“You won’t die.” That’s all he says before he walks away.
Gabriel
I find Chip on the couch in the shitty little living room. Susanna is down in the basement, shivering her ass off, while this asshole is watching TV and scratching his balls. A sudden surge of anger courses over me, though I’m not sure why. Susanna doesn’t mean anything to me. It shouldn’t matter that Chip hit her. I should let it go.
But I can’t.
I grab Chip by the shirt and wrench him to his feet. The bowl of potato chips that had been in his lap falls to the ground. Issac, who’s in the kitchen, glances up with a shake of his head, but other than that, stays out of this. He knows better than to piss me off.
“You hit her?” I ask.
Fear dances across Chip’s eyes. “She had it coming.”
“I told you not to touch her.
“Why do you care? You kidnapped her!”
“I care because I am your boss. I told you not to touch her and yet you did it anyway. How is that supposed to make me feel? You don’t listen Chip. This is a warning. If you fuck up again, I’m going to kill you. And I am going to make it slow. And painful.And you will regret it with everything inside of you until the moment you die. Is that understood?”
“Y-yes,” he stutters.
I shove him back onto the couch. “Good. Now stop pissing me off.”
The truth is, I need Chip, despite how much he annoys me. I lost a lot of power when Luca drove me out of town and I went into hiding. I need all the men I can get right now and Chip has nowhere else to go. Fear will keep him in line.
I stop by the basement door, thinking of Susanna down there, shivering her ass off. The reality is, she could die if she doesn’t get warm. But that doesn’t matter. It shouldn’t matter.
“Issac, bring the girl some food,” I say. “I don’t need her starving.”
“Gotcha, boss,” he says like the good loyal follower he is.
I give Susanna one more thought before I walk away.
Susanna
Issac brings me a flimsy sandwich that I eat up without even thinking about. The baloney will be terrible for my figure but right now, I need all the strength I can get. Gabriel is keeping me alive for right now. I need to stay alive until I can escape.
While the sandwich helps, it doesn’t help the cold in my body.
Issac leaves without a word, not offering me any sort of compassion.
It’s nighttime when the food hurts my stomach and I can’t stop myself from throwing up. I feel cold and hot at the same time. My head is pounding. None of this is good. I’m sick with something. I’ll either die or I won’t have the strength to fight Gabriel and escape.
It’s almost a relief when Gabriel comes back down. At least it will help me forget how terrible I feel.
He stops when he sees my vomit on the ground. “I take it you didn’t like the food Issac gave you.”
I glare at him through my shivering.
For just a moment, his eyes soften, before they harden again. “You’re sick.”
“How could you tell?” I snap.
“Even now, you can’t help yourself.” He kneels beside me and sets his hand on my forehead. “You’re hot and sweaty like you have a fever.”
“Is that a problem for you? If I die?”
He frowns, contemplating what to do before he nods. “You can’t die on me. Come with me.”
