Vengeance (Vitali's Legacy)

"Little help here?" Bobby glowered over at Angelo, who stood, doing his best to hide an amused smirk.

"I think you're doing an excellent job, boy," he remarked, as Gemma's elbow came back to catch Bobby right in his abs.

Bobby growled a furious, feral, outright dangerous sound.

"Get in the cage, girl."

"NO! I DON'T WANT TO!" Her shriek was piercing enough to make Bobby jerk his head back.

"Stop yelling!"

"Stop trying to put me in a cage!"

"Angelo!" Bobby yelled. "Come and push her legs in for me."

"Pull her out, turn around, and back in," Angelo suggested.

Bobby did as he was told, barely keeping hold of his flailing prisoner as she continued to caterwaul at a volume that would render them all deaf in a matter of minutes. This time, she gripped the bars as he backed in, a futile attempt to keep herself from becoming captive.

Bobby managed to pull her in, but the second he put her down, she made a dash for the open door. She was a lot quicker than anybody expected, and her reflexes were on point. She slammed the open door back behind her as hard as she could, the iron catches automatically engaging when the door made contact with the outer panel.

Angelo now had three prisoners. Digby. Willow, and Bobby. Gemma remained outside, panting with panicked effort and staring at him like a frightened little rabbit.

"You've rather singled yourself out, haven't you," Angelo murmured.

"Let me out," Bobby snarled.

Angelo ignored him.

"You know, Gemma, there are things worse than cages," Angelo purred.

She swallowed. "I'm not part of this. Please, just let me go."

"Oh, you are a part of this," Angelo purred. "You are the key, I believe. Come here, little one."

There was something about Angelo that was absolutely magnetic, even for a frightened waif so very far out of her depth and near terminally terrified.

Cute things usually did not appeal to Angelo. Gemma was adorable. Angelic. Sweet. Innocent, apparently. There was something of a female Peter Pan about her, a kind of ageless youth which absolutely begged to be corrupted.

"Come here," he urged again, smiling as Gemma's feet obeyed his command until she was close enough to grab. He did so, pulling her close by the front of her ridiculous overalls.

His touch set her off once more as she realized she'd allowed herself to be caught.

"LET ME IN THE CAGE! Please! I'll go in the cage. The cage looks amazing. Wow, is that fresh straw!?"

But it was too late to be let in the cage. Angelo kept one hand on her collar while using the fingers of the other to slowly drag the zipper of her overalls down, revealing a pink low-cut sweater over pink leggings. Both garments clung to her curves without being overly salacious.

"Kick the overalls off," Angelo ordered.

Trembling, Gemma did as she was told. Her boots came off, revealing predictable pink socks. The woman was dressed like the inside of a gender reveal. Angelo wondered if the pink represented her innocence or belied it.

"Leave her alone! She's done nothing wrong!" Willow finally found her voice, elegant and outraged.

"She's done plenty wrong," Angelo said, twisting the girl around and pulling her back against his body so he could hold her closer, let her feel his frame against hers. A whimper escaped her lips as he took hold of her hair and pulled her head to the side. He was taller than Bobby and more accustomed to subduing the unwilling. As much as Gemma tried to squirm her way free, she was thoroughly attached to her hair. She was also apparently much less willing to risk the consequences of actually fighting Angelo Vitali. It was one thing to battle with Bobby, but even at her most frightened, Gemma had no elbows for Angelo's midsection.

With his dark gaze locked on Willow, Angelo bared his teeth like the beast he was and traced them lightly over Gemma's captive neck. The gesture was intimate and threatening in equal measure. Gemma shivered, little goosebumps appearing down her arms and on her legs, her tense body relaxing so entirely in the grip of the master he had to prop her back against himself to keep her upright. She was little more than a puppet with the strings cut, a helpless doll in his arms.

"There," Angelo purred. "Good girl."

Bobby's expression only grew more thunderous as he watched Angelo subdue his captive with nothing more than the most glancing touch. It was not fair how the world bent to Angelo's will.

Gemma let out a whimper which might have been closer to a moan. She was blushing quite furiously, her cheeks pink and her eyes gleaming.

"The three of you are my captives," he said, holding Gemma as if she were simply incidental. "And I will break each and every one of you, that I can assure you. Digby, you know full well what your crimes were. Attempting to harm a woman under my care…