Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from Newsies, but I own the others.
Wow, I haven't updated this story in a very long time. I apologize to all of my readers for the way I abandoned this story! I never thought I'd have the inspiration to keep up with writing ontop of everything else in my life. However, I checked my e-mail and saw all the reviews that kept coming in, and it really touched me. Thank you so much for the support! The reviews got me inspired to start writing again.
I highly recommend reading the previous chapter to catch up with what's going on in this chapter!
Something in Riley's stomach told her that she wouldn't have enough strength to handle Spot Conlon this time. Arguing with him took so much energy out of her. She immediately regretted starting this fight.
The kitchen was dark compared to the well lit common room. The dim glow from the lantern that Spot slammed on the table lit his face as he took a quick step forward.
Spot bit his bottom lip as he studied her. His eyes were reckless and wild with anger. It looked like he was trying to control himself from gripping her shoulders and shaking her. The violent history that defined Spot Conlon was evident to her in that moment... She started wondering if he'd really hurt her.
The silence was killing her. Riley's eyes were wide as she breathlessly tried, in some way, to redeem herself...
"I'm not normally like this," she blurted out before he could speak. Her heart was beating furiously and she sounded out of breath.
Spot ignored her. "Do you have any idea what happens to people who disrespect me?" His voice was deep and gravelly, finally breaking his silence.
The boys on the other side of the thin wooden door weren't making their usual noise. Riley was quiet as a shiver went down her spine. His stare was like ice.
"You've put me in a dangerous situation, girly." He explained menacingly, stepping forward and propping one of his hands on the wall behind her. The muscles in his arm were tensed. "You should consider yourself the luckiest girl in all of damn New York after all I've let you get away with..."
"Your 'dangerous situation' isn't my fault -" Riley began, but stopped abruptly when he lifted his hand to silence her.
"I can't change what you saw in that alley," Spot continued, lowering his voice harshly. "But I could've easily gotten rid of you that night, dollface. A snap of my finger and you would've been nothing but a good headline in the papers the next morning."
"But you didn't get rid of me." She said quietly.
"No." Spot replied, studying her face as if he was trying to figure out why he didn't. The look made her feel miserable, but she remained composed.
Riley took a deep breath. "You ruined everything for me," she replied with the little courage she had left. "You have no right to treat me like some hostage here. Bonnie made me promise to stay away from you, and now I know why." She spoke the last part mostly to herself.
"Your friend got jealous because she thought you caught my attention." Spot explained impatiently, his stormy eyes criticizing. "Want the truth? You were just a risk, and I needed to make sure you kept your pretty little mouth shut about what you saw. I'm letting you stay here, but you aren't worth my hospitality if you're gonna break all the rules I've made in this borough."
Spot smirked smugly at his definition of hospitality. Riley tried to ignore the sharp pain she felt in her chest as he confessed how he felt about her. She knew the smart thing to do would be to keep her mouth shut and her eyes dry. Her pride, however, was too big to tolerate his ego.
Spot Conlon was a god in Brooklyn, but he was toying with her, and she was sick of playing around.
"I didn't want any attention from you, Spot." She lied, praying that her cheeks weren't too red. "You ruined my friendship with Bonnie. I never even wanted to meet you." She stood up a bit straighter, staring up at the man who had turned her world upside down. "And trust me, Conlon; I wouldn't be here unless I had nowhere else to go."
"Mommy and Daddy could take care of you, sweetheart, why not run home?" Spot taunted her with a teasing glint in his eye. He knew that Riley refused to go home and give up her new freedom in Brooklyn. "Go to Staten Island if you can't handle it in my territory." He continued, lifting his free hand to her neck. He ran his finger down her collarbone, along the fabric of her dress. "Your folks can buy you more silk dresses and dainty little hats," his voice was smooth in the silence.
"I have enough of those, thanks," Riley replied shortly, trying to ignore the way his touch felt.
"Then you can marry some hideous weakling with lots of money. And he can buy you whatever your little heart desires…" He leaned down, his lips brushing her ear as he whispered, "But it won't change the fact that you'll cringe every time he touches you."
Riley jerked her head to the side, away from his lips. His whisper in her ear caused intense chills to roll down her spine. "Listen, asshole, you have no idea what you're talking about."
Spot let out a quiet snort of laughter and rolled his eyes. He began tracing her cheekbone with his finger and brushing her hair behind her ear. "How many times do I gotta tell you? Girls shouldn't swear - It's unattractive."
Riley always fumed whenever he said that.
"You know what's unattractive?" She responded, trying to hide any shakiness in her voice. "The ugly 'broads' you let hang all over you all the time. That is unattractive."
Spot tensed his jaw; his hand dropped back down to his side, his other hand still propped against the wall behind her head. His anger was taking control again. "You're on thin ice, Cardoni. Thin fucking ice -"
"No, I'm just being honest. I only act this way because you treat me like a prisoner!" Riley interrupted, forgetting about the Brooklyn newsboys in the other room. "You entertain yourself by finding ways to keep me miserable! You won't let your boys talk to me, and now Blush can't even talk to me?! I've never dealt with anyone like you in my life! You love that people are scared of you! You beat up your newsies - !"
Spot interrupted her abruptly by pounding his fist against the wall behind her. "And you're not scared of me?!" He yelled as Riley jumped in surprise. The force of his punch splintered the old rotting wood of the wall. "People follow my rules, they do what I say. You are gonna do what I say, as long as you're in Brooklyn, you are mine." Now both of his hands were placed on the wall on either side of her head, imprisoning her. His fierce glare was just inches from her face...
"Without me the street kids in this borough would be out of control. I earned respect and I'm gonna get it - even from you, doll. Don't make me show you how much power I really got." His demands were enough to leave her speechless.
Riley opened her mouth, and then closed it again. She wanted to explain herself, stick up for herself, but she had no idea how to respond. Before Riley could part her lips again to speak, Spot moved so that only one arm was propped up on the wall; his free hand moved to her face. He put his index finger firmly on her lips, refusing to let her interrupt.
"Never, and I mean never,talk to me like that in front of my boys again," he spoke with authority. His index finger remained on her lips, while his thumb traced under her chin and across her throat. "I'm infamous for teaching people lessons," he threatened, "don't learn that the hard way."
Riley faltered under his stare. His hand was calloused and rough, but somehow Riley found her skin tingling. She nodded under his touch, submitting to the King of Brooklyn for once.
He seemed satisfied. His finger brushed down her bottom lip to her chin. Her head was spinning. Spot had a triumphant glint to his eye.
Then there was a small scuffle at the door to the kitchen.
Suddenly the dimly lit room was illuminated as light poured in from the open door. Spot turned, furiously, to confront the fool who dared to interfere in his business.
The person who opened the door was Spin, Riley's only friend out of all the Brooklyn boys under Spot's command. Spin was also the only Brooklyn boy allowed to talk to her – he was only 9 years old.
Spin seemed to be struggling with someone. Riley recognized Spot's second-in-command, Spike, trying to drag the small boy away from the door.
"Sorry, boss. He crawled under my legs, the little shit." Spike explained, although sounding pretty impressed.
"Are you okay?" Spin asked immediately. "There was a huge bang that we heard a minute ago, what happened? Did you hit something??" He was breathless, talking a mile a minute. His eyes were flicking between Spot and Riley. The whole lodging house definitely heard the sound of Spot's fist pounding the wall a minute ago.
Spot relaxed his shoulders, but studied the small boy standing in the doorway. "You got a problem, Spin?" He asked.
Spike released his grip from Spin and took a step back. Spin seemed nervous but stood his ground. "I'm sorry, Spot, I didn't mean to make you mad, you know? I just heard the bang, and they wouldn't let me in, and I just…"
Surprisingly, Spot took a step forward and messed up Spin's hair. "You got guts, kid, I gotta admit. But nobody is hurt. Riley, you hurt?" Spot asked, glancing back at Riley. His eyes sparkled. Riley still had her back to the wall, but couldn't hide her relief that Spin wasn't in trouble.
"I'm fine," Riley answered, returning Spot's fierce look. Then she turned to look at Spin. "I'm fine, Spin.
Thank you for checking on me." She tried giving him a big smile, taking a step away from the wall and toward the door.
"I'll make him get to bed, boss, sorry-" Spike put his hand on Spin's shoulder as they backed out of the room.
"I'm done here anyway," Spot answered him, tilting his head down to look at Riley while he spoke. "Riley here was just going to bed, too, weren't you?"
Riley glanced at Spike, then back up at Spot. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Yes," She answered grudgingly. "So excuse me."
Spot moved out of the way, gesturing to the door like a gentleman. She walked out of the kitchen, winked a desperate 'thank you' to Spin, and walked as quickly as she could to the stairs. The common room was still filled with newsboys, all of them staring at her every move.
Riley climbed the stairs and entered the small, dirty, and depressing storage closet that Spot had given her as a "room." She sat on her bed and roughly wiped away an angry tear that was sliding down her cheek.
Fine. Spot Conlon wanted Riley to treat him like some a king. Fine. She'll keep her mouth shut, just like he wanted. She won't ever speak to him again. There were plenty of decent men in New York, and there was bound to be somebody in Brooklyn who wasn't scared of Spot Conlon.
I'm a bit rusty with this – it's been a while. Please review, I really need the feedback! Thank you!