Sally ached from temple to toes. Her skin was raw where she’d been cuffed. Her limbs were screaming for movement and circulation. About an hour ago, they’d re-tied her wrists behind her back and shoved her back to the floor. It was much more uncomfortable and her arms and shoulders hurt.

She’d been in the room for hours and hadn’t even come close to escaping. The windows were bolted shut and the only other exit was the door, which she’d never be able to sneak through with two hyper-alert guards standing nearby. They could hear her every time she moved and always rushed in to make sure she wasn’t trying anything.

Jamie—the nicer brother had finally told her his name—had carried her to the toilet an hour ago. That was the excuse she’d used to explain why she was standing by the window. It had been nothing but humiliating, but Sally was grateful it’d been him and not August.

The way August kept walking past the door and stopping to check on her gave her the creeps. She couldn’t decide if he was trying to psych her out or if he was intending to eventually pounce. Trying to stay strong against that kind of mental torture was hard work and Sally could feel herself breaking.

She had no idea what the time was, but the curtains across the windows let in a bright enough light to assume that it was early morning or later.

It was Sunday. And a pretty shitty way to spend one of her rare weekends off.

Her mind wandered back to Aspen Falls—her family, her friends…Rusty. Nate.

Her heart ached for each of them. If she’d known she wouldn’t be seeing them again, she would’ve taken more care—hugged a little harder, chatted a little longer. Tried to make things work before walking away.

She should’ve talked to Nate before the big breakup. She could’ve told him how she was feeling. She should’ve stood up for him when her family went to town, criticizing his work ethic and inability to open up. She shouldn’t have shared so much with them. Complained so hard.

She’d made so many mistakes, and now it was too late.

Her chin bunched with the onset of tears. Hope of escape was waning. Although Jamie was nice, her comments and sweet pleas had yet to sway him.

Footsteps approached and Sally stiffened.

August appeared in the doorway again.

He stepped into the room. “It’s turning into a long day. All that’s left to do is wait, wait, wait.” His husky voice sent shivers down her arms, and not the good shivers but the kind of goose pimples that made her want to claw her skin and scream.

The door creaked as he gently pushed it shut with his foot.

Sally squirmed, shuffling back as far as she could. The damn wall stopped her, the peeling wallpaper tickling the inside of her arms.

The smile on August’s lips was menacing. She knew it was him and not Jamie because of the dark hunger in his gaze.

Crouching down in front of her, he trailed his finger down her cheek and swiped the tear forming in the corner of her eye. “Don’t cry now. It’s okay. I’ll make it quick and painless.” Her chest shook and heaved as his finger glided down her neck and dipped into the gap between her breasts. “By tonight, I’ll be rich and you won’t be alive to even remember this. It’ll all be over. Quick.” He snapped his fingers. “Painless.”

Sally closed her eyes, releasing another tear. It ambled down her cheek, unaware of her inner turmoil.

“You know my one regret in this whole thing, though”—his finger trailed over the curve of her breast—“is that we never took it to that next level.”

“Get your hands off me,” Sally managed through gritted teeth. If her hands had been available, she’d be slapping and clawing at him with everything she could. But her only weapon was a seething glare.

He ignored her and kept outlining her shape. “You just wouldn’t let go of him, would you? Your sappy heart just kept holding on. Even though he didn’t want you.”

“He wanted me.”

August laughed. “You honestly believed those lies he fed you at the lake house? Yeah, he wanted you back, but he wasn’t about to change.” August’s voice hardened, along with his grasp. Sally winced as he squeezed her breast like it was a stress ball. “People don’t change, and why should he have to? He’s a man, and you’re nothing more than a pitiful woman…only good for one thing.”

He lunged at her mouth, his hot tongue smearing her lips as he tried to kiss her.

Sally clenched her jaw and squirmed away from him.

“Stop it!” she cried. Rough hands yanked her away from the wall, tugging at her clothing. “No!”

She wrestled as best she could, her tied hands and ankles making the fight an impossible one.

The door suddenly flew open.

“August!” His brother rushed toward them, grabbing the back of August’s shirt and pulling him away. “Leave her alone!”

August fell back with a hard thud and glared at his brother. “Butt out.”

Jamie planted his feet in front of Sally. “If I can’t feed her a scrap of food, then you don’t have the right to maul her. She doesn’t deserve that shit. At least let her die with a little dignity.”

“Always such a fucking romantic!” August shot to his feet. “She’s just a woman. A worthless piece of shit.”

“She’s not Mom! You don’t have to hate on every woman out there just because she was a psycho bitch!” Jamie’s voice shook. “They’re not all worthless. Some of them are…perfect.” Jamie dipped his head while August rolled his eyes and scoffed.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake. You need to get over that chick!” August’s eyes narrowed, his lips curving into a malicious smile. “What was her name again?”

“Mila,” Jamie croaked.

“Mila.” August mocked her name, making Jamie’s head jerk up. August sniggered, obviously taking great delight in torturing his brother. “Well, from what you’ve told me, if you hadn’t shown up to take her away that night, she’d probably still be alive. You ever think about that?”

There was a sickening beat of silence, and then Jamie roared and lunged at his brother, clipping his chin while screaming expletives.

Sally inched away from the tussle, eyeing the open door behind them. Resting her elbow on the floor, she started an awkward sideways shuffle.

Hopefully the boys would fight long enough and hard enough that she could inch her way to freedom.

She felt like a snail, the door taking forever to get within reach. Her mind started playing tricks the nearer she got.

They’re going to stop fighting soon and notice you.

Where the hell are you going to go once you get through the door?

Are you going to shuffle back to Aspen Falls? You don’t even know where the hell you are!

Sally fought her doubts and kept moving until the sound of screeching brakes outside made her pause.

Jamie and August jerked away from each other.

“What was that?” Jamie’s eyes rounded as he scrambled to the window and peeked outside. “Fuck! It’s the cops!”

August was already on his feet, snatching Sally and dragging her across the floor.

She opened her mouth to unleash a scream but was stopped by a knife blade pressing into her cheek. “I will slice you open right here.”

Instinct made her clam up. She couldn’t have released a squeak if she’d wanted to.

“Move.” Jamie rushed toward them, snatching Sally’s other arm and painfully dragging her to a dirty rug in the corner. “There’s a cellar. We can get under the house.” He kicked back the dusty rug to reveal a door in the floor. Throwing it open, August hauled her into the cramped space. Her cry of pain was muffled by his hand across her mouth.

Jamie struggled to pull the rug back into place, then closed the door above them and crouched down, helping August control her. She was wrestling as best she could.

The cops were here.

She couldn’t let this opportunity pass her by.

“Stop fucking moving.” The knife was positioned against the pounding artery in her neck as August’s panicked whisper punched into her ear. “You stay quiet and still.”