Her face twisted with rage. She slapped me hard across the face. My head jerked to the side, and the pain burned, but I stayed silent.
"You won't beg? Fine!" she shouted. "Then I'll have someone hurt you first, cut you into pieces, and burn you with this house!"
She grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked my head back again. Her mood shifted so fast it made my skin crawl.
"I'm giving you a chance!" she said breathlessly. "Just bark. It doesn't hurt. It's nothing. Just do it!"
I looked straight into her wild eyes and spoke clearly, my voice low but steady.
"Murder is a crime. If you kill me, you'll spend the rest of your life in prison. Is that what you want?"
She froze, clearly thrown by my calm response. She'd expected me to break down, to beg and plead. The fact that I hadn't—infur
