Bile rises into my throat as he pulls out a pack of pictures and shoves them across the table.
It’s me. Giving my own uncle a blow job.
From the angle of the camera, you can’t see that my hands are bound behind my back. All you can see is the tattoo on my shoulder, a unique identifier. The twisted anchor, the words. Fluctuat nec mergitur. It’s most definitely me.
And it’s most definitely my uncle. His wrinkled hand is on the back of my head, forcing me to take more of him in my throat… and his very unique signet ring is on his finger.
My uncle smiles pleasantly as he tucks the pictures back in his pocket.
“There’s more. There are many of you fucking me, you little whore,” he tells me, each word icy. “And I don’t care if it gets out… you were of legal age and if anyone questions me, I’ll simply say that you’re a wanton whore who pursued me for years and in a moment of drunkenness, I gave in to you. If you look at the pictures, it certainly appears that you’re enjoying yourself.”
I wasn’t.
I wasn’t enjoying myself. I was trying to get through it, to not die on the inside.
But he’s right. You can’t see that on the pictures. In the pictures, my make-up looks smeared from passion, not from tears. You can’t see how my hands are bound, you can’t see the lash-marks from my uncle’s whip.
You can’t see any of it… except for a girl having sex with her own uncle.
William stares at me, very sure that I’ll be compliant. “Even if Brand still wanted you somehow after I ruin him,” he says calmly. “He’ll never want you after he sees what a fucked up slut you are.”
Reality crashes down around me, ugly and hot.
No one in their right mind would want me after seeing those pictures.
No matter how I look at it, I’ll lose Brand.
But I can’t let Brand lose everything… not because of me. He’s worked too hard to forget his own ugly past. It wouldn’t be fair if he lost everything now.
“You have until midnight tomorrow night to leave that cottage,” my uncle says pleasantly. “I’ll meet you at your apartment in California. I know you kept it, even after your father said to let it go. It doesn’t matter. It’ll come in handy for us. We’ll put it to good use until our flight leaves from LAX for Abu Dhabi.”
I can’t control my vomit.
I lean to the side and heave, over and over. I empty my stomach, then stand up again, wiping my mouth with my hand.
“I see we have an understanding,” William nods. “Good. I’ll see you in California, my dear.”
He turns and starts to leave, but I stop him.
“What kind of monster are you?” I whisper. “I’m your flesh and blood. You held me when I was a baby. You’re the criminal, not Brand.”
William actually laughs, but it’s hardened and ugly. “Nora, you and I both know you tried to seduce me from the time you were small. Those bathing suits you used to wear… you always made a point of walking away from me in a way that showed off your tight little ass.”
Bile bubbles up again. “My ass was little because I was a child,” I spit. “I never tried to seduce you. You’re a sick fuck who preys on children.”
William stares at me innocently. “I have never preyed on children,” he defends himself. “I didn’t have my way with you until you were an adult, my dear. That’s not a crime.”
“No, but it’s an abomination,” I tell him, all the while fighting the nausea again.
“To each their own,” William says easily. “You have until midnight tomorrow night to leave for California. Don’t be late.”
He turns and strides from the room and I can still feel where his fingernails cut into my vagina. I rush to the bathroom and run a handful of paper towels under scalding hot water. I can’t take a shower so this is the next best thing. I seclude myself in a bathroom stall, wiping and wiping and wiping, trying to get his finger prints off.
Before I realize it, I’m sobbing, and I’m in a heap on the floor.
I have until midnight tomorrow night with Brand.
I don’t dare defy William.
He’ll ruin everything I have. He’ll bring my entire world down around me in shreds and tatters, but that’s not what I care about.
All that I care about is…. Brand.
I can’t let him hurt Brand.
I glance at my watch.
Time is ticking.
The shoe has dropped.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Brand
I stare at Jacey.
“What did you say?”
She swallows her bite of sandwich. “I said, what are you doing with this girl?”
I roll my eyes. “Not really your business, now is it? When it gets to a point that I think I need to tell you about it, you’ll be the first to know.”
“In other words,” she scowls. “Never.”
I grin.
She takes another bite. “She’s gorgeous, I’ll give you that. But she doesn’t really seem your type. She’s a bit… tightly wound.”
I shake my head and look out at the lake, remembering how Nora has swam with me out to the buoy. “You think?”
Jacey nods. “She’s from a snobby family, too. So not your type.”
I finish up my sandwich and take my plate to the sink. “Jacey, no offense. But you’ve spent years crying on my shoulder over other men. You haven’t once listened to me talking about a woman. You don’t know my type.”
She stops chewing and stares at me. “Never once?”
I shake my head. “Never once. I was always listening to you.”
“God, I was a bitch,” she mutters. “Should I apologize again?”
I roll my eyes. “Nah. It won’t help now. Just know that I know what I’m doing. And if I want your advice, I’ll ask for it. And thank you for letting me use your cottage to recuperate.”
She scowls good-naturedly. “Is that what you’re calling it? Recuperation? In a cottage alone with a beautiful woman?”
I nod. “It’s my story.”
“And you’re sticking to it. Got it.”
We banter back and forth for a while, and Jacey chats about life in the UK and I tell her all about what her brother’s been up to in Connecticut.
“This is nice,” she finally says, leaning up to hug me. “I feel like things are back to where they should be. Finally. I’m sorry for fucking it all up in the first place.”
“It’s fine,” I tell her as I hug her back. “Seriously.”
Before Jacey can pull away, the door opens and Nora steps in.
Of course. Because Jacey still has her arms wrapped around me. Perfect.
The look on Nora’s face is chilling.
I step away from Jacey immediately, and reach for Nora.
“Hey, sweetheart,” I greet her. “Jacey and I were just catching up.”
Nora nods slowly, not smiling. “I see that.”
Jacey looks from Nora to me. “Uh. I need to go in to the Hill and see Maria. I’ll be back later. My flight takes off in the morning, so I’ll need to get some sleep.”
Neither Nora or I answer, so Jacey slips away.
I stare at Nora.
“That wasn’t what it looked like.”
“No?” Nora’s eyebrow is arched.
“No.” I shake my head. “It was just a hug between friends.”
Nora stares at me for a moment, her eyes big and sad. Then she nods, the clouds clearing from her face. “Okay.”
“Okay? Just like that?”
She nods. “Just like that. I trust you. And there’s better ways to spend my time than to be suspicious of you.”