The Cage
331 Words
Melinda barely made it back inside before she felt his presence.
Ethan was waiting.
He sat in his usual booth, one arm draped over the back of the seat, watching her like he owned her already.
She forced her breath to steady. She would not let him see her panic.
But he knew. He always knew.
“You did good tonight,” he said smoothly as she approached. “Better than I expected.”
She folded her arms. “So that was a test?”
Ethan smirked. “Everything is a test.”
Melinda clenched her fists. “I told you—I’m just here to work.”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “No, Mel. You’re here because I let you be here.”
Her stomach twisted.
He leaned forward, voice low and deliberate. “You’re in my world now. And I don’t let people sit on the sidelines.”
The weight of his words settled over her like a noose tightening.
“You want to survive?” he continued. “Then learn to play the game.”
She forced herself to meet his gaze. “I’m not playing.”
Ethan studied her, then smiled—the kind of smile that meant danger.
“You already are.”
He gestured to the empty seat across from him. “Sit.”
A command, not a request.
Melinda’s pulse pounded. She wanted to walk away. To prove she wasn’t under his control.
But she wasn’t stupid.
Defiance had consequences.
She sat.
Ethan watched her, his smirk widening like he had just won something.
“You remember middle school, don’t you?” he murmured.
Ice shot through her veins.
Every muscle in her body screamed at her to run.
But she couldn’t.
Not yet.
So she swallowed the fear, clenched her jaw, and whispered, “I never forgot.”
Ethan exhaled, satisfied. “Good.”
Then he leaned in, voice barely above a whisper.
“Because I’m not done with you yet.”
- Writer
