Whatever happened next, I was prepared to suffer the consequences. Because whether I made it out alive or not, I knew that my past would finally be put to rest once and for all.
33
GRACE
Josh shoved me through the farmhouse door. The blast of heat hit first, followed by the sharp stench of cat urine. Water dripped from my hair, pooling at my feet as voices boomed from below. My guess was Josh’s so-called clients were in the basement.
I started down toward what looked to be the kitchen until Josh grabbed my arm.
“Upstairs. We need you clean before you meet my clients.” His voice reminded me so much of his monstrous father’s.
Shivers wracked my body, déjà vu freezing me in place. To say I wasn’t afraid would be a lie.
Snap out of it. You know what to do.
My mind raced through scenarios like it was shuffling a deck of cards, Sabine being the wild card. Her sister’s medical bills meant Josh had leverage over her, but leverage could tip either way.
If she was about to cave, then I had a shot to freedom. If not, then consequences be damned.
Either way, I would do whatever was necessary to end ten years of suffering, ten years of always looking over my shoulder,and ten years of fear that one day fate would hit me between the eyes.
Now that I was in the thick of the same kind of scenario that had caused my nightmares and night terrors, I had to be stronger than ever, not only for a future that I wanted with the man I loved but for all the women past, present, and future who had been, were, or would be in my shoes.
More importantly, I couldn’t face Brian ever again unless I saved his daughter. It made me ill to think that he would never again look at me with those luscious green eyes that made my heart beat faster and my stomach do somersaults while I envisioned the future I desperately wanted—with him.
“Going soft on me,” Josh said in my ear. “Don’t disappoint me, Grace.”
I stomped up the stairs with strength and determination to either my demise or my freedom. But I would find an opening, a thread of hope, even if that meant threatening Sabine to do my bidding.
Once I made it to the top of the landing, Fran’s voice filtered into my ears, and a heightened sense of newfound life energized me. I listened outside the door as Josh fished in his raincoat pocket for a key.
“Tell me why you’re doing this, Sabine,” Fran demanded. “You’re not a witch. You know my father will destroy you.”
“Shut up and sit still,” Sabine said in a caustic tone. The tone of her voice didn’t indicate she was acting out of duress.
“Ow,” Fran snapped. “You’re hurting me. Again, why? My father?—”
“Shut it about your father. He’s not your knight in shining armor. No one is, Fran.”
“Grace is.”
“I’m so tired of hearing about this Grace. She’s all you ever talked about when you came to visit your father on school breaks. What’s so special about her?”
“Everything,” Fran said. “My dad is in love with her too. I saw how you flirted with him. He doesn’t want you. Is that why you’re doing this? You’re jealous? You’re hurt?”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about, and if you knew my reasons, you would be more sympathetic.”
Next to me, Josh chuckled as he readied the key. “Well, isn’t that interesting? Fran’s dad is in love with you. This makes my plan even more satisfying.”
“Why did you go to all this trouble to bring Brian and Fran into your twisted game? Why not just kidnap me and be done with it?”
He sucked in his bottom lip. “What’s the fun in that? Besides, I figured that no one would see me coming if I used Fran to lure you in. But she’s also prime meat for my clients.”
I stood toe to toe with him. “Either you or I will die tonight, and my money is on you.”
“Big threat from a woman whose hands are tied and who has no way out of here.” He unlocked the door.
“We’ll see by the end of night.” I had to get the final say, mainly to stroke my confidence.
