Like A King | #wattys2019

Chapter 9: Capture Like A King

To my dearest brother,

If this ever gets to you I have one request - please, please, please don't forget me.

I will love you forever and always,
Anna

Tears filled my eyes as I closed the envelope that encased my letter. It was short but it said what I needed it too. I knew that the chances of him getting the letter were... slim, but I wanted something for him to remember me by. I never wanted him to know my circumstances or what was happening to me, I wanted the happy memories we once had together to fill his mind whenever he thought of me. Sighing, I swung the duffel bag over my shoulder and placed the letter in my jacket pocket.

John was draped over the sofa (after I expressed my discomfort of us sharing a bed) asleep. He looked peaceful as his chest rose and fell in time with the soft breaths that escaped his lips. As he lay there I wondered if I was making a mistake. If leaving him was a good idea. He was my only source of protection but, I didn't know if he could protect me from him.

I pulled the blanket slowly up his body in some feeble attempt to keep him warm. I looked at him one last time before going to the door. But before I could turn the knob a cold hand grasped on my wrist and a low, dangerous voice growled.

"Leaving? Not on my f*cking watch."

I felt a sting on my neck and as I turned to look John in the eye I didn't recognise him. My mouth tried to move but it only wavered slightly, my legs crumbled from under me.

And then it went dark...

• • •

Xavier's POV:

She was vermin, disgusting and crude.

Yet, my mouth curled upwards at the thought of her. No woman had ever spoken to me like that, not even my mother. Most women knew their place - below me, preferably on their knees. But she needed to be taught a lesson. One that I was more than willing to teach.

And so it began. My stalking quickly turned into an unhealthy obsession. A thirst that could only be quenched by her. My men worked around the clock until she filled my house: photos of her littered my desk and my file cabinet was full of her, every detail of her face, every receipt from every purchase she'd ever bought. I knew everything.

"He's just bored." That's what they'd say. My men got worried that this girl would become my wife, my queen but I promised them that I would never give that girl any comfort or hope. I would treat her exactly as she should be. Like the b*tch she was.

In truth I was bored. In my 'normal job' I had worked my way to the top, to the point where nothing ever happened. I had no competition, no boundaries, no rules. I took what I wanted and wanted everything. I had nothing to fight for anymore, which is why I turned to a life of crime. Nothing, not the drugs, the drinks or the women provided me with more of a thrill than ruining lives. I had done everything but it was never enough. I had to have Anna DuBelle.

My disguise was my job. I was the CEO of Alkazan Incorporated a security company focused on protecting only the most elite of businesses, banks mainly. Which is how we got away with our earlier crimes. But as our reputation grew so did my confidence, I had half of the police on the world on my side. I could do whatever with no consequences. I had multiple night clubs under my name but also a school dedicated to those who needed it. I had a trafficking business but also an orphanage. Of course none of it was out of the kindness of my heart, it was all for image and reputation. I was known worldwide, as the image I'd painted for my self. The image was perfect but very few people saw the whole gallery of me. The images of the bodies I had murdered and people I had tortured were only known by few, and it was going to stay that way.