“Hello, wife,” Justin drawls. “Your father and I would like to speak to you.”
My fingers slacken on my phone, and I catch it before it falls. I swallow hard and ease back a step. “What are you doing here? How did you get in?”
How do they even know where Ryder lives?
Justin doesn’t move or say anything for a long moment. Despite not being able to see his face, I can still feel his gaze burning a hole in me. “You’ve been quite the busy girl, haven’t you?”
My pulse pounds in my ears like a drum, drowning out the storm outside. I tremble and inch backward. “You need to leave, Justin.” I slide my gaze to Dad, who’s been silent this whole time. “Both of you.”
Justin turns his head, taking in the dark room. Lightning flashes across the windows behind him, briefly chasing away the shadows as his head turns back to me. His cold glare settles on my face. “When I accepted your father’s arrangement, I didn’t realize I would be tied to a female who has a thing for her brother. Had I known you were a fucking slut for him, I would have taken care of him a long time ago.”
My eyes widen. “What did you do to him?”
Dad lets out an undignified snort, and I don’t need to see him to know he rolled his eyes, too. “Pathetic, Madison. He’s your brother, for god’s sake.”
Justin unfolds his large body from the couch and smooths the wrinkles from his jacket. “How long have you been whoring yourself out to him? Hmm? You two haven’t been so secretive about it lately, what with him sending me those lovely videos of you two fucking like rabbits. But I’m curious if this has been going on for longer than I initially thought.”
I suck in a breath and stare wide-eyed at Dad, waiting for him to explode. His comment about Ryder being my brother was expected, but I thought he’d do more than just make petty remarks.
Dad glares at me, not saying a word.
I raise my chin and square my shoulders, trying to come off stronger than I actually feel right now. I know what Justin is capable of. He’s shown multiple times that he doesn’t mind hurting me.
“How did you find me?” I say, attempting to change the subject to something a little less sore for him. Justin is a man. Like most men, they get angry when another man is involved in a relationship. Or in our case, asituationship.
“You’re a stupid girl if you believed I wouldn’t keep my eye on you.” Justin steps forward, only stopping when I take a step back to keep space between us. “I know your every move. Where you go. Who you’re with. Who you’re fucking.”
He takes another step and cocks his head as he thinks over his next words.
“What you do online,” he murmurs, bordering on a growl.
My stomach drops to my feet, and I freeze, unable to draw in a breath or think clearly. “You know about?—”
“Yes,wife. I know all about the filthy pictures you post on social media, along with the sex website you do deplorable things on.”
Lightning flashes, and I catch another peek of his blank expression, but his eyes burn with a quiet rage, promising pain.
“How?” I whisper.
Justin closes more of the gap between us. The closer he gets, the more air his imposing figure sucks from my lungs. It adds fifty pounds to my chest and shoulders.
Run.
Run.
He’s going to hurt you, and Dad won’t stop him.
“Keeping an eye on your possessions is pretty standard for those of us in the Exiled Society. But you should know that. Your father is a King. My uncle is a King. Your brother is a Lord.” An evil smirk cuts across his face with the next lightning strike. “But he won’t be for much longer. I’ll make sure he’s out of the picture and far from my property from now on.”
“It was you who texted us,” I whisper. “You’re the unknown sender.”
Justin’s chuckle lacks humor and is the equivalent of nails on a chalkboard. “Something like that.”
A scream lodges in my throat as he lunges at me. I tumble backward, only for Justin to catch me by my throat. He yanks me toward him and shoves his face in mine, forcing me to look into his dead eyes.
“No more running from me. It’s time you learn your place,” he says through clenched teeth.
I drop my phone and shove his shoulders to get him away from me, but he only tightens his grip on my throat. I shove again and slap him, hoping it’s enough to get him off me. Justin ignores my attempts and walks me backward.
