Gangster's Girl (Complete)

Chapter 13 - Part 1

I stretched as I woke up. After the session with James I had crawled back into my bed, I hadn't gone back to Angel's room for fear of waking him up and trying to explain where I had been.

I rubbed my eyes as I sat up in the bed. There in the chair across from me sat Angel. The shock of seeing him so suddenly made me put my hand to my chest as my heart hammered inside.

"What are you doing?" I asked, surprised by his presence and having a sense that nothing good would come of it.

He was fully dressed in a suit, so I had probably slept for a while. The sun was up and the brightness made me squint slightly.

"Is there something you need to tell me?" He was angry, it glittered in his eyes as they held mine. There was a hardness in his features that made me sit up straight.

I wasn't stupid enough to believe he didn't already know everything he wanted me to admit but I wasn't going to roll over for him and spill everything because he was questioning me.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about Angel," I said, my tone half assed. "If you want to know some specific, perhaps you should ask the question?"

His jaw tightened. I was playing with fire and I knew it but I couldn't help myself. Even the thought of getting burned didn't stop me.

"Where were you this morning?" His voice was tight.

He already knew where and what I was doing, why was he even bothering with the questions.

"I'm not playing this game with you Angel." I slipped from the bed. I was dressed in my sleep shorts and top. When I made an attempt to walk past him to the bathroom he stood and grabbed me by the wrist.

My eyes went to where he held me. "Let me go." His vice like grip didn't give way.

"Not until we finish this conversation. I asked you a question and I want you to answer it."

My eyes lifted to his. "I'm not answerable to you. I can do whatever I want Angel, and I don't need to run everything by you. You don't own me." Why couldn't he understand I wasn't some sort of possession, I was a person, something that couldn't be owned.

"You see that's where you are wrong. To be able to protect you I need to know everything, even the things you believe aren't my concern."

I flattened my lips into a line, refusing to go along with the conversation. I pulled my wrist but he refused to release me.

"You already know where I was this morning Angel. I'm not going to answer questions you already know the answers to." Was he trying to see if I would lie to try and cover it up?

"You went behind my back and asked James, someone I trust implicitly, to help you without checking with me first. You put him into a position where he kept something from me. Don't you get it. You are making me question the loyalty of the people I need to trust."

I shrugged. Even I knew James would never betray Angel.

"If James hadn't believed it was something I needed he wouldn't have agreed to it and kept it from you." Let him chew on that.

"That's not something you or he get to decide. Do you understand?"

"I'm not doing this Angel. I won't be made to feel like I have to answer to you. And if you become my husband, it won't change anything." I lifted my chin defiantly.

I was never going to be that meek person he could control and the sooner he realized that the better for both of us.

"There is no if, our marriage will happen. Make no mistake about that Kira." His hand tightened on my wrist and I frowned. He was exerting his physical power over me and I hated every moment of it.

"You're being a bully Angel." I looked down to where his hand still held me.

"You don't get it. If I don't know everything how am I supposed to keep you safe? I know how dangerous things are at the moment and perhaps you don't understand the severity of the situation you are in. If you did you wouldn't be playing games with me Kira."

"Don't you think it's just as important for me to do everything I can so I feel like I have some control over what happens to me. I didn't have much of choice but I'm here now and I have to find a way to survive. If I don't do what I feel is necessary I won't survive. Don't you get it?" I hated how I bared some of my fears to him but I felt it was the only way to reach this testosterone man, hell bent on taking full responsibility for my safety. He had to understand it was just as much my own responsibility.

"Your actions imply I can't keep you safe and I will Kira. Your safety is my top priority."

"What happens if I'm in a situation where I need to know how to defend myself and I don't because you were too egotistical to listen to me? Can you live with that?"

He frowned. "That will never happen."

I shook my head. "You're too stubborn to consider that you might fail."

He released my wrist and I rubbed the area.

"Failure isn't something I can accept. When I fail, people die. This is not just about you Kira. I'm responsible for the lives of the men who work for me. They are not just employees, they are family. Just like you Kira. I need to be able to trust the them, our survival depends on the loyalty of the men who I trust with our lives. And after your little stunt I had to have words with someone I have never believed for second would made me question his loyalty."

Did this have something to do with what happened to Bruno? Did he feel responsible for what happened somehow?

"James would die for you." Even I knew that, James keeping one thing from him wouldn't change that.

"I don't need him to die for me, I need him to not keep things from me." He ran a hand through his hair. "I've tried to be understanding about your situation and I've allowed you some leeway to allow you to settle in but obviously it hasn't been the right choice. From this moment on, you will do what you are told when I tell you. Do you understand?"

I put my hands on my hips, intent on arguing but he waved his hand in front of me.

"Let me make this clear Kira I won't tolerate anything else. I've had to grow up fast when my father died and I had to take over the reins. I had no choice. This life is hard, and I had to toughen up. I wont allow you to wreck havoc in a environment I have built carefully for the survival of this family." His eyes were hard. "No matter how you feel about."

"That's exactly it. I need to toughen up, just like you had to. If I don't I wont survive Angel. Don't you see?" Was this an opportunity for him to realize that I was in a similar situation to what he had to go through? "Because of outside factors I don't have much of choice about marrying you, but I have a choice on how I handle things. I wont be some damsel in distress relying on everyone else to keep me safe. I need to be able to take charge and know I can defend myself if it ever arises. Why is that so bad?"

He studied me for several moments.

"If I had believed you would have taken my fears seriously I would have come straight to you but I didn't. That's why I approached James and pleaded my case."

His features remained stone like. None of my arguing had changed his mind.

"Why do you think James might have agreed to help me when he knew you would disapprove? Maybe he realized I might do more harm than good if he didn't show me some survival skills. What happens when I might end up in a situation where I might need to defend myself and I can't get the safety off a gun? What happens if I have the chance to save myself and I can't because you wouldn't allow it?"

His frowned deepened. "Your sessions with James are over. I may never forgive him for this transgression. I'm prepared to allow you to keep up with the target practice only under my supervision."

I frowned. I hadn't expected that, I didn't know if I was relieved he was allowing me to continue with something but mad because he was limiting me.

"Take it or leave it," he said, drawing the line.

I didn't want to negotiate, I didn't want to have to give any of the stuff up but I knew better than to argue with a man who was making a concession.

"I'll take it."