10

XADEN

Dax, my private investigator stammered, "Y-yes, Alpha Xaden. I'll try."

"Try? You'd better do more than try. You’d deliver!" I squeezed the phone so hard it creaked, the plastic digging into my flesh. I kept squeezing, crushing the phone in my hand, the device shattering into pieces. I smashed what was left of it against the wall, the remains flying across the room.

I would stop at nothing to get what I needed. Nothing.

I sat on the floor, my back against the bed. A knock reached my ears. It kept probing, but I couldn't will myself to answer it. My eyes traveled around the room, landing on the plastic pieces scattered on the floor.

Hell, I was going to need a new phone.

I dialed the telephone, at the bedside table. “Hello, I need a phone. Any phone will do," I said. "Just make sure it works."

As I waited for the phone to arrive, I got up and walked over to the wall where my previous phone had met its demise. I gazed down at the scattered pieces, my eyes scanning the floor unt