“Have you lost your mind, seriously?” Luis said. “You can’t go around kidnapping people and locking them up in cages.” He lowered his voice and spread his arms out wide. “Don’t do this, please, Eddie.”
“I told you my name is Gage, not Eddie.” Then he smiled and said, “But that doesn’t really matter anymore because I’m going to go by the name of Luis now.”
Luis took a few steps back and sighed. He tightened the drawstring on his robe and lowered his tone. “Look, Gage, this is wrong. You’re my brother. If I’ve done anything to offend you or upset you, I’m sorry. I mean that. But please let me out of here. I’ll die in here. Is that what you want? Are you trying to kill me?” He stopped talking and pressed his palm to his mouth. “Do you hate me that much?”
“Oh, stop being so goddamn dramatic, Luis,” Gage said. “I’m not trying to kill you, and you’re not going to die in here. I’m going to take very good care of you while you’re in here. Starting tomorrow morning, I’m going to bring you food, entertainment, and plenty of things to keep you busy. Think of it as a vacation. And while you’re in here relaxing, I’ll be out there finding out what it’s like to be married to the Virgin Billionaire. I’ve always wanted to be a billionaire, and now I have the chance.”
“You won’t get away with it,” Luis said. “Jase will know. You can’t fool him. Jase and I have a bond and it’s stronger than you realize. We love each other.”
Gage sent Luis a smile. “We’ll see about that, won’t we?”
“If you let me out now,” Luis said, “you won’t get into any trouble. I promise I won’t call the police. I’ll help you, Gage. I promise I will.”
Gage clenched his fists. “I’m tired and I want my turn now. When you ruined my relationship with Snake, you ruined my life. I wouldn’t have done that to you, Luis. I wouldn’t have stolen your lover away. But you didn’t think twice about doing it to me, and it’s altered my entire life.”
Luis shrugged his shoulders. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t know how much you loved him. I thought you’d get over it. I thought he was a bum.”
“Well, I didn’t get over it, Luis,” Gage said. “When I saw you this afternoon for the first time in ten years and I realized how you ruined my life, it all came rushing back to me. If you hadn’t done what you did with Snake, my entire life would have turned out differently.”
“Listen to what you’re saying,” Luis said. “You’re not an old man. You still have time to have a wonderful life. But if you kill me, it’s all over. You’ll wind up going to jail for the rest of your life. And I know you, Gage. I know you can’t live with that on your conscience. Besides, think about what all those men in prison would do to you.”
Gage sent him a serious glance. “I told you I’m not going to kill you. I’m just going to have some fun with you, is all. I want you to know what it’s like to suffer for a while. I want to even the score. And I want you to know what it’s like to be me for a change.”
“I’ll give you money,” Luis said. “I’ll give you anything you want. Just let me go.”
“It’s not about money all the time Luis,” Gage said. “It’s not about designer clothes, expensive cars, large homes, or jewelry. Sometimes it’s more than that.”
Luis’s voice became stronger. “I know that better than anyone. I don’t care about money. I care about Jase and my son, and my life. I love them more than anything else in the world. I’d give up everything I own to keep my life with them safe.”
“Yeah, right,” Gage said. Did Luis really think he’d believe this line of bullshit?
Luis looked down at his bare feet. “I have a child who loves and depends on me,” he said. “I have a husband who loves me very much. Don’t do this to them.”
Gage waved his arm and turned to leave. “I’m not hurting them. If anything, I’m going to take very good care of the Virgin Billionaire in ways you couldn’t even imagine. By the time I’m finished with Jase Nicholas, he’ll be wishing he’d married me instead of you.”
“Don’t leave me here,” Luis said. “Please don’t leave me here. I’ll die here.”
Gage continued walking. “You’ll be fine. You have water, a nice bathroom, and a comfy little bed. I’ll be back in the morning with clean towels and plenty of food before I leave for my weekend in the country with Jase.”
Then Gage walked outside, locked the door, and went down to check that his own apartment door was locked. He didn’t expect Donny back; no one ever visited him without notice. For the first time in his life he felt as if things were looking up for him. And it wasn’t because he was married to the Virgin Billionaire now. It was because his twin brother, Luis, was finally about to get what he deserved.
Chapter Eight
When Gage climbed into the back seat of the taxi that had been waiting outside for more than an hour, the driver turned halfway around and looked him up and down. “Where to?” he asked in a deep, hoarse voice and a thick, heavy accent Gage still couldn’t identify. It could have been Middle Eastern, but Gage had never been good with things like that. All he knew was there was a sexy guy with dark hair in the front seat sending him sultry glances, and that was enough for Gage.
Gage smiled and said, “Home, now, where you picked me up earlier, on the Upper West Side.” He knew Luis and Jase lived on 95th Street, near Riverside Drive, but he wasn’t sure about the exact address. But he shouldn’t have been worried. The driver didn’t seem interested in anything but the way Gage’s jeans pulled across his thighs.
The driver turned slightly more toward Gage and smiled. Gage noticed he had dark, dangerous eyes, almost black. He had thick black hair styled to look messy on top. “Maybe I won’t charge you for the ride back,” he said. “I feel guilty after taking so much in tips from a nice-looking guy like you. You’ve been very generous to me.” Then, very slowly, his lifted his left arm, slipped it through a window divider, and reached for Gage’s knee. He squeezed his knee a couple of times, smiled, then moved his palm higher so he could fondle the inside of Gage’s thigh.
Gage looked down at the driver’s large, strong hand and parted his legs a little, inviting him to go higher. His fingers were thick and he had those wide, flat fingernails that men with extra-big dicks usually have. “I’m very thankful to you for waiting as long as you did,” Gage said, moving forward an inch or two so the driver could continue to feel up his leg. “Most drivers would have left me stranded here all alone.”