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“I AM TAKING CARE OF HER!” she screams, her body shaking in my grasp. “The caliber of man she will be expected to marry will expect certain things in a wife.” I release her, dumbfounded as I stare at her in utter disbelief. Belinda gasps, rubbing at her neck as she sags against the side of her car. “Let’s face it, Daniel. Daphne’s going to be a tough sell when it’s time to marry her off. She’s not top of her class. She has the mouth of a sailor. If she had managed to keep her legs closed, her virginity alone would have made her a priceless commodity, but no, she couldn’t even give me that to work with.”
Every muscle in my body tightens to the point of pain at the thought of some worthless prep-school fucker knowing what Daphne feels like inside. I’m completely unnerved by the realization that I better never find out his name…because I’ll kill him.
Get a fucking grip, Nicky.
“So, this was your solution? Take her to some butcher and allow him to carve her up?!”
“Don’t be dramatic, Daniel. She saw one of the best plastic surgeons in the country who went through her belly button with saline. She won’t even have a scar.”
“That’s how you justify it?”
She straightens, dusting at her blouse as though trying to regain some of her composure, yet she fails to hide the tremor of her hands. “I don’t have to justify anything to you.”
“How about I report your ass to CPS for subjecting a minor to an illegal surgery?”
“Really, Daniel? People with our kind of money don’t get their children taken away. They aren’t going to waste time and resources on us when there are mothers out there putting cigarettes out on their babies’ backs. Daphne is fed. She attends one of the best high schools in the country. A pair of her shoes cost more than some people’s rent. Christopher would have that complaint buried before a caseworker’s even notified.”
She’s right. I fucking hate everything she just said, but she’s spot on. Money like ours? It’s a different set of rules. Fuck, it’s an entirely different game. They wouldn’t even get a slap on the wrist.
“You’re not a mother, Daniel. You would never understand.”
“I wouldn’t understand what? That you’re a fucking psychopath who’s ready to auction off your daughter like a prized cow?”
“Daphne is never going to be poised, proper, or pure. The least I can do is give her a fighting chance and ensure she’s pretty.”
I lunge forward, my body colliding with hers as I pin her to the car once more. Belinda gasps, the sheer force of my weight knocking the wind out of her. This time, both hands encircle her neck and I begin to squeeze.
“Your daughter is the most beautiful creature to have ever graced this shithole planet. She is funny, quick-witted, loyal, and kind.” Belinda claws at my fingers, fighting to loosen my hold as the redness in her face begins to shift to purple. “When she walks into a room, the number of necks that come dangerously close to breaking as they snap to follow her would make a fucking supermodel envious. She is perfection personified, and if you ever—” I squeeze harder. “—EVER, fuck with the masterpiece that is her body again, I will carve a pound of flesh from your own to make amends. You don’t fingerpaint on top of a Rembrandt. Understand?”
I loosen my hold just enough to ensure she doesn’t pass out. Belinda greedily sucks in a large gulp of air, her eyes filled with terror as she nods furiously within my grasp.
“You love her,” she gasps, wide-eyed with a shaky breath.
I chuckle at the notion. “I’m not capable of love, Belinda. However, I’ve researched a hundred forty-seven ways to kill a person, and I’m capable of making a hundred twenty-two of them look like an accident. The other twenty-five? They’d never find your fucking body.”
Any remaining color leeches from her face.
“I trust this little encounter will stay between us?”
“Y-yes.”
I smile, releasing her throat as I back away toward my bike. Lifting it up, I climb on and kick it to life before revving the throttle a few times. Navigating my way back toward her, I bend to scoop my discarded helmet and goggles.
“Always a pleasure seeing you, Belinda. I’ll tell Ma you said hi.”
And with that, I leave the cunt on the side of the road, wondering where the fuck’s a serial-killing hitchhiker when you need one.
***
I pull back onto the grounds, making my way toward our camp when my sister jumps out in front of me.
“Nicky!” She grabs my handlebars when I skid to a stop. “Please tell me you didn’t do something stupid.”
Hopping off the bike and leaving her to support its weight, I stalk toward the trailer, scanning the area for Daph’s red ponytail.
“Nicky!” J shouts at my back. “Nick—”
I whip around to find her following me, pushing my bike.
