I pay attention to everything on the drive so I know exactly where I am. The moment we pull into a large driveway before a gorgeous mansion, I know my life will never be the same. Gabriel is taking me to his personal house, which means he has no plans of me ever leaving it again.
Either I’ll be dead or… he’ll make me into his.
Chapter Nine
Susanna
Idon’t bother running as Gabriel leads me into his house. He would only catch me. But I do make a point of looking around the neighborhood. The closest house is not far away. I can see the tip of the roof over the large hedges that surround Gabriel’s house.
“Why didn’t you take me here first?” I ask as we step inside. The first thing I notice is how everything is covered in white cloth. The house itself is beautiful. Dark wood floors. Cream colored walls decorated with dark green drapes that give the space a sophisticated feel.
“Because I haven’t been back here since Luca drove me out of town. I had to make sure it was safe.”
My heart skips a beat. “Are you saying that Luca knows about this place? That he could come here?”And save me?
Gabriel smirks as he grips my chin. “You are mine now, Susanna. No one is coming for you. Yes, Luca knows about my house. But he won’t risk coming for you. Not when it could put you in danger.”
“Luca doesn’t care about me like that. He’ll put me in danger to get to you.” I know my brother-in-law. How ruthless he can be. How cold and calculating. He’ll do what’s best for him and Nina. Not me. Even if it means putting me in harm’s way to get to Gabriel, I believe he will.
“Besides, I want Luca to challenge me. Come to me if he wants,” Gabriel says, letting me go. “We’ll see what happens.”
I shiver. Will Gabriel be able to kill Luca? Cut him into pieces? I don’t want to find out. I may not be close with my brother-in-law but I know my sister loves him and I can’t stand the idea of her being in pain forever if she loses him. Maybe in the past I would have reveled in my sister’s pain but no longer. Not when I know pain of my own now.
“Come on,” he says. “This way.”
He leads me down a dark hallway to a room at the back. The room is bare… except for the human sized cage right in the middle.
“What is that?” I gasp.
“Where you’ll be staying. I need to make sure that you don’t run.”
“You’re going to keep me in a cage?” Keeping me in the basement was bad enough but this just seems worse. More… humiliating.
“I can’t trust you to stay put if I let you stay in one of the rooms. So you’re going to be staying in here.” He opens the cage door like it’s a normal day at the office. “Get in.”
“You know, for someone who wants me to become yours, you have a funny way of seducing me. I’m never going to fall for you if you keep me in a cage.”
“Maybe not right now but your mind will break eventually and when it does, you’ll be mine. Until then, get in the cage. Keeping you here is more important right now than getting you to fall in love with me. Besides, I never said I need you to love me.”
“You just want me to be yours.”
“It will happen one day. I know it.”
“You’re so cocky,” I scoff.
“Confident. Now, get in. I’ll even give you a pillow and a blanket because I don’t want you getting sick like last time. It was really inconvenient.”
My body tenses and before I even know what I’m doing, I turn around and run. Gabriel immediately gives chase. Instead of heading for the front door, I go into the kitchen and grab a butcher knife. I point it at Gabriel as he comes to a stop.
“I will stab you,” I warn.
“You really think you can kill me? That you have the strength?”
“Try me.”
He runs at me but I swipe out the knife and he has no choice but to back up. Surprisingly, there’s a glee in his eyes that speaks to how much he’s enjoying this. “You have spunk.”
“It’s called survival.”
