A Slave and Her Boy Pt. 02

"You're an idiot." He didn't explain, but my confidence flagged a little. A part of me had hoped he would break down crying and begging forgiveness, but of course that had been unrealistic. My anxiety began to creep back in.

"Your sister would never sever our contract over a slave." I fought an internal battle with my nerves. Winnie reassured me, squeezing my arm affectionately.

"No. Isabella would never do that." I said. William Henry scoffed. "But she would if her little brother asked her to." I replied. "And damn you, I'll do anything to get that slave."

It was the very next day that I stood in my driveway as the luxury car rolled to a stop. William Henry stepped out, his eyes hooded slightly, his business suit sharp and immaculate. He pulled open the passenger door, and roughly grabbed the wrist of the red-headed girl inside. With no pretense of kindness, he yanked her from the car. She struggled to stay on her feet as he dragged her closer to me. Rudely, he thrust her toward me, and she fell to the pavement. Her knees hit the concrete hard.

"You've made a mistake." He said. His sharp eyes cut into me deeply, his glare unwavering. "I'm not a man you want as an enemy. One day, you won't be able to call your big sister to fight your battles."

"Just go away." I was shaking with nerves. I wanted this to be over. He sneered at me, but turned to walk away. As if an afterthought, he twisted back, kicking Kate cruelly in the rear. She fell forward onto her face. She yelped, and so did I.

"She's not even a good slave anyway." William Henry spat. As I pulled Kate to her feet, He climbed into his vehicle, the tires spinning as peeled out of my driveway.

I held her arms, supporting the young woman. She looked up at me, frightened.

"Hi." I said dumbly. I searched for something else to say, but was never given the chance. From the house, the sound of running footsteps drew my attention, and I had to step out of the way as Winnie wrapped Kate in a massive hug.

"I got you out!" She yelled, squeezing the young woman. "I saved you."

I wasn't able to hear the rest of their conversation as my phone rang.

"Hey... Bella... How's things?" I answered.

"Oh Ger-ry." My sister replied, with a sing-song lilt to her voice.

"...Yes." I had known this phone call would come.

"Did you threaten one of my business partners with a contract termination if he didn't sell you a slave you wanted?" She was excruciatingly direct.

"I'm, uh, trying to be more assertive." I cringed as I said it. She took it better than I thought, laughing at me.

"Okay. This is my fault. I thought buying you a slave would get you out of your shell. I was right. Too right." I didn't bother to reply as she talked. I did feel kind of guilty for involving her business without her permission. She continued. "It's honestly kind of impressive. What a total turn around for you, right? I mean you would have never." She paused to laugh again.

"Yeah, I'm making some changes. You were right. This was good for me."

"I'm not done."

"Sorry." I prepared myself to be scolded.

"Never do this again." she ordered.

"Right. I understand."

"I'm serious. You fucked up a business partnership I worked hard at. You fuck up your own life all you want. Don't you dare-..."

"I got it. I feel terrible. It won't happen again." I tried to make her understand how sorry I was. We stayed on the phone quietly for a few more seconds.

"Must be a pretty special girl." Bella said. I watched as Winnie wrapped Kate in another hug, crying tears of joy. Margaret stood nearby, wiping her own happy tears.

"Yeah. She is."