Chapter One
Xavier Cage opened his eyes. The blinding illumination of the room he was now in made him force them shut again. He was no longer in the van, and his mouth tasted like he’d gulped down a bottle of lava.
Someone was standing in front of him. It was a burly built man in tight-fitting leather clothes, a scowl on his face like Xavier was the cause of whatever problem he was going through. It took him a while to realize the guy wasn’t alone. Several feet from him, a man in scrubs arranged syringes in a tray.
“Where am I?” Xavier asked the Leather Guy, who was still watching him.
They had chained him to a metal chair, leaving him bare-chested. His pants smelled like he’d peed in them during the rough trip in the van. He had no recollection of how he passed out. All he knew was that some men jumped him from behind while he was waiting in the alley he was supposed to meet that evil witch, Sally. He could have fought them off, but something pricked him in his left arm, and he felt his body go numb. He must have spent thirty minutes in the van, immobile, and sensing his attackers take him away before passing out. No one had to tell him the syringes the doctor was arranging had caused that.
“I said, where the fuck am I?!” Xavier asked again, his teeth clenched. It was, however, useless acting so tough since he couldn’t even set himself free.
The Leather Guy didn’t answer him. If he was playing deaf and dumb, then he sure knew how to do it damn well. The doctor ignored him too, slipping off his white gloves and looking like he’d do anything to get out of the room.
Just then, two people walked into the room, one Xavier recognized as the skinny homeless man he had seen smoking in the alley. He didn’t look homeless now. Instead, he appeared clean and undeniably handsome, with a chiseled face and green eyes that complemented his dark frizzy hair. He was smoking a cigarette, puffing into the air like a relaxed man who was enjoying the moment.
The second person didn’t surprise Xavier. Abducting him was something Sally Mayland could do. He’d recognize that face anywhere, that devilish look hinting anyone that she was definitely a woman to be avoided.
Sally strolled into the room, a wicked smile on her face. She was dressed in a skimpy red gown that revealed her curves and reminded Xavier why he was attracted to her in the first place. If he had known she was going to do those things to him, he would not have listened to his mother and gone to find a girl himself. However, in the world of the rich, parents felt they knew more than their kids and could pick the best for them. Except Sally hadn’t been the best, she was the devil incarnate.
“Hey, hello, Xavier,” She greeted, flicking her blonde hair and regarding him with dark, fierce eyes that made him want to shrink in his seat.
“Sally,” He breathed and hoped that Sally couldn’t note that he was scared.
He’d always been scared of her. She was a goddamn psychopath!
“It’s been too long,” Her eyes contained this excitement she could not mask.
“Yeah. It looks like they finally released you from that facility. How was it? Did it bring back your sanity?” Xavier asked, trying to get her annoyed, which he soon considered wasn’t the right thing to do.
The smile on her face vanished, replaced by a murderous look that made him swallow hard. He hoped the switchblade she loved to keep back then wasn’t on her, or his throat was getting it.
“Of course. Since it was you who put me there in the first place, I figured out the only way to come back to you was get well.”
“Nah,” Xavier shook his head, “You’re not well, or you won’t have me chained to this chair or even have drugged me.”
She moved away from him, that evil smile back on her face, “It was necessary. You’re a strong guy, can’t forget you learned martial arts. I only have two men, Arnold and Raymond. We had to look for a doctor who was willing to drug the richest bachelor in Phoenix city,” Sally explained, feeling so proud of what she had accomplished.
Xavier couldn’t guess which one of the men was Raymond or Arnold between the two men who were peering intently at him now as if waiting for him to make a move and try to escape. He wanted to remind them that they had him bound in chains, and the gun peeking out from the Homeless Guy’s coat was enough to discourage him. The doctor still appeared as though he wanted to bolt out of the room. Xavier glanced at him. What had he just seen in those eyes? Regret?
“What do you want from me, Sally?”
The psychopath acted like she was thinking, running a finger down the visible scar on her face. Xavier would never forget he was the reason that scar was on her face, and that it had driven her mad.
“A lot of things, Xavier, but why don’t we start with that girlfriend of yours? What’s her name again? Hmm, Jessica West!”
This time around, Xavier couldn’t hide his fear, and Sally was glad to see it. What did she want with Jessica? The girl had gone through a lot because of him. His mind drifted to the night Rita had called him that Jessica had been involved in a ghastly car crash. He still remembered how his heart raced as he drove to the hospital.
“What do you want with her?” Xavier demanded.
“Nothing much. She is an unfortunate and innocent girl who got herself involved in all of these.”
Xavier gritted his teeth, “Don’t do anything to her. If you want to hurt anyone, hurt me.”
He didn’t like the smirk on her face, “Oh, I already have.”
Xavier’s heart skipped a beat. What had she done to Jessica? The poor girl was just recovering from a car accident that had almost taken her life. What was Sally talking about? What evil thing had she done to Jessica now?
Sally continued, “The car accident. Did you think it was not orchestrated?”
His eyes widened, “What?! You tried to kill her?”
“Sure, but that girl is very lucky to survive a car crash like that. She won’t be that lucky next time.”
Now Xavier began to feel agitated. He struggled against the chains, hoping to move closer to Sally and possibly slam his head into her nose or something. The Homeless Guy stepped in between them, drawing his coat aside so Xavier would see his gun clearly.
“Don’t try anything funny,” He warned.
“Oh, let him be, Arnold. He can’t do anything, not like those days he made my life miserable,” Sally said but stepped away from him as if she was not sure of what she had just said.
“What have I ever done to you, Sally? Jessica has done nothing to you either.”
She glared at him and pointed to the scar on her face, “Have you forgotten this?”
“You did that to yourself!”
“It was because of you! I loved you, and you broke my heart!”
“I never loved you. You were just so obsessed with me. None of what we had was supposed to have happened.”
“Yeah, right. All thanks to your mother, it happened,” Pain reflected in her eyes for a brief moment. “And then you all decided to send me to that hell hole and destroy my reputation!”
It was not his fault. It had never been. Xavier remembered his mother taking him to a wedding ceremony in another city close to Phoenix. A friend of hers and a well-known billionaire were getting married. He remembered he wanted very much to get out of the church and go back home; hopefully, to finish the game his mother had interrupted to take him to the wedding. She said he was now a college kid who shouldn’t spend his days in front of a screen and find love instead.