Free Untamed by Emilia Kincade Page A

a trip tomorrow, but I can’t make it out.
    But as they climb the steps up to the front door, Duncan turns over his shoulder and looks at me, and I look at him. We don’t break eye-contact until he disappears inside the house.
    When he’s finally gone, I lean against the side of the car, fold my arms across my chest, and chew on my lower lip.
    “Don’t worry, Deidre,” Frank says, walking up to me with wide duck-steps. “He hasn’t forgotten you.”
    I blink, crease my brow. “What?”
    “He’s just trying to be good to Duncan, you know? Show him the ropes. Welcome him into his home.”
    I smile at Frank. He’s got some heart, but I’m grateful that he’s missed the mark by a mile.
    “Thanks, Frank,” I tell him. “It’s cold out. Come inside for a cup of coffee or something?”
    He purses his lips, shakes his head. “Oh, no, I’ll wait out here.”
    “You can come in, you know.”
    “If your father wants me inside, then I’ll come inside.”
    “But it’s cold.”
    “Deidre, you’re old enough to understand.” He implores me with his eyes not to make this any more difficult.
    “Dad’s the boss,” I say.
    “That’s right,” Frank replies. “And he hasn’t invited me in.”
    “Right,” I say, nodding my head.
    “You go in, though, honey. Don’t catch a cold.”
    “See you, Frank,” I say, sighing.
    I wonder what life is going to be like, now, living with Duncan.

Chapter Seven

It’s the same limousine I first climbed into two years ago.
    It’s the smell I remember first. The sticky leather… it makes me feel sick instantly. It’s a wet smell, something that coats itself to the inside of my throat. Something I can almost taste.
    I guess I’m just not used to luxury.
    Glass hasn’t changed a bit. He’s still got those crooked, smoke-stained teeth bracketed by gold ones, the gold watch, the completely bald head, the hard, mean eyes.
    I don’t let my guard down for an instant, and I won’t ever around him. I didn’t trust him as a kid, I just didn’t know it at the time.
    Now… now I understand the trepidation I felt when I climbed into that limousine. I was faced with the choice of taking something given to me, and then finding out how not to be controlled by it. Glass is a serial controller.
    Or I could have returned to my life as it was… destined for nothingness.
    I hate the idea of being nothing, of being worthless. I have worth.
    They used to say that every human being, inherently, had worth. But even as those words left the social worker’s mouth, I could sense that they were empty. She couldn’t hide her true, sad thoughts behind that well-practiced smile. A warm smile in the winter wind. She may as well have said nothing.
    But bless her. Bless all of them. They stand in the way of the storm, try to block it with words and compassion and sometimes, in rare cases, even love.
    It won’t work. It will never work… not in this God damned world.
    But rare is it that the cards you’re dealt can be exchanged. That’s why I climbed into that limousine. That’s why I followed a man like Glass who just stank of something rotten.
    I got to turn my cards in, get dealt a new hand. How many times can people say that?
    “I’ve set up a gym for you in the back of the house. It’s my old one, but I’ve got all-new and modern equipment. We’re going to get you on a proper diet. I’ve got the best supplements, some experimental ones too, testosterone boosters, everything.”
    I nod at Glass, lick my lips.
    “And I’ve got a trip set up, we leave tomorrow. We’re going to talk to Jim McNamara in Omaha. You ever heard of him?”
    I shake my head.
    “Well, he trained some of the best boxers this country has ever seen, and he owes me a favor. He’s got a compound a ways away from the city. You’ll live there, train with him and the other boys. I’ll stay with you, spar with you, show you the ropes, show you my best moves.”
    “Got it,” I tell him. “For how