Freshly brewed coffee…
“Did you sleep well?” A voice startles me, and I jolt from the bed like the blanket is on fire and scan the room for any threats. My eyes collide with Xander, who is sitting in the corner of the room. He’s casually leaning back in the flimsy chair like it’s completely normal to watch someone while they’re sleeping.
“W-what are you doing here?” I ask when I catch my breath.
“It’s my compound, I can go wherever I want, this room included.”
“Yeah, but does it have to be my cell?” I say before I can think.
Xander stands up suddenly, and I take a step back, my legs bumping into the side of the bed. I sit down, unsure of what else to do.
“None of this is yours. You should be more appreciative of how well I’ve been treating you. Don’t forget, Ivan could have left you there to die.”
“I know…” I lower my head. I do know, but that doesn’t mean I accept the situation that I’m in.
“Not many people are brave enough to talk to me like that.” He walks over to my bed, and I have to crane my neck to look at him. He reaches for something on the nightstand and hands it to me. I look up and find he is extending the cup of coffee out to me.
“Thank you,” I whisper, and take the cup from his hand.
“I brought you some clothes. You should be about this size if I figured right.” He points to a stack of clothes next to the bed that I hadn’t noticed until now.
“Oh…” Is all I can get out at the moment. Over the rim of the cup, I watch him sit back down while I take a sip of the coffee. It’s so delicious, I almost moan out loud. Which leads me to my next question. “Why are you treating me… this way, like a friend, instead of a foe?”
He has no reason to treat me with kindness. I’m a nobody, and he is some big huge mob boss. It hasn’t stopped me from thinking about the fact that he could kill me, use me, or sell me. I’m of value to him in other ways, and yet he brings me clothes and coffee.
“You remind me of someone,” he explains. I think he’s about to tell me more, tell me who I remind him of, but all he says is, “Zane isn’t dead.”
I almost drop the cup of coffee into my lap, my clammy hands just barely keep ahold of the mug. Did he just say that?
“Are you sure?” I ask. I want nothing more than to believe him, but I also don’t want to get my hopes up just to be crushed again.
“He came to see my brother last night, demanding a meeting with me.” Hope blooms in my chest. He’s alive, and he’s coming to rescue me. “He knows you’re here.”
“Is… is he coming? Is he coming here?” I try not to sound overly excited, but I’m giddy to see Zane, to wrap my arms around him, to be reunited with him. Never did I think I’d beg to see the man who kidnapped me and kept me hidden from the world, but here I am.
“My brother sent him away last night, he didn’t know about you being here. But don’t worry. I’m sure Zane will be back soon. He seemed quite determined on getting you back.”
“He won’t stop. He’ll kill all of you. Please, just let me go to him.”
“Do you know where Zane is?”
“Oh…well, no.” I guess I don’t. But… “Zane had security built into my apartment. Cameras and stuff. If you let me go there, maybe he’ll see it?”
“You think Christian doesn’t have someone watching your apartment? You really don’t know anything about our world, do you?” I get the feeling the words are spoken more to himself than to me, but I answer anyway.
“I told you, I don’t, and I don’t care about Christian. I just want to find Zane.”
“I’m not letting you go anywhere, and to be very clear, I don’t know if I’ll hand you over to Zane at all. Even if he comes for you. There is something about you… I can’t put my finger on it. But my gut tells me to keep you here, and my gut is usually right. Maybe you’re going to be useful to me later. I don’t know yet. For now, drink your coffee and enjoy your stay. You might be here for a while.”
And with that, he gets up and walks out of the room, leaving me alone with my suppressed anger and thoughts.
Even though I’m in a cell, I’m treated surprisingly well. A guard brings me food three times a day, which is actually pretty good, no that’s a lie. It’s delicious. It tastes like it’s been prepared by a gourmet chef, which is strange since I’m being held as a captive. I don’t know why I’m being treated so well here, but I’m not about to complain over my treatment.
Right after lunch, two days after arriving here, I hear someone talking on the other side of my door. Moments later, the door unlocks and swings open. Sinking down onto the edge of the mattress, I’m not sure what to expect, but it wasn’t the tiny woman I’m greeted by. She enters my cell slowly, almost as if she’s worried someone is going to see her.
“Hi… you must be, Dove,” she whispers, a soft smile creeping onto her face. Her blonde hair is long and cascades down her back in gentle waves. She looks like an angel, pure, soft, and kind.
“Um, hi,” I say awkwardly. “Yes, I’m Dove.”
“I’m Ella, Xander’s wife.”
Xander’s wife? He’s married? I guess I never considered him to be the marrying type.
“Oh, ah… thanks for loaning me the clothes. You can have them back… uhhh, whenever I get to leave.”
“No problem, don’t worry about it. You can keep them if you like. Xander likes to spoil me. I’ve got more clothes than I could wear in this lifetime.” Her laugh is carefree, and I can’t help but feel jealous.
Not of her clothes but of her having Xander and embracing it. I was so stupid. I had it all, and I threw it all away. I fought Zane tooth and nail, instead of just enjoying the time we had together.
“Do you mind if I sit?” Ella asks, pointing to the spot beside me on the bed.
“No, please do.”
She smiles and takes the seat next to me. “I’m sorry they’re holding you here. I know it sucks getting caught in the middle of something that’s not your fault. I thought I could at least come by and check on you, give you some company, so you’re not so alone all day.”
Her genuineness is almost too much. I have no clue why she is being so nice to me, but being deprived of human contact for the most part, over the last few days, has me really appreciating the gesture.
“Thank you,” I say, having the odd urge to hug her as well. Since that would be a little weird, I refrain. Unable to think of anything else to ask, I blurt out, “So, how did you and Xander meet?”
She scoots up on the bed, leaning her back against the wall like she is getting comfortable.
Is she going to stay here with me?
“Believe it or not, it was a very similar situation to the way you met him. I was being held captive by his father. He was a bad man, and he was about to hurt me… Xander and his men raided the compound I was being held at. He saved me and took me home.”
Now his comment about me reminding him of someone makes sense. He must have meant his wife since we were in a similar situation.