No. It’s two men I’ve never laid eyes on before. One is short – shorter than I am – and the other has a scar over his right eye. While they look drastically different, there’s one thing they have in common: they’re both looking at me like they want to eat me.
Or kill me.
I’m not sure which.
I stand upright, making myself appear as tall as I can, though I’m not sure what good that’s going to do me. “Who are you?”
They share a smirk that makes me want to slap them.
“We’re friends of Gabriel,” Scar Eye says.
“And?”
“And we wanted to meet the woman he kidnapped.”
“So, he told you about me.”
“We work with Gabriel,” the short man says. “Of course he told us. And I have to say… you are beautiful. Like an amazon goddess.”
“I’m not that tall. You’re just short.”
That makes his face turn beet red, and even more red after Scar Eye laughs at what I just said. “I am not that short,” he grumbles.
“You are,” I snap back. “Now, stop talking to me and leave me alone. Or help me out of here.”
“We’re not going to help you,” Scar Eye says. “We don’t want to get on Gabriel’s bad side.”
A shiver runs down me. “Why not? Is Gabriel scary when he’s angry?”
Scar Eye shrugs. “Let’s just say you don’t want to be on the receiving end of his anger. He likes to cut people up into tiny pieces when he’s done with them.”
The hand. Of course.
“He sent a hand to my house yesterday. Who did it belong to?”
He waves a dismissive hand. “Just some hitman Luca Moretti sent to kill him. Gabriel made quick work of him.”
I let out a sigh. At least it’s not someone I know. “Why do you work for Gabriel if you’re afraid of him?”
“Because who else are we gonna work for?” the short one asks. “He pays us well enough and we need jobs.”
“If I could pay you more, would you let me out of here?”
Scar Eye chuckles. “She wants to bargain, Chip. What do you think of that?”
Chip, the short one, laughs too. The sound makes me angrier but there’s nothing I can do about it. Not if I want to save my own life. Who knows what these men will do to me if I upset them even more? “I think she’s delusional. She doesn’t have money.”
“I have a lot of it. My family is rich. I can get you the money if you just let me go.”
“But once you’re gone,” Scar Eye says, “then who do we know you’ll pay us?”
Because I won’t. I’ll send Alek after them and have him kill them both. Of course, I can’t say this. “You can take me to my house. My mom will get you the money. That will guarantee you’ll get it. Just help me escape.”
The two men think on it for just a moment before they shake their heads.
“Nope,” Chip says. “We won’t risk Gabriel’s wrath. Not for any money in this world. Sorry, sweetheart, you’re on your own. You’re Gabriel’s now.”
It’s then that I notice that neither one of them has gotten closer to me during our talk. They remain by the stairs, almost as if they’re afraid of getting too close to me. Will Gabriel hurt themif they touch me? But why does that matter? I could be raped and still be useful to Gabriel. I don’t get it.
