weary sigh. Liam gripped her elbow and hauled her to a quiet corner at the back of the bar. Hammer followed, his temper rising with each step.

“I don’t have time for you, Gwyneth,” Liam insisted. “As you can see, we’ve got a situation here…”

“I-I need to talk to you.” She darted a nervous glance at Hammer, then focused on Liam again. “It’s urgent. About Raine.”

She whispered as if trying to keep Hammer from hearing.

“What about Raine?” Liam sounded at the end of his rope.

Macen’s gut tightened. The concern she’d voiced before they’d passed out in Liam’s bed a few hours ago screamed through Hammer’s head. So she was just going to give up? She hijacked a baby, falsified birth records, came up with a whopper of a lie, and… I don’t see her quitting. It’s a huge fortune.

If Raine had been right, then it was possible Gwyneth had come to the club to play her last, desperate card. Since he couldn’t think of any active way to help Raine right now, Hammer had every intention of making Liam’s ex-wife tip her hand.

“Spill it,” Macen hissed.

“This is between Liam and me.” Gwyneth glared at him. “And I’m not speaking to you. I haven’t forgiven you for what you did to me earlier.”

“You mean what I didn’t do to you,” Hammer sneered.

“Can we talk somewhere privately?” Her haughty tone made Macen want to punch something, preferably her face. Ignoring him altogether, Gwyneth sent her ex-husband a pleading stare.

“Hammer’s office,” Liam barked.

Without waiting for her to reply, he turned and dragged her through the bar and down the hallway.

“Vivian.” Hammer glanced over his shoulder. “Would you please keep an eye on the baby? His name is Kyle.” At least I think it is.

“Really, Sir? Oh, I’d be happy to. I love babies.” She smiled before turning her attention back to the squealing boy, making ridiculous noises at him.

Too bad you weren’t in town when Pike was pulling out his hair.

Hammer watched Liam drag Gwyneth into the office. Stepping in behind them, Macen closed the door, blocking her only exit as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Tell me what you have to say,” Liam spat. “And be quick. I won’t tolerate any more of your games.” When she slanted Hammer a sideways glance, Liam added, “Anything you say to me about Raine, you can tell Hammer.”

Macen didn’t think he could feel much joy today, but if Liam put Gwyneth in her place, he’d sure try.

Her mouth opened, then closed like a landed trout. “I came to tell you something dreadful.”

“You’re pregnant with twins this time?” Hammer asked wryly.

Gwyneth shot him an icy glare, then pinned Liam with a look of anguish. “My father died just after lunchtime in London. I received the call shortly after we left the hospital this morning.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Liam replied without an ounce of emotion.

“Thank you, but that’s not the reason I came to see you. I’ve made a mistake.”

Liam sighed loudly, then drilled her with an angry gaze. “You’ve made many.”

Hammer nearly seized her and shook the words from her throat. “What does this have to do with Raine?”

“Bill Kendall has her,” she blurted out.

As soon as Gwyneth’s words registered in his brain, Hammer knew the bitch was involved. The ice freezing his veins since he’d discovered Raine missing now blazed like lava.

He pushed off the door and lunged at Gwyneth, but Liam already had her pinned against the wall. His face burned with rage, but his eyes looked absolutely arctic. “How do you know that? Did you have something to do with Raine’s disappearance?”

Hammer stormed closer, glaring hard. “You’d better start talking. Do you know where Bill has taken her?”

Gwyneth gave a little cry of fear. “I didn’t plan for things to turn out the way they have. You must believe me.”

Liam waved away her pleas. “Where is she?”

“After you humiliated me, I was outraged that you could me treat me so callously. I was your wife.” She swallowed. “So I tracked the man down and offered him money.”

“I hurt your feelings so you wanted Raine dead?” Liam looked shocked, as if he’d never hated anyone more in his life.

Hammer seconded that emotion. “Tell us where to find her!”

She gaped at Liam. “Dead? I merely asked him to keep her away from you for a few days until we could fly to Vegas and get remarried. But now that my father is gone, it’s all moot.” She wrung her hands. “I didn’t think Raine’s own father would really hurt her.”

“You heard me berating the man in the car park because he beat her as a child and tried to rape her,” Liam spat with incredulous fury. “Did you think he meant to play cards with her? Take her to a fucking movie?”

“I was angry. It was impulsive. I’m sorry,” she screamed. “I’ve spent all morning phoning Bill, trying to stop him. I left messages telling him to disregard the whole scheme.”

“You stupid whore! A message isn’t going to stop that motherfucker,” Hammer thundered as he fought the urge to wrap his hands around Gwyneth’s throat.

“Well, I reached him more than an hour ago and tried to convince him to release Raine. He slurred his words. I could barely understand him.”

“Because he’s a violent drunk,” Hammer snarled. “Did you catch anything he said?”

Remorse tightened Gwyneth’s face. “I came to you because I didn’t know how what else to do. I’ve already paid Kendall fifty thousand dollars. He threatened bodily harm if I didn’t pay him the other fifty, which he wasn’t supposed to get until we came back from Vegas.”

“Raine would have been dead before we even left L.A.,” Liam hissed. “There’s a good chance he’s already killed her.”

“I offered him double to let her go,” she cried. “But he said that since he had her now, he planned on having himself quite the party.” Gwyneth looked at him with pleading green eyes. “I tried to call you earlier and tell you, Liam. You didn’t answer. I left a message and rushed over here… I never meant any harm.”

Hammer roared, then punched a hole through the drywall. Powder and plaster rained down to the floor as he thrust his fist in Gwyneth’s hair, squeezing until she let out a cry. “Tell us where Raine is. Now.”

At his deadly tone, more tears spilled down Gwyneth’s cheeks. “I believe at a warehouse near the airport. He had me meet him there early yesterday evening.” She trembled in fear. “I’m sorry, Liam, I—”

“Shut up,” he commanded, his tone ice cold. “The address?”

“I-I wrote it on a scrap of paper. It’s in my purse by the bar.”

Hammer released her, then plucked out his cell phone. He fired off a text to Beck, instructing him and Seth to be ready to roll.

“I want it now.” Liam grabbed her by the arm and hauled her out of the office. “And if Bill has harmed one hair on Raine’s head, the fucking universe won’t be big enough for you to hide from me.”

Gwyneth sobbed with each step. Hammer didn’t feel an ounce of sympathy for her, only seething rage.

When they reached the bar, Vivian and Donald had taken Kyle out of his car seat and were playing happily with him at the far end. Beck and Seth stood, waiting and tense. No one spared more than a glance for Gwyneth, who quietly fell apart as she dug through her purse.

The second she handed the paper to him, Liam punched the address into his phone. “Less than ten minutes away, maybe more with traffic.”

Still, they had a lead. Fresh hope rolled through Hammer. He leaned closer to Beck and Seth, careful to keep his voice down. “Gwyneth might know where to find Raine. If she’s there, let’s rescue her. You ready?”

“Y-you’re not going to tell the police?” Gwyneth asked.

“Not yet.” Liam knew he and Hammer both intended to silence Bill, once and for all. “And you’re coming along to show us exactly where he’s hiding Raine.”

“But it sounds dangerous.” She shuddered.

Beck sent her a mocking brow. “Oh, boo hoo.”

Seth held up his hands. “We need to leave someone behind to coordinate with the police in case they have questions or find anything.”

Hammer and Liam exchanged a glance, then looked Seth’s way. “Will you do it? And ask Vivian to watch the baby while we’re gone?”

“On it.” Seth nodded. “Go.”

“But…Kitty and George are expecting Kyle and me to meet them at the airport in two hours,” Gwyneth protested.

Hammer snatched paper and pen off the bar, then shoved them at Gwyneth. “Write down your sister’s cell number. Seth can call Kitty and tell her where to pick up the boy. You are coming with us. That’s nonnegotiable.”

Hammer watched her fingers tremble as she wrote. Every second they spent at Shadows left Raine at Bill’s nonexistent mercy.

When Gwyneth finished, she set the pad and paper down.

Hammer shoved the number at Seth. “We’re out.”

“What will you do about Bill if you find him?” Seth arched a brow.

“You know the answer to that,” Hammer snarled.

Seth sent him a long stare. “Liam, why don’t you and Beck take Gwyneth to the car?”

“We’ll load up in my SUV.” Liam dragged his ex-wife toward the door. “Come on. No more theatrics, do you understand me? Or I’ll turn you over to the police now. You’ll go to jail.”

“And you’ll be forced to eat pussy instead of cock for the rest of your life,” Beck snarked.

Gwyneth’s nostrils flared as she pressed her lips together.

Hammer tossed Beck his car keys. “Get your medical bag from my trunk and bring it.”

“You got it,” Beck assured, helping Liam shepherd Gwyneth out of the club.

Once alone again, Seth stared Hammer down. “Listen, I’ve been thinking about this. What you’re suggesting is called premeditated murder. When it comes time for sentencing, it’ll be labeled first-degree, and that puts all of you on death row. Or merely life in prison, if you’re lucky.”

“Only if witnesses talk.” Hammer gritted his teeth. “And if Raine is gone, I don’t care.”

Seth cursed. “Call me when it’s over. If you need a cover story, I’ll help you with one since I’ve been a cop. If possible, we need everyone to be copacetic with the final version before you call 911.”

Hammer clapped him on the shoulder. “Thanks.”

Inhaling a deep breath, he ran down the hall and toward the exit, slipping past the detective who had interrogated him earlier. He jogged to Liam’s SUV, then climbed into the passenger’s seat. In the back, Beck glared at Gwyneth, who looked pale and chastened.

The reporters swarmed the vehicle as they tried to leave the club’s lot. Thankfully, the cops waved them on. Liam hit the gas.

As they pulled away, Hammer closed his eyes. An image of Juliet, lifeless and limp, flashed through his head. Her face morphed into Raine’s, and Hammer clenched his jaw to hold in his despair. She couldn’t be dead, too. He prayed they would reach the warehouse in time to save their precious Raine. If they didn’t…Hammer would be grateful to have Liam at his side this time. But he wasn’t sure he could get through the rest of this life without her.

* * *

“Wake up, slut.”

The voice penetrated Raine’s haze, but she couldn’t place it. A sharp pain to her ribs shot her up through layers of consciousness. Gasping to absorb the agony, she tried to roll away, protect her side.

Instead, Raine found herself pinned and unable to move.

Exhaustion weighed down every muscle. She groaned and forced her eyes open. A corrugated metal ceiling hung high above her, dark with rust. The dim lighting, strung from the iron crossbeams, cast an anemic beam over the yellowing walls. She shivered. Where was she? Why was it so cold? Why couldn’t she move?

“About time you came around,” slurred a voice Raine had hoped never to hear again.

She managed to turn her head and found Bill standing over her, clutching a bottle of gin. He drew his foot back menacingly as if he anticipated the chance to strike her ribs with his boot again.

When Raine saw his face, her blood ran cold. She struggled to sit up, get up—anything to flee him.

Her father took a swig from his bottle. “You’re not going anywhere. I’ve got you all spread out and ready. I even tied you down properly, just like Master Pervert. I’ve waited a long time for this.”

Glancing down her body, Raine took in her dirty clothes, the heavy metal-framed cot on which she lay a few inches from the ground, the thick, scratchy rope he’d used to bind her wrists and ankles to the corners.

Around her, the empty warehouse looked stark and lifeless. Past her feet, she could see Bill’s red truck. Beyond the vehicle, she spotted two doors. No windows, just a pair of skylights that filtered in an orangey hue and told her that dawn was breaking.

A plane flew overhead, its engines screaming in a deafening roar, as if it had just taken off nearby.

Oh, god… Where was she? Why had Bill brought her here? To repay her for thwarting him, for running away, for punching him—and any other reason he thought she deserved his wrath. And she didn’t have any illusions. He wouldn’t leave her alive to tell the police.

She wanted to hope that someone could find her, but if she had no idea where Bill had brought her, how could anyone else? Besides, after the hellacious day Liam had been through, he was likely still fast asleep. Doubtful he’d had a chance to miss her yet. Hammer’s hours had been long, too. He might be still be snoring.

More than likely, she was on her own.

Raine started to shiver and tried to force herself to breathe, to use her head. If she couldn’t fight back physically, then she had to keep him talking. Not for a second did she think she could reason with him, but his bottle looked half-empty. If she could engage him, maybe he’d keep drinking and finally pass out. Clandestinely, she tugged at her wrists. Getting free of these bonds would be difficult. He’d bound her so tightly that her fingers felt a little numb.

“What is it you want?” she finally asked. “I have money. I’ll give it to you.”

Bill gave her a drunken scoff. “Money won’t do it anymore. It’s high time I paid you and Master Pervert back. See, he thought he could stop giving me that cushy monthly stipend, and I—”

“What do you mean?” Raine cut in. She’d known that Bill had figured out where she’d gone after she’d run away from home all those years ago. Being an absolute asshole, her father would, of course, look Hammer up and threaten him. But… “Stipend?”

“Why else do you think I didn’t march over there and drag your scrawny ass back home years ago? Why else do you think I didn’t call the police and tell them he was harboring a minor in a sex club? I lived off that two grand a month, tax free, for the last six years.”

Hammer had never said a word. Never mentioned it, never hinted, never given her even the slightest indication that he and her father had come to this agreement. Math wasn’t her best subject, but she did a quick calculation. The amount he’d paid to keep her safe staggered her.

“Didn’t know that, did you?” Bill looked pleased that he’d thrown her for a loop before his expression darkened again. “But then you had to knock on my door and fuck it up, like you do everything else. Of course, you’ve had this punishment coming for a long time.” He took another pull from the bottle, then traced the scar on his cheek with the neck and sent her a menacing glare. “I owe you for this, Raine. Your daddy means to collect his pound of flesh.”

She tried not to recoil or cry or panic. In the past, she’d had weapons at her disposal, like the knife she’d attacked him with the night she’d run away, Beck and his gun the last time she’d knocked on his door and punched him in the face. Now, she only had her words.

Maybe an apology would make him go easy on her, but Raine couldn’t bring herself to say she was sorry to the sick fuck.

“I’ll make him pay you again,” she offered desperately. “Call him, and I’ll arrange it. He has a lot of money.” She suspected. Hell, she’d never asked. “You want double? Triple? A million dollars? He’ll give it to you.”

“Is your pussy that sweet?” He looked dubious. “I can’t think of a single slut worth that much.” Then a big, evil grin stretched across his face. He took another gulp of the gin, then stumbled as he bent to set the bottle on the ground. When he straightened again, he had his hand at his waistband, his fingers working at the button. “But I’m ready to find out.”

Raine tried to shrink away but had nowhere to retreat. His maniacal laughter filled her ears.

“Let’s get this party started. Oh, I almost forgot…” He swerved alongside her cot, scooped up the bottle again, and disappeared above her head.

Raine craned her neck to see what Bill was up to. All she saw were the legs of a table. He stopped in front of it and swayed, picking up and dropping things with a metallic clang that made her heart race. Dear god, what did he have planned?

“Doesn’t Master Pervert call you ‘precious’?”

Her heart stopped. “H-how did you…”

He laughed. “When I knew he had my baby girl, I followed you around to find out what he was doing to you. I overheard you at dinner a few weeks after you went to live with him. When you weren’t looking, he stared like he wanted to strip off your clothes and fuck you. Were you giving him your pussy then?”

“No.”

“Don’t you lie to me, girl. He plucked that pretty cherry for himself, I know. That’s why he calls you ‘precious.’ Does the Mick have a pet name for you? He should call you whore for giving it up to both of them. Which one of them gave you all the bite marks on your neck?”

“Hammer never laid a hand on me as a kid.” Unlike you. He would never rape anyone, much less an underage girl.

Her father sneered, then turned back to the table. “Next you’re going to tell me he’s a fucking saint. Girl, he’s just a man with a cock who wants to stick it somewhere. Your holes aren’t so special. No slut’s are.” He scoffed. “Your sister’s certainly weren’t.”

“You…violated Rowan?” she choked.

“Oh, I didn’t violate her; I plucked her. I made sure she had a thirteenth birthday she never forgot.”

Raine bit her lip to hold in her icy horror. He’d be far too amused. She was thankful another plane took off overhead, giving her a few moments to gather her thoughts. But nothing came to mind except that she had to be near LAX. She’d love to be on one of those planes—to anywhere. No, where she’d really like to be was back at Shadows, cuddled up between Liam and Hammer, safe in their arms.

“I had…” No idea. But maybe she had. Sometimes, late at night, she’d heard grunting and the slam of Rowan’s headboard against the wall. She’d assumed her older sister had been sneaking in boyfriends. In hindsight, she realized Bill had been far too watchful to allow that.

Their mom had abandoned them two years before Bill had started abusing Rowan. Her sister would have had no way to protect herself or stop their father. Her brother, River, though the eldest, had rarely been home.

In fact, now that she really thought about it, Bill had often taken Rowan shopping. They’d always come home with clothes just shy of indecent, especially nightgowns, bras, and panties.

“You had no idea?” Bill laughed. “She never told you how many ‘favors’ she did for me so that you didn’t have a thirteenth birthday to remember, too? I enjoyed every moment she spent being my dirty whore.” He rocked back on his heels. “Except when the dumb bitch got pregnant—twice.”

Shock stole Raine’s breath. She felt as if she’d been struck in the chest with a crowbar. Her sister had always been so quiet, kind… Bill had often remarked that she should be more compliant, like Rowan. What the gentle girl had endured made her blood curdle.

Her father was a sexual predator, a deviant void of a soul. But then she’d known that for years.

“Twice?” she finally choked out.

Somewhere in the back of her head, Raine realized that she wasn’t saying anything that would persuade Bill to reconsider what he had planned or release her. But she was pretty sure no such words existed. She also feared if she said anything truly on her mind, she’d set off his violent streak sooner. Her head reeled; her terror surged.

“I had a hard time finding a doctor who’d perform an abortion on a girl not yet fourteen, but I found him. He came in handy two years later. After the first slipup, I put Rowan on the pill, but the stupid cunt took antibiotics for some fucking illness and wham. But I made sure she understood she couldn’t be careless again.”

Raine didn’t even want to know what Bill had done then.

When she’d started fending off her father’s leers and “accidental” touches after Rowan’s departure for college, she’d sometimes resented her sister. Not a single text, letter, holiday at home. Nothing. Now Raine completely understood the girl’s decision.

“So…” she breathed. “That’s why Rowan never came back to see me?”

“Well, not exactly.” Bill cackled like he was enjoying himself way too much.

Raine froze. Fear almost seized her tongue before she could ask her next question. “What do you mean?”

Bill didn’t answer. He just began humming some vaguely familiar tune her father used to play. Rowan had always hated the song. Raine did, too.

“Tonight’s the night. It’s gonna be all right. I’m gonna fuck you, girl. Ain’t nobody gonna stop us now,” Bill wailed, then snorted. “Rod Stewart had his way of singing the song, and I’ve got mine. You know, that was my special song with Rowan. I sang it to her the very first time. Don’t say a word, my virgin child…”

The clues clicked. The truth slammed through Raine’s head. Every time her father had played that record, Rowan would sob. Then Raine would hear moans and grunts coming from her sister’s room that night.

Tears leaked from Raine’s eyes. Poor Rowan…

“But then your sister got uppity, thought she was better than me. She applied to all those fucking universities and got accepted. She decided she was going to leave me.”

Raine heard the booze in the bottle slosh, then he slammed it on the table. She started and bit back a gasp.

At least Rowan had gotten out. She’d had an unspeakably awful five years with her father, but Raine counted it as a victory that her sister had fled to make her life better.

“So I took care of her.” Footsteps sounded, and Bill meandered back toward her, filling her line of vision as he crouched, holding a gleaming serrated knife in his hand. “Just like I’ll take care of you.”