Page 3 of Vendetta

“Sit.” I say quietly.

The music is still playing but it’s quiet enough for her to hear me. I see her throat move, the only evidence of her nervousness now but she does what I tell her. She is obedient.

I flex my hands, unseen under the table. I’m itching to see how obedient she can be. To push her. To really test her but she’s not ready and I won’t rush her. At least not yet. Softly softly, catch a beauty.

She drops her gaze, keeping her focus on the amber nectar in front of me and I take the moment to study her.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen her face properly. It’s changed so much. Evolved. The low lights bounce off her skin, illuminating the scarring as if she were a painting. She must be wearing makeup, foundation at least to hide the redness of her skin. The thought irritates me. That she feels the need to conceal herself. To hide herself. But the way the t-shirt hides her body shows that she wants to be anonymous. Unnoticeable. A nobody.

Only my little ice queen can never be that. She will never be that.

Because I notice her. I see her. And I refuse to let her hide now.

She’s breathing slowly. Calmly. I look around at the few other people nearby. Preston is busy chatting up the same girl I sent running.

But Eleri looks cool as a cucumber. As if she isn’t even here. As if her she’s zoned out. Her hair hangs thick over her shoulders and I want to yank on it so hard, to force her into giving some sort of reaction that I almost do it.

“Look at me.” I say and she does. Again without hesitation.

Her beautiful doe eye meets mine and for a moment I think I might be lost in that look. She frowns for a moment and I take the opportunity to sip my whiskey.

She is nervous. She’s skittish. Behind the façade. Behind the calm exterior this girl is like a rocket threatening to go off. I see her leg jerk for a second and I wonder if she might just flee.

“Do I scare you?” I ask her.

She nods.

I’m not surprised. Almost everyone in this city is scared of me. Or at least the smart ones are.

“What if I promise not to hurt you?” I say.

She shakes her head slightly.

“Speak. Tell me what you’re thinking.”

I don’t believe such promises.” She says.

I smirk. “Are you calling me a liar?”

“No.” She replies not looking fazed. “But most men make promises they easily break.”

“I am not most men.” I state but mentally I file that comment away, beyond her attack I wonder what other ways she’s been betrayed, what other ways men have chosen to hurt her.

She blinks. That’s all the reaction I get. The audacity of this girl is outstanding. Perhaps that’s why I want her. Why I need her.

“Can I go?” She says quietly.

I grind my teeth. On the one hand I could play nice, lull her in softly, like an injured animal, build her trust if you will but I don’t think it would work and I don’t have the patience for such games.

“Do you know why you work here?” I ask letting her hear the edge to my voice, looking at the vein pulsing in her neck, spiking with her adrenaline.

She nods. She works here because my bar is the only place that will employ her. None of the fancy hotels would have a girl with her face on show. None of the other bars would want her. It’s here or the streets and we both know she won’t choose that. Besides, I’ve made sure she has no other options. Any other place that might hire her was told not to under no uncertain terms because I wanted her here. I needed her here. She has to be under my watch. Where I can see her. Where I can study her.

“This is my bar. I own it.”

“You don’t own me.” She says but her face reacts. Her blood drains and I see she thinks she’s made a mistake.

“Oh Eleri.” I murmur and her face falls more. She didn’t think I knew her name. She just assumed she was a nobody to all of us. A ghost almost. “I will own you.” I say. “I will own every part of you.”

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