24
Karma
"What do you mean, you chipped me?" I rub Andy’s head. He’s stopped feeding and proceeds to curl himself in my arms. Aww, sooo cute. A melting sensation coils in my chest. Just a few hours after I told him that I wanted a cat, he got me one. Not to mention, that Andy Warhol book, which was, like, totally unexpected. Okay, so he has more money and power than anyone else I’ve met in my life, but still… It means something that he noticed my tastes enough to actually buy me things which reflect who I am. No one else has done that before. Maybe Summer… I suppose, but she is my sister. She is supposed to know these things. This man, however, is practically a complete stranger, and in a few weeks, he has really gotten to know me well on so many levels, he—hangonabloodysecond.I whip my head around to face him. "Youchippedme, chipped me?"
He nods.
"You…" I bite the inside of my cheek, "you put a GPS tracker in me?"
He nods again.
"Holy shit." I glance around the kitchen, find a basket that, no doubt, the faithful Cassandra must have organized for the kitten. I walk over and place him in the bedding which is of the softest cotton, by the way. Nothing but the best for the pet of… His pet, huh?
I straighten, then turn to face him. "That’s what all that activity earlier was about, huh? I thought maybe I’d dreamed it, but I didn’t."
He simply holds my gaze.
I slide a finger behind my ear, feel the slight bump. "Holy hell," I burst out. "It’s true; you actually put a tracker in me."
"Told you I did."
Anger surges through my veins. My heart slams against my rib cage. "Why would you do that?" I cry. "And you didn’t even ask my permission to do so, you asshole!"
"I don’t need your permission. Have you forgotten?" He looks me up and down. "You are my property—mine."
"I am my own person. I don’t belong to anyone else, least of all, you."
"Then why did you come back?"
"That was only to make sure that you were actually dead…you...you bastard."
He laughs, "That’s a lie and you can do better than that insult, Beauty."
"Don’t call me that," I snarl. " I should have known there’s an ulterior motive behind everything you do. The studio, the books, the kitten… It was all so...what? So you could distract me? Or maybe, you thought that you could buy me off with expensive gifts?"
"Maybe, it’s because I want you to be happy?"
"How can I be happy when you chipped me like…. I am an animal?"
"Did it ever occur to you that I did it because I don’t want to lose you again?" The skin around his eyes tightens. For a second, I am sure he’s afraid… Of what? He’s the bloody Capo of the Cosa Nostra. What could he possibly be afraid of, eh?
"You could have told me that’s what you intended to do," I snap.
"You wouldn’t have agreed."
"You don’t know that."
"Would you have?"
I look at him, then away.
"That’s what I thought." He pushes back his chair, then rises to his feet. He prowls over to me, pauses when he’s right in front of me. "Look at me, Beauty."
I scoff.
He notches his knuckles under my chin and raises my head, so I have no choice but to meet his gaze. "Maybe I put a tracker in you because you are what’s most precious to me."
"Maybe I don’t care why you did it," I try to pull away from him, but he tightens his grip.