Chapter 1
CHAPTER 1
It was hot.
Kaydon shifted, adjusting his seatbelt. The car rocketed down the highway, weaving in and out of traffic.
Seth leaned into him, and Bryson stared out the darkened window.
“Hey man, it’s hot back here. Can we crank the air?” Bryson asked the driver.
The man behind the wheel made eye contact with Kaydon in the rearview mirror.
“Broken,” the driver said. “But there are some waters in the middle console.”
Seth moved to grab some. Twisting the top, he took a long sip before tossing one to Bryson and handing another to Kaydon.
Kaydon noticed the driver was watching them. Sweat broke out on the back of his neck. He pressed the cold-water bottle against it, hoping cooling his neck might help the rest of him too.
“If you can’t handle this, you’re gonna have a hell of a time in Mexico,” Bryson said, jabbing him with his elbow.
Kaydon gave him a lopsided smirk.
The driver was still watching.
“Might want to hydrate a little before you get on the plane,” the driver said .
“Maybe keep an eye on the road, friend,” Kaydon replied.
The eyes dipped out of view.
“K?” Seth asked, placing a hand on his leg.
“You okay?” he added quietly, just for him.
Kaydon nodded.
Bryson sipped his water.
The car slowed—the click of the turn signal, then a turn.
Another soft click, and they turned again.
Kaydon looked around.
Where were they?
The heat was killing him. Unbuckling his seatbelt, he reached into the middle console and grabbed two more bottles of water. He twisted the cap easily and took a long sip—then stopped.
Something wasn’t right.
He looked at Seth, who was sagging into his seat, eyes half-closed. His empty water bottle hung loosely from his hand.
Kaydon moved quickly, stopping Bryson from taking another sip.
Bryson had already drunk about half.
The car turned again and slowed to a stop.
Kaydon glanced at the rearview mirror, meeting that same pair of eyes.
“We’re going to have trouble from you, big boy, aren’t we?” the driver said—just before the back doors swung open.
***
Kaydon woke up, covered in sweat.
The cold cement beneath him did little to ease the furnace radiating from his core.
He had failed again.
“K?”
Seth’s voice broke through the fog.
Kaydon cleared his throat.
“Hey, Killer.”
He tried to erase the pain from his voice. Seth didn’t need to worry about him. It was his job to worry about Seth.
“You were having a nightmare,” Seth said.
Kaydon tried to sit up without wincing. The cells weren’t even big enough to lie down in. Sleeping in them was... interesting.
“Was I?” Kaydon asked. “I don’t remember it,” he lied.
He glanced around the room, clocking the empty cell. His stomach churned.
“He came and got him a few hours ago,” Seth said, catching his gaze.
The cell bars pressed against the back of Kaydon’s head.
They were in a basement. Four cells, each about four feet by four feet. The walls were unfinished, and a small drain in the cement floor was the room’s only feature.
There was no sunlight, but Kaydon guessed they’d been there about a month. Maybe more.
It was hard to keep track.
Dominant Strategy Series book two is set to release Oct 2025
Oebxra ol gurz