7
Xavier and I laugh in the Jacuzzi. Tonight has been fun. I don’t know exactly when things changed between us, but they have. Ever since he told me the truth about what happened to his sister, both of our guards have been lowered.
“Another glass?” I watch as he hovers the bottle over my empty champagne flute. I know I shouldn’t. I know this entire situation is strange and messed up on so many levels. I don’t know why I’m having such a great time with a man who is single-handedly killing all of the men responsible for ruining my life. However, Xavier has shown me nothing but kindness for the past few days. And now honesty.
“Please,” I say, taking my glass and reaching it out to him. He places his large hand over mine steadying it, as he fills up my glass. Butterflies swarm my stomach as we touch and they stay there fluttering away as I stare up at him. I watch as he fills his glass. I’m chipping away at this hard exterior of his. Champagne runs through my veins as I glance over at him again.
“How do you not have a girlfriend?” I clear my throat, surprised even by my own forwardness.
“Who said I don’t?” He responds back sternly and my heart drops.
“Do you?” My eyes continue to hold his.
“No, I don’t,” He laughs under his breath.
“And why is that?”
“Well for one I never felt obligated to settle down. I want to do what I want when I want. And two —” He pauses as his eyes hold mine.
“If I start to care for someone and something happens —well I'm not sure my heart would be able to deal with that. It’s already been through so much.” He takes a drink of his champagne slowly as his eyes trail off into the darkness that surrounds us. I look up at the crescent moon that shines above us and smile because even though this is a messed-up situation, I’m so grateful that it wasn’t worse.
────
The next morning, I woke up with a smile on my face. First time in weeks that I’ve woken up without that ugly feeling of uncertainty in the pit of my stomach. I wrap the light-pink robe around me as I make my way downstairs.
“Morning, Miss. Lina,” I see Farrah in the kitchen making breakfast.
“Good morning, Farrah,” I sit down at the table.
“Where is Xavier this morning?” I say looking around.
“Um, he got a call this morning and had to tend to some business relations,” She speaks almost as if she's following a script. I force a smile, imagining what he could possibly be doing. Then my heart races.
“When do you think he’ll be back?”
“I’m not sure Miss. Lina. He left almost five hours ago,” She swallows hard.
“Is Carl with him?”
“No, he usually takes him, but —”
“But what?”
“He needed Carl to stay here to be with you,”
“I see,” I say as I look off.
“He did want me to tell you that he has made an appointment for you this afternoon on the third level,”
“What’s on the third level?”
“It’s his gym,”
“He made an appointment for me with who? His personal trainer?” I turn up my face as she slides my breakfast plate in front of me. Well, well, well… Maybe Xavier Almasi is a dick after all. What the hell kind of man does that? I feel heat rush to my face as I imagine us in the Jacuzzi last night. Did he think I looked fat in the bikini I was wearing? Or the dress? I mean I know I ate that ice-cream like a slob, but seriously? I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t feel a little dejected from his gesture. I push around my breakfast as I feel Farrah’s gaze on me. The last thing I want to do right now is eat.
────
Later that afternoon I made my way to the third level. I didn’t even know there was a basement in this place, the elevator is hidden from plain-sight. I adjust my breasts in the sports-bra as I make my way out of the elevator. I see glass double-doors and a man standing behind them. A very attractive and insanely built man. His jawline is prominent and his dark hair is slicked back. His green eyes hold mine as I open the doors.
“Jasper.” He reaches his hand out to mine and I take it.
“Zara.” I lie.
“Nice to meet you, Zara. Let’s get started shall we?” He walks into the gym and I see a boxing ring in the corner.
“Have you ever taken a self-defense class before?” He asks and just as those words leave his mouth goosebumps fill my arms in relief. Xavier wasn’t being an asshole, after all, he was trying to be helpful.
“No, I haven’t,” I awkwardly laugh.
“Okay well, first thing is first.” I feel Jasper’s large hands on my shoulders.
Almost an hour later I pant as I lay in the middle of the boxing ring. That has to be the most extensive workout I’ve ever done. I learned a lot from him though. I never knew of all the ways one can protect themselves.
“Here, let me help you up.” Jasper reaches his arm out to me and I take it, accepting the help.
“Thanks.” I stand holding his stare. He really is quite attractive. He clears his throat as he hears the elevator door slide open.
“Ah, Xavier,” Jasper says as he now looks behind me. When I turn around I see Xavier in a black suit, staring between Jasper and me. He shakes Jasper’s hand and then points to the boxing ring behind me. I’m not one-hundred percent sure, but I think he’s a little jealous.
“You in,” he says, climbing into the ring.
“What?” I say as my face falls with confusion.
“I said get in here.” His eyes narrow on me. I climb into the ring and Jasper leans in close. “Don’t forget what you’ve learned today,” he says nodding at me and I nod back. Seconds later, I feel Xavier pull my hand towards him. I remember what Jasper told me so I grip his wrist tightly and twist his arm back hard. I hear him unintentionally let out a wince of pain.
“Good, good.” Xavier laughs as he walks towards me. The next thing I know he’s towering over me gazing into my eyes. My heart races fast as I feel his hand brush back a stray strand of hair that’s on my face. Within seconds his hands are gripping my throat hard. Without even thinking twice, my left arm goes flying in the air and my elbow hits his forearm hard, releasing his hold of me.
“What the hell was that?” I cough trying to clear my throat. I pant as I stare back at him ignoring me.
“Thank you, Jasper. You can go now.” He looks past me, ignoring my question. We both watch Jasper walk through the doors and into the elevator. He gives me a single nod before the elevator doors close. I turn my gaze back to Xavier and that’s when I notice him squeeze his right hand. I see his purple and bloody knuckles.
“What the —” I grab at his hand, observing it closer. “That’s not from me.”
“I’m fine,” he yanks his hand away but I go to grab it again.
“You’re not fine,” I shake my head, “You need to ice this and then have it wrapped.” I turn his hand over and see his swollen palm with blood still dried on his bruised skin.
“Let’s go.” We walk through the glass doors as I cradle his most likely fractured hand in mine.
────
Xavier
Lina sits on the kitchen counter as she holds my iced-hand in her lap. If she only knew what I did to get this. If she only knew that I repeatedly beat the shit out of one of the guys that abducted her. The one that was responsible for her body after it was drugged. He told me a woman was responsible for drugging her, but he didn’t know her name. At least that’s the only thing that I got out of his mouth before I beat him to death. Only a few more to go. Panic rushes through me quicker than I care to admit. The thought of Lina being back out in the world terrifies me. One of the reasons I wanted her to meet with Jasper today.
“I was surprised by you earlier,” I say as my eyes make their way into hers.
“I was surprised by you too—your chokehold that is.” She rolls her eyes as she applies pressure to the ice a little harder than necessary now. Safe to say she's still upset about me choking her earlier.
“Wanted to prove a point,” I say.
“And, what point was that?”
“You always have to be on your toes,” I say and then she scoffs. We sit there in silence for a while, neither of us saying a word. She continues to apply pressure to my throbbing hand.
“Did you get this by—how I think you got this?” She asks and I nod.
“Did you find anything else out? Like if my friends, Alex and Grace are still alive?” She asks and I shake my head. Truth is I didn’t ask about them. They were likely sold into the ring, making it impossible for me to track them down among so many girls. I tried for a long time with Nora. It’s just a dead end. Her disappointed face begins to kill me slowly. I exhale softly.
“Jacuzzi?” I say, trying to lighten the mood.
“Meet you there in ten. I’ll wrap your hand afterwards,” she says, placing my hand on the counter.
I watch her walk off in her leggings and sports bra. My eyes trail up and down her curves. With each step she takes up the stairs, I get a glimpse of her breasts jiggling perfectly. I pulsate, not being able to take my eyes off of her. What the hell has gotten into me? You save her and get her back home. That’s your only job.
About twenty minutes later I lay deep in the Jacuzzi as the jets massage my achy body. Seeing her earlier with Jasper bugged me on some level. I have no right to feel that way, of course, however, I can’t for the life of me help it. She has gotten under my skin. I watch as she makes her way down the stairs. She’s wearing a black bikini with her hair scrunched up in a messy bun. She looks fucking ravishing. She’s got natural beauty, not the type of girl that’s only beautiful with a face full of makeup. She’s just different. She carries another one of my books in her hands and I smile as I glance down at it.
“You're going to read them all before long, aren't you?” I ask and she grins up at me.
“Let’s hope I don't have to,” She says with a sympathetic smile. Not sure why those words tug at my heartstrings, but they do. I should want her back home and deep down I do, but I like having her here with me. The past few days have brought me comfort and warmth, something I didn’t know I was so desperately yearning for. But now that I’ve had a taste of it, I like it.
“How’s your hand?” She glances at the hand that I cradle.
“It's fine,”
“Liar —” She says and she’s right. My hand is throbbing with intense and sharp pain, so is my mind. Killing someone is physically and mentally draining. It gradually erodes your soul until you find yourself questioning daily if you're any better than the people you're killing. The sounds of the jets fill the awkward silence that has fallen between us.
“I was thinking —” she pauses.
“What if we went out tomorrow night? I don't think you know how insanely boring your house actually is.” She sinks deeper into the jets. I can’t imagine not being able to leave this house. For weeks, she's been bossed around and has had her life completely uprooted. Everything she knows is gone.
“Where would you want to go?”
“I'm not quite sure, obviously not around a lot of people, but just somewhere other than here,” she says and without even thinking about it, I nod my head. Her smile radiates over to me and we sit there as the moon shines over us. I'm not sure where we are going to go tomorrow, but I'll think of something special. Hell, after everything she’s been through, she deserves something good.
────
The next morning, Lina and I sit around the table as we both poke at our breakfast. “Well, can you at least tell me what I need to bring?” She asks.
“Farrah has your bag already packed,” I say and I watch as her eyes quickly bounce over to Farrah standing by the sink. Farrah cracks a smile as she continues to wash the dishes.
“Just trust me okay?” I say as I get back to reading the newspaper. She exhales loudly.
“You know you're probably the youngest person alive that actually reads that,” she laughs.
“What do you mean?”
“What are you thirty-five? And you're buried in that newspaper every single morning like an old person. Don’t you have a phone or something?” She asks and I bite my bottom lip softly as I look over at her with her messy bun and sleepy eyes. She’s got on a light-pink pajama set.
“I’m twenty-eight for the record, not thirty-five. Thank you for aging me seven years,” I say, casually taking a sip of my coffee. I see in my peripheral vision a smile form on her face.
“And—” I hesitate.
“My father and I would read the newspaper together every morning, it was kinda like our thing.” I smile over at her and her face falls slightly.
“I just got so accustomed to it. In a way, it makes me feel closer to him I guess.” I add. When our eyes meet again I see that perfect smile of hers and I feel it to my bones.
“I think that’s beautiful,” She grabs her glass of vegetable juice and takes a sip.
“What was your mother like?” She asks. Her question catches me off guard for a moment before I’m able to respond.
“Simply amazing, with a beautiful soul to go with it. She and my father met when they were in middle-school and she helped him ultimately be the man that he came to be.” I smile. “She helped him build his entire empire single-handedly and she made it look easy, too” I laugh softly as I flashback to her voice and her laugh. My heart stiffens as I remember having to be the one to identify them after the car accident. Her battered body was unrecognizable. Not the mother I remember.
“She sounds like a gorgeous woman inside and out.” I hear Lina say and I nod with a smile.
“She most definitely was. Now, go get dressed so we can get you out of this incredibly boring house.” I quickly wink over at her.
“You don’t have to ask me twice.” She stands from the table and hastily makes her way up the stairs. My eyes trail down to her bottom and my heart goes out of control. Stop it. I cannot go there with her. As much as I would love to touch and feel every inch of her perfect body, I can’t. I can’t do that to either of us. A few more men to go and then we’re out of each other's lives.