Page 65 of Never To Suffer

“Straighten—what?” My words are oddly thick in my mouth, sounding odd and slurred. “Are you kidding me? He wouldn’t do that.”

“Ah, yes, that part might be my fault. I’ve been slipping him hints about your sex scandals and elite families being dismantled by them. Dismantled by you and your busy little cock. Well, not little, I suppose. I’ve seen the website.” He slides his hand up my leg and I struggle to push it away. “Your father bought into the propaganda of the rise of homosexuality and how it ties into pedophilia. Your parents might have the riches, but my god do they live in a bygone era. Clueless about the world.”

I lunge, trying to get away from him, but he pushes me back into the seat and looms over me. It makes no sense. I’m bigger than he is, but I can’t fight him off. “I may have recently let it slip about your girlfriend’s trip to the clinic and how close they came to shelling out millions to keep the bastard child out of the headlines.”

“You son of a… why?”

He holds his fingers up to shush me, but misses his mouth by a good four inches. I’m gonna throw up, I can feel it building. I stumble across the seat, somehow getting to the window and pushing the button. The cool night air on my face keeps what little I have in my stomach right where it is.

“I kept one last secret from him, though. Well, at least one. The one where you go around waving your cock at the camera for money. How the men you meet pay you for sex and leave you a battered mess in the gutter. My god, when I tell him about that! Show him his son in your true form, a pathetic whore and a punching bag?”

The air isn’t cool anymore. It’s ice cold, like the blood in my veins. He holds his sides as he laughs, and I’m questioning if he’s drunk at all. How long has he played me? Did his accent just slip? He’s next to me again, his hand on my chest. “Don’t worry, love. Dear old dad doesn’t need to know. We can keep it our little secret if you play nice. I wasn’t very happy when you canceled all your dates here in the city. I had several brilliant ones lined up for you to give myself some cover. But you threw that option away. Or did you?”

He gets on his knees in front of me, running his hand up my thigh.

“Get the hell off of me! What—what do you want from me?”

SMACK!

My cheek burns, and he grabs me by the jaw, squeezing tight. “You will shut your whore mouth, listen to me, and play the good little son. I take care of the business and clean up the mess you’re about to be in. We show your father you’ve become a team player, thanks to me taking you under my wing. You pretend you’re now interested in the company and give me half your salary. Oh, and you’ll be my own personal whore, keeping me satisfied every night. Your father won’t need to know that part, and your aunt has already tried to push me in your direction.”

“No—”

“Yes, Xander. And you’ll agree to my terms, so I don’t release the rest of the videos.” His hot breath on my face makes me gag. “Maybe I’ll keep your girl and that gorgeous looking doctor out of it, too. If you perform well enough on your knees for me,Baby.”

My ability to form sentences stops working, and I can’t do much more than stare at him and his dumb, freckled face I want to punch. “I’m not… I won’t do… Fuck you!” I’m not even sure if the words make sense or if they’re slurred noises.

“Oh, no. Not tonight. In fact, you wouldn’t be awake for it if I did. You’ve only got a few?—”

His voice drifts further away, which doesn’t make sense since there are three of him now.

The world goes black.

I wake up to living nightmares, or to a vague idea of what’s happening to me when I’m not awake. Flashing lights, voices, Oliver, others. I can’t remember what’s happening most of the time, nor do I want to. I’ve yet to wake up anywhere familiar, but every time I do wake up, I’m in hell. Too many people. Too many hands.

I shouldn’t have come to Tokyo. I shouldn’t have left Dani. I should have stayed with Theo. Do they even know I’m missing? Does anyone?

“Oh, good morning, sunshine. How are you feeling? I hope Mr. Sato wasn’t too rough on you.” Oliver’s voice drips with sarcasm the way the syringe in his hand drips with whatever he’s been using to knock me out. I try to shake my head, to pull myarm away, but he’s stronger and not made of jelly. “Now, come on, beautiful. Don’t fight. Do I need to remind you what happens when you fight me? Who am I kidding? You shouldn’t remember a thing I’ve done to you since the limo.”

The garbled moan that comes out of me when the needle pricks my skin doesn’t even resemble the words I’m trying to say. But I’m sure he gets the idea. He laughs.

“It’s a shame you don’t remember. We’ve had some excellent times together. Well, I have, anyhow. And some of your clients, too.” His laugh sounds strange, face distorted like I’m looking at a clown in a funhouse mirror. “This isn’t going to knock you out, but don’t get any ideas because you’re not going anywhere. Not yet. Not until we come to an agreement.”

“Let go of me.” It comes out something like legfmah, and I can’t lift my head.

“Hmm, I may have used too much sedative earlier. Let’s stick toyesandnofrom you.” He smiles, slapping the side of my face lightly. “It’s my first go at kidnapping, you know. No, I don’t suppose you do know that. Oh, and good news, they’ve realized you’re missing! Only took them three days.”

He drops something next to my head. It smells like a newspaper, but I can’t tell. The world spins, and dips sideways when he picks my head up again, pulling open my eyelids like they do in the movies. He pulls a ski mask down over his face and takes out his phone.

“Eyes open, love. They need to see you’re alive if I’m sending proof of life. How about we start with ten million? Are you worth ten million? No, I don’t think you are after that outburst at the office. Let’s play it safe and say three.”

“Money?” I barely understand the word I spit out.

“Yeah, money. Isn’t it always money? Oh, money and spite. My parents worked for your father for years, were laid off, I couldn’t afford to stay at the boarding school, so I came upwith this crazy plan to work here blah blah villain origin story type stuff. The problem was, I can’t blackmail your father on his deeds alone. He’s too…boring. Your family are white bread, mundane people, Alex—err,Xander. You, on the other hand, are a wildcard. A warped vigilante collecting pieces for your game until you have enough to take down the strongest of castles, aren’t you?”

I shake my head, a mistake because it starts the world spinning.

“Why are you going after all the small chickens? You already have access to the big, fat, golden egg-laying hen! Your father holds the power and the money. Everything would have been handed over to you if you’d kept your head down instead of sucking on every rich prick you could find.” He takes a few photos before releasing my head to check them. “You’re doing everything the hard way, because you’re an idiot.”

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