The Dangerous Past

XAVIER

I walked into the casino with Aston close behind me. I hadn’t spent time in places like these since I got married. I had my hands full with the hotels, and because I loved my wife and kids, I would rather spend time with them than surround myself with my old friends.

Yet from time to time, I needed to blow off some steam too. This was a perfect opportunity to relax and I would return soon enough to my gorgeous wife to have a wonderful vacation together.

“The game is in the VIP lounge,” Aston clarified when I looked around to see people next to slot machines and roulette and blackjack tables.

The invitation-only, high-stakes poker game had a minimum buy-in of thousands of dollars. Ordinary people couldn’t afford to join it.

I followed my friend through the massive room, past all of the gambling tables. Aston was one of the owners of this luxurious place, and the idea struck me that it wouldn’t be bad to have something like this in one of my hotels.

With one last glance at the space full of people submerged in games, I entered the VIP room and smirked. It was exactly as I remembered…

Colorful lights lit up the stage full of naked girls swirling around poles, and half-naked waitresses were offering not only their perfect bodies and smiles, but also some very expensive alcohol.

Seven men were gathered on the opposite side of the room around the poker table, playing cards and occasionally, watching the women who were swaying a few feet away from them.

The entire place smelled like money and sex, and I realized that this wasn’t something I missed.

I had a beautiful wife and two perfect kids. I didn’t need an adventure with some nameless stripper to forget about my marriage because I was married to the amazing woman I loved.

And when I glanced at the men at the table, I regretted having agreed to come. It wasn’t a good company, and certainly not the one Aston told me about.

These people weren’t my friends. I wouldn’t call them my enemies, but I could safely say they were my rivals. And at least two of them hated me because I had outbid their deals.

“Why am I here, Aston?” I asked, glaring at my friend, who obviously brought me here under a false excuse. None of my old buddies were present. Only those power-hungry sharks were staring back at me.

“To play poker, Xavier,” he replied nonchalantly, handing me a glass of whiskey.

A tall brunette with the longest eyelashes I have ever seen smiled seductively at me, but I wasn’t interested in her. Angela was much prettier than this caricature with heavy makeup and fake breasts.

“I expected someone else to be here,” I said, motioning with my hand to the table where there were two free places left. Obviously, they were waiting for us. The real game hasn’t started yet.

“You have some debts, my friend.” Aston shrugged before gulping down his whiskey. “Someone wants to talk to you about them.”

He left me standing a few feet away from the table, and I sighed heavily. I had made some shady deals when I was younger, but my father was able to take care of everything without much damage.

As far as I knew, I didn’t have any debts.

Cautiously watching the men at the table, I approached the empty seat between Thomas Reed, who owned the biggest mountain resort in the Italian part of the Alps, and Kieran Hamilton, whose main interests were in Ibiza and Corsica.

“Good evening, gentlemen,” I said, sitting down, and instantly, $300,000 worth of chips appeared in front of me.

Six of the men at the table acknowledged my presence with nods and a few polite words, not really paying me any attention because they were either playing or preoccupied with the naked butts on the stage.

However, there was one man there, sitting opposite me next to the dealer, who was glaring at me with so much hatred that I was afraid for a second that he might set me on fire with his fiery gaze.

It was Jasper Jocke. Ten years ago, he had lost everything. I shot a quick glance at Aston, who was adjusting his chips, and I understood the kind of debt he’d been talking about just before.

Jasper and I had fought over the resort on the French Riviera, and I had won. The owner took my deal after one negotiation because I was willing to give him what he wanted, while Jasper only tried to get the hotel for the lowest price.

However, his hatred wasn’t only over the business; it was personal as well.

Back then, I wasn’t married. I wasn’t a family guy. I was a womanizer and a playboy who fucked basically every woman that crossed his path. And it wasn’t different when I met Evellyn, Jasper’s wife.

When I picked her up in the bar, I had no clue that she was Mrs. Jocke, and even after the wild night of sex, she didn’t come clean about her name or her relationship status.

So, saying I was surprised when Jasper burst through the door of my hotel room with his two Russian bodyguards was an understatement.

He caught me with his wife just in the middle of another round of crazy fucking, and he was livid with rage.

I was sure I’d be dead if I hadn’t been who I was. Only my name and my father’s reputation saved me from a bullet to the head.

However, his wife wasn’t so lucky, and she was found dead three weeks after this fiasco. The cause of death was an overdose of medications, but I always suspected Jasper of helping her to the grave. His ego couldn’t handle such a betrayal from her.

No matter what the reason behind her demise was, Jasper paid a horrible price for his wife’s death. Her end was the beginning of his fall.

The press grilled him, saying that he didn’t care about her; his business partners were furious about the deal in France gone wrong, and eventually, he lost the majority in his corporation, and the shareholders kicked him out of his own company.

It was the most humiliating and embarrassing thing they could have done to him.

Of course, he had connections and powerful friends who had helped him get back on his feet, yet he was never able to restore his reputation.

His new company was struggling, and I was surprised that he could afford to lose money on a meaningless game.

“Long time no see, Xavier,” Jasper finally said, his green eyes staring at me as if he wanted to murder me.

I unbuttoned my jacket, first looking at the cards, before shifting my attention to his pale face. The dark circles under his eyes suggested that he hadn’t had a good night’s sleep for a very long time.

I actually felt sorry for him when I noticed how tired he looked.

“I have better things to do than drink and play cards, Jasper,” I replied with an arrogant smirk, maintaining eye contact.

He knew the old version of me. The young, reckless son of the wealthy businessman who didn’t care about anything or anybody but himself.

Now, I had nothing in common with that man. He didn’t know who he was up against if he chose to attack me because of our past.

“I’ve heard.” He nodded, folding his cards and narrowing his eyes at me. “How is your beautiful wife? Isn’t she bored at the hotel?”

He was provoking me; I knew that. But that didn’t stop me from clenching my jaw so hard that it almost cracked.

It was weird that he knew about Angela’s whereabouts, and fear gripped my heart when I realized she was alone and vulnerable in the room, oblivious to the possible danger.

“She is not alone,” I stated confidently, glaring at him. He chuckled darkly, making me frown.

“Interesting,” he murmured, taking the drink from the waitress while I sipped mine. I was watching his every move, thinking what the fuck this was about.

No one seemed to be interested in our strange talk; everyone was too intent on minding their own business. It looked like this was staged, but for what reason? Did Jasper want revenge?

The realization hit me hard, knocking the air out of my lungs. He knew that Angela was alone in the hotel! He had men watching her! Aston had brought me here so they could get to her. It was the only possible explanation for this charade.

I abruptly stood up, not interested in continuing with this game, yet my head felt dizzy and my body refused to cooperate. I fell back on the chair, blinking to clear my vision, but it didn’t help.

I wasn’t able to see, and my mind was suddenly clouded. I couldn’t form a sentence, and my thoughts ran in every direction without any order.

It was like I was submerged in some kind of thick fog, which was dragging me down and paralyzing me.

I wanted to scream, kick, and punch around me, and shout for help, but I couldn’t do anything. My body was shutting down.

Yet I wasn’t unconscious; I was aware of my surroundings, but that was it. My muscles refused to move, my mouth remained quiet, and the only thing I was capable of was focusing on the image of my wife in my head.

Her happy, smiling face was all I could think of.

She was in danger; exposed and unprotected, alone in the hotel room because I was stupid enough to leave her there.

I exchanged her safety for some drinks with old friends, and I ended up incapable of moving, while Jasper sent his men to capture her. What the fuck was I thinking?