Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Susanna
True to his word, Gabriel brings me a pillow and a blanket. It does help make the cage not so cold and uncomfortable but it’s still cold and uncomfortable. I try to fall asleep for the night but my mind is racing. Gabriel touched me. He gave me an orgasm.
I let it happen.
I could have pushed him away harder. He has no intention of raping me. If I had told him to stop, I believe he would. But I didn’t tell him to stop.
Because I didn’t want him to stop.
That thought haunts me all night until Gabriel comes back in the morning with a bowl in his hands. I’m prepared for to be filled with blood but it’s just oatmeal.
Groggily, I sit up, feeling exhausted from my lack of sleep.
He opens the cage door and sits down beside me, offering me the bowl. There’s only a spoon inside. Nothing I can use as a weapon.
“Eat,” he commands. “You need to eat.”
He’s right. My stomach is screaming in hunger. I know it’s not poisoned since that’s not Gabriel’s style. If he wanted to kill me, he would do it by butchering me into tiny pieces.
So I eat the entire bowl without complaint.
I need food right now and I can’t risk Gabriel taking it away from me if I act bratty.
I’ve always hated oatmeal. I would have thrown a hissy fit in my previous life if I was given this but I’m in my new life.
The one where I’ve been kidnapped. I have to be smarter.
I have to grow.
Gabriel takes the bowl from me once I’m finished. “You should know that I have some men coming over tonight.”
“Chip?” I ask with a snarl.
“Yes, Chip and Issac. And a few other men. We’re getting together to celebrate my return. Luca will undoubtedly get word and that will piss him off that I’m throwing a party while he’s freaking out. It will be perfect.”
“And me?”
“You’ll remain in this cage. You’re mine now, Susanna. I don’t want my men to have you.”
His words settle in my core. For some reason, they make me feel thrilled when I know I shouldn’t. That’s Gabriel’s effect on me.
“Let me give you a shower,” he says. “I don’t want you to smell.”
“How considerate of you,” I grumble.
He only laughs.
Now that Gabriel has touched me, I feel even more self-conscious before him as I take my dress off in the bathroom. I was never one to feel insecure over my body but now I’m on full display before him and it’s intimidating. I’m not sure it will ever stop being intimidating.
Gabriel doesn’t comment on my body as he starts the shower but I can tell he likes what he sees. If he had his way, he would have already taken my innocence. But I have to cling to it for as long as possible. Once that’s gone, I’ll be Gabriel’s forever.
The shower is nice and warm, relaxing my body.
Gabriel doesn’t join me this time. Instead, he settles against the counter and watches me through the glass door.
Thankfully, the steam makes it hard to see through the door but I know Gabriel is watching my every move.
Watching my hands glide over my body as I wash myself.
Once I’m done, he takes me back into the cage room. I’m naked as he didn’t allow me to put my dress back on.
“Get in,” he says and I do as he instructs. Gabriel leaves the room but a moment later he comes back with another summer dress. “Here.”
“Why are you giving me this?” I ask, taking the dress through the bars of the cage.
“Because my men will be over tonight. I don’t want any of them seeing you naked.”
“Chip and Issac have seen me naked.”
His eyes darken. “I know. And I don’t want them to see you naked ever again.”
Gabriel’s possessiveness settles itself into my core, making me feel warm all over. I put the dress on with no complaint and then Gabriel leaves the room. Leaving me to this cage. To my own mind.
To my own misery.
Gabriel
Ten of my closest men come over for the evening. Chip and Issac are among them. Chip instantly averts his gaze when he sees me, knowing he’s in hot water for pissing me off.
I say hello to the rest of my men.
“It’s good to see you again, Gabriel,” Tom says. He’s been one of my loyal followers for years, having helped me keep my house when I was in hiding.
“You too, Tom.”
“So, where’s the girl?” Jacob asks. His lanky body makes him look more like Slenderman than an actual human.
He’s a good enforcer. Scares the shit out of people into giving me money.
It’s the thing that kept me going over these past couple of years.
Living off the scraps I could get to stay afloat.
But it feels good to be back and no longer in hiding.
“You’re not going to meet her,” I say.
Jacob’s eyes light up. “But she’s here? Chip told us you brought her here.”
I scowl at Chip and he averts his gaze even more if that were possible. “Chip should have kept his fucking mouth shut. But yes, the girl is here. And no, none of you are going to meet her. She’s for me and me alone.”
“Really?” Anderson asks. He handles a lot of my bookwork. “We were hoping to see her. The girl you’re going to war with Luca over. It’s the least you can do. Introduce us to her.”
All my men murmur their agreement. They want to meet Susanna. Since I’m on precarious thin ice with my men right now, I need to make them happy. I need all the help I can get.
So with a sigh, I lead them down the hallway to where Susanna is. “But don’t touch her. You will all leave her alone. She’s mine, understood? If any of you try anything, I’ll have your head and you know I won’t hesitate to take it.”
They all nod. They know to take me seriously.
Susanna jerks upright when I open the door and my group of men come spilling into the room. The fear in her eyes is palpable. For some reason, I want to comfort her. Tell her that she doesn’t need to worry but that doesn’t make any sense. Susanna doesn’t mean anything to me. She can’t.
“So, this is her,” Jacob says, breathing out in a way I don’t like. Too much desire in his voice.
“Yes, this is her,” I say. “Now that you’ve seen her, let’s go.” I try ushering the men towards the door but they’re not listening.
They all crowd around the cage, staring at Susanna like she’s an animal in the zoo. She tries backing away from them but that only sends her closer to one of the men. No matter where she goes in the cage, she’s surrounded.
“Enough,” I state. “You’ve all seen her. Let’s go.”
“She’s very pretty,” Anderson says. “I can see why you like her. Why you’re acting possessive of her.”
“I am not acting possessive,” I grumble. “But she is important for my plan so leave her alone. Only I get to decide what to do with her.”
“See? Possessive.”
Susanna catches my eyes, curiosity in her gaze. She’s wondering how much I’m possessive over her too. How much she means to me.
“I want to touch her,” Jacob breathes out, reaching into the cage to stroke her arm. Susanna backs away with a scream.
“Enough,” I snarl. “I told you to go. Jacob, stop acting like a fucking creep. You look like one. You don’t have to act like one too.”
“See?” Chip says. “Gabriel doesn’t let us have any fun. This bitch has been a problem from the start.”
I stalk over to Chip as the room goes quiet. He stares down at his feet, as if that will keep him from my wrath. “I told you to stop.”
“You need me,” Chip says with a huff. “You can’t kill me for voicing my opinion. You need all the help you can get.”
“You’re really getting on my fucking nerves. I would stop if I were you.”
“Why do you care so much for the bitch? She’s just a pawn for you. Why go to all of this effort?”
“She’s in a cage,” I say. “Does it look like I care for her?”
“You don’t want any one of us touching her. That seems like you care.”
“Just because I don’t want Susanna gang raped doesn’t mean I care for her.”
“Then let us touch her,” Jacob offers. “If you truly don’t care for the girl, then you won’t care if we all get a taste.”
“Fine. I’m a possessive asshole. I’ll admit to that. I want to be the only one to touch her but it’s not because I care. It’s because I want to be the one to take her virginity. None of you will get that honor. Is that understood?”
“I’m right here,” Susanna snaps. “Stop talking about me like I’m not.”
“The girl speaks,” Tom mocks, making the other men laugh. She flushes but that doesn’t stop her from shooting every one of the men a glare. Susanna is a lot stronger than even I’ve given her credit for. She doesn’t back down easily.
“All of you will burn in hell,” she says. “You are disgusting. You think you’re so powerful while you laugh at the girl locked in a cage. But you’re all weak, disgusting little men.”
“She thinks her insults can hurt us,” Tom laughs. But it’s clear from the anger on Chip and Jacob’s face that Susanna’s insults worked.
Chip lunges for the cage and manages to grab her arm through the bars. She cries out as he squeezes hard. “I am not a little man. I am not weak or disgusting. You are all of those things. You are just a pathetic female.”
“Poor incel,” Susanna mocks. “I’m so sorry life is so tough for you.”
Chip pulls her towards him, making Susanna’s face slam against the bars. She cries out, making Chip laugh. “Who’s the weak one now?”
All I see is red. Pure rage. Chip is touching Susanna. Hurting her when she’s mine to hurt. Mine to do with as I please.
I lunge towards Chip and wrench him away from Susanna. In one smooth motion, I punch him and he topples to the floor. That’s when I let my anger out on him.
I rain down punch after punch after punch onto his face until he stops moving. None of the other men try to stop me.
“Gabriel,” Susanna gasps. “He’s dead.”
That’s what gets me to stop.
I stare down at Chip, breathing heavy, my hand covered in blood. The skin around my knuckles is broken. His blood mixing with mine.
Chip’s face is practically caved in. I punched him that hard without even realizing it.
“Holy shit, Gabriel,” Issac breathes out.
“I told him to leave her alone,” I growl. “I told all of you. None of you listened. I am your boss. Respect me.”
All of my men nod without hesitation. They now know what will happen to them if they piss me off.
I stand up and back away from Chip’s dead body. “Clean this up. And get out of this room.”
It takes a moment for my men to leave but they do. Issac comes back a moment later with a plastic tarp that he sets Chip’s body onto. I breathe heavily as I stare at Susanna.
She stares back.
But there’s no fear in her face. No. There’s something else. Relief that I protected her.
This changes everything.