Billionaire Games (Standalone)

by Kenya Wright

  “Does it matter?” I shrugged.

  “Of course, it does,” he said. “Just because we’re rushing this doesn’t mean that we need to do it halfway. She deserves something elegant and beautiful. And. . .then there’s the ring.”

  “The ring?” I looked at Dawn. She stared at me as if analyzing every one of my moves with her gaze. I checked my pockets again for the puzzle and had to keep down my rage when I saw nothing was there.

  “What about the ring?” I kept my hands in my pockets.

  “It needs to be high-end and unique. I don’t want any other women to have the same thing on her finger.”

  Are you trying to hold up the wedding with all of these demands?

  “This is an island far away from the mainland. I can do my best, but I can’t promise you expensive elegance.” I made air quotes. “This is about saving Dawn, not about making all of the fashion divas in the world jealous.”

  Freddy wouldn’t let up. “We can’t have the wedding unless it’s handled properly. I can go off and take care of it—”

  “No,” I interrupted. “You need to stay put for now. I’ll have one of my men get some nice clothes for the event.”

  You want to wander off for an expensive ring? Yeah, right. No. You want to go and contact your unknown friend. But why? Are you hoping for an escape away from all of this or help against me?

  Freddy walked over to Dawn and took her hand. “How do you feel about all of this?”

  “It’s so fast,” she said. “And. . .I’m scared.”

  My heart ached. This was the worst part of gaming her, the fear that always entered her heart and twisted her mind. I stepped to her and extended my hand. “You don’t have anything to be afraid about. I’m here. I’ll always be here.”

  Instead of taking my hand, she tightened her hold on Freddy’s and edged closer to him. “I just want this all to be over soon. After the wedding when we all separate.”

  I never dropped my hand. I should have, especially since I looked like an idiot. But this was a hard game to execute. I wasn’t used to having her near me and next to another man. Even worse, I’d listened to her fucking him for the past few days. They both should’ve got on their knees and thanked God that I hadn’t killed either of them.

  Freddy noticed my hand out in front of her and like an asshole, guided her away. “Let’s go. You should get some rest and I will talk to Caden more about the wedding plans.”

  “Okay.” She left with him.

  I watched them in a furious daze. My hands empty and unable to keep my mind busy. Left to its own, my head filled with murder—my hands wrapped around Freddy’s neck, squeezing until his flesh changed color and his breaths left his lungs. His eyes popped a half an inch out, blood spurted from his mouth, and the bones in his neck cracking little-by-little.

  I headed off to my room.

  Enjoy these last few hours, Freddy.

  Although I’d asked the staff to keep the number down to a minimum, I was surprised to see no one greeting or showing us to our rooms. The resort was massive. It had over a hundred chic suites that dripped in sophistication. Each one was well-equipped with premium minibars, top-notch entertainment systems, and stunning ocean views.

  Where are my men? I need an update.

  I caught a few of them behind me, lifting bags and equipment from our trunks and carrying them to the other side of the resort where I’d put them. After they were done, two guards would stand in front of each of our doors. It was all for show. No one was coming for Dawn or me, but I had to keep the illusion real.

  One more night of this and it will all be over.

  Freddy showed Dawn to her room and then went to his. I was surprised. I figured he’d try to get some extra moments of time with her. I’d had some plays in mind for interrupting them if he tried to sleep with her here. Fortunately, they both went in their separate rooms and I escaped into mine.

  Everything is going as planned for now, but why do I feel like I’m missing something.

  A knock came to my door. I opened it.

  My guy stood on the other side and handed me one page. “We translated the message, sir.”

  “Good.” I snatched the paper and read it.

  Unknown: I’m coming.

  Who’s coming?

  The guy stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

  “This Freddy gets more and more interesting with each play. Just when I think I’ve figured out his moves, he comes with new ones.” I crumbled the paper and threw it at the waste basket near the door. “Did we get a location from where the text was sent?”

  “No, sir.”

  Walking off to the nearest window, I cracked my knuckles. “When was the text sent?”

  “We think this morning.”

  I stopped at the window and moved the curtain to the side. Moonlit darkness greeted my eyes. There was no movement out of order besides my men and two maids pushing a cart of folded towels down the path near the entrance.

  I cracked another knuckle. “You think or you know?”

  “We think, sir.”

  I started to mess with my fingers again and growled at him. “Get me a fucking Rubik’s cube. I don’t care if you have to get someone to take a seaplane tonight, but I want something fast.”

  “A cube, sir?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay. Will that be all?”

  “No.” I turned away from the window. “We need everyone with their eyes open. I don’t know how this person would even find us but that’s beside the point. Put four guys on each of our doors and have some people outside, guarding the windows but not appearing too obvious. I don’t want Freddy thinking that I’ve figured out he went for help. That being said, no one fucking leaves this island without my knowing it.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “If you see Freddy talking to someone, shoot the other person and take control of him.”

  “Where would we put him if this happens, sir?”

  “Find an extra room and then call me, but this is only if it’s an extreme case. Other than that, I don’t want Freddy harmed.”

  The Eight would go crazy and Dawn would never forgive me. It must look like an accident. I have to stick to the plan.

  “Go ahead.” I took off my jacket. “And get me a fucking cube.”

  He left, but that text tornadoed through my head. There was no way anyone would find us here. Maybe, they could track his phone, but it would be too late to get here before my plan worked out. Wouldn’t it? I wasn’t sure where this person was coming from, but I had to have time.

  Who the fuck does he have coming? What game is Freddy playing?

  Chapter 36

  Dawn

  The light came on as I stepped into my room.

  Before the door closed, Freddy blocked it with his foot. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.” I gave him a weak smile.

  Out in the hallway, Caden walked by us, probably heading to his room.

  He’d appeared on edge since we left his boat. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. Would it help Freddy and I get rid of Caden for good or keep us trapped longer? Even worse, would it result in Freddy’s death? I didn’t even want to think about that last possibility, but I had to consider it.

  Caden had gone past insanity. He’d always been that way. Up until his house explosion and the Miami attack, he’d kept his games light. At least for a psycho. But now, everything had taken a detour into the complex labyrinth of his madness. Game after Game. Trick after trick. He had no limits. No truth left his lips. We couldn’t trust anything he said, and we could never lose our focus. Everything, every moment mattered until the end of the game.

  “Dawn, what’s wrong?” Freddy started to enter my room like he was going to embrace me.

  “No, stay there.” I held my hand out to stop him. I couldn’t see Caden in the hallway any longer, but I knew he was still there. Outside in that hallway, listening. Waiting. His presence swelled all around me. Mad
e me want to hug myself and shut my eyes until he went away. As long as he’d been in my life, his eyes were all around me, suffocating the fuck out of me. No doubt these rooms had state-of-the-art recording equipment. No doubt that every electrical item had been bugged or fixed to be a tool in his game. No doubt he’d be listening and watching every moment of my life from the bedroom to the bathroom.

  It was a wonder that I hadn’t lost my mind by now, being watched for so long.

  We’re going to end this. I don’t know how, but it ends here.

  “Dawn?” Freddy whispered.

  “I’m just a little on edge.” I held my throat almost checking to see if someone was trying to choke me. So much tension thickened in my chest. It was hard to breathe and not feel like I was drowning in hysteria.

  Freddy studied me.

  “Go to your room,” I whispered. “We have to stay focused and. . .you in here with me. . .I can’t focus.”

  All that time on the boat, we’d made no plan, but we’d damn sure made love. From night to day, rain or stormy weather. We remained in that room fucking the hours away and using our bodies to escape the insanity around us.

  Now that we were back on solid ground and had landed on Caden’s new game board, we had to figure out the new rules. The new ways to play.

  “Do you need anything?” Freddy asked.

  “No.”

  Freddy stepped back. “Okay. I’ll just be in my room.”

  “Good.”

  “I’ll be right down the hall, Dawn.” Freddy grabbed the knob and pulled it toward him. “I’m here. I made my promise. I will always protect you. No matter what.”

  I forced myself to keep that smile on my face and not show him my shaking hands. “I believe you.”

  I just don’t want you to die because of it.

  Freddy closed the door.

  Once it shut, my mask broke apart. No tears came. Just a large dooming cloud of fear that twisted around every inch of my body, clawing at my flesh. I scratched my skin like the dark creature was really there. Terror weighed so heavily on me my knees almost buckled. I concentrated on breathing and clearing my mind. If I wanted to outplay Caden, I had to have full control of my brain and keep my eyes open.

  Something felt off with the whole day but, of course, it was. We knew Caden was lying about everything. We’d shifted to pawns trying to discover how to get free of him without anyone being harmed. Freddy had contacted his friend, but we had no idea if she was really coming or not.

  And would she really be enough to help? We needed someone that could really stop Caden.

  But the main problem was that we didn’t have a way to stop him. How did you stop a monster? There was one option. One I didn’t want to consider. One that would break me.

  We could kill him.

  But Freddy and I weren’t murderers. And it wasn’t fair that Caden had forced us to even ponder the option of death as an escape. All he had to do was leave me alone. Leave us alone. That was what normal people did. But no, he pushed, planned, and plotted. He toyed with our minds, bullying us into what he wanted.

  Selfish. Psychotic. Insane.

  Caden would never let me love Freddy. He’d always be in the way. For now, he’s happy to block Freddy with his games, but what happens when he grows tired of playing? Would he kill Freddy? Or would his games continue to be sicker and more desperate, harming Freddy somehow?

  And then someone whispered above me, “Don’t scream.”

  I looked up.

  A figure dressed in darkness clung to the ceiling. It was covered in black—mask, suit, shoes, and gloves. All I could make out were these Antarctica ice blue eyes that were formed like almonds. They were so odd among the shadows and the figure of black that I screamed, “Ah!”

  The person dropped down, grabbed my head, and covered my mouth. “Quiet.”

  Now closer, I knew the voice was female and the person was around my height. But that steel-grip told me that I didn’t have a chance at fighting her. Those hands locked hard around my head, showing off how easily they could simply crush my skull into bits.

  She might’ve been small and short, but she had great strength. And being that she’d just been somehow stuck on the ceiling and now leapt down as nimble as a cat, made me sure that I wanted to listen to anything she had to say.

  Dear God, please let this be Lotus.

  “We wait. They may have heard your scream,” she whispered. The scent of jasmine lingered around us. “Will you be quiet?”

  I nodded.

  “Good.” Yet, she kept her hands around my mouth.

  Footsteps sounded outside my door. Freddy’s voice came next. “Dawn?”

  A thick accent dotted her words. “Tell him you’re fine. We must talk first.”

  I nodded.

  “Tell him.” The woman slid her hands from my mouth to my throat. “Now.”

  My words came out as a screech. “I’m fine.”

  “Are you sure?” Freddy twisted the knob, but the door had already locked on its own.

  “Yes, baby. I’m sure.”

  We all waited. No sound came from the other side of the door. None from my room either. After a few minutes, there was the noise of Freddy walking away and then a door closing off in the distance.

  She let go of me and held one finger in front of her lips. “We must whisper. This room was full of listening devices. I switched them to room four. Doesn’t matter. We should still be careful.”

  I didn’t make a sound, but I did take several steps back. For all I knew, this could be part of Caden’s new game. She watched me put distance between us and remained silent. Those icy eyes pierced me. I didn’t stop moving away until I bumped into the minibar in my room. I still had no idea if she was Lotus or not.

  “Who are you?” she asked.

  “Who are you?” I gripped the edge of the bar and hoped there was a knife or something around for cutting fruit. Anything to make me feel safer. It was not like I could battle her, but at least I would feel better having something sharp in my hands.

  Lean, but cut with muscle, she wore a long black coat—something Death would have worn if he wanted to modernize his cloak to something more fashionable. She left the coat hanging open. It flapped back and forth with the stormy breeze traveling throughout the room. Under the coat was what could only be described as a cat-burglar suit—black and skin tight, leather with two large daggers strapped to her thighs. Black boots finished the look off. Silver hooks stuck out the tips.

  She kept the mask on. It wasn’t leather but some other material that showed no indication of where her nose began and cheeks began. It blurred out the image into a black shape. All I could make out was those exotic eyes gazing back at me from one large hole that went from the corner of one eye to another.

  She’s either with Caden or Freddy?

  “Who are you?” I said again.

  “I’m Lotus.”

  I sighed. “I’m Dawn.”

  “Why does Freddy need help?” She stalked toward me but left four feet between us.

  Scared, I stayed where I was. She looked like she meant business. She could help us out, but Freddy had made it seem like she was a bit odd too.

  I let out a long breath. “My ex-boyfriend is crazy. He wants me back, so he’s come up with all these games. . .well, they’re like mind fucks. Or more like situations that he puts me in. In fact. . .” Words just kept falling out of my mouth but nothing truly captured the situation. “Look. He has lied to me to the point where I ran around in circles all over the world. Freddy came for me and now Caden is dragging him around too—”

  “Stop.” Lotus studied me, taking her gaze to my feet and then dragging it up to my face. “Does he love you?”

  “Caden?” I asked.

  “Freddy.”

  “Yes,” I whispered. “I think so.”

  “And do you love Freddy?”

  “Yes.” There was no hesitation with the word. We’d been through so much. I would no longer
run away from Freddy. Enough was enough. Caden was the only thing that blocked us from having our happily ever after. He had to go and I was willing to take anyone’s help to get him out of the way.

  Anger hit her eyes. “Hmmm.”

  I swallowed.

  Her next word came out with the sharpness of a knife slicing the air. “Why?”

  I blinked. “Why what?”

  “Why does Freddy love you?”

  “I have no idea.” I shrugged. “If I didn’t have this crazy stuff with Caden, I would have time to ponder all the lucky reasons why this man would choose me and my chaos but I don’t. I’m just. . .” I stood up straight. “I’m just wondering how I can keep Freddy and me safe as well as get us far away from Caden forever.”

  “I can tell you,” Lotus said.

  “Tell me what?”

  “Why Freddy has fallen in love with you.” She closed the distance between us. There was barely an inch of space. “I know why he loves you.”

  I held my shaking hand up to my chest. “Why?”

  “Because you remind him of his mother. You look like her in some ways. You smell like her. You sound like her. You think like her. I knew this woman.” Lotus shrugged. “Or maybe it’s because you’re beautiful.”

  In the next second, she left me and swiftly went to the window barely making any sound. The speed made my heart stop. She shook her head and slid the curtain to the side, checking out the view outside.

  Thunder rumbled off in the distance. Lightning struck the sky.

  “It’s going to rain. This is a good sign.” She left the window and returned to me.

  “Why is it a good sign?”

  “The gods will wash away all the blood.”

  O-kay.

  Due to the chill and oncoming rain, moisture gathered on the window. Lotus drew a smiley face on the glass in front of her. “This Caden likes games that make Freddy unhappy?”

  “Yes.”

  She gestured to the bottles of liquor on the bar. “You should probably make yourself a drink. I would love to hear more about his games. I know his face.”

  I headed behind the bar. “You’ve seen him before?”

  “In a secret place.”

  “Where is this?” I grabbed a bottle of rum. “I don’t understand.”