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.”
