Page 6 of Owning Emma

Chapter 4

EMMA

I satwith my arms crossed over my chest, refusing to look at Shaw. It didn’t even phase him as he continued his drive, chatting away like we were some old pals, or whatever they call each other. Bros. Boys. Brothers. I didn’t really know, nor did I care.

He’s ridiculous, this whole situation was ridiculous. Did I really care about their situation, their business, their side jobs and hobby? That would be a negative. I couldn’t care less about them, so nothing he was spouting held a single bit of interest to me. My goal? Do whatever job, within reason, work off some of my father’s debt, and be out of there before they had time to remember my name. Easy as that. I would not make friends or have long drawn out conversations with these guys. I could hardly stomach being in the same truck as this mammoth.

“Emma. Emmmma.” His words barely registered in my mind until I realized he was calling my name.

“What?” I snapped, still refusing to look at him.

“This is Roman’s property. We’re here.” He took his hand off the wheel and gestured to the spread of land in front of us.

“But there are no neighbors, and we aren’t even in town anymore.” My head searched from side to side, seeking neighboring houses, but there were none. It was just a vast spread of land covered in trees, fenced off from the rest of the world, reinforcing what I already predicted. I was going to be a prisoner. Locked away, forced to do whatever they wished. Was this really better than what Krank would have offered me? Did I really choose the better of the two evils, or was there no right answer? Was I doomed from the very beginning?

“There are neighbors, a sweet old couple toward the end of the compound. Sometimes, Mrs. Holiday brings us cookies.” His hand rubbed his stomach as if just the thought pleased him.

“Big bad wolves like yourself like cookies?” I asked, not really caring about his answer but wanting to get a little subtle jab at him.

His face turned toward me, his sunglasses falling down his nose enough that his hazel eyes could lock on mine. “Honey, don’t you know that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach? You give any of the guys something good, and they would practically eat out of the palm of your hands.”

“You and Roman included?” I asked, curious about their weakness.

“You wouldn’t even have to feed me to get me to eat out of your hands, all it would take is a well-placed crook of a finger, yours or mine, and I’d be falling at your feet. Hook, line, sinker.” He turned his attention back to the road, and I sat, staring at him, completely confused about what his statement even meant.

He turned the truck into a driveway that was blocked off by a gate. Opening his window, he reached over to type in a code, and moments later, the gate in front of us slowly moved, opening a path for us to drive through. His truck lurched forward slowly. Instantly, I was assaulted with the sound of dogs barking as soon as his truck passed the gate.

“I will give you a quick tour, sound good?” He was looking at me again, and I tried to avoid looking directly at him because as much as I didn’t want to admit it, I liked his eyes. They were soft and intelligent, and I swear they called to me each time I glance at them.

“Whatever works, you’re in charge.” I used my hand to gesture for him to proceed, but he slammed on the breaks.

“Just because you work for Roman, work with us, doesn’t mean you don’t get a say in things, Emma. We aren’t here to control you, we genuinely need your help, and it turns out that helping us can help you and your father, so both parties win. So, do you want a tour or not?” His eyes burned into me, waiting for an answer.

“Is a tour worth it? Will the information you provide be useful? Will I be traveling to multiple locations on your ‘compound’?” I held up my fingers, doing air quotes around compound, using his exact term for what he called this place.

“Yes.” He turned his head back to the scenery ahead, his arm slung over the steering wheel, waiting for my answer.

“Fine. Yes. I’ll take a tour of your ‘compound’ then. If you don’t mind and it isn’t much of a bother.” I used air quotes again, just because I saw the little spark of irritation it invoked.

“Good decision.” He checked over the area, making sure none of the loose dogs were in the way before taking his foot off the brake and beginning to drive. “Oh, and Emma?”

“Ya?”

“You might want to control that smart-ass mouth of yours because I can think of at least twenty different ways to control it for you, and I doubt you would like any of them.” He pulled the truck around a bend, leaving me questioning what he was even talking about. Which ways would he be controlling me, if that was even possible?

He did a big circle around the property, pointing out different clusters of cabins, naming their occupants like I knew them, showing me a giant building in the middle of all the cabins, which he referred to as the rec room. There was a pool, a hot tub, and a built-in barbeque station. Back past the pool, nestled farther away than the other cabins, was a giant two-story log house. Shaw followed the gravel until he got to the log building, then cut the engine.

“Did Roman have this all built?” I asked, curious about how this place came to be.

“Nope. After many questionable activities in his younger years, he had accumulated some savings. This place used to be a fancy resort getaway. During the recession, it went under, got neglected, and eventually got put up for sale. He used his savings, made a down payment, and purchased the place. Within a few years, he had it paid in full.”

“So, he literally bought a whole place for your gang to operate?” I wondered out loud.

“We aren’t even a gang. Not really, anyway. We all come into the group with something to offer, and we operate legit now. Everyone pulls their weight, works in one of the businesses, helps when needed around here; no one is forced to stay. It’s a choice,” Shaw explained.

“Sounds like a cult. Are you brainwashed?” I couldn’t hide my smirk.

“Jeez! Are you always this fucking cynical? It’s not a cult. We are just a tight-knit group of people, friends, trusting one another, working together. Is that so hard to believe?”