3 Dog

Glancing around the table, my eyes connected with the man on the end. Darting my eyes back into my lap, I didn't dare move. I didn't even blink because of the fear I felt when our eyes met.

It wasn't just that I had disobeyed Virgo's orders to not look at anyone, it was something else, a feeling that zipped from head to toe in that single second of eye contact.

There was something in his gaze, a depth I couldn't ignore, a power I couldn't place. He wasn't heading the conversation, he wasn't involved in planning any of the details of that meeting; and yet, it felt like he controlled all of it.

He had jet black hair and olive colored skin, with eyes as dark as night. Splaying an open palm on the table, he tapped a single finger softly as he relaxed back in his chair.

I could still feel his eyes on me, boring a hole into the top of my head. It felt like he was studying me, trying to figure out who I was and what purpose I had.

Virgo and Ethan were chatting away, their voices muffled, each word blurring together in my ears as I felt my body warm and the air grow dense from the nerves coming to life inside me.

That man made me more nervous than Virgo.

Machi cleared his throat, leaning forward and pointing at me. "How old are you little girl?"

I didn't answer, keeping my lips tightly sealed.

Virgo stopped speaking, his mouth hanging partially open as his jaw clicked. Glancing at me over his shoulder, he turned back to Machi. "She'll be sixteen in four months."

My anniversary. . . He gifted me a new birthday, it was the day I came into his hands. It didn't matter that I had an actual birthday and had turned sixteen two months ago; in his eyes, I wasn't born until the very moment I became his.

"I wasn't asking you, I was asking her," Machi said sternly, puffing up his chest as he spoke. "How old are you girl?" he asked again, his voice firm, making my stomach clench with fear.

But I still didn't answer.

Virgo let out a grunt as he twisted in his chair. "Answer him."

With my eyes on my hands, my voice was low and delicate. "Fif—fifteen." I lied, giving him the age Virgo considered me.

"There," Virgo jumped in, his tone annoyed but polite. "Can we continue with our business now?"

Peeking up at Machi, I watched him stroke his jaw, glaring down the table. "Why is she here?"

"Because I want her to be." Virgo veered his stare as his lips thinned. "You got a problem with that?" Any kindness in his voice had disappeared.

Machi's jaw rocked back and forth, his teeth grinding down hard. "We don't deal in children."

"And this one isn't for sale, so there shouldn't be a problem, should there?"

Sale?

The word hung in my head for what seemed like an eternity as my mind tried to package it in a way that made sense.

What's for sale?

Women. . . Are women for sale?

"Is she yours? Daughter? Niece?"

"Neither."

"And her parents?"

Shrugging a shoulder, Virgo shook his head. "It's none of your fucking business." Furrowing his brows, Virgo glanced between Machi and Ethan. "Are you a cop? Did you bring a fucking cop to my home, Ethan?"

"No," he said eagerly, his mouth drawing taut. "Machi, you're prying where you shouldn't be."

"I'm just curious. Is there something wrong with being curious?" A thin smirk rested on his lips as he seemed to take pleasure in making Virgo uncomfortable. "She just looks so sad, too sad for a teenager."

"Did you ever think the sadness you see is really just a well disciplined child? My roll had to change drastically when she got here, neither one of us expected this."

My skin buzzed with hate as he sat there and acted like I was some child abandoned by horrible circumstances. I wanted to jump to my feet and scream that he had destroyed me, I wanted to beg these men to save me from my captor.

But he said they're not nice men. . . They're here to talk about buying women, Jessie!

That should tell you enough.

"Is that so?" Tilting his head, his eyes threw grenades across the table at Virgo. "You're full of shit. How can we trust you if you lie to us?"

"What goes on in my life is none of your fucking business." Cocking his head, Virgo snarled. "Ethan, what the fuck is this shit? I'll end this whole thing right now if you can't keep your dog on his leash."

"Dog?" Machi growled, his body stiffening, muscles flexing into stone.