Runaway Rogue

Chapter Forty Four: Indigo's POV

Indigo felt like she would wait forever for the right moment, then wondered if it would ever truly happen. She thought she could do it while he was asleep beside her, that would be the easiest. Too bad, he didn't spend any nights at the house. She had feared those silk sheets, the thought of having to share them with him made her sick, but that moment never arrived.

Andrew came to see her every day, but there was no pattern to his comings and goings. He appeared randomly, often abruptly. After the years of abuse, she tried to conceal and cover up and excuse, she now understood that this was part of his game. He enjoyed her startled jump when he plowed through the front door of the tiny home.

She hated it when he was there.

But she almost hated it more when he wasn't.

When he was here, in the house, she had something to do with her brain. She would shoot him glares when he wasn't looking, think of the perfect opportunity to bring it all crashing down on his head, and listen to him move around the house. When he was gone, it was just her and her thoughts.

She hated that he gave her tasks, but she hated it more that she did them without hesitation. She had just traded herself for her sisters' safety and he had beaten her, but of course he would expect her to get on her knees and clean the baseboards. And it only made sense that he would ask her to do his tasks while also controlling what clothes she wore.

This morning, she wanted to gag when she saw what he had left behind for her. Slacks and a pretty black blouse as if she were going to the office, not slaving away to scrub the floors and the bathtub in this place. And god forbid she get any bleach on the clothes. Last time that happened, he had only sighed and shook his head. She knew he wouldn't restrain himself the second time.

But the worst of it was what he wanted her to wear beneath the clothes. Silky and expensive. And the worst shade of purple for her skin, making her dark bruises glow. She forced herself to tug on the lingerie despite the bile rising in her throat. The best she could do was avoid looking in a mirror until it was fully covered and tell herself that the consequences would be worse than a little bit of discomfort.

And so, she was alone, wearing sexy underwear beneath business attire, cleaning a house that was not her own for a man she loathed. She wished she was stronger. She wished she was cleverer so she could manifest a new way out.

The front door creaked open. The scent of Andrew's cologne was so strong she could smell it over the chemicals she was using.

"Sweets, you should have been done hours ago," he chided before he even bothered to greet her.

"I'm sorry, I'm just getting it finished now," she said, her tone light and neutral. She could not allow herself to get emotional. He certainly could not be trusted to be the one to keep a cool head.

"Maybe we should go get Sasha a little sooner than I thought. She could help you with all of this. Then you wouldn't be so lonely, too," Andrew suggested, flopping down on the armchair to watch her kneeling on the floor, working.

Indigo's blood ran cold.

"You want to get Sasha?" she asked, trying desperately to keep the fear out of her voice.

"Of course. Any man wants his daughter in his life. It's only natural. The only issue now is that troublesome alpha of hers. But don't worry, I will find a way to deal with him."

Indigo wasn't so blinded that she believed all his bullshit anymore. He didn't want Sasha back because he missed his daughter like any decent father would have. He wanted her back because she had wronged him. He wanted her back because he felt like he owned Sasha just as much as he owned Indigo. And it was no secret that he could use them against one another, threatening one to earn compliance.