Page 78 of Claiming Liberty

All he does is growl and quicken his pace, large black boots sinking into soft earth like he’s a dinosaur.

I look over my shoulder at the break in the trees that leads to Angel’s house, but unsurprisingly, he isn’t there. Not yet.

“Austin, I have a question for you.” I try to tug my arm away, but he doesn’t let up. He throws open the back sliding door and hauls me inside. “Do you think Angel will start from your mouth or your asshole when he slices you open?”

Austin scoffs and tosses me a fleeting, sinister grin. “I wouldn’t be too confident in your boyfriend, Ivy. My guess is you’ll outlive him.”

I huff, but his words cool my blood.

Sawyer wouldn’t kill Angel. He’d killme, but he wouldn’t kill Angel.

That would be crazy … wouldn’t it?

I’m too afraid to ask.

“My name’s Liberty,” I mutter, the fear somehow absent from my voice.

“Whatever.”

Confusion blooms when we start up the staircase to the second floor, where the women’s rooms are.

We’re not going to the cellar?

Sawyer’s just what … going to make me a whore again?

What about Angel? How the hell is Sawyer going to convince him to let that happen?

“Why do you think I’ll outlive Angel?” I ask, irritated by the quake in my voice.

Austin laughs but doesn’t answer.

“Sawyer wouldn’t kill him.” I try to proclaim this matter of fact, but it comes out sounding unsure.

“Everyone has their limit, princess.”

When we reach the second floor, Austin doesn’t pause. He tugs me up another flight to the third floor.

I try to resist, but he grips harder, dragging me when I stumble. My knees bang against three steps before I can regain my footing and manage to keep up with him.

After we reach the third floor, we take a right and start down a long hallway into a part of the manor I’ve never seen.

“Where are we going?”

“Shut up,” he snarls. “You talk way too fucking much.” With that, he yanks me in front of him and shoves me forward, releasing my arm.

I walk without protest, mostly because I’m anxious to see where we’re going, what’s going on. Fear hasn’t stopped coursing through me since I saw Sawyer’s face, but speculating over the unknown is even worse.

Will he kill me?

Will he kill Angel?

Will he killElsie?

Oh fuck, Elsie. My stomach drops, and I nearly sink to the floor with it.

If he hurts her…

“Take a right,” Austin commands.