Pieces of Autumn Read Online Free PDF Page B

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    For all intents and purposes, you belong to me now .
    He was still turning the thing over and over in his hand, and when it caught the light I saw a glint.
    Pocketknife.
    My pulse quickened. Was he planning to cut me free, or slit my throat? At this point, did it even matter?
    But it did matter. It mattered very much. Because if I could convince him that my life held some value, he might be able to protect me. He didn't have Stoker's resources, but he clearly had their...respect. Or something like it. Why had they given me to him? Like Lambert had pointed out, I was a valuable commodity - a young woman, a virgin, pretty enough and healthy enough and able to carry on a conversation. I could have commanded a high price, but instead, they gave me away.
    What did they owe this man, and why?
    If he was even half as powerful as Stoker, he might be able to protect me - not just from them, but from Birdy too.
    He knelt down, suddenly, knife in hand. A moment later, he was grabbing me by the arm, and flipping me over roughly. I let out an involuntary squeal. The sudden, rhythmic friction of the ropes answered my question. He was untying me, but for what reason...I couldn't imagine.
    The nameless man dragged me to my feet, pulling me after him until I understood to follow.  
    "Thank you," I said, softly, as he pushed the barn door open.
    "Don't," he said. His tone was flat. There was still something about the way he spoke to me - looked at me - he was definitely holding something back. Not just hiding secrets, but restraining himself from doing something. Saying something. I was burning with curiosity, but something told me I'd regret the moment I ever found out what it was.  
    He was holding up a lantern. Battery-operated, I realized, as my eyes adjusted to the strange glow. Where the hell did he get batteries from? To use them so carelessly, when a flame would have been just as good, was incomprehensible to me.
    There was a fairly well-worn dirt path that led towards our destination. A house. A very big house, and mostly dark, but for a few windows that glowed softly in the distance. The moon and stars nearly outshone them, but for some reason I took a morsel of comfort in the sight. It was a house. A house where I could live, for a little while at least.
    "Stay in front of me," the man said, roughly. "Watch out for snakes."  
    I hurried ahead of him, hardly feeling the tiny stones that dug into the hardened soles of my feet. I rarely wore shoes, if I could help it. If I was ever lucky enough to find a pair, it was always more useful to barter them for something I could eat.
    I took the man's advice, keeping my eyes on the path. The last thing I needed was a snakebite. I had a feeling that if it happened, he wouldn't hesitate to leave me out here to die in agony.
    Finally, we arrived at the house. He reached past me to open the heavy oaken doors, then pushed me inside with one hand on the small of my back. I stumbled over the threshold.
    I turned around to look at him. With the lantern resting on a low table in the entryway, his features were lit eerily from below. I remembered the way my friends and I had once told ghost stories huddled in a circle, at sleepovers, holding a flashlight under our chins to create the atmosphere.
    He stared at me, and I stared at him. A silent challenge, on both sides. The air hummed with tension, and I was desperate to regain control of the situation, to say or do something that would put him off his guard. If I didn't gain his respect now, I'd never have the chance.
    His eyes flickered. Finally leaving my face, they roamed freely over my body. I shivered, feeling more naked than when Joshua had demanded I lift my skirt. The man's eyes finally settled on my collarbone, and I remembered my brand.
    The dull ache throbbed back to life under his gaze. His nostrils flared in a sharp exhale, and then he made an abrupt gesture with his hand.
    "Up against the wall," he said. "Palms flat. Legs spread."
    He