"Oh my god Gabe!" Rosy cried. "Look I'm sorry okay, but must you torture him for my mistake? In fact, why must this place even exist?"

"Where do you think our family money comes from?" He asked. "You've lived in the lap of luxury for so long, but you never stopped to think about how we make our living. This was a world that neither one of us wanted to be a part of, but I had to avenge our parent's murder. Once I did that, there was forever blood on my hands. And there was no going back."

"But why did you do this to one of you own men?" She cried. "Look I know the truth! I know our money is blood money! I know our livelihood is based on necessary evils. But I guess I figured that you only went after those who really did deserve to die. Or maybe that's just what I told myself."

"Well, I guess I am not the only one who lies to themselves." He replied, as he had a solemn look in his eyes.

She then looked over at Victor. He looked like a broken and beaten man, as he was continuously crying in obvious pain.

"Please Gabe." She pleaded with tears in her eyes. "We both learned our lesson! Please show him some mercy!"

"Well, if you insist." Gabriel replied. He then took out his gun, and aimed it at Victor's head.

"No!" Both Rosalina, and Victor both cried in unison. She then shut eyes, and turned her head as Gabriel pulled the trigger.

Bang!

Trembling , her head turned back around, as soon as she heard the gun fire. She expected to see Victor lifeless corpse tied to the chair, but her eyes widened in disbelief.

Victor's eyes were closed shut, as he slowly opened them. He was still alive, but he looked just as surprised as she did.

"Now." Gabriel stated. "That was a warning shot, for the both of you. I missed on purpose."

"What?" Rosalina replied, as she felt completely dumbfounded. Gabriel then took his smartphone, and made another call.

"Send over some sort of medical transport to the warehouse." He ordered whoever answered his phone call. "Victor is in need of medical attention." He then hung up. And stuck the phone back in his pocket, as if he just ordered pizza.

"What the hell Gabe?" Rosy cried.

"As you both know, there are two things I value most in this business." He explained. "Loyalty, and lessons learned. Victor called me as soon as he realized that you, and my little songbird, had left the restaurant by yourselves. Now he could have not called me at all, while searching for the two off you in the hopes of finding you. And he might have even gotten away with that. But he put yours, and my Cali's safety, above his own. That is a sign of true loyalty, and loyalty should always be rewarded. So I am letting him live."

"Then why have the living shit beat out of him?" She growled.

"Because both of you needed to learn a lesson." Gabriel explained. "He needed to learn not to fail me, and you needed to learn that there are consequences for your actions."

"I hate you so much right now!" She exclaimed as angry tears welled up in her eyes.

"I know." He replied with a look of regret. "But right now you're just angry, and your emotions are irrational. We are siblings, and no matter how angry we get, we will always love one another."

"NO!" She cried. "I loved my brother Gabe! But just like you said, he died two years ago! Tell me? Are you going to put on the same show for Calliope?"

"No." He replied. "I have something else important to show her. But it will only be to prove a point, not to teach her a lesson. I don't think she could handle this part of my world."

"I can guarantee-damn-tee you, that if you ever show her this part of your world, she will hate you!" Rosalina proclaimed. "And don't expect me to get over this anytime soon either!"

"I think Victor might like some privacy before medical help arrives." Gabriel replied, as he started to walk towards the exit. He then gently took her upper arm, but she angrily jerked herself free from his grasp.

"Get your fucking hands off of me!" She cried.

"Rosalina!" He growled. "I will not have you disrespecting me like that in front of my men! Stop acting like a child!"

"And what are planning to do about brother, ground me for a month?" She asked.

"You know what!" He proclaimed. "That's not a bad idea!"

"What?" She asked in total disbelief. "Are you kidding me?"

"No." He replied as his face showed absolutely no emotion. "For one month, you are will not be allowed to leave your home. You can stream all of the movies, and tv shows you like, but you will not be allowed access to the outside world. That means no phone, no internet, and no cable or satellite. You will have guards around your entire home 24/7, but they will not be allowed to talk to you. Only if it's an emergency."

"You can't be serious?" She asked.

"Oh yes, I'm deadly serious." He told her. "If you're going to act like a child, than I'll treat you like one."

"And what will you tell Cali, if she want to see me?" Rosalina asked.

"Please Rosy." He replied while rolling his eyes. "You have a pool, a hot tub, and your own indoor theater. I'll just tell her you are at a private spa. You practically will be anyway. Most people around the world would kill for your so called punishment."

"And if I disobey you?" She asked. "If I escape?"

"Then keep in mind about the consequences for your actions." He told her. "Do you really want others to suffer indirectly because of you? Like Victor had to?"

She had been angry at him before, but now she was livid. "Fine! But let's get the hell out of here so I can get this shit over with!" Rosalina then pushed her brother to the side, as she blew past him.

Gabriel just started to chuckle. "I love you too, sis!"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

As Cali sat on the bed, she waited for Gabriel, while wondering what was happening. He must have been dealing with his sister, and he would probably want to deal with her as well. Gabriel said that he wasn't going to hurt Rosy, Uncle Sal, or her, but she still couldn't help but feel nervous. There was so much going through her mind.

The gargoyle couldn't have possibly been real, it had to have all been a dream. And yet it was as real to her, as anything else. Also she wondered how Gabriel could've gotten to them so quickly, or why he bribed the police officers? The whole entire trip to Paris was just one big blur, wrapped in a mystery.

"Songbird." She heard him say, as he opened the bedroom door. As soon as she turned around to look at him, he smiled at her. She couldn't help but notice that he was now in a plaid shirt, blue jeans, and cowboy boots. Needless to say, she was a bit confused.

"Did you stop off at the rodeo on the way home?" She asked.

"No." he laughed, as he gave her a caring smile. "I had some business to take care off, after I took Rosy home. I just changed at the office. I have something special that I want to show you. But I didn't want to wear, a suit and tie to the place we're going."

"Am I dressed okay?" She asked.

"You're dressed fine." He told her, as he continued to smile.

"How-how's Rosy?" She asked. "Is everything okay?" Gabriel then placed his hands on her upper arms.

"Rosy's fine." He told her. "We had a long talk, and we decided that she needed a break for a while. So she's going to be at a spa for a month. But, it's one of those places that is isolated form civilization. So, we won't be able to see her for a few weeks. I just think she needed a break fro me."

"Oh." Cali replied feeling disappointed.

"She's still mad at me." He told her. "But the good news is that she's crazy about you. So when she gets back, you two will have a lot to talk about. Now, I'm going to show something that's very special to me. It's something I acquired a year ago, and one of the greatest things I own. Come on, let go."

He then gently took her hand, and lead her out of the bedroom. They walked through the enormous home, and into the garage. Cali couldn't believe her eyes, it was full of may expensive cars.

"Is this what you wanted to show me?' She asked.

He just laughed. "No, this is just what's going to take us to it."

He then lead her over to a Range Rover, and helped into the front seat of the passenger's side. As soon as he got in, he opened the garage door, and they were on their way.

They were heading down some sort of a dirt road, that was apparently still on his property. As they continued down the dirt road, Cali couldn't help but notice all the statues along the way. He must have like gargoyles more than she did. Then again he was once an architect. So that would make sense. She also observed that there was one thing, that all the gargoyle statues ad in common. They all seemed to have a look of terror in their eyes .

The next thing she saw, was that they were driving up to some horse stable. Cali's eyes widened in amazement. A beautiful black stallion was galloping around a fenced in area.

"Is he what you wanted show me?" She asked. "He's amazing!"

"Yes, he is." Gabriel replied. "He was a wild horse that I witnessed running in the desert. It took a few of us to capture him, but I had to have him. I don't think I had ever seen such a magnificent steed. Everyone told me that he was too wild to tame, that he would never truly be happy in captivity. But I will eventually break him. And he will eventually learn, that the life I can give him, will be much better that his life in the desert. I can offer him safety, plenty of food and water, comfort, and a much longer life span."

"Are you saying that you plan on breaking me?" She asked as her heart sank, both for her, as well as the horse.

"No, oh my god no." He replied with an alarmed look in his eyes. "You are not a horse to be broken. A horse does not have the same cognitive abilities as a human. It can't reason, or decipher logic. It can only be conditioned. I wanted to show him to you, so you can see how determined I really am. That I fight through all obstacles to get what I want. I also want to make you understand, that even though you don't realize it yet, the life I offer you is far better than the one you had before."

"What if I don't realize it." She asked. His eyes widened, obviously surprised by the question. and even she was surprised that they came from her mouth.

"I believe you will." He sighed. "He learns through conditioning. You will learn through common sense, and you will soon realize the amazing life I have to offer you. The only thing you have in common, is that neither of you will be able to exist with out the life I will give you. If I released him back into the wild now, he could never survive. And I'm going to make your life so wonderful, that you will never want to leave me."

"Oh." She replied with a shy smile. In truth, she hated what he just said. But with her uncle's life on the line, she knew she couldn't fight for her freedom. She had agreed to be his, and she would not renege on their deal.

"I have to go to the bathroom." He said. "Do you need to go as well?"

"No thank you, I'm good." She replied while she gave him a smile.

"Be right back." He told her as he gave her a quick peck on the cheek. As he left to do his business, she looked at the magnificent creature. It was almost as if something was pulling her to him. She got out of the vehicle, and cautiously made her way over to the horse. As she got closer, the horse started to whinny and buck a lot. Cali knew it was dangerous, but she was completely drawn to him.

"It's okay." She said in a soft tone. "I'm not going to hurt you." The horse kept bucking, he was obviously upset, but she was determined to reassure him that he was going to be okay.

"Shh.." she said in a soothing tone. "I promise, I am not going to hurt you." She eve started to sing to him. Than all of a sudden, the wild beast started to calm down. As if her singing, was putting him under her spell.

"That's it." She said in the same soft tone. "That's a good boy." She then reached out her hand, as he walked over to the fence that was keeping him prisoner. As he came close to her, he lowered his snout.

"That's a good boy." She cooed, as she began to gently stroke him.

"Cali!!" She heard Gabriel cry. "What are you doing?" As she turned to look at him, he was running towards her. Gabriel had a look of both fear, and panic in his eyes.

"Get away from him!" Gabriel proclaimed. "That's a wild animal! He's dangerous! He's—!"

All of a sudden, Gabriel's look of fear soon turned to one of confusion. He started to slow down, as he made his way over to her. Cali, on the other hand continued to pet the magnificent animal.

Even though he had stopped running, Gabriel was still breathing heavy, as he made his way over.

"How did-how did?" He was tried to ask, while he seemed to be running out of breath. "How did you do that? He's never been this docile for anyone else before. And I've had some of the best horse trainers around to work with him."

Cali looked directly at Gabriel, and smiled. "I just showed him love."

🛑