Prologue

“You’re as useless as the rest of your brothers. Now, tell me. What did you do to her? Who helped you? Where is she?”

He rears his arm back and swings the leather belt toward me, the buckle slicing the skin of my thin arm.

I swallow back a scream as a fresh surge of pain washes over me, and I snap my eyes shut, biting my tongue until I taste something metallic.

I won’t cry. I won’t break down. I won’t let him win.

Jackson’s face contorts with fury, his forehead veins pulsing, his cheeks flushing. He vibrates with anger as he unbuttons his shirt and tosses it on the leather couch behind him. Without taking his eyes off me, he rolls his shoulders and neck.

For an adult, he’s far from fit—the paunch is evidence of his sitting in his wide leather chair most of the time. Even so, he’s so much bigger than me and so much stronger.

Fear lances through me, and I’m one more hit away from peeing in my pajamas. It’s already soaked through with sweat and blood, but I know things can still get worse.

That’s always how it is with Jackson.

My gaze strays to the stairs behind him, made of rugged, weathered stones. I wince when I remember how one of his henchmen dragged me down a few hours earlier, how the sharp edges clawed at the skin on my knees and shin.

It’s not my first time in the basement, but I can never get used to how it makes chills creep up my spine. It smells of damp earth, musty old stone, and the slightly acrid scent of rusted metal. The dim sunlight filtering in through the narrow window has long since disappeared, the only light is nothing more than a flickering yellow lightbulb overhead.

Jackson stands up to his full height, and I resist the urge to slither backward. He’ll like that. He always thrives on raw fear.

The low ceilings and rough-hewn walls begin closing in on me, and I try not to let it show, but I feel something lodge in my throat. Every breath is a struggle as panic begins to choke me.

I’ve seen Jackson angry, but never like this.

The ropes dig into my wrists, making my already-chafed skin sting all over again. There’s pain all over my body, and I don’t know which is which anymore.

“Where is she, Alec? Just tell me and this will all be over. I’ll return you to your big bedroom upstairs where it’s warm and cozy. I might even let the cook make you your favorite hot chocolate. You like that, right? A few more hours here and you’ll die of the cold.”

I believe him. The bone-deep cold already seeps through the thin layer of my silk top, chilling my skin. My teeth begin to chatter no matter how hard I grind them. This is why it’s getting increasingly harder to breathe. Tendrils of frost scrape against the inside of my throat, and my breaths come in short, shallow gasps.

Both my fingers and toes are numb, and even if I somehow manage to get out of these restraints, my muscles are too sore for me to outrun them. Even if by some miracle I outrun them, I’ll still be trapped on the island with nowhere else to go.

Maybe this is the end.

“You still won’t talk? Fine. Just remember you forced me to do this.”

Or maybe not.

Maybe this is the start of a long, long night ahead. A long night of nothing but pain.

I can see it in the way Jackson’s eyes glitter, the slight tilt to his mouth. Inflicting pain excites him. My brothers and I realized that within a year of living with him.

But we couldn’t do anything about it. Besides, a grown man versus four small boys? There was no way we could even dodge his blows.

Something passes his features, and his eyes light up. My stomach drops because if there’s one thing about my uncle, he always finds new ways to torture us.

He pads to one of his men and whispers in his ear. The other man nods and leaves. When Jackson turns to face me again, his face splits into a grin, the kind that makes me sick with dread.

I don’t have to wonder for long what he has in store for me. The man comes back carrying a half-burning log.

A whimper sneaks past my lips, and I scramble backward, sliding across the floor and creating as much distance between us as possible. My head whips to Jackson, who cannot hide his excitement.

“Uncle, please. Please, I won’t do it again. Please.”

My voice sounds different to my ears, like it doesn’t belong to me. And when he takes the log from the other man, my body shakes uncontrollably. My heartbeat races, and sweat slides down my back.

Jackson crouches in front of me, waving the log. “I give you a roof over your head and take care of you. But what do you do, you ungrateful little shits? You mess with me. You mess with me and screw my business. Well, my patience has worn thin a long time ago. Now you’re getting a daily reminder never to cross me ever again.”

“No, no, no. Please, Uncle Jax. I’m sorry. I?—”

The words die on my tongue when the smoldering wood makes contact with the side of my face. White-hot agony pierces through every fiber of my being, the heat leaking into my skull. The smell of burning flesh and singed hair fills the air, along with my screams.

The thick, cloying odor of charred wood is the last thing I remember before darkness claims me.

In the end, it doesn’t matter. Nothing else does because I saved her. I saved the girl. It was the only time I didn’t let the terror get to me and stop me from helping her.

One look and I knew she wouldn’t survive this place. Not for a week. Not for a month. It was for the best. Even if they killed me, it would be worth it. I ignored too many others, turned the other way when their cries for help reached my bedroom window. I slept soundly even though none of them ever slept another peaceful night in their lives again. But at least I saved one. At least I did something good in my short life.

The small daisy hair clip under my pillow is proof of that. I hope she’s all right. I hope she’s found someone to protect her and keep her safe. That’s all I want.

I only feel bad that I won”t be able to say goodbye to my brothers. Then again, we can’t have everything we want, can we?