Obsession (1) ✔

E P I S O D E - 33

"Episode 33 - Prisoner in a mansion."        

Jamie was carrying her on his shoulder as she fought him in every way possible.

"Elena." They both stopped in the middle of the stair. Jamie finally put her down slowly and I locked my eyes with her. She looked at me with such anger, I physically felt her rage. I nodded at Jamie to leave while I took two steps at a time to reach her.

Jamie popped his back and wincing. I didn't care about the grimace on his face, just grabbed her by her elbow and dragged her to her room. She didn't protest with me and I was glad but I could feel the energy vibrating from her body.

"Is your hand okay?" I locked the door and slid all the damn deadbolts.

"It's fine." She paced. "I want to kill him Gabe, you don't understand-"

"I do."

She whipped her head around.

"You know he killed Daniella?"

Wait, what?

It took my brain a couple of seconds to process everything. I had forgotten about her fake mother, when I found out about her real parents. Oh, shit. I couldn't lie to her so I decided to stay silent. Instead, I inched forward to engulf her in a tight hug.

"I don't need comfort. I want his head, dethatched from his body." I couldn't help but think about how similar our thoughts were. The world had fucked with our brains with such cruelty, that think or speaking about killing someone didn't affect us. For me, the actual action didn't distress me at all. She pounded her fists on my chest, fighting me but my hold on her only tightened. My chin rested on her head, arms wrapped around her shoulder.

"It's okay, Elena." Gently, I stroked her hair. She finally mellowed, her words turned into sobs until finally, she wrapped her around me, locking me in place.

For the first time, since I'd known her, she cried. My heart broke with each sob from her. I didn't even know I had a heart until couple of months ago now I felt it move, hurt, flutter, anticipate and sore with joy every time I was with her.

She had left the curtains in her room wide open, the windows too. The summer air flittered in, playing with the white curtains. It didn't take her long to settle down.

"You know she was the only one who was ever nice to me. Or that I can remember." She sniffed before a long sigh. Finally, she let me go to grab herself some tissues from the table on the other side of the room.

"I'm sorry." That was pathetic. I hated it when people said it to me when I lost my friends in a mission. "Tell me what he did."

She threw the tissues in the bin after blowing her nose. Walking over to the open window she stepped into the sunlight which reflected off her golden skin.

"She was taking me away from Chicago, Dex's men tried to stop the car that she was driving. It flipped over and they dragged me out even though my legs were trapped. They pulled so hard that it dislocated my hip and I was in the wheelchair for a while."

She finally looked at me, the sunlight reflecting off her eyes gave her dark iris a reddish hue.

"They just left her there while she tried to fight to get out. The car blew up and I heard her scream when it did. I had nightmares about that scream for months afterwards." Her voice had become stoic. Eyes hardened. "The men brought me to Dex first, I was in pain, yet they took me to him and only after they took me to the doctors. I was only teenager and scared so I didn't say anything and told them it was an accident because Dex said to but I'm not scared anymore Gabriel."

She stalked toward me with determination. "I'm not scared anymore." The stillness in her posture, the balled fists and focuses eyes made me believe her. I recognised it because I'd seen it in men at war and I'd seen it in me. The lack of care for death. It was life that could hurt you where as a quick death would be much kinder.

The revelation scared me to my core. I couldn't lose her.

I grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "I will not let anything happen to you." The vehemence in my voice must have gotten through to her. She finally looked at me like she didn't just look through me. She was listening to my words. "If I have to kill everyone in this mansion, to protect you, I fucking will." Taking her face into my palms, I made sure she kept her eyes on me.

She nodded, clamping her hands onto my wrists.

"I'll put Jamie and Antonio down stairs. Only I will be able get inside this wing, okay?" I promised.

"Gabriel. I hate it here." Her eyes misted over once again. I couldn't contain it any longer, shaking, I pulled her into another tight hug.

"I promise, I won't let anyone hurt you." We held onto each other with dear life. Like we were the last people standing on earth. "I promise." It was an oath I was not going to break.

Dex was staying at the West Wing, near Capone. Why? I didn't know. I'd already spoken to Jamie and Antonio. They were on high alert. I hardly had to come to this wing considering he held his meetings in his study which was closer to the main lounge. The marble floor under my feet sparkled from the bright sun.

The afternoon had been quiet and filled with tension between my men. I had spread around more than fifteen men between the east and the west wing. I constantly texted Elena which she sometimes replied to and sometimes didn't. She however was in the gym, beating the hell out of the punching bag.

I was on my way to his room, to kill him maybe or just threaten him to stay the fuck away from Elena. It felt like I was way in over my head. Before I could reach his room, Capone busted out of his own room with his face red with anger.

"You need to keep that crazy girl LOCKED IN THAT DAMN WING." I nearly raised my fist to punch him square in the face but I contained myself. For one reason, only. Elena. If I had said, fuck you to him and left, who would look after Elena? This man, in front of me was not her father. He was the man who kidnapped her and kept her in captivity for so long.

Who was going to protect her?

Swallowing my pride and I pocketed my fists.

"I have placed guards in her wing." I hated what I was doing it but to protect her from these people, from everyone in the mansion, I had to act like she was caged.

"Good. Make sure she doesn't get away." He spat before walking towards the door I had initially headed for. Shaking my head, I made my way back to the person that I needed to speak to the most. In order for me to take her away, I needed her to know that I knew about her truth. With her so riled up, it wasn't the right time.

Instead I watched her kicked and punch the poor black bag that hung from the roof. She grunted and screamed each time she punched the damn thing with a thud. I shrugged out of my jacket, took off the tie and laid it out on one of the seats of equipment.

"Not now Gabe." Her hair was tied at the nape of her neck, boxing gloves tightly wrapped around her wrists. Nike shorts and a tight sports bra. She wasn't punching from her hips, just using upper strength to put dents in the leather bag.

"Here." I put my had on her hips. "Rotate your full upper body, it will be more effective." She bounced on her knees and punched this time, rotating her full body. I let her carry on while I walked towards the pads before I put them on, Velcroed it into place.

"Here, Elena." I clapped the pads together, motioning her to come to the empty space next to the treadmill. "Two punches and a duck. Raise your hands." She mimicked me and I showed it to her in slow motioned. "Right, left and duck." She nodded, focusing on only the pads.

She started slow but slowly got into the rhythm. She ducked quickly every time after two hits. I started to switch up my swings over her head and she dodged all of them. She was small but fast and her punches packed quite a punch.

I loved that about her. She wasn't weak and I wanted to teach her more to protect herself when I wasn't around.

"Elena, I'm going to teach you self-defence from now on."