This is the way the world ends.

This is the way the world ends.

Not with a bang but a whimper.

---

I had never been much of a student. But that quote always stuck in my head. My English teacher had been crazy passionate and spent a whole lesson talking about the truth and power behind such meaningful words. I guessed it resonated with me on some level, because it was my first conscious thought in a situation where I knew my life, as I’d come to know it, was over. I’d gotten myself into some serious shit this time.

“Is she breathing?”

“I think so.” Male voices.

“Where’s Leesh? She’s good with this stuff.”

“She’s entertaining the guests with Holland. We can’t all disappear.” The last voice was female.

“What are we going to do with her?” That was another male.

“Kill her.” Same female. “I’m not having our family threatened again because some girl doesn’t know her place.”

Wait, what? Who are they talking about? I cracked my eyes and blurry figures came into view. It took a moment for me to figure out why I was on the floor in the linen closet, but when I looked up and saw the hole in the ceiling, my memory cleared. Fuck.

“No.” The word came out as a growl. “Scratching up a car doesn’t deserve the death penalty. Get your head on straight.” I recognised that guy. What was his name again? He didn’t want a blowjob…Toby! Toby. I agreed with Toby.

The woman spoke again, and I was pretty sure she was their mother, she had a similar look but was obviously older than the men. “This girl has gotten in the way too many times now. She’s a problem.”

“You’re being insane,” Nate said, his arms folded across his broad chest. “Just let her go. We’ll make her leave town and the problem is solved.”

“As if that’s gonna stop her,” one of the twins put in. “She’s got some lady boner for my Ute.” Kristian. “You know, I’ve had to fix four flat tyres over the last six months. Four. That can’t be a coincidence.”

“So get a different Ute,” the other twin, Abbot, fired back. “Problem solved.”

Shit. I wish life was that easy for all of us.

“I shouldn’t have to. She can fucking pay to fix it then leave it the hell alone.”

“She’s never going to fix it, brother,” the tallest one, Sam, said. “Look at her. She’s a mess.”

“Gee, thanks,” I mumbled, pushing up on my elbows to try and sit. My head hurt so bad.

“She’s probably got a concussion,” the mother said without an ounce of feeling in her voice.

Toby knelt down beside me. “Can you sit?”

I struggled and he helped me up. “Everything hurts.”

“Take a deep breath. Is your chest hurting?” I did as he asked and shook my head.

“I think I’m just bruised.”

Placing his hands on either side of my face, he looked intently into my eyes. It was kinda unsettling, and I snatched my head away. “What are you doing, creep?”

“Checking to see if you have a concussion. Your pupils are a bit messed up.”

“What does that mean?”

“Concussion,” the twins said in unison, something told me they had first-hand experience.

“We can’t leave her like this,” Toby pointed out.

“That’s not our problem,” the mother said. “She’s the idiot who climbed the bloody shelving.”

“We should at least make sure she gets home to that boyfriend of hers. What was his name again?” Sam said.

“Johno,” Kristian told him, glaring in my direction. He remembers his name?

“Johno and I are history. Broke up months ago,” I said.

“Lucky Johno,” Kristian scoffed.

“Fuck you,” I spat. “You don’t know anything about me.”

He crouched down in front of me, levelling me with his intense blue eyes. I could smell him again, woodsy, manly. Why are my nipples hard? “I know you’re a piece-of-shit thief who doesn’t know what she’s doing or who she’s taking from.”

“Well, who the hell are you, the newest member of the backstreet boy mob?”

He smiled in a way that was kinda scary before he licked his lips. “I’m the guy who owns your arse.”

I scoffed. “Excuse me?”

“Don’t you fuckin’ dare,” Abbot said, shaking his head. “We’ve just finished with this kind of shit.” Maybe as twins they could read each other’s minds.

Kristian glanced at his twin and smiled before looking back at me. “You heard me right. You belong to me. Until I decide your debt to me is paid, you’re my slave.”

“Fuck you,” I returned.

He looked me up and down then grimaced before meeting my eyes. “I’m not that desperate.”

I glared at him, not sure what the heck to think, or what I was in for. Should I scream? That would be pointless. Should I be scared? Probably. It was pretty obvious that the Cartwrights weren’t the good guys in this situation. I wasn’t really sure what that made me. The lesser of two evils?

“Oh for fuck’s sake.” Our staring competition was interrupted when the mother threw her hands up in the air. “There’s a party going on out there and we’re ignoring it for this nuisance. Do whatever you want with her, Kristian. She’s your responsibility so keep her in line. Samuel, Nathaniel, I’m sure your wives are wondering where you are. We’re done here.” Turning away with a dramatic twist that caused the skirt of her dress to flare, the mother left the room with Samuel and Nathaniel following her.

“Make sure you sort this shit out,” Nate said as a parting note. I noticed Toby clench his jaw and roll his eyes a little. There was definitely tension there.

“Come on,” Toby said, his voice gentle as he put an arm around my waist and helped me stand. Pain sliced through my leg and I gasped in shock.

“I think I’ve twisted my knee.”

“Can you stand?”

I nodded. “It just surprised me.” I tested my ability to hold my weight then transferred most of it to my other leg.

“Maybe we should get you an X-ray.”

“No. I’m fine.” The last thing I wanted was to spend all night in emergency when this was more than likely a sprain, or maybe just a jar.

He studied my expression then nodded. “I’ll get you home then.”

“No,” I practically yelled while at the same time Kristian took a hold of my arm.

“You’re not taking her anywhere,” he argued. “She owes me a new paint job, among other things. The girl is mine.”

“Am I the only one who feels like bursting into song right now?” Abbot said, ignored by everyone but me.

Toby kept his eyes on Kristian, his expression creased in a way that showed concern and distaste. “You’re walking into the darkness, brother. Once you go down this road, there’s no coming back.”

Kristian set his jaw then scooped me up in his arms like I was a bag of feathers. “Fuck you, Toby. I’m not gonna rape the girl. What the hell kind of person do you think I am? I’m gonna make her mow lawns and shit until she pays me back. You’re so doom and gloom these days.” Wait. What? Mow lawns? Who the hell were these people? I was completely lost.

“Come on, Abbot, we’ll take her out to the surf shack, take turns watching her so she doesn’t get away or die from a swollen brain or something.”

“Wait, you can’t take me. I’m supposed to be working.” Maree would have a fit when she realised I was gone.

“Don’t worry about it,” Kristian said. “Tobes’ll take care of it.”

With that, he carried me out the door, into the parking lot, and over to the desecrated Ute. Abbot followed us, Toby stayed behind. The party kept raging unaware.

“Are you seriously kidnapping me to make me mow lawns?” I asked when Kristian put me in the back seat and clipped me into the seatbelt like I was a child. Although I didn’t complain over that. I was actually feeling a little ill and pressed my hand to my stomach.

“Yep,” he said simply.

“That’s all?”

He met my eyes. “Do you want me to do more?”

“What? No. I just…I don’t know, you gave the impression that… Your whole family acted like…” I couldn’t really explain. I swore they were all on the same page, and that I was about to punished in any number of ways that bad guys usually punished women. What the hell is going on?

“Yeah. I know what you thought, and when you quit messing with us, maybe we’ll quit messing with you.”

“None of this makes any sense,” I whispered. Maybe it was the concussion causing this to feel crazy.

“It doesn’t need to,” Abbot said, jumping into the passenger’s seat. “All you need to know is that we’re in charge and you do as we say.”

A sudden wave of nausea rolled through me. “Oh God, I’m gonna be sick.”

“Not in the car!” Kristian said, even though it was already too late. It happened before I could stop it. The seat was covered in it.

Abbot coughed and wound down his window. “Following instructions is already a bust.”

“Fucking hell,” Kristian said before he headed to the back of the Ute and lifted the tray cover. He returned with a towel.

“I’m really sorry,” I said, feeling better for puking, but shitty for getting it everywhere.

“It’s the concussion,” he said as he cleaned it up. I tried to help but he pushed my hands away. “You think you can manage to hold it in for twenty minutes?” The absence of emotion in his voice made me feel even worse. I nodded.

“Good,” he said, throwing the towel on the ground behind him. “Because now you owe me a towel and you need to clean the car. Looks like we’re off to a great start, slave.” If I had anything left in my stomach, I might have puked at that. Instead, I was left with a sour taste in my mouth as we drove toward who the fuck knew what….