He stumbled back half a step, hand clamped over his face, stunned for a beat.

"You dared hit my son?"

The mother-in-law had climbed to her feet again somewhere in the chaos, and now she came charging over with an iron basin in her hands.

Inside it sloshed what looked like the blood drained from a slaughtered chicken, feathers still floating on the surface, the reek of it turning my stomach.

She flung the whole basin at the windshield. In an instant the world outside went red, blotted out.

The father-in-law jabbed a finger at me and roared.

"You put that leash on today, or next time this basin goes in your face."

Vivian had been shoved to the ground, both knees split open, blood running down her shins.

But she was up in a second, throwing herself against the car door, shielding me with her body, her voice breaking as she screamed at me.

"Lucy, don't get out. Lock the doors. Forget about me."

I seized my chance while Egbert was still reeling from the slap.

I grabbed Vivian's wrist and hauled her back into the rear seat with everything I had.

Then I yanked the door shut and slammed my hand down on the central lock, sealing us in.

Vivian slumped across the back seat, biting her lip so hard no sound came out, but her hand kept shaking where it gripped mine.

The doors were locked now. The car wasn't running, though, so the windows were still open a crack.

Egbert kicked the side of the car.

"Lucretia, open the door and we can still talk this out nicely."

When I said nothing, he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and let out a cold laugh.

He turned, dug through the toolbox on a tractor by the roadside, and pulled out an emergency window-breaker hammer.

Then he set the point of it against the window glass.

"Lucretia, last chance. I'm only counting to three."

The tip of the hammer bit into the glass, and with just a light push he left a white mark on it.

Vivian clung to my arm, the back seat smeared with the blood off her knees.

Egbert stared at me with red-rimmed eyes, the hammer raised halfway into the air.

"So I give you face and you throw it back, is that it?"

"Today, right in front of the whole village, I'm making this rule stick!"

The mother-in-law rushed up to the window, a pair of big scissors clutched in her fist, jabbing them toward me.

"Come out now, or I'll cut this wedding dress of yours into rags."

"Send you through that door naked. Let's see where you hide your face after that."

The crowd of villagers kept growing, and the words set them cheering.

"Yeah, smash the glass already, strip her and drag her out."

"Let's all see just how precious this city woman really is."

Egbert took the hammer and tapped the glass once, testing, trying to scare me with it.

"One."

I cut him off, my voice cold. "Go on. Smash it."

He raised the hammer, made like he was going to swing, but twice he lifted it and twice it never came down.

His eyes darted, sliding over the Porsche emblem.

My father had rented this car, but to save face, Egbert had bragged to everyone that he'd booked the lead car himself.

The rental contract was in his name.

Smash one pane of glass and he'd owe at least fifty grand.

The cheapness bred into his bones, the poor man's stinginess, wouldn't let him bring it down.

"Useless," Vivian rasped from the back seat.

I said, coldly, "Egbert, this is unlawful imprisonment."

"If I call the police, your whole family goes away."

Egbert casually rested the hammer on the roof of the car, propped his hands on his hips, and laughed.

"Call the police?"

He gestured at the barren hills all around.

"There isn't a single cell tower in this village. That little spinning circle on your phone can spin till tomorrow and nothing's going out."

"On my turf, even a dragon has to lie down and behave."

I glanced down at my phone.

Just as I'd feared, the signal bar was empty. Not a single line.

Egbert took the animal leash from one of his relatives, wadded it into a ball, and shoved it through the gap in the window.

Only when the rope came close did I see it clearly. There was a black-brown filth crusted along the hemp, and the stench of it hit me.

Vivian gagged in the back seat, clamping both hands over her nose and mouth.

"Lucy, lean your head over here and let me slip it on."

"It's just for a video, so the elders back home can see. After this, I swear I'll do everything your way."

He'd switched back to that gentle voice all at once, soft and coaxing, like he was talking down a child.

Somehow that tone turned my stomach worse than the filth-caked rope.

I jerked my head away, my stomach heaving.

Egbert's face went dark in an instant.

"So you'll take the hard way instead of the easy one? You think you've got any other choice?"

He rammed the leash harder through the gap, bits of it flaking down onto my wedding dress.

Vivian reached up from behind to shove the thing back out, but Egbert caught her wrist and wrenched it outward.

"This isn't your business."

Vivian cried out in pain.

That set him off completely. His face twisted, the veins standing out on his forehead.

"Today you walk into my house, or you get carried in. Your choice."

He said it, then went vicious.

He threw half his weight against the window gap, forcing his arm through the crack by sheer strength.

His fingers spread, seized my hair at the crown, and hauled toward the window.

The pain tore through my scalp, so sharp my vision went black.

Hairpins flew loose, a few strands ripped clean out and tangled between his fingers.

His forearm was jammed in the gap, veins bulging, his face flushed dark from the effort.

"If I don't lead you in there today, my name isn't Swanson."

He lifted the filthy rope above my neck, about to drop it over my head.

Vivian threw herself forward, crying, and bit down on his arm.

Egbert flinched at the pain, then drove his elbow back and slammed her into the rear seat. Her head struck the door handle.

"Little slut. Once I'm inside, I'm dealing with you first."

She let go, blood seeping from the corner of her mouth, but she still gripped his sleeve for dear life.

"Lucy, think of something, tell me how to help you."

The rope had already gone under my chin. A little higher and it would drop over my whole head.

Outside, the villagers pounded on the roof, egging him on.

"Almost got it, one more pull, drag her out of there."

My temples throbbed, the edges of my vision going dark.

But the pain sharpened my mind to a fine point.

I couldn't yank free now. He had my hair, and the harder I fought, the more it tore.

I shot Vivian a look, signaling her to start the car.

Then I stopped struggling and pushed my body toward his hand, closing the gap myself.

Sure enough, the pain eased, and my head cleared.

Egbert thought I'd given in. His grip loosened, and a smug smile pulled at his mouth.

"See, wasn't that simple. Saves you all that suffering."

Right then, Vivian started the car, and my hand found the window switch.

The motor kicked in instantly, the glass rising fast.

The Porsche's one-touch window ran on a special motor, strong enough to crush a carrot.

Egbert's wrist and half his forearm were pinned tight by the glass. The pain made him let go.

Then he screamed.

"You little bitch, put it down, it's killing me, smash it, smash the glass, now."

He kicked at the door over and over, his knee banging the metal panel, thud after thud.

The villagers froze, then caught on and raised their hoes to swing at the windshield.

I didn't look at them again. I reached into the armrest console beside the driver's seat.

Inside sat a two-way radio for the motorcade, one handed to each of my cousins before we set out.

They'd meant it as a precaution, the roads out here were complicated, and if anyone got separated they could stay in touch.

I hadn't imagined it would turn out useful for something else.

I pressed the talk key, and the radio gave a short beep.

"Douglas."

I steadied myself, holding back the urge to cry.

"The Swansons are trying to break me in like an animal. This wedding is off."