Chapter 36 ___ Competition

Chapter 36

Competition

Chapter Theme Song: Never Let Me Go by Florence and The Machine

[Xavier’s POV]

I walked toward one of the many stalls that had a bunch of handcrafted jewelry on display and skimmed over the selection. Glancing down at row of stalls, I realized that each one was decorated differently to suit the owner’s taste. I liked that. Having a unique flare to your business always attracted more customers rather than having a run of the mill look. Maybe I should talk to Scott about redesigning our logo? Maybe, make it more personable? Chuckling, I shook my head. It seemed like I couldn’t go a full five minutes without thinking about work. My main goal for coming here was to cheer up Iris. Approaching the shop owner, I glanced over my shoulder to Iris and asked, “What would you like to buy, Miss Young? I believe that you–”

I turned fully around. She wasn’t behind me. I scanned the crowd and started to feel sick to my stomach as my heart thudded against my chest. Where was she? I snatched my phone out from my pocket and quickly dialed her number.

“We’re sorry, but the number you’ve dialed isn’t available. Please—”

Immediately, I disconnected the call. Had that damned woman not turned back on her phone? Or was it something else?

“Shit!” I muttered as I made my way out of the marketplace.

My palms began to sweat as I brushed people aside to try and get back to my security detail. As the president of this country, I knew that I had enemies that were always watching me and readying themselves to exploit any of my weaknesses. I was too careless. If anything happens to Iris… my muscles tensed. I had to find her. Frantically, I searched all of the stalls, hoping that she had just become distracted by a trinket that had caught her eye. With each passing minute, I felt my blood run cold. Had someone abducted her? After searching the last stall, I was convinced that she was no longer here. Deciding it was time to call in for some outside help, I glanced down at my phone. The screen was cracked. I hadn’t even noticed that I was holding it that tightly. I inhaled a ragged breath and dialed Scott’s number and then Daniel’s.

In a matter of minutes, my team was informed of her disappearance and Scott began doing what he did best; tracking down people. Standing next to my car, I felt utterly helpless. For the first time in my life, I wasn’t in control and I hated it. I couldn’t just start going up to people asking if they had seen her. If my presence became known, it would only make matters worse. Not for just me and Iris, but quite possibly the whole town. I smirked at the irony of it all. With all of the power and influence I held and worked hard for, I couldn’t even use them. My mind began to race with all of the possibilities and in that moment I knew that if I didn’t find out where Iris was soon—I was in danger of going insane.

[Iris’s POV]

I groaned as I tried to lift my head. My wrists were securely fastened with a rough corded rope and I swore under my breath. I was just about tired of all of this. Dragging in a deep breath, I opened my eyes as I tried to recall just what happened. In a flash it all came flooding back to me. I was walking in the market with the president and then there was that lying little brat and then that bitch in the ugly hat. As I scanned the room, my eyes fell on the insufferable woman. She was reclining in a leather chair, petting a white cat. What the hell was this? A mafia movie?

Squinting in an attempt to clear my vision a little more, I focused on the two men who were standing next to her. I moved and instantly wished that I hadn’t. The rope was cutting into my wrist and I flinched in pain. Abducted again? How many times was this now? Why, God? I would never understand my luck or how I even found myself in these situations. Constantly being surrounded by crazy and powerful people was proving to be detrimental to my health. Gathering myself, I looked around the room for escape routes.

Hearing my movements, the woman glanced over at me. “Oh! You are awake? Well, that took a little longer than expected.”

I glared at her. “Two questions. Who the hell are you? And why the fuck am I here?”

If Wolf was connected to this abduction as well, I was going to kill him myself and then move far far away. Away from power plays and from people who just wanted to use me.

Her eyes seem to light up in excitement and she gave me a sickly smile. “You are President Xavier’s secretary, are you not?”

My eyes grew wide. This was all happening to me because of my new boss? I deserved an award. No, I deserved to win the fucking lottery. I was constantly put into danger and never ending trouble because of the two most narcissistic and petty men that I had ever had the misfortune to meet! Actually, I probably should have seen this coming. I had let my guard down. The moment I stepped out into public with the president, I should have prepared myself for this type of situation. Seeing as the bitch already knew who I was, I threw her an arrogant smirk.

“Yep, that’s me.”

She was practically bouncing in her chair at my admission. Just what was her malfunction? Quickly recovering, she straightened and looked me straight in the eye. There was definitely something wrong with her.

“Ahem, where is he? Undoubtedly, he won’t waste any time looking for you. Am I right?”

I had to work hard to keep my mouth from falling open. I was at a complete loss for words. This idiot was acting like a fan girl who was waiting in line to meet her favorite celebrity rather than someone who had just hogged tied someone, threw them in a car and was now holding them captive. Anger bubbled up in my chest and I wished over and over again that I had brought my gun with me.

Struggling to maintain a straight face, I spat out, “No. You’re wrong. Why would he come looking for me? I’m just a secretary—someone who can be replaced in a matter of minutes. If you think you will get any favors or money from ransoming me, then you’re sadly mistaken.”

Her red lips curved up into a sinister smile and she let out a low chuckle. Sweat beaded on my forehead. She was insane. I watched as she reached over to the side table and grabbed a small handgun. Running her fingers over the barrel, I gulped.

“Do you think that I did this for his money? You stupid girl, all I want is him!”

I stared at her for a full minute and then my shoulders began to shake with laughter. I laughed so hard that tears came to my eyes. Oh my gracious! I hadn’t laughed this hard in forever! My stomach was starting to cramp. I had to work really hard to stop and dragged in deep breaths of air to help the cramping subside. And while I was having a hell of a time at this crazy woman’s expense, I kept rotating my wrists back in forth in an effort to break free.

I looked at her with a pitting and amused expression and said, “Do you really think that a wretch, such as yourself, could ever be with him? With his prestigious status and buckets of money he can afford any woman he wants. As such, I doubt he would choose a woman like you who—,” I paused and looked her over with a raised brow and then said with a sardonic tone, “Clearly has a more than a few screws loose.”

Her face flushed with rage and she stood up so quickly that the cat flailed out of her lap.

“And how do you know his preferred tastes? Have you already tried and failed with him? It wouldn’t surprise me. Being a mere secretary, you must be used to sleeping your way to the top.”

Okay, that’s enough. No way in hell was she going to disparage my character to my face. I glared at her and she looked at me with a satisfied smile. I twisted my wrists faster. Almost… almost there. The woman came over to me and crouched down beside me and roughly grabbed my chin.

“If you dare to say anything else about me, I will put a bullet right between those pretty eyebrows of yours.”

Hauling herself up, she lifted her gun and pointed it at a painting that was hung on the opposite side of the room. Without hesitation, she pulled the trigger twice in rapid succession. I heard the bullets smack into the wall and I looked up. She had hit the painting dead center with one bullet and the second bullet’s entry was slightly to the left. Lifting a brow, I turned my face back to her. She snickered at my obvious surprise.

“Oh! Did I fail to mention that I’m an expert marksman? Spew any more nonsense about me not being good enough for the president and I won’t hesitate to empty my rounds into your head.”

Yep, she was definitely a goner. The control that I had lashed around my anger started to slip. Her motives, reasoning and continued threats were all based on wanting to be close to Xavier?! When I got out of this mess, I determined that I was going to donate her body to a coroner for scientific study. Surely, someone would want to know how to prevent future idiots like her from coming into existence. I couldn’t waste any more time on her nonsense. Giving the rope a final tug while I twisted my wrists, I slipped out of the knotted mess and leapt to my feet. I reached out and jerked the gun away from her before she could process what was happening. Firmly cradling the .9 mm in my hand, I lifted it up and had it pointing into her muddy brown eyes.

She yelped in surprise and staggered backwards until she fell on her ass with a loud thud. I smiled slightly as I saw her trembling and looking up at me like she was about to cry out in terror. Her legs were slightly spread a part and my smile grew into a wicked grin. I lowered the gun and pulled the trigger three times, sending each bullet to the exact same spot on the floor—right between her legs. Pleased with my work, I waited for her to piss herself. Nothing happened. I huffed in disappointment. Well, she was incredibly stupid. Maybe she just didn’t know when to be scared. I grinned as a thought came to me. Wasn’t she just bragging about how wonderful of a marksman she was?

“Hey! I have an idea! Since you’re the expert in shooting, why don’t we have a little shooting competition? It will do me the world of good.”

I looked over at the two men who had helped in bringing me here, and asked, “And then there’s the two of you. Now, what am I going to do with you guys, hmm?”

The men dropped onto their knees and pleaded in fear. “M-miss, w-wait! Please! She threatened us into cooperating with her. Please don’t kill us!”

I chuckled darkly. I felt no remorse for any of these people. They were the ones who brought me here in the first place. I could have been in my bed right now. Feeling a little more than slightly irritated at the thought of my cozy bed, I flashed them all a devilish grin and looked back down at the woman.

“As I suggested earlier, how about we have a shooting contest instead of me just killing you? Besides, it has been an age since I last practiced. The rules are simple. Choose anything in the room, except me, to be a target. If you hit it in the center then you get to advance to the next round. However, if you miss the center, even by a centimeter, then you have to pay a penalty. For starters, I will shoot out both of their legs.” I nodded towards her… bodyguards? Lackeys? I still didn’t know what to call them. The woman’s mouth twitched and both men’s eyes flashed with horror. Oh, this was fun.

“So, how ‘bout it?” I asked with a satisfied smile plastered on my face.