Xylia heard the front door open next day around noon. She was standing by the bar with a club soda next to her. She didn't turn around. She knew it was Baron returning home from the cabin.
"Are you gonna look at me?" He asked.
"Why bother?" She asked. "You're gonna beat me up anyway. Just get it over with."
She heard his footsteps coming towards her. He grabbed her shoulder and spun her around to face him. She saw Dolph and Drew in the background. No sign of Sasha, Charlotte and Becky. Baron lifted his knee and placed it into Xylia's stomach. She bent forward and gasped for air.
"You're right. I am gonna beat you," he said. "But not right now."
He grabbed her head and pulled her back up to stand straight. He placed a knee into her stomach again. Once again she bent forward gasping for air. He held an arm in front of her chest to make sure she didn't fall to the floor.
"We're gonna get Roman. We're gonna chain him up and force him to watch as I beat you. Once I'm done, Dolph and Drew will have all the fun in the world with you. And there's not a damn thing Roman can do about it but watch as we all leave you naked and bloody on the floor in front of him," he said.
He pulled her back up, only to place a third knee into her stomach. Once again she bent forward while struggling to breathe.
"There's only one problem. He's not home. His clothes is gone too," he said.
Despite having trouble breathing, she managed to smile. Roman had listened. He had gotten out of town. Baron pulled her back up to look at her.
"Where is he?" He asked.
"I don't know," she answered.
He grabbed her jaw and stared at her intensely. His lips slowly curled up into a smile.
"Give me your phone," he said.
"Why?" She asked.
"Just give me your god damn phone!" He snarled.
He put extra pressure on her jaw. She fished up her phone from her pocket.
"He won't take my calls but after what I saw last night, I know he'll take yours," he said.
He unlocked the screen and his jaw dropped. The phone said there was no SIM card.
"Where's your SIM card?" He asked.
It was her turn to smile at him the same way he had just smiled at her.
"In Roman's car," she answered. "I know you, Baron. I know how you think and how you work. I knew this would be your move. You're so fucking transparent. You're basic, Baron. Just a boring, basic man with no imagination."
He placed his knee up into her stomach a fourth time. This time he didn't catch her. He let her fall to the ground. He placed his boot on her head and pushed her away from him.
"I'll find him, Xylia," he said. "Somehow I'll find him and bring him here. He's a dead man walking, and you'll get what's coming to you too."