ZERO (Complete)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Standing in a strange office, Dane tried to swallow his nervous energy and put on a brave face. Neither had any idea what to expect. When the chair swiveled around, they were surprised to see the face of a young man who appeared to be about twenty years old.

"Welcome," the man said with a charming smile. He stood tall with broad shoulders, a chiseled jawline, and the physique of a superhero.

Dane and Allie had no idea who this person was or what he wanted with them, but he appeared to be important. He was also a lot nicer than they had expected. Their fears of him being a cannibalistic cult leader quickly subsided.

The man walked over to greet them. His presence made Dane feel insecure as a man, which wasn't exactly saying much. Allie felt an immediate attraction to him.

"Please allow me to introduce myself," the young man said with a confident smile. "My name is Daxon, but you can call me Dax. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The name meant nothing to Dane and Allie, who both looked at each other. They had yet to say a word.

"I'm told you have some information for me," the man said. "But first, let's start with your names."

"I'm Dane and this is Allie."

"Hi," Daxon said, bowing to each of them. Dane and Allie were a little caught off guard. They reluctantly returned the bow, half expecting it to be some kind of trap. "You must be hungry. Can I get you something to eat?" he offered.

Dane cleared his dry throat and asked, "Do you have a menu?"

Allie shot Dane a look as if it was a ridiculous question to ask.

"What?" Dane mouthed.

Without missing a beat, the man smiled and said, "Of course, where are my manners. I'll have one of my staff bring you and your beautiful girlfriend some menus."

"I'm not his girlfriend," Allie was quick to point out.

"Not yet," Dane shot back.

Daxon laughed and said, "You know what, I like you two. Very well, you're not his girlfriend... but you are beautiful. There's no denying that. What would you like to drink? We have water, cranberry juice, soda, whiskey, beer... No, you don't strike me as beer people. You strike me as someone who wouldn't accept an open drink from a strange man, am I right? Hey, Ro, can you please grab two bottles of water for our guests? Thanks."

Dane and Allie looked around the plush office. There was a large floor-to-ceiling window to the left that overlooked the entire club.

"So how was the ride over here?" Daxon asked, returning his attention to his new guests.

"First class," Allie said.

"Well, I'm sorry if my men were a little rough. I keep telling them that they need to work on their soft skills. It's what makes us civilized, am I right? We're not barbarians. We're trying to run a society here."

Within seconds, two ice-cold waters arrived, delivered by a beautiful waitress. She removed the drinks from her tray and handed them to Dane and Allie. Dane wasted no time chugging the entire bottle of water.

"What is this place?" Allie asked.

"We are in a formerly abandoned city," Daxon said, returning to his chair. "Here, there are a different set of laws and customs. We believe in people first. But as you know, this way of life threatens the establishment and therefore we need to protect ourselves. But I don't feel I need to worry about you two, am I right? You don't appear to be looking to tear down what we've built."