She refused. He slapped her.
The stings ignited across her face before he kissed it, speaking softly against her skin and making the bile rise in her throat.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” he said. His fingers felt rough against her skin, and it made her sick. “I just wanted you to say it because you hurt me with everything you did. And I love you too. Not just him.”
He knew nothing of love, only manipulation.
Billy’s eyes met hers. “But if you tell me you love me, I won’t touch you. I won’t be angry anymore.”
She didn’t want him to touch her, so she swallowed her pride and her loyalty to Davis in exchange for survival.
But her voice was barely her own. Her eyes looked away as she said it. “I love you.”
He shook his head and hit the wall again. “Say my name.”
More tears fell from her eyes. “I love you ... Billy.”
He grinned, then flattened his tongue against her cheek and licked her tears.
“Get on the bed.”
Fear shot through her, but as he tossed her on the mattress, the cabin door flew open, and Davis stepped inside.
“Get the fuck off my girlfriend.”
Sonny screamed because Davis was on Billy in an instant, hitting him in the face with his fists. Blood splattered her cheek before Davis called for his friends.
More boys crowded the small room, but for some reason all she could focus on was the loose nail that had popped up on a floorboard.
“Are you okay?” she finally heard as her face met Davis’s.
He was breathing hard as his friends held Billy by the arms.
Billy’s beaten body sagged, and his face was turned toward the ground. She stared at him but couldn’t find any sympathy to give him. He was going to hurt her, in the worst way.
Davis reached for Sonny, but she recoiled, her fear still fresh.
“It’s okay. Your face is bruised.”
This time she let him touch her, then pull her into his arms. Davis walked her past Billy, giving orders to the other boys.
“He put marks on her—make sure we repay the favor, then take him to the boathouse. I’ll meet you there.”
She didn’t know what any of that meant, but as they walked out the front door, with her snuggled in Davis’s arms, she looked back to see them pressing Billy’s face into that loose nail just before he screamed.
Chapter Thirty
Noah
Goldie’s eyes are like saucers as she stares back at me before she starts swinging.
“Fuck,” I yelp, holding my arms in front of my face as she slaps them before trying and succeeding to kick me.
She steps away quickly, creating space between us, as I hold out my hand, a finger up.
“Shh. Don’t scream . . .”
Her eyes are wild as she searches the room. She’s definitely looking for a weapon, and I’m beginning to wonder if maybe she’s going to be the one who does the job and puts me in the ground. I see her eyebrows raise before she swipes up a fake knife off a console table.
