Encouraged by his friend’s successful escape, Max schemed and plotted to free himself. Through trickery and flattery, Max tricked his mistress into removing his collar for a while. Max attacked Samora but the witch managed to escape.
Max took all the money that Samora had left behind and started a business for himself. Every cent of that money belonged to him. He had won the money with his blood and sweat in The Pit, and Samora had kept all his prize money.
Draven finally came out of hiding after many years and found Max. By that time, Max had made his first million. Max immediately gave his old friend a job and Draven was now the Chief Operating Officer in Max’s company.
Draven cleared his throat loudly. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
“No.”
Draven harrumphed and twisted around to look at Kristy. “She’s pretty smart and tough for a full-human,” Draven said. “Not many humans would risk life and limb in The Pit just to buy their freedom.”
There was a note of awe and respect in his voice.
Draven peered at Max. “I’ve never seen you do anything like that.”
Max shrugged.
“Running yourself into a bayonet isn’t something that you’d do for anyone!” Draven exclaimed.
“It wasn’t a bayonet. Stop exaggerating,” Max replied.
Draven huffed. “You know what I mean.”
“So...you’re going to take care of her,” Draven stated.
“Yes.” There was no point lying to his best friend.
“Is she…?” Draven began.
Max grimaced. “I have no business claiming a mate,” he said tightly. “There’s too much of me that’s missing...”
“Max, the past is the past. You can’t remember your past, and...that’s okay. Let it go. You have the chance to make a wonderful future here. If she’s your mate, you can...”
“If she’s my mate, I want her to have one hundred percent of me,” Max answered. “I need to remember. I swear I will find Samora and get the answers from her. That witch...did something to my head.”
“And you think you can find that witch by coming back to The Pit?” Draven raised his voice.
“I’ve tried everything else,” Max snapped.
Draven exhaled slowly.
He had been with Max every step of the way. Draven had even helped Max search for Samora but their painstaking search yielded nothing.
Max had hired scores of private investigators, and even the most skilled and experienced investigators could find nothing.
In desperation, Max had even tried hypnotherapy but that was just a stupid waste of time. He remembered nothing about his past. There was just a blank in his head where his memories should have been.
Finally, one of the healers he’d hired told him that his best chance of getting his memories back was to find the person who took them. “Someone took them,” the old healer had told a shocked and chagrined Max. “And hid them. That’s why nothing works.”
Max fixed his eyes grimly on the long, dark road ahead. Those memories belonged to him, and he wasn’t going to let anyone hold on to what was his.
Beside him, Draven let out a deep sigh. “I know I can’t change your mind, Max.” He jerked his head towards the back seat and said softly, “Maybe she can.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Kristy opened her eyes and made a muffled, strangled sound in her throat. Her hands flew out and she croaked, “Don’t leave me, please...”
She continued flailing as she grasped desperately at the empty air. “Wait, wait for me...” she wheezed as she tried to run. But she couldn’t seem to move her legs properly. There was something winding around her ankles, hindering her movements.
With a gasp, Kristy snapped her eyes open.
She jerked upright and blinked.
Her eyes were damp, and Kristy could feel the hot tears on her cheeks.
Cursing, she swiped furiously at her eyes.
“Fuck these stupid tears,” she hissed. “Fuck you! I am not crying!”
Kristy swore again as she dried her eyes on her sleeve. She wasn’t going to cry like a baby over a silly little nightmare. She should have gotten over it by now. Yet every now and then, her nightmares would return to haunt her.
After all these years, she was still having nightmares about being abandoned and discarded. In her nightmare, she was a little girl again but she could no longer see the face of her father. She only saw his back as he walked away from her and left her in the middle of the wilderness to fend for herself.
Knowing that she was unwanted and unloved left her with a deep sense of desolation and despair.
But Kristy refused to dwell on her unhappiness.
She was fine. She was okay.
She was...free.
The events of the night before came rushing to the forefront of her mind.
She had fought Mad Max and won.
Kristy whimpered as her hands flew to her neck. Her collar was really gone.
She was no longer a slave!
Blinking rapidly, Kristy looked around and saw that she was in a bright, spacious, well-furnished room. The bed she was in was soft and comfortable, and the sheets were cool and smooth.
“Where am I?” she murmured. “Am I still dreaming?”
She rubbed her eyes and squinted at her surroundings again. Nope. This was no dream.
Kristy looked down and patted herself. She was wearing a comfortable, oversized t-shirt. She stared at the faint scratches on her arms and realized that her wounds had all been cleaned up. Someone had even slathered a pleasant-smelling ointment on her skin.
Kristy frowned and scrambled out of bed.
Her head hurt and she was still feeling a little dizzy, but her memories were intact. Carefully, she recalled every detail from the night before.
She had fought in The Pit and she had won her freedom. Roland had tried to renege on their agreement but Mad Max had showed up and demanded that Roland unlock her collar.
Then...she had blacked out.
Kristy swallowed.
What happened after she fainted dead away?
Kristy tiptoed to the open window. Sunlight was streaming in through the window, and the curtains fluttered in the gentle breeze.
Kristy stood at the window and sucked in a breath at the amazing scenery.
She could see hilltops, treetops, rows of tiny houses and lush rolling fields. She craned her neck and saw a road winding down the mountain.
“I’m on the top of a mountain!” she exclaimed in disbelief and delight. She could glimpse the shimmering sea in the distance. “Wow.”
Kristy thought of Max suddenly. He was the last person she saw before she blacked out.
She turned towards the door and padded quietly across the room. She wanted to meet the owner of the house and thank him or her. This kind person had given her shelter for the night and tended to her injuries. Was the owner Max’s friend? Where was Max?
Kristy opened the door and peeked out. She listened for voices but the house was still and silent.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Gingerly, Kristy stepped out of the room. She felt plush carpet beneath her feet, and her eyes kept rounding as she looked around. The house was huge, and she saw a sparkling chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
When she reached the curved staircase, she looked down and gasped. She was on the top floor of a mansion, and she could see that the whole place was luxuriously and stylishly furnished. She felt like she was in a palace.
Kristy walked slowly down the stairs, looking around in apprehension. She was baffled, curious and increasingly nervous.
“Who lives here?” she wondered. The owner was obviously very wealthy, but why would anyone build a house at the top of a secluded mountain?
Kristy stood at the foot of the grand curved staircase and took a deep breath.
“Hello?” she called out. “Is anybody home?”
A door opened at the end of the corridor and a tall,
blond man stepped out.
Kristy started.
It was Max, and he was all cleaned up. The last time she saw him he was wearing a torn and bloodied t-shirt, and his arms and body were covered with dried blood and dirt.
Right now, Max looked relaxed in a designer polo shirt and jeans. He was clean shaven and when he smiled at her, Kristy felt a little weak at the knees.
Had Max always looked so gorgeous?
“Max,” Kristy said. She was incredibly relieved and happy to see him.
“Hey, Kristy.” Max’s smile widened. “Glad you’re up. How are you feeling?”
“I feel great,” she replied, blushing.
“Let’s get you something to eat,” Max said and led her towards a sprawling, modern kitchen. He opened the fridge and said, “I can heat up some stew for you. Or would you prefer...”
“Stew sounds lovely,” Kristy answered. “But shouldn’t we...”
She looked around awkwardly. “Um, where is the owner of the house? I don’t think he or she would be very happy if we ate up all the stew without permission,” she added.
Kristy looked up and saw the laughter in Max’s bright blue eyes.
“Ah...” Kristy opened and closed her mouth. “This...”
Max winked at her and put the pot of stew on the stove.
“This is your house,” she stuttered at last. “You...are the owner.”
“Yeah.”
Kristy pick her jaw up from the floor in a hurry.
So Max wasn’t a poor, desperate man who had to fight in The Pit to make ends meet. He didn’t need the money at all.
Kristy chewed the inside of her cheek as she struggled to order her jumbled thoughts and feelings. What’s the deal with Max?
Why would a rich, good-looking, successful guy like him throw himself into The Pit? Only people who were desperate for money would enter the arena. Max wasn’t a slave and he wasn’t after the prize money.
Was he suicidal? Deranged?
A glutton for pain and punishment?
Max turned around and saw Kristy watching him warily.
“You can ask me anything,” he said, waving the ladle in the air.
“I don’t understand,” Kristy said slowly. “Why, Max?” She gestured around the sprawling mansion. “Look at this. Look at you. You’re obviously doing very well for yourself. You’re not like...us.”
“Us?” Max raised his brows.
“The fighters who enter the arena,” she said. “You’re not like us at all. All of us are fighting to win the prize money. We need that money. But you...you don’t have to fight. You should be sitting in the grandstand with the other big gamblers and slave owners...”
At the mention of slave owners, Max’s expression turned grim.
Kristy stopped talking.
Max’s eyes blazed with a fierce, feral light and his fury was palpable.
Kristy swallowed and was about to say something when her eyes flicked to the window behind Max. Her eyes bugged and she let out a cry of shock and terror.
“D-dragon!” she shrieked.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Kristy screamed at the sight of a huge red dragon just outside the window. The dragon looked terrifying, with its gleaming red scales and long, deadly teeth.
She scrambled back when the dragon tapped at the window with his claw.
A gigantic emerald eye peered in at them.
“Get away!” Kristy screeched, tugging Max away from the window. “It’s going to eat us!”
The dragon chuffed and she heard the beat of powerful wings. She looked again and saw the dragon veer away and do some fancy loops and somersaults in the air.
“Showoff,” Max muttered under his breath.
“Are there dragons around here?” Kristy asked, her voice rising in panic. “Why do you live on a mountain top, Max? It isn’t safe...”
Max held her shoulders and said gently, “Kristy, calm down. It’s okay. It’s perfectly safe here. That’s just Draven. He...”
“Draven? Who’s Draven?” she squeaked.
“The dragon,” Max replied. “Draven is a dragon shifter. He’s also...”
Right on cue, the doorbell rang.
“The biggest busybody on earth,” Max finished with a long-suffering sigh.
Max went to open the door while Kristy followed at a careful distance. A man with a mop of unruly brown hair and a cheeky grin stepped into the house.
“I’ve told you a million times, Draven, don’t peek through my windows,” Max said irritably.
Draven shrugged. “I wanted to make sure you’re home.”
Draven’s emerald eyes fell on Kristy and he broke into a wide smile. His eyes were the exact same color as the dragon’s. Kristy gulped when she glimpsed his curved, retracting claws and the smattering of red scales that was rapidly vanishing from his arms.
This friendly, affable man was really that fearsome dragon that she had seen at the window. Draven looked like a regular guy now, dressed in faded jeans and a t-shirt.
“Hi, I’m Draven,” he said, extending his hand.
“Kristy,” she said. She couldn’t help smiling as he pumped her hand up and down enthusiastically. It was hard not to like him.
“What are you doing here?” Max said, pushing past Draven. Draven chuckled and followed Max into the kitchen. “Why aren’t you at work?” Max asked.
“Why aren’t you at work?” Draven retorted.
When Max scowled at him, Draven turned to Kristy and said, “We work together. Technically, I work for him.”
“Oh.”
Draven went to the coffee pot and poured himself a big mug of coffee. “Max is the biggest boss, and I’m the second biggest boss in the company,” Draven said, grinning.
He slurped his coffee and sniffed the air. “I smell, with my little nose, something yummy!”
Max sighed. “There’s stew in the pot.”
“I knew you would feed me,” Draven said delightedly and went to grab a bowl for himself. “You’d never let me go hungry.”
“The trouble is, you’re always hungry,” Max deadpanned.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The three of them sat down at the dining table and ate together. The stew was delicious and Kristy wolfed down two helpings. She was famished and her body had used up a lot of energy. She needed to fuel up. Having warm food in her belly felt great.
Kristy listened as Draven gave Max a few updates on some company matters. The two men talked shop for a bit, and Max explained to Kristy that he owned a construction business.
Draven leaned in and whispered to Kristy, “It’s a billion dollar construction business. We built the Diamond Hotel, the Grand Lodge Tower...” Draven happily rattled off the company’s more famous projects, ticking them off on his fingers.
Max stopped him by saying, “You’re boring her, Draven.”
“I’m not bored,” Kristy said at once. “You guys have accomplished so much. You should be proud of yourselves.”
“We are,” Draven said smugly.
The conversation took an abrupt turn when Draven put down his spoon and peered at Kristy. “I was at The Pit last night,” he said.
She stiffened.
“I saw you kick Max’s butt!” Draven hooted and gave her the thumbs up.
“I didn’t.” Kristy looked down and blew out a shaky breath. “I...I owe Max. Without his help, I would still be wearing my slave collar.”
With a sad smile, she went on to tell them a bit more about her background. “I was sold into slavery as a girl, but I never stopped dreaming of the day when I would regain my freedom. It’s finally happened. I’m free now.”
Draven and Max shared a look, and a silent, wordless exchange took place between them.
Finally, Max leaned forward and said, “Kristy, you said earlier that I’m not like the rest of the fighters in The Pit. Well, actually I am. We are.” He gestured between Draven and himself. “We are just like you.”
Kristy frowned.
<
br /> “Draven and I fought in The Pit as slaves many, many years ago,” Max said.
Kristy’s eyes and mouth rounded. “You...you guys were slaves?”
“Yes.”
“We were forced to fight in the arena by our mistresses. That’s where we met, in the arena, and over time, we became friends,” Max said.
“Did you buy yourselves out of slavery?” Kristy asked.
“We weren’t quite so smart or patient,” Draven answered with a wry smile. “We never even thought of negotiating an agreement with our devious, evil mistresses. You are a smart girl, Kristy. You worked out a plan to pay off your own debt.”
“So how did you get free?” Kristy asked.
“I killed the bitch.”
When Max shot him a look, Draven corrected, “Witch. I killed the witch.”
“Both Draven and I were enslaved by witches. Our slave collars were infused with magic spells to leash our beasts. Our collars were taken off only when we entered the arena.”
Kristy fell silent for a while. “Did you...” She swallowed and glanced at Max.
“No.” Max paused before continuing, “I didn’t kill her. Samora escaped.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Draven jerked his thumb at Max. “Do you know why he’s putting himself back in the arena?”
Kristy shook her head.
“He’s searching for that bitch. I mean, witch,” Draven said.
“Why? Why would you want to look for that horrible, evil witch?” Kristy said hotly. She felt a sudden, uncontrollable surge of anger. She knew what it was like to be collared, and she never wanted to see her old master again.
“Samora has something that belongs to me,” Max answered.
“What?”
“My memories.”
At this point, Draven cleared his throat and stood up. He excused himself, saying that he had some calls to make and left the kitchen.
Kristy sensed that the dragon shifter wanted to give them some privacy. What Max was about to tell her was important.
Kristy listened intently as Max described to her how he woke up chained to Samora’s bed. The witch had found him bleeding and unconscious at the foot of a cliff. Samora dragged him home, bandaged him up and collared him.
Billionaire Beast Bear (Beast Bears Book 3) Page 4