He’d endured that for five minutes and renounced me. Promised it was over. Accepted his punishment of working by my side and never again touching me. Ending forever what we’d had. And last, committing his future to my father’s sister’s daughter.

He’d married my cousin three months later.

But for ages, Tommy had watched the oil poured along the small of my back, my upper hips, and I had not renounced him. He’d shouted. Cursed. Fought against his restraints. Begged them to burn him.

But when they turned to him, he hadn’t endured his long.

I’d endured it silently, focusing as best I could on making new plans. Plans for when it was over, we were healed and it was time to try again (this time successfully). The oil dripped on my back while I decided our next destination. How we’d get there. How we’d cover our tracks. At the same time hoping with each drop gliding pure agony, I was proving to my father that I loved the man I was accepting torment for so he’d find it in him to simply let us be free.

“Liv, sissy, you need to give up on him too,” Georgia told me gently.

Her words brought me back into the room.

“He’s a soldier, nothing more. He’s not yours. He’s ours,” she went on. “And he needs to do his job.”

She was correct.

In this world where we lived, she was absolutely correct.

It was just that I didn’t want to live in a world where things like that were the way you lived.

“Right now I hate you,” I whispered.

Her shoulders slumped slightly, but that was all she gave to me.

“It isn’t the first time,” she replied.

She was again absolutely right.

She was my sister.

But she was also her father’s daughter.

And I detested him.

“No,” I agreed and watched her fight the flinch. “And I’m sure not the last.”

Still holding my eyes, she started to round her desk. “Liv—”

“Fuck you, Georgia,” I bit out and she halted at another rare reaction from me.

“I’ll give you time,” she offered.

“Excellent call,” I returned, reaching out a hand to the doorknob. I opened the door and started through but turned back to share, “David’s hiding something. I’m leaving for the day and working from home for the foreseeable future. I’ll cover his duties while he’s out of commission. Until I find out what he’s hiding and how bad it is, you need to use your inestimable skills to shut him down. I’m sure I can count on you doing that.”

“Liv—”

I raised a brow as I interrupted her. “I can’t count on you to do that?”

Her mouth got tight before she forced out, “It’s done. I’ll go with Gill personally.”

I made no reply.