“This is about Heath, remember?” I pipe up, trying to shift my captor’s attention. “All of this is supposed to be about Heath.”
“It was until I found out you’re Xavier’s wife,” he spits out. “And you will pay for that, Rain. And your dirty little lies, too. I despise liars. I have to make you pay.”
Tears slip down my cheeks. He’s already put me through so much. What else is there? How is Xander going to ruin my life next?
“Tomorrow your biggest punishment yet will begin,” he tells me with no emotion. “I’ll try to be there too, to watch that insolent look wiped off your pretty little face.”
“Please,” I cry out. “Please reconsider. Heath, he’ll do anything to get me back.”
“You sound awfully sure of yourself there, Rain,” he smirks. “You sure he cares about you that much?”
“Yes,” I nod vigorously. “He’ll do anything in his power for my safe return.”
Xander laughs before coming up to me. I recoil from being so close to him, my insides twisted with fear.
“Then, dearest Rain,” Xander mutters darkly. “Why hasn’t he come for you yet?”
I don’t have an answer, and I swallow thickly, waiting for him to pull back. But now Xander is victorious, knowing he’s played on my weakness, making me think Heath doesn’t really care.
“Get some sleep,” he spits out. “Tomorrow you can prove just how much you can take for Heath. Or Xavier. I don’t give a shit which one. All I want now is to make. You. Fucking. Pay.”
Chapter three
Chapter 8
HEATH
“We need to find where Xander is,” I mutter as Xavier lays out all the information his men have gathered on his brother’s whereabouts. “Once we nail down his location, we can attack his compound and take Rain back.”
“That’s the plan,” Xavier hisses, not even looking at me as he points out several clues his team has found. “It looks like Xander is running a cartel of his own, from what I’ve gathered.”
“A cartel?” I narrow my eyes. “Which one?”
“Looks like it’s the Dragon cartel,” my uncle mutters, making my blood run cold.
The Dragon cartel. Our enemies. The men I killed in cold blood at the docks. The men who have been trying to set up a meeting with me, refusing to let me come face to face with their leader. So much is making sense right now, but I refuse to admit it’s the truth. Because if it is, it means Xander didn’t take Rain because he knew who she was. The attack on the Palacio was because he wanted to get to me, not my woman. Which means everything she’s going through right now is my fucking fault.
“Fuck,” I mumble under my breath.
“Sounds familiar?” Xavier asks, making me nod.
“We were doing business with them, or trying to, at least. This makes me think Xander wasn’t out to find Rain. He was out to get me.”
“If she’s smart, she won’t tell him who she is,” Xavier mutters. “But if he finds out... she’s as good as fucking dead.”
“Don’t say that,” I hiss. “Don’t you dare fucking say that.”
My uncle smirks as he looks at me. “Don’t tell me you’ve developed feelings for her.”
My stony expression speaks for itself, making Xavier laugh out loud.
“That’s fucking hilarious, Heath.”
I slam my fist onto the papers on the table, growling, “How about you quit fucking judging me and help me pin down a location for Xander so we can attack?”
“I just find it fucking funny that you still think Rain is coming home with you after all this,” my uncle smiles easily. “You seem to forget that she’s got my ring on her finger, Heath.”
I choose not to reply, knowing better than to engage my uncle. He may think Rain is his property, but I will prove him wrong soon enough. I know if she had a choice, she would pick me time and time again. And there’s no fucking way in hell I’m letting her stay with Xavier now that I’ve found her again. But for now, I need to go along with his idea that he’ll be the one to keep her after all this, as laughable as it fucking is.
“Let’s start at the beginning,” I mutter. “Where did you last see Xander?”
“At the orphanage,” Xavier mutters. “Your grandfather took me home, and I left Xander behind.”
I point to a black-and-white photo of an ominous gothic building. “This is the orphanage. I have had my men call there and make inquiries. The place burned down a couple years after you left.”
Xavier nods. “They told me my brother died in the fire.”
“But it seems he didn’t,” I spit out bitterly. “Except after that fire, all trace of him is lost.”
“Not all,” Xavier interrupts, smirking at me as he points to another document. “My men went through records of all the hospitals in the area to ensure Xander didn’t survive the fire.”