I groaned as something wet brushed against my cheek. My eyes fluttered open to see Charles leaning over me. He smiled before wiping my face with a warm cloth. My temple was throbbing and I struggled to keep my heavy eyes open. I rolled my head to the side, looking away from Charles. There was a large dresser and a rocking chair in the corner of the room. I was lying on top of the bed.

My muscles screamed out in pain as I raised my arms to push him away. My hands were pressed against his chest, but he did not move.

"Where am I?" my hoarse voice croaked.

"You're home, Juliet," he said.

I gasped when he said my real name. Charles chuckled and ran his fingers through my hair. The bile was rising in the back of my throat as Charles leaned in closer. He smiled, revealing his yellowing teeth.

"I looked in your wallet and saw your driver's license," he said. "We don't like liars in this family, Juliet."

"Where am I?" I asked again.

"I already told you. I've brought you home." His warm breath fanned across my face. "Don't worry. You are safe here. You're finally safe from the outside world."

"Let me go," I said. "You can't do this."

I propped myself up on my elbow and pushed myself away from Charles. The blanket covering my chest slipped down. I clutched the blanket in my hand, and my thumb brushed across the bare skin of my chest. My heart pounded. I was naked underneath the blanket. Charles smirked when he saw my realization.

"I was just cleaning you up," he said. "I can't have you meeting my son looking all dirty."

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Jimmy," he said. "He's my oldest son. You see, Juliet, we have a tradition in this family. On our son's twentieth birthday the father, who is me, goes out and saves a girl from the outside world and brings them into this family."

My head was pounding. I squeezed my eyes shut and I tightened my grip on the blankets.

"You are now going to be Jimmy's wife," he said.

My eyes flew open. Charles was staring at me with a smile plastered across his lips. I swallowed past the lump that was forming in my throat. This man was psychotic. This had to be a dream. There was no way any of this could be real.

"No," I said. "I need to get home. My roommate is probably worried that I never came home last night."

"Don't you realize that your roommate doesn't care about you," Charles said. "No one in your life cares about you. That's why you need us. Jimmy is going to love and take care of you."

"No."

I shook my head, and it caused the sharp pain in my temple to grow worse. I gritted my teeth. Charles stood up from the edge of the bed.

"I'm going to go get Jimmy," he said. "He can explain everything to you."

"Please," I begged. "Please, I need to go home."

"I already told you that you are home." Charles walked over to the bedroom door. He stopped and looked over his shoulder. "You need to behave. You will realize that in this house there are consequences for every action you make."

I let out a shaky breath as he exited the room. I gathered the blanket and wrapped it completely around my body. I shimmied my way to the edge of the bed. I placed one foot on the cold floor and pushed myself onto my feet. My knees wobbled as I tried to steady myself.

My eyes scanned the room. There was a window, but thick bars were blocking the view. I did not have enough energy in my body to lift my feet and take proper steps. I shuffled over to the window. I wrapped my fingers around one of the bars and gave it a yank. It did not budge. I groaned and tried pulling on the bar again.

The bedroom door opened and I looked over my shoulder. A man around my age walked into the room. He was tall, a lot taller than Charles, and it was intimidating. He had long dark hair that was tucked behind his ears. A thick jagged scar started at his nose and ran horizontally across his cheek to his ear.

The sweat was building up on my palms, and I was afraid that the blanket would slip out of my grip. My knees gave out underneath me. With my back to the wall, I slid down onto the floor. The man hurried over to me. He crouched down in front of me. Tears had escaped my eyes and were rolling down my cheeks. I flinched when he reached forward to wipe them off of my face.

"Don't cry, Juliet," he said. "I am not going to hurt you."

"Don't touch me," I said.

I swatted his hand away from my face. This must be Jimmy. He grabbed my wrist in a crushing grip.

"Don't hit me," he said. "I won't tolerate disrespect."

"You can't do this to me," I said.

"I can't do what?" he asked. "I can't take care of you?"

"You can't kidnap me."

"We didn't kidnap you. We saved you. You should be thankful."

I shook my head and more tears slipped down my cheeks. Jimmy's grip loosened on my wrist, but he did not let go of me.

"You're so beautiful," he said.

"Please," I said. My voice cracked because of the tears. "Please, if you let me go I promise that I won't say anything. I won't go to the police or anything. You guys won't get in trouble. Just let me-"

"Juliet," Jimmy cut me off. "You're not going anywhere. Now, can you walk?"

"Please, you can't keep me here-"

"Juliet." He raised his voice. "You need to listen to me. Can you walk or are you too weak?"

I bit down onto my bottom lip and sucked in a deep breath through my nose.

"I can walk," I said.

"Good," he said. "Now, let's get you changed and I'll show you around the house."

Jimmy stood and he pulled me onto my feet. My knees were shaking. He snaked his arm around my waist and pulled me into his body. The smell of mud and sweat filled my nose. I looked down to see that his fingernails were caked in dirt.

He pulled me over to the bed and had me sit down on the edge. He opened up the dresser and I watched him put a pair of jeans, underwear, and a sweater on the bed beside me.

"Let me help you," Jimmy said, reaching for the blanket wrapped around my body. I turned so that his hand brushed against my shoulder.

"Don't touch me," I said.

"Juliet, I am just trying to help," he said. "You're too weak to do this yourself."

"I don't need help," I said. "You can go."

"I'm staying here to make sure that you don't fall. You know I am going to be your husband. You don't need to hide from me."

"Can you at least turn around?"

"No."

I looked over to the pile of clothes. I pushed myself off the bed with one hand. Jimmy's eyes were locked on me as I tried to shimmy on the underwear and jeans while hiding myself with the blanket. When I put on the shirt, I turned my back to him and slipped on the bra and the sweater. The sweater had a turtle-neck and the sleeves ran past my fingertips. I sat back on the bed and set the blanket down.

Jimmy went through a door connected to the room. I leaned to the side to see that it was a bathroom. He opened up the vanity and brought something over to the bed. He lifted it and I saw that it was a brush. He ran it through the knots in my thick dark hair.

"You really are gorgeous," he said. "I can't believe how beautiful you are."

Jimmy finished brushing my hair and flipped a piece over my shoulder. He pulled me off of the bed. His one arm was around my waist and he had his other hand on the back of my head. I pushed my hands against his chest and tried to wiggle out of his grip.

He leaned forward and pressed his lips against mine. I pushed hard on his chest to try and create some distance. His fingers were curled in my hair and he was holding me in place. His lips attacked mine and his tongue swiped across my bottom lip. I tried to roll my head to the side, but his grip tightened. When he was finished, he was smiling.

"Let me show you the house," he said.

"And then I can go home?" I asked.

"You're funny," he said. "Dinner should be ready."

Jimmy kept his arm around my waist and held me close to his body. Pain shot across my temple with each step we took. If Jimmy was not holding me up, I would probably be crumpled up on the floor.

He opened the bedroom door. There was a large wooden banister that ended in a staircase. There was faded and ripped wallpaper on the walls. The floor creaked as we stepped into the hallway.

"Dad's room is at the end of the hallway," he said. "Tommy's room is next to ours."

Tommy? There was another male in this house? That must mean that there was another kidnapped girl here. I needed to find her. We could work together and get out of this.

Jimmy's grip on my waist tightened as we walked down the stairs. The rich smell of food filled my nose. The staircase ended in a thin hallway. We went through the door on the left, and it opened up into a large kitchen. A wooden table sat opposite the counter and matching chairs surrounded it. Charles was hard to see behind the cabinets, but I could see him stirring a large pot on the stove. Another man, who seemed to be a couple of years younger than me, was putting bowls on the table. His eyes widened when he saw me.

"Tommy, this is Juliet," Jimmy said.

He pulled out one of the chairs at the head of the table and pushed me down on it.

"Who is she?" Tommy asked.

"Juliet Miller," Charles said. I looked over to see him pouring stew into bowls. "Nineteen and from New York."

"City or state?" Tommy asked.

"State."

Jimmy sat down in the seat across from Tommy. Charles carried a bowl over and set it down in front of me. I could see it was full of potatoes, carrots, and some kind of meat.

"She was a bit of a fighter too," Charles said. "You may have your hands full with this one."

"I think she's going to behave," Jimmy said.

"Don't be so naive, boy. You need to be able to set her straight if she's being disrespectful."

I suck in a deep breath. I had become so nauseated listening to them talk about me that it seemed like I was going to vomit all over the floor.

"Please," I said. "Just let me go."

"Juliet, if you ask to go one more time I will make sure that Jimmy punishes you," Charles said. "Do you understand?"

I kept my gaze on the stew and stirred the spoon in the bowl. In the corner of my eye, I could see Charles storm toward me. He slammed his fist down on the table, and the bowls rattled. I jumped in my seat.

"Do you understand me?" His face was only inches away from mine, but he was shouting. "You answer us when we ask you a question! Understand?"

"Yes," I said.

Charles let out a huff of breath. He put his hand on the back of my head and slowly dragged it down my hair. I dug my teeth into my bottom lip.

"Good girl," he said. "Now, eat everything in that bowl."

I nodded and he walked back over to the counter. My stomach was twisted in a tight knot. I took small bites of the stew to stop myself from being sick. I looked up to see Jimmy's eyes were locked on me. It reminded me of the way Donavon watched me at the club.

Charles sat at the head of the table. I looked back at my bowl and we finished our dinner in silence. I forced myself to eat all of the stew. I was not sure what Charles would do if I did not do what he said. I did not want to experience one of these punishments that Charles had mentioned.

"You two can go upstairs," Charles told Jimmy and me. "Only for tonight. Jimmy, I expect Juliet to be cooking tomorrow."

"Okay," he said. "I'll make sure that happens."

Jimmy stood and he extended his hand to me. Charles had his fingers tented in front of his face. He raised one of his eyebrows.

"Juliet, don't be rude," Charles said.

I took Jimmy's hand and stood. He had a crushing grip as he pulled me out of the kitchen. We went up the creaky stairs and down the hallway to his room. He let go of me once he closed the bedroom door. He smiled and it contorted the scar that ran across his cheek.

I braced myself for whatever he had planned to do with me.