CHAPTER ONE

FAST CARS

LOVERS NIGHT CLUB, NEW YORK. 9PM

The smell of booze and sweat dripping off the youngsters on the dance floor hit Drew's nose as he stepped into the night club with Jenna Lincoln, his latest girlfriend at his side. Jenna hated parties, but Drew loved them.

They had been dating for a month now and Drew was fed up with her likes and dislikes, she had insisted on not coming but Drew had forced her to as it was his best friend, Evans Black's twenty first birthday party and everyone present was ready to get wasted and party hard till midnight. The club was filled with drunk and energetic young adults grinding against each other in tune with the music blaring from the speakers.

He had arrived later because of a business dinner he had to attend with his father at their family hotel, The Grey Hotel And Suites. The dinner was extremely boring and he couldn't wait to get to the party, having left the gathering with the excuse of a headache he quickly drove to Jenna's apartment and picked her up to attend the party.

Each time he came here, the girls reacted the same way, batting fake eyelashes at him and flaunting all of their assets for his attention. But Drew liked it all, being the centre of attention and having everyone under his control, after all he felt he was the most important person in the club.

With his good looks, fame, intelligence and money, one could say he had it all, but that wasn't quite so. He had grown up with a void in his heart, losing his mum at the tender age of six had been too much for him to bear with his dad pushing him away and the once happy family of three which they had was ripped apart. He hadn't known exactly what happened to her or how she went missing, but one morning, he woke up only to find both of his parents nowhere to be found.

It was the servants at the mansion who told him that his mum had gone missing the previous night and was nowhere to be found. He had cried himself to sleep that night wishing he could see his mum once again to feel okay, but that was years ago, he liked to believe he wasn't that naive six year old anymore.

His mother, Christina Theresa Grey, had been a writer and had written several books for children, though she was quite popular in the city, it had never kept her from spending time with her son nor reading bedtime stories to him.

Now, Drew felt like he certainly didn't need anyone tucking him to bed or for anything else, he felt like he had it all. Being rich and famous and one of the most intelligent students in College, he was popular among the girls and boys and everyone wanted to be on his good side. No longer was he the boy who needed his dad to be with him after his mother's strange disappearance.

His father, Silas Grey, the billionaire CEO of the Grey Business Empire, was a money hungry and ruthless workaholic with several chains of hotels and restaurants across the continent, he only cared about making profit, and had time for little else.

He hardly ever spoke to Drew ever since Christina left and only did so when extremely necessary and never talked about her, so Drew out of fear never questioned him concerning her.

Though he was only twenty, everyone around him did as he said, with fear of being destroyed by his father who had a reputation of crushing his business rivals and ruining the lives of those who dared to go against him.

Never having anyone to counsel him asides from the pressure his dad placed on him to achieve better and excel in everything, Drew strived to be as untouchable as his dad and often did whatever he pleased, just like his father did.

He stepped into the VVIP section of the club with Jenna where they spotted Evans, the birthday guy and his best friend from high school, staring at a leggy blonde at the bar and then he and Jenna made their way towards him.

They both studied the same major, Computer Engineering at their second year at Achievers University Of Technology, a school only for the prestigious and highly influential students, Evans was also a member of the school's gaming club, The Braves and  Drew was currently the President of the club.

They hugged and Drew replied with a grin, "Hey man, I'm really sorry I had to deal with my old man first, you know. Happy birthday." Evans stared at him and looked at Jenna in surprise, while Drew let out a laugh.

"Hello, Evans. I wish you a happy birthday, though I don't even care to be here. I only came because Drew baby asked me to come," Jenna said with a frown.

"Hello to you too Jenna and thanks I know you don't want to be here, so I'll let you leave after an hour. You don't expect my best pal to miss my big day, do you?"

"Whatever, this isn't my style of party. There's too much light and the sitting arrangement and drinks are definitely not right," she replied while scowling at the drinks carried in a tray by one of the waiters to show her disapproval.

Jenna was a perfectionist and the most beautiful girl on campus, a title she had won twice in a row with her large hazel green eyes and shoulder length dark blonde hair, she had lots of boys chasing after her.

But she had a habit of finding a fault in almost everything. She was the daughter of the dean of her faculty and currently in her first year of studying Fashion Designing in the same college as the both of them. Drew was already used to her attitude by now. He had been blinded by her beauty and thought he was in love with her before, but realized she was just convenient for him as they were equals in everything especially in their wealth. He had been trying to get her since they were both abroad in boarding school and during their first year in University, she finally accepted him.

He was surprised to find that after they got together, he still felt empty and realized she wasn't as perfect as he thought she had been, with her tendency to demand expensive gifts all the time. So they broke up last semester and just got together a month ago.

"Babe just relax, come let's dance, excuse me man I'll be back, I can see you've got something or should I say someone on your mind," Drew replied with a mischievous grin as he led Jenna out to the dance floor.

After an hour and thirty minutes, Jenna took her leave as she had an early lecture the following morning but not before giving Drew a lingering kiss and a warning to not talk or dance with other girls.

Evans came to his side at the bar where Drew sat drinking. "Hey man, why don't you guys just break up already? I wonder how you stand her annoying voice and attitude, I couldn't possibly do that."

"That's my girlfriend you're talking about, she might be annoying but she's nice if you get to know her. Why do you think I got back with her, she's really good for me. And we've decided that we can still fool around until we finish college and move in together."

"You're really serious about her, I thought you were just playing around."

"There's no point in running away from destiny, my old man likes her. Our parents schooled together, so obviously my old man wants us to get married. At least she's beautiful what if she was ugly, you don't need to feel sorry for me. I'm happy with her. I mean I can still fool around for another three years right?" He clinked his bottle of beer with Evans bottle and they both laughed.

"Anyways where's Joe and Miller? They are supposed to be here, we have to celebrate my win this month and also your birthday. I won the bet, you guys said I wasn't gonna last this long with Jenna, but I did."

"Relax man, it's not like you need the car, you can buy yours if you wanted to, anyways Joe had to use the restroom and you know Miller he left like two hours ago with some brunette, but he'll be back soon. Damn, check out that hot blonde over there, I can assure you, she'll be going home with me tonight, what do you think?" Evans queried, still eyeing the blonde while combing his finger down his sandy blonde hair and sending her a wink.

Just as Drew was about to reply, Joe and Miller walked in and they all exchanged greetings. They were all members of the board of directors of the school gaming society, The Braves and Drew had always considered them as his brothers and they had a lot in common starting from their absentee parents. Evans Black, the son of the wealthy and popular divorce lawyer, Zachary Black, with a big law firm, he himself having gone through four divorces and currently on his fifth wife, Tia Black, a spoilt heiress who was only five years older than Evans. Joe and Miller Anderson, the twin sons of the current governor of the state and wealthy business tycoon, Seth Anderson and fashion designer mother Mia Anderson, who was always too busy to notice her sons.

Drew had met Evans while in his first year of Junior high in a boarding school in England and they immediately became friends as they were also roommates then and later on, Evans introduced him to Joe and Miller in their second year. They had been through a lot and learned to live as a family after seeing how much they had in common. He trusted only his brothers, as they all loved each other deeply and had each other's backs.

When Evans had fallen in love with one of his father's business associate's daughter, Clara Peters, who was also their classmate in Senior high and got dumped after she left him to New York with no explanation, it almost destroyed Evans and after he recovered, and Jenna had rejected Drew that same year, they all vowed never to fall in love with any girl which led to Miller inventing The Conquest List, a game they all played every three months, by writing down the names of all the girls they had conquered and slept with and the winner of the season, being the one with the highest number of conquests of the quarter year or the one who won a bet getting expensive gifts from the others and whatever they bet on.

Miller was the biggest playboy of them all, with his delicate and handsome looks with India ink blue eyes and dirty blonde hair and his good flirting skills, he usually had all the girls swooning due to his charms.

Drew was the second biggest playboy, with his steel-grey eyes, tall and slightly muscular physique with a chiseled face and jet black hair, he was handsome and fancied by every girl. He was followed by Evans and lastly Joe, who was the most reserved out of the four of them, with a mysterious aura and good humour.

Miller won the bet almost every time, he had no type at all and was really reckless in his style of living, he usually claimed that girls were made to be enjoyed and worshipped and not left alone. They never dated any girl for more than two weeks.

"Guys, Drew has finally got Jenna back, which makes him the highest scorer this season with twenty conquests. I bet my Ferrari on this so you can have it, but only for the week of course. Here's the key man. You deserve it, that girl is gorgeous and I wish you guys luck this time." Evans said.

"Damn man, I can't believe this. Jenna seemed like a hard nut to crack after you guys broke up, it seems like you're finally learning from me, anyways I taught you well. So how is she?" Miller asked with an evil smirk.

Sometimes Drew felt bad for treating the girls that way, but he usually convinced himself that he never promised anything to them, so there was no commitment and therefore no pain and he always made it clear that he had a girlfriend. It was all just a sick game they liked to play.

"Right now, I just want us to have fun, drinks on me, let's party. Happy birthday Evans once again."

"Thanks, champ. I'll need your car since I'm giving you mine for the week. You guys can continue partying and I'm just gonna say hello to the hot blonde over there, so bye. She's definitely going home with me," he said while snatching Drew's car keys from the table. And they cheered as Evans made his way towards the girl.

The rest of the guys discussed school and projects, girls, and apps and games and Drew's weird relationship with Jenna and some of the other members of The Braves were also in the bar, they kept playing games and drinking vodka. Eventually Evans and the blonde left with Evans sending the guys an "I told you so" look.

"Okay I think we should all call it a night and go home, it's almost midnight, Evans sure knows how to plan a party," Charles, one of the gamers in The Braves slurred while staggering as he left with the others who were leaving the club.

Drew and his friends made their way out of the club to Evan's car, a sleek red Ferrari of the latest make and Joe who claimed to be the soberest out of the three, sat behind the wheel.

But after almost colliding with a lamp post within a few minutes of driving, Drew dragged Joe from behind the wheel and sat there himself.

And he being too wasted to drive, with Joe and Miller sleeping at the backseat, hit the brake with alarm after colliding with what seemed like a person and hearing the sound of a girl's scream.

He quickly sat up with fear, thinking he had killed someone. Getting out of the car with a scowl and with his blurry vision, he noticed what seemed to be the figure of a guy probably in his early twenties, he wasn't sure due to his spinning head. He was on his knees with blood oozing out of his head next to the car. And all of a sudden the voice of a girl's scream from the other side of the road filled his ears. He turned to look at where the sound came from and sighted a girl of around eighteen or nineteen running from across the street.

"You bastard, can't you watch where you're going or do you wanna ruin my car. Why don't you get the fuck up and answer me, hey get the fuck off the ground, damn it!" Drew yelled as he kicked the guy on his side, but instead, he fell on his side to the ground. Drew realized that he had to get out of there before the girl or anyone else saw him, he quickly turned to get back into his car but halted when he heard a voice yelling behind him.

The girl had crossed over, she had ginger red hair packed in a high ponytail with blue or green eyes, he wasn't so sure what colour it was as his head was spinning, she was in a red crop top with some faded black ripped jeans and he couldn't make out her features properly. The girl kept screaming for help.

"Hey you, can't you drive and if you can't, then get off the fucking road, my brother is lying here unconscious because of you and all you can do is try to run away? Do something, help me get him to the hospital or call the ambulance for God's sake," She cried.

"Drew what's going on? Just give them some money, let's get the hell outta here, my head hurts like crazy, man!" Miller yelled from inside the car.

"What do you mean? You guys are so irresponsible, you go around drunk driving. You think that money can solve just everything, I pity your rich asses. I swear to God, if anything happens to my brother, I'll hunt you down and make you pay."

"Oh please, I know you poor people, you and your so called brother probably staged this whole thing up, just for money but don't worry I'll give you what you want, gorgeous, " he slurred while reaching  into the car, and taking out a chequebook, he scribbled fifty thousand dollars on a cheque and flung it at the girl who kept crying.

"I know your type, you're obviously acting, you knew I and my friends were driving past, so you guys ran into us just to get our attention, well you've got it now, so take this cheque and get lost."

He staggered back into the car without giving a second glance at the girl who kept screaming about how she'll get her revenge from them all and laughed to himself as he wondered how she was gonna do that. He and his friends were seriously feared by every student in college and they had just enough influence and power to crush any problem in their way.

"Hey man, what the hell happened, did we hit someone?" Joe asked as he woke up due to the noise. "It's nothing, just a damned bitch and a guy faking an accident, I just paid them off don't worry about it."

"What do you mean, what if the guy was badly hurt? We should have assisted her to get him to the hospital, damn my head hurts," Joe slurred, with his eyes totally red from the excessive drinking.

"I told you to forget about, it was all an act I'm sure, and even if he was seriously hurt, the money's enough for his medical expenses, he shouldn't have come in our way."

They drove into the garage of the expensive condo where they lived outside of campus. It was kind of pointless to say they lived there because they spent most nights in The Braves Club thinking of new gaming ideas and also in clubs partying and sometimes in school studying as they were all straight-A students.

When they moved in together, for the first time since the disappearance of his mum, Drew had felt at home and like a member of a family with his three friends as his brothers, they always had each other's backs, no matter what.

After taking long gulps of water, due to their serious dehydration after the heavy drinking, Joe and Miller finally fell asleep on the floor of the living room, but Drew was unable to sleep due to the voice of the girl crying earlier on. He felt extremely bad about what he did to the guy, but with the pounding ache in his temple, he had to succumb to a deep sleep where he dreamt of the pretty girl with blue-green eyes, yelling and cursing him with the guy bleeding on the ground, next to her.