Worth It

Behind us, City screamed, “No! Leave him alone.”

My eyes watered and my entire face screamed in pain. But as I held my nose, feeling blood fill my palm I called, “It’s okay,” so she wouldn’t freak out too much.

“Oh, it’s not going to be okay for you at all, asshole,” Garrett assured me as he cracked his knuckles. “Tad, hold him still for me.”

As his friend grabbed me, he swung at me again. City screamed and tried to dive forward. I ducked my face to the side, but Garrett still grazed my jaw.

“No. I’m sorry. This is all my fault. Please don’t hurt him.”

“Felicity, shut up.” Max tried to stuff her back into the backseat. “Put your clothes on. We’ll take care of this.”

“I will not. You have no idea what’s going on.”

“Oh, I think the used condom lying right there makes it clear what just happened.”

“Bastard,” Garrett howled before jacking me again.

“Son of a bitch.” That one might’ve loosened a tooth.

“You were probably the fucker who left those diapers on my bed, too, weren’t you?”

I spit out blood and glanced up at him. “Yeah, sorry about that. Turns out I had the wrong brother.”

Momentarily startled speechless, Garrett tipped his face to the side. “Say what?”

“Shut him up and get him in your car,” Max ordered, pointing to me. “We’ll take him home for Father to deal with. And you.” He shoved City toward her car. “I told you to put some goddamn clothes on.”

“Hey!” I broke free of the restraining hands holding me and dove at Max, punching him as hard as I could before I even realized what I was doing. Then I grabbed his shirt and yanked him close. “Don’t you ever fucking shove her again.”

I would’ve hit him once more, but the other two pulled me away. Max wiped blood off the corner of his mouth and straightened his shirt.

He shook his head with an evil leer and slowly advanced. “Oh, this is rich. You’re threatening me after I just caught you banging my sister?”

I spit on him. I couldn’t help it. I hated this self-righteous prick. “Don’t even talk to me, you hypocritical fuck face. What happened between me and her isn’t anything like what you did to my sister.”

“What the fuck?” Garrett demanded. “What is he talking about, Max? Are you the one who knocked up the Parker girl?”

Max ignored his brother. Glaring at me, he stepped right into my face. “Is that what this is about? You think I fucked your sister, so you fucked mine?”

I glanced at City, hoping she didn’t believe that. Tears glistened in her eyes as she hovered in her bra and panties and covered her mouth with both hands. “Not even close,” I answered her brother as I watched her.

She dropped her hands to offer me a watery smile, and that’s all I needed to see.

“Hey, don’t look at her,” Max ordered before he punched me hard in the diaphragm.

I woke sitting upright with a splitting headache and my arms bound behind my back at the wrists with…what were those, plastic zip ties? I shook my head, trying to awaken with as much grace as possible. But damn, I hurt everywhere.

The last thing I’d heard before I blacked out was City’s scream. And the first thing I heard as I came to was her sobbing.

“Father, please,” she entreated. “Don’t do this. I’m begging you. I love him.”

The loud crack of a palm against skin resounded through the room. “Stop talking, you little bitch.”

I jerked my face up, suddenly alert. When I spotted Felicity on the floor, clutching her cheek, I saw red.

“No!” Lurching to my feet, and bringing the chair I was tied to with me, I plowed forward, shoulder first. “How dare you hurt her?”

Before I reached her father, his sons caught me and yanked me back into my chair. I landed hard, jarring every bloody gash on me.

“Interesting,” Abbott Bainbridge murmured as he studied me, my chest heaving and eyes blazing with hatred.

“Don’t slap her again,” I warned, my voice low and deadly. “She didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Debatable,” he answered, and held up a finger in City’s direction when she tried to talk to him. “Ann,” he commanded without looking behind him. “Take her upstairs and get some decent clothes on her.”

As her mother dragged her away, none too gently, I watched her through the doorway of the office or whatever we were in as she disappeared up the stairs. Convinced that was the last time I was ever going to see her, I drew in a shaky breath and looked up at her father, ready to meet my fate.