I reclaim the bottle and drink, then set it aside. “Go to the house. Now.”

She cocks her head to the side and steps closer. “No.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t.”

“You don’t know that. Don’t know me.”

“Then show me. Show me just how big and bad you are, Lawson Montgomery.”

11

Mercedes

Judge stares down at me, eyes alight with torment. There’s a war inside his head, and right now, I don’t know which side is winning.

“Why would you come back here?” he demands.

I study the lines of his face, and I realize there’s always been something tormented in him. He hides it well, but it’s there, beneath the surface. Beneath the tension that creeps in around his eyes whenever someone tries to get too close, just as I’m doing now.

“I learned a long time ago not to let the places where bad things happen have power over me.” I reach out to smooth the shirt collar around his neck. “If I did, I’d never be able to go anywhere, and that includes half of your property since I’ve been in your care.”

He flinches at the observation, but there’s no point in sugar-coating it. We both know the truth.

“It’s the world we live in.” I lean into him, feeling the warmth of his chest as it presses against my body. “There’s no point denying it. This is our normal.”

“It doesn’t have to be.” He shakes his head, a dark expression taking over him. “Not for you, Mercedes.”

“Why?” I trail my fingers up the length of his neck, stroking his jaw. “Because you’re going to give me away? You think I’ll be better off with someone else?”

His jaw clenches, and he tries to brush my hand away, but I resist and then he captures it between us.

“Yes,” he grits out. “It’s something you will come to understand in time.”

His determination stings, but that’s nothing new.

“And what happens when my husband turns out to be a monster too?” I trap him with my eyes. “When he decides I need to be beaten and whipped for my own good, will you still think I’m better off then?”

“I would never let that happen,” he snarls.

“But you’d have no choice.” I give him a pained smile. “It’s a man’s business what he does at home with his wife. At least in our world. You wouldn’t be able to rescue me, Judge. Not anymore. I’ve always known it would be up to me to rescue myself.”

“Mercedes.” His words are thick with restraint. “I know what you’re doing.”

“What am I doing?” I ask innocently as I yank my hand from his and resume my exploration of his skin.

“You’re goading me.”