Chapter Two #3
My father rolled his eyes – yes, actually rolled his eyes – and turned to me. His hand lifted and slammed into my face, knocking me off balance. I clasped my cheek as the pain exploded and I stumbled, only just catching myself before I fell.
“Hey!” Fly snapped, “There’s no need for that.”
Chuckling, the great Chad Murray, took calculated steps towards Fly, who sneered as his enemy approached.
“Don’t come near me,” he said, “unless you’re ready to kill me.”
I breathed slowly and released my cheek, which still smarted.
I knew the skin would be red and there may have even been a scratch from his ring.
However, I couldn’t show weakness, not to him or the others.
Being a woman in a man’s world had brought about many experiences.
Ones that I’d rather not relive… hence my plan, which was about to go completely wrong.
And yet, I stayed silent, just like I always had.
“You think you can dictate to me? After everything you shits did to our home?” Chad snarled as he inched closer, turning to Fly’s injured leg.
Fly immediately swung it away from my father, sitting on the edge of the bed on the other side.
His hands were clenched and his muscles tight.
My stomach churned as I imagined what my father would do to him if he dared to try and attack.
Except, Fly wanted to die. He would leave his friends behind just to avoid being held by my father.
“I’ll give you one chance to tell me where your friends are.” Chad tilted his head to the side. “Or I’ll shut you away while you heal before integrating you back into the fold.”
Scowling, Fly cracked his knuckles and glanced at me. “Was that your plan, too?”
My father’s gaze snapped to me, his eyes narrowing. “Yes, darling, why don’t you tell us what your plan was? I’d love to know the reason you took it upon yourself to find him.”
My mouth dried as I cleared my throat. I’d wanted to give Fly to my father as a gift. To bring him back so that my father could punish him for humiliating the leader of The Reason. If I told him that, in front of Fly and the others, he would be humiliated even more.
“I wanted to make sure they weren’t a danger to us.” I kept it short and sweet. “So, I figured I’d bring them home.”
Fly shot up from his seated position and flew across the bed, grabbing hold of my father’s shoulders. Before he could do any damage, John was there, taking hold of his wrists and bending them so far back, they almost broke. The man might have liked Nate in the past, but he was my father’s solider.
It took the smallest amount of pressure to bring Fly to his knees on the bed. My father inhaled sharply and lifted his nose in the air, as if the smell of Fly disgusted him.
“Well,” my father turned to me, “I can’t say I understand your logic, child.
I hadn’t even given these men a thought until you dragged one back, bleeding and…
” Waving his hand towards me, he screwed up his face.
“…gross. He gets to stay locked in here, to think about his misdeeds against The Reason. You…” He came closer and snarled in my face.
“…get to come home, wash up and be punished.”
I put a hand to my mouth as my father swung away and left the room without a backwards glance. The motherfucker was unpredictable, which meant he could do anything to me, and no one, not even my mother, would step in to help me. I’d well and truly messed it up.
“You better start talking,” John told Fly as he released him. “If you want to go about your life, that is.”
The men turned to leave, one of them grabbing my arm and pulling me towards the door. Fly flopped back on the bed and laughed. John paused, frowning at his former friend.
“You really think he’s going to let me go about my life?” Fly called. “You’re all as deluded as one another. Now, fuck off.”
John blinked, stalled and then set off, with me trailing behind them. I glanced over my shoulder before we exited, my gaze clashing with Fly’s. He smirked and pursed his lips together in a kissing motion. It was the last thing I saw as we left.
The man holding my arm released me when I went with them, not fighting against my father’s wishes. I kept my mouth shut as we made our way out of the house, too smart to tell my father’s guards anything.
John locked up behind us before joining me, putting a hand on my arm to hold me back. The others went ahead as John frowned down at me.
“Brit,” he muttered, “I know you’ve struggled to find your place here, but The Reason is your father’s legacy. You need to stand strong by his side and do whatever he wants.”
Looking away from him and into the trees, I blinked away the tears that threatened.
For so long, I’d been fighting for my place in our society.
As a woman, I couldn’t become an elder or a wise one.
As the leader’s daughter, I couldn’t marry anyone I chose.
My life was controlled by my father, who didn’t give two shits about me.
“Yeah,” I muttered in reply to John, whose eyebrows furrowed.
No doubt he was thinking about Fly and his return to the compound. It would change a lot of things, most notably, my father’s focus. And that could be dangerous for all of us.