CHAPTER 6 #3
I turned my gaze to Margarita. She was still sitting in her chair at the head of the table.
Her hands were gripping the armrests so tight her knuckles looked skeletal.
Her eyes were wide, glassy, reflecting the harsh fluorescent light above us.
She looked at the blood pooling around Cole’s head on the floor, and then she looked up at me.
She was looking at the monster. She finally saw exactly what the fuck I was, and she wasn't fighting it anymore. She was just frozen. Terrified.
"You’re still eating, Margarita," I said, my voice dropping back to that low, calm drone.
She didn't move. Her lower lip trembled violently, but she bit down on it hard, burying her teeth into the flesh to stop from letting out a sob.
"Look at me when I speak to you," I ordered.
Her eyes snapped to mine.
I walked slowly back to my chair at the head of the table. I didn't sit down. I stood next to it, staring down at her. I raised my hand and pointed a single, blood-stained finger at the concrete floor directly beside the toe of my right boot.
"Come here," I said.
She stared at the spot on the floor. I saw the exact moment her pride died. She knew the cost of saying no. She just watched me cave a man’s face in for a stray comment.
I tapped the toe of my boot against the concrete. A rhythmic, demanding thud.
"Now, Margarita."
She stood up. The screech of her chair scraping back was loud in the silent room.
Every step she took toward me looked like she was dragging a hundred pounds of chains.
She reached my side and slowly sank to her knees.
She sat back on her heels on the freezing, hard floor right beside my chair.
She tucked her trembling hands into the oversized sleeves of my shirt, pulling her arms tight against her chest, and stared straight ahead at the wall.
"Good girl," I said. "See how easy that was?"
I finally sat down in my chair. I exhaled a long, slow breath, letting the rage bleed out of my muscles. I reached down and rested my heavy, uninjured right hand on the top of her head.
I didn't pull her hair. I just pet her. I slowly stroked the curve of her skull, my fingers tangling in the dark strands. It was proprietary. Tender. It was the ultimate degradation, rewarding her submission with the exact same hand I just used to destroy a man.
I brushed my thumb lightly against the shell of her ear. The contact was chilling. She was vibrating with suppressed adrenaline, her shoulders trembling under my palm, but she didn't move a fucking muscle. She stayed perfectly still, entirely at my mercy.
"Soft. You’re so soft, Margarita," I murmured, staring down at the top of her head. "Stay right there. Don't move until I tell you to."
I hooked a finger under the lopsided collar of the black shirt she wore and pulled it back slightly. I watched the frantic, hammering pulse jumping against the pale skin of her neck.
I leaned down, bringing my face close to her ear. She smelled like terror and my cologne. The rasp of my jaw stubble brushed against her temple.
"You like this, don't you?" I whispered, my breath hot on her skin. "Being the only one I don't break?"
She squeezed her eyes shut.
"Tell me you’re mine, Margarita. Say it."
She didn't say it. Not yet. But I felt her swallow hard, the muscles in her throat working frantically under my finger. She was cracking.
I kept my hand firmly planted on her head and looked up at the two guards standing nearest the door. My voice snapped back to a tactical flatline.
"Clean the floor first," I told them, pointing at Cole's bleeding body. "I don't want the smell of him ruining my dinner. Then take him to the infirMargarita."
The guards scrambled. One practically ran out to grab a mop bucket while the other grabbed Cole by the collar of his suit and started dragging him across the concrete.
The guard nearly tripped over Cole’s dead-weight arm.
I tracked the misstep with a dead stare until the guard corrected himself, sweating profusely.
"Lock the wing when you're done," I ordered. "Nobody enters without my thumbprint."
The guards dragged Cole out. The heavy steel door clamped shut.
I leaned back down to Margarita. I let my hand slip from her hair, dragging my fingers down the side of her face until I gripped her jaw. I applied enough bruising pressure to force her to look up at me.
"I’m the only thing between you and them, Margarita," I growled softly, staring into her wide, panicked eyes. "I’m the only thing keeping you breathing in this city. Remember that the next time you think about being difficult."
I didn't wait for a response.
I let go of her jaw. I stood up abruptly, my chair scraping back. I didn't help her up. I didn't say another word. I just turned my back on her and walked toward the exit, my boots echoing with finality against the poured concrete.
"Stay until the guards come for you," I said over my shoulder as I hit the door release. "Don't move."
I walked out into the corridor and the heavy door slammed shut behind me, the magnetic lock engaging with a loud clang.
I left her kneeling on the floor in the empty dining hall, wearing my clothes, surrounded by the sharp smell of bleach and the wet stain of Cole’s blood.