WEST CROSS

Chapter five

The room was an upgrade to the dreary cell he had spent the night in and he could tell that the owner of the mansion came from wealth.

West knew his life was never going to be the same. He was no longer a person with rights but a commodity to be bought and sold; owned. The circumstances of his situation troubled him so much that he couldn't even appreciate the aesthetic state-of-the-art decor that made the room feel so comfortable and appealing.

He hadn't been expecting to get sold so quickly but the biggest shock came when he realized how much he had been bought for. A billion dollars! He knew he wasn't worth that amount if he had to be honest. Maybe a couple thousand dollars but not a penny more.

“Relax West." He said to himself, taking a slow steady breath. “It's going to be alright."

He knew it wasn't going to be alright. He had been sold to a mysterious buyer for a billion dollars. West was convinced his buyer either wanted to harvest his internal organs and make some profit off the sales on the dark web or they just wanted to torture him and fuck with him for their sick twisted pleasure. Regardless of the outcome, one thing was certain. West Vicente was screwed.

West tried to relax and he constantly reminded himself he needed to calm the fuck down but his mind was in a whirlwind of troubled thoughts.

That instant, the door opened and a woman dressed in a brown immaculate-looking suit entered the room. She moved slowly and gracefully as she approached West and he was immediately caught by the strong aura of authority she exuded.

“You look terrible." She said curtly. She gave him a disapproving look and the smile on West's face faded immediately.

Something about the woman made West feel like he was going up against an unbreakable steel wall.

“I'm sorry but who are you?" West asked as politely as he could but the look she gave him made him feel like he shrunk to the size of a roach.

“You'll do well to address me with some respect from now on. After all," she edged closer. “I own you."

West flinched at the impact of her words. She's the one crazy enough to spend a billion dollars buying me. She looks mostly harmless, he thought.

“Oh," West said with a bow. “Do I call you master or mistress?"

Her face went a deep red at his question and she looked like she was going to engulf him in a ball of fire. “You'll call me Miss Carla."

“Miss Carla," West repeated with his charming smile fully loaded. “Such an exotic name."

She flinched in reaction to his playful flirty tone. She hadn't been expecting it and it caught her off guard. Carla still couldn't understand what it was about him that kept her on edge.

“Did you just flirt with me? Don't do it again.” The finality of her words was like a hot whip yet somehow West seemed unaffected.

He nodded and bowed as a form of apology but Carla suspected he was going to do it again regardless of what she thought. He’s an interesting specimen, she agreed to herself.

Carla thought he was a strikingly handsome man with his dark hair and brown eyes but it was the contrast between his innocent boyish face and the deep baritone voice that made her wonder how he could be so poor and detestable yet so attractive.

“What is your name?" She asked, realizing she was asking for all the wrong reasons.

“West." He said in a husky voice. "My name is West Vicente.”

"You will be working close to me, West. I would like to keep an eye on you.” She said keeping her face expressionless. West couldn't see the turmoil within that she kept hidden so well.

West realized he had gotten so carried away with the graceful prowess of his owner that he somehow neglected the gravity of his situation.

He tried to imagine how long he was going to stay in her service and he realized he might be forced to give up a few years of servitude and that was if he ever managed to get his freedom.

The reality of his situation sickened him and he knew he had to find a way out of it as soon as possible. West turned his attention to Miss Carla. He hoped she was kind and sweet just as she looked.

“Miss Carla." He said, his eyes were gentle and pleading as he looked at her.

“Go on."

West didn't want to go on for fear of her response but he said, “I can't do this. You have to let me go."

“Really?" West couldn't tell if she was messing with him or not. “Why do you say that?"

West hesitated for a moment but he knew he had to try. It was now or never. “I'm not supposed to be here. I was drugged and taken against my will. I'm just an average guy!" He said, throwing his hands in despair.

Clara showed mock sympathy and West believed she was really touched by what he had said. He could see hope for the first time since waking up in that cage.

“I'm sorry you had to go through all that, West. We should do something about the bad man that abducted you.”

“My thoughts exactly!" West groaned. He couldn't believe it but she was going to help him and everything was going to be alright.

“You're so naive it's almost sad. Do you really think I give a fuck how you ended up getting caught and placed on sale? I bought you, West. You belong to me now. Take a moment to let that sink in." Clara said in an icy voice.

West could feel the hope he had a few seconds ago go out immediately like a fire in a storm. He thought frantically for another way to convince her to let him go.

"But—"

“West." She said impatiently. “I don't want to hear it."

“You'll want to hear this. I can't be here because I'm in trouble."

Carla tilted her head to the left and regarded him with interest. “You're trouble? Do tell. I'm dying to hear about it."

“Well." West paused to create a dramatic atmosphere. “I got a huge loan from a scary loan shark. He's going to do everything to find me and if he knows I'm here then it could get ugly fast.”

“It's nothing. I'm the most dangerous creature in the whole country." She said, waving it off.

West studied her and he had to admit she didn't look the least bit dangerous. Her soft delicate eyes and her gentle aura. He was sure she couldn't hurt a fly even if it danced on her cheese sandwich.

“You look too gorgeous to be dangerous. I'm not buying it." West concluded, shaking his head.

West's words touched Carla deeply. She hadn't been expecting it and it was the first time anyone had given her a compliment worth making her weak in the knees. His gentle sincerity affected her greatly. She tried to control the reaction she was having but her body made it near impossible.

Carla realized she had to show him just how dangerous and scary she could be. There was only one way to do this.

"And does this scary loan shark have a name?” She asked.

“He called himself Mr. Cross," West said, feeling the hope return.

Carla nodded slowly. “I have to do something about that, don't I."

And with that, she left the room. West was sure the mention of the loan shark had unnerved her and she wouldn't have a choice but to let him go. West waited patiently expecting her to come back at any moment to tell him he had to go. He would play the hopeless pitiful bum masking his joy until he was back in the world as a free man once again.

When the door eventually opened, a man walked in and it didn't take long for West to recognize him and receive a shocking jolt run through his body. It was Mr. Cross dressed in a cream suit with his greasy hair combed and he looked like a respectable businessman and not a deadly street goon. Behind him was Miss Carla and she shut the door as she entered the room.

West blinked in confusion, his eyes darted from Miss Carla to Mr. Cross and back. Carla was enjoying his reaction more than she cared to admit. He was going to be a good pet to keep around after all.

“What's going— I uhm.” West struggled to form words but he only fumbled.

"Relax West. You look like you've seen a ghost.“ She said with a half smile.

West looked like he had just ingested a bug while she seemed to be amused by what was happening. Mr. Cross stared at West and when it did it was a soft friendly way which shocked West. He expected the ruthless Mr. Cross to give him a full-blown death stare.

“Yeah. Relax pal. We're just here to talk." Mr. Cross said, patting West’s shoulder.

He almost jumped out of his skin. He didn't know what type of game they were playing or why they chose that moment to torture him.

“Mr. Cross," Miss Carla said, turning to face the skinny man who was supposed to be a scary thug. He flinched to the sound of her voice and West was quick to notice the reaction. West convinced himself he had imagined it.

She continued. “West here was telling me something interesting about how he owes you a large amount of money. The type of money you'd get violent over.”

"Money? I think West is just trying to be funny. Isn't that right, West?” He smiled showing his dirty teeth as he swung his arm around West’s shoulder.

West didn't understand what was happening but he had the impression Mr. Cross was frightened of Miss Carla. This realization only made him more confused. She was harmless yet this dangerous thug seemed afraid of her. He was trying hard not to piss her off.

Mr. Cross poked West and he nodded in response to what Mr. Cross had said. West jerked and said, “Yeah, right."

Miss Carla looked from one man to the other and then she smirked. “Well then. Since that's settled we can put it all behind us.”

Mr. Cross left after a while and West was still having a hard time accepting what had just happened.

"Don't look so surprised, West.” She said with a mischievous smile. "There's no other way it could have gone.”

"W— why?" He stuttered.

Miss Carla's facial expression changed and West felt like he had been offered up to a fire-breathing dragon.

“I'm the most dangerous creature in the whole country, West."

Carla basked in the realization she had been able to kill two birds with one stone. West was going to fear her now just like he should and he would give her his undivided loyalty which was something she needed from everyone she controlled.

West stepped forward and before Carla's brain had a chance to process what was happening, West hugged her. Carla felt a tingling sensation she couldn't explain. It was as if her body was trying to tell her something she couldn't understand and the intensity of her heart beating in her chest scared her.

Why do I feel this way? Carla wondered. What are you doing to me, West?