“Never!” she exclaimed. “Oh, my God! You’re gross! Get away from me!”
“I’ve seen the way you look at boys,” Patrick grumbled, clearly ignoring her rant. “I thought you’d be happy about this, honey. You want this as much as I do, don’t you, sweetheart?”
He was a lunatic! “Please don’t,” she whimpered, still trying to get free.
“I always hoped you’d come to me one day, but it looks as though I have to take matters into my own hands.”
No. God, no! He touched her between her legs again, and she screamed at the top of her lungs, jerking back and forth, trying to dislodge him, but he shifted, holding her down with more of his body weight.
Where was her mother? Or her brothers? Why didn’t they come looking for her?
Then she remembered Samuel and the way he’d eyed them. He was giving his brother permission to… “No! Don’t. Please don’t!”
Patrick ripped her panties off as he held her down by her neck, then used his free hand to work his pants open. Ashlynn knew he was going to rape her, and she feared there wasn’t anything she could do to stop him. Tears leaked from her eyes as she continued to fight. It was the only thing she could do, because she damn sure wasn’t going to give in. For a brief moment, she thought she’d managed to overpower him, getting to her knees and knocking his hand away, but he grabbed her and shoved her down just as quickly.
“Don’t move and it won’t hurt,” he said, his tone lethal. “Your father promised me this. And it’s time to pay up.”
Ashlynn couldn’t stop the sobs that racked her body as she rolled, trying to get out from under him, but she couldn’t.
“Move one more inch, and I will shoot you where you stand.”
Ashlynn’s heart skipped a beat.
Max.
He was there.
She cried out.
“Take your hands off her, you sick fuck. Right. Now.”
“You need to go downstairs, son,” Patrick told Max. “This is none of your business. It’s between me and your father.”
“As of right now,” Max said roughly, “it’s between you and the bullet in my gun. Move away from her.”
The instant Patrick let her go, Ashlynn jumped from the bed, stumbling to the floor and scooting away from him as fast as she could, heading for the corner. She covered herself as best she could, but he’d ripped her skirt during the scuffle.
“I told you to stay out of this,” Patrick said, his tone eerily calm. “Like I said, this is between your father and me. She’s been promised to me, Max. That’s somethin’ you don’t have control over.”
“I have more control than you know,” Max countered, his gun still aimed at Patrick, his jaw tense.
“You’re wrong about that.” Patrick seemed insistent on making Max understand.
“I’m never wrong. If I ever fucking catch you puttin’ your hands on my sister again, I’ll kill you.”
“Well, you better shoot me now,” Patrick dared. “Because I will take what’s rightfully mine.”
“Is that what you want?” Max asked, sounding genuinely interested in the answer to his question.
Ashlynn’s eyes widened when she realized her brother was going to kill Patrick. She’d always suspected that he would do whatever it took to protect her, but to kill their uncle...
Max’s gaze dropped to her face as though he was looking for her input. It was then that Ashlynn realized Leyton had come into the room, standing directly behind Max, his eyes leveled on Patrick. He looked angry.
Ashlynn didn’t know what she should do, what she should say. Would Leyton think she was crazy if she told Max to kill Patrick? As far as she was concerned, there was only one right answer.
What no one knew was that her brother and her father weren’t the only two whose souls were dark. She’d lived in their world for fifteen years, seen things that she doubted they had wanted her to see. Ashlynn knew things. And she knew for a fact that if Patrick wasn’t stopped, he would come after her again. And what if Max wasn’t there next time? What if she couldn’t save herself?
Patrick would rape her and he’d smile while he did it.
What if he went after Madison? She couldn’t live with herself if this sick fuck hurt her sister.
Bile rose in her throat as she looked up at her uncle.
“Honey,” Patrick said, his tone soothing once more, “tell your brother this is between you and me. We’ll get it settled and go back down to the party. Once it’s over, I’ll never bother you again.”
“You’re a pervert,” she hissed. “You make me sick.”
Patrick sneered at her. “I’ll enjoy taking your virginity, and Madison’s, too, and leaving the mess for your mother to clean up. You can ask her how it feels; she knows firsthand. It’s your destiny. A whore, just like her.”
“Kill. Him,” Ashlynn ground out, never looking away from Patrick. “Or let me do it.”
One shot.
That was all it took.
At Max’s request, Leyton had grabbed some of Ashlynn’s clothes from her closet and carried them to the guest bedroom down the hall. It had taken a little more effort to get Ashlynn to come with him, but eventually Leyton convinced her and then herded her into the bathroom, telling her to take a shower. She hadn’t relented until he’d promised he wouldn’t leave.
So he’d stayed, standing in the far corner, staring out the window at the seemingly ignorant people down by the pool. They were smiling and laughing, some playing in the water, others chatting it up near the elaborate outdoor kitchen, where hot dogs were being grilled.
No one seemed to realize that the stench of death was permeating the walls of the house.
Patrick was dead and Max was dealing with that. Undoubtedly there would be fallout that came along with the cleanup, but Leyton couldn’t say he was disappointed. He still couldn’t believe what they’d walked in on. He’d known something was wrong when Samuel had returned to the living room but his attention had continued to stray to the stairs. When Max had asked where Ashlynn was, Samuel had insisted Max stay out of it.
When Max had taken off, Leyton had been right behind him, bounding up the stairs when Ashlynn’s tormented scream echoed down the hall. And that was when the world had come to a jarring halt—the instant they’d stepped into Ashlynn’s bedroom to find her being held down by her fucking uncle.
The sick fucker had been planning to rape his own niece. What kind of person did that?
The thought made him want to throw up.
He heard the bathroom door open and he turned. Ashlynn appeared, wearing a long-sleeve shirt and pajama pants, her dark hair wet, her eyes red and puffy from crying.