o reveal his secret identity is to pretend yo

at Alistair with

She hopes that these guards are just a fluke and that he's bluffing. She hopes he's no

n't be mo

. So just as Alistair's mouth opens to

ut of my throat, one I don't have to fake entirely because the bruises on my ribs are very real. I sink my wei

ord is a wet, desperate s

ng me up as if I weigh nothing more than a handful of feathers. I press my face into the crook of his neck, catching the scent o

ok over his shoulder at the three people huddled in the co

done, you won't just be poor," Alistair says. "I will personally see to it that you don't

she can't even point that accusatory finger anymore. Alistair doesn't wait for a response. He strides out of th

I don't pull away immediately. The car is warm, a luxury I haven't felt in three days, and Alistair's chest is a sol

e," he says, his voice tight. "

r around my shoulders. My voice is still a bit raspy from the thirst, but the "dying" quali

me. He studies the dried blood on my lip, the purple shadow blooming across my cheek, and the

" he

Alistair Wolfe, they won't be afraid. Well, they will be, but they'll see it as an opportunity. My father would try to sell you a failing factory before you could even f

intensity that makes my skin prickle. He looks

ks. There is a strange, dark humor in his tone

married, not the bank account he carries. I don't want them using my name to open doors in this city.

on my jaw before he pulls back, clenching his hand into a fist on his knee. He turns his head as his p

t," he

the staff," Jackson says. "They locked her in the basement storeroom for seventy-two hours. No food. No water.

window at the Vance estate, the place I was just held prisoner. From this distance and in th

s fists. "I want them to understand the concept of a debt. I want the

e makes my chest warm up a little b

ling them who I am. Let them wonde

ll and Alistair and I watch Jackson's face on the screen for a few sec

verturned furniture. He doesn't look like a thug, which makes the way he pulls a matte black pistol from his holster ev

des to the floor, her hands raised in a useless, shaking gesture of surr

oice. "He doesn't like it when his property is mistreated. And

gestures with his free hand for t

iolence. Let's see how much you enjoy it when the target isn't a starving

d going to her mouth

e's head. The sound is tiny, but it carries enough im

nk you're holding back, if I don't hear the skin hit skin,

ull. His eyes are wide, filled with a frantic, selfish kind of survival instinct. He doe

s a sharp,

but then her own eyes turn hard. She swi

, his voice bored.

By the time they reach fifty, Lydia's hair is a wild mess and Thomas's nose is bleeding. By eighty, their faces are swollen, their eyes puffed and red, thei

th collapse onto the floor, sobbing and gaspin

so violently her teeth are actually chattering. She

nding by the door. "One hundred for her as well. Use your palms.

hitting the carpet as she wails. "Please! Plea

particularly aime

e and my eyes sting. Then a warm han

r says. His voice is a mixture of anger and something.soft. I try n

ps on Chloe's face is different. It's harder and faster. She doesn't have the strength to figh

eople weeping on the floor. Jackson puts his gun back into his holster and ad

looks at the maid who had dragged me out of t

tch as they drag them down the stairs, past the wine cellar, to the same cold, mildewed room where I spe

rp shadow over the three of them. "No water. Not a single drop. You'll stay in here for exactl

or the heavy

s amazing how much you can think abo