In a world ruled by fear, survival comes with a price.
When her brother's attempt to overthrow the Saviors fails, Tessa finds herself under Negan's watchful eye-protected, controlled, and dangerously close to the man she should hate. As violence, po...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Negan began to pace slowly, circling the group as if inspecting livestock, his boots crunching softly against the pavement while his voice carried effortlessly over them.
"Today was career day. We invested a lot so you can know who I am and what I can do. You work for me now. You have shit you give it to me that your job. Now I know that is a mighty big nasty pill to swallow but swallow it you most certainly will. You ruled the roost, you build something, you thought you were safe I get it, but the word is out. You are not safe, not even close. In fact, you are pegged, more pegged if you don't do what I want and what I want is half your shit, and if that's too much you can make find or steal more, and it'll even out sooner or later. This is your way of life now the more you fight back the harder it will be.
So if someone knocks on your door you let us in, we own that door. You try to stop us and we will knock it down. You Understand? What no answer? You didn't really think that you were gonna get through this without getting punished now, did you? I don't wanna kill you people just want to make that clear from that gecko. I want you to work for me. You can't do that if you're dead now can you? I'm not growing a garden but you killed my people. A whole damn lot of them. More than I'm comfortable with, and for that, and for that you're gonna pay. So now, I'm gonna beat the holy hell out of one of you. This, this is Lucille and she is awesome. All this, all this just so we can pick out which one of you gets the honor."
By the time he finished speaking, Tessa was frozen in place, fear rooting her to the ground. Her head remained bowed, her vision fixed on the cracked pavement beneath her knees. She could feel his presence before she saw him—the unmistakable weight of his attention settling on her like a hand around her throat.
She couldn't move.
Abraham squeezed her hand once, firm and grounding, then let go.
That small loss of contact made her look up.
Negan was standing directly in front of them.
Abraham straightened his back instinctively, shoulders squared, his expression unreadable and resolute. Brave to the core. It was something Tessa had always admired about him—his refusal to bend, even when death was staring him in the face.
"huh, I gotta shave this shit."
Negan stepped closer, then crouched down until he was eye level with Tessa.
"I noticed you right away but I couldn't see your beautiful face with you having your head down all the damn time. What's your name sweetheart?"
Her throat went dry. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. Panic tightened her chest, making it hard to breathe.
She felt his fingers brush against her hair as he reached out, tucking a loose strand behind her ear.
"You must have not been paying attention, but when I ask a question I expect an answer darling. What's your name?"
Her heart pounded violently as she forced herself to look into his eyes. Dark. Curious. Dangerous.
"It's, It's Tessa. My name is Tessa."
"Tessa... a beautiful name for a beautiful woman."
He rose to his feet and moved on, his attention shifting away from her as quickly as it had landed. Tessa barely registered her next breath before he stopped in front of Carl—and then Maggie.
"Jesus you look shitty! I should just put you out of your misery right now!"
Tessa's head snapped up, her eyes widening in horror.
"No! No! Please!"
Glenn's voice rang out desperately before he was tackled to the ground by several of the men surrounding them. He struggled, shouting, but was quickly forced back into place.
"Nope. Nope get him back in line. Alright listen, don't any of you try that again. I will shut that shit down, no expectation! First's ones free, it's an emotional moment, I get it!"
Tessa's heart slammed against her ribs as fear tightened its grip even further. The message was clear.
