Savage's

CHAPTER 19

*Gray*

That night I barely slept, and when the following morning came around, I woke up feeling dread. I dragged my feet out of bed, and into the shower. I decided to shower in the guest bathroom, I didn't want to wake Daisy. The shower helped to wake me up, but I still felt sluggish.

I dressed in a gray suit, with a light pink tie. Rushing downstairs, I grabbed a cup of coffee from Fran, and was out the door. I didn't want to go to work, but I knew it would look suspicious if I didn't show up again. My family already doesn't trust me, and I have to prove them wrong, before they take things too far.

As I pulled into the parking lot, I prepared myself for battle, because I knew there would be at least one today. I walked inside with my briefcase, nodding to the receptionist, before entering the elevator. I walked with a focused mind, and I wasn't about to stray from my plan.

The second the doors opened, the first battle had begun. Anya, my little sister, was waiting with a beaming smile. In my gut, I knew she knew, and I was already sweating. I smiled at her, trying to conceal my distress. Without words, I walked toward my office, and she followed closely behind me. The second we entered my office, she shut the door behind us, and I turned around to look at her with a confused expression.

"What do you need, Anya?" I asked, annoyed, as I sat in front of my desk.

"We need to talk." She sternly remarked, folding her arms across her chest.

"About what?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Daisy." Anya taunted, and I felt my stomach churn, "I saw her and your ex, Alexa, at the mall on Saturday... I thought to myself, that's an odd place for a slave to be."

"Alexa needed someone to hold her bags," I quickly lied, "Why the f**k do you care?"

"Mom and dad told me to keep an eye out on you," Anya shrugged, "I get a pretty big payout if I come back with any information, so... That is, unless you'd like to pay me more to keep my mouth shut."

I stood from my desk, staring her down, as I walked toward her. I watched as her body language changed from confident to cowardly within seconds. She's still my baby sister, so I'll go easy on her, but she needs to learn not to f**k with me. I smirked, leaning in just a few inches from her face.

"Are you blackmailing me, Anya?" I asked, staring into her eyes.

"I'm just acknowledging what I saw." She growled, standing her ground.

"Alright, well allow me to acknowledge what I've seen..." I growled even deeper, "Little Anya, sneaking into strange houses late at night, with strange men... some of them married, some of them dad's friends. Do you catch my drift, little town harlot?"

"Mom and dad wouldn't believe you," She rolled her eyes, "Try a different threat."

"They wouldn't know until after it was already public," I shrugged, "at that point it wouldn't really matter if they believed you or not. They wouldn't know it came from me. They would think that someone leaked the information, someone that you got... a little too cozy with, and shared some cooties... People don't like sharing cooties, Anya, unless they're aware of them, but I guess you don't bother with that do you?"

"How-?" Anya's mouth snapped shut, snarling at me.

"I know a lot of things, Anya, and that's why you should never underestimate your opponent." I casually remarked, "I know you all think I'm not treating Daisy the way she was intended for, but that is up to me. Trust me when I say, she isn't living life lavishly, alright? But at this point, I need you all to back the f**k off."

"You were always so different from the rest of us, Gray... I could never figure it out." Anya said, squinting at me, "You're like a parasite that clung to mother, creating your own form of life somehow... It's pathetic."

"That was... very scientific of you." I smirked, returning to my desk, "Now, if you're done attempting to extort me, I'd like to get back to work."

I heard my office door slam shut, and Anya was gone. I sighed, hoping she wouldn't call my bluff. I knew one thing for sure about my little sister, s*x with strangers wasn't a foreign subject to her. It was an assumption that she contracted an STD, apparently an accurret assumption. I got lucky, but I can't count on that happening every time. I have to lay out some ground rules for Daisy, afterall, but only for her safety.

That will keep Anya at bay, but I know she is out for money, so I still have to be careful. There isn't anyone in my family that I can trust, and I've already learned that the hard way, lest not repeat my mistakes. I know this isn't going to be easy, and I probably won't succeed, but for the time being I have to keep both parties happy. Until I figure out a plan to escape my family with some sort of dignity and life, I have to play pretend with them.

I know Alexa is aware of how shady my family is, but she doesn't know the half of things, and I'd like to protect her from that. My family will stop at nothing to get what they want, and that's my greatest fear. I haven't forgotten what my father said the evening I picked Daisy out; he reminded me that they could take her away, just as quickly as she was given to me. I know for a fact, if Daisy were to end up back in the hands of my family, she wouldn't walk out of it alive.

The morning passed quite fast, and soon it was lunch time. I made sure the hallway was empty before I stepped out of my office, and I managed to escape to my car without being noticed by anyone. I drove home for lunch, something I've never done before, but I wanted to check in on Daisy and the others.

There was a packing company that arrived this morning, and they're probably already starting on things. They were to pack up my belongings and lable them, as well as store them in the moving truck. I rented a large enough truck to store everything, so it could be done in one trip.

Sure enough, I pull up to the penthouse and see a large truck pulled up front of the building. Men were carrying boxes out, and loading the truck up. I smiled, waving at them, as I headed up to the penthouse. I felt good about moving, and soon things would feel more secure.

As I walked into the penthouse, I noticed Daisy and Alexa labling boxes together. It was kind of cute, to see them helping the movers, clearly with the easiest task possible. My heart raced when Daisy looked up at me, and she smiled, a genuine smile, one that stole my breath away.

"You guys are helping?" I asked, chuckling, as I walked into the kitchen.

"Why not?" Alexa shrugged, following behind me, and Daisy behind her.

"Have you guys had lunch yet?" I asked, and Fran entered the kitchen.

"I've prepared lunch already, sir, it's in the fridge." Fran smiled, pulling a large dish out of the fridge.

She made everyone turkey sandwiches, with potato salad, and her savory pasta dish. We gathered around the table, including Fran, and began eating lunch together. At first, everyone was silent, until Daisy broke the silence with her sweet petite voice.

"So, how is work?" She asked, and everyone looked toward me.

"It's going alright," I swallowed my food, "Although, I do have to talk to you about something. After lunch, okay?"

"Okay..." Daisy nodded, dropping her gaze down to her plate of food.

"About what?" Alexa asked, her tone was acusing.

"About your outing yesterday," I responded, "I'll need to talk to you too, but I figured privacy is better."

"Just throw it all out on the table, Gray." Alexa scoffed, folding her arms across her chest.

I glanced at Daisy, arching an eyebrow, and she shrugged. "Anya saw you two at the mall on Saturday."