Safe and Sound

Chapter Twenty-five

Xander would have thought the room he was in was completely dark, if weren't for the fact that he had a blindfold tied snugly around his eyes. He didn't know how long he had been there and honestly he couldn't remember how he got there in the first place. He just left his bitch of an ex-wife's house after she clearly disobeyed his orders. Xander was heading out to find that dumb racecar driver she was fucking to teach her and him a lesson when he got rear-ended at a stop sign not far from his house. When he got out to yell at the bitch who did it before he felt a pinch in his arm and everything went black. When he woke up, Xander found himself blindfolded and tied up in what he thinks is a small room.
"Alexander Mitchell." Xander heard in the darkness.
"Who the fuck are you and where the fuck am I?" Xander demanded before the blindfold came off. Light flooded his eyes, making Xander squint. When he finally fully opened his eyes, Xander finally took a quick look at his surroundings. He was right about the small room. What he wasn't expecting was all the small tools around the room.
"Alexander Scott Mitchell. Born October 23rd, 1985 to Brad and Lauren Mitchell in Cincinnati, Ohio. Middle of three children, only boy. Lucky you. Graduated high school in 2004, college in 2008. Sociology major. That must have helped you psychologically abuse your two ex-girlfriends and your ex-wife. Moved to Charlotte, North Carolina shortly after graduation. In June of 2012, you met Taylor Leigh Kennedy, a senior at UNC Charlotte. You started dating shortly after meeting and you popped the question in November of the following year."
"How do you know all of this?"
"It's my job to everything about my target." She said, leaning forward.
"Target?"
"Mr. Mitchell, I was hired to watch you, keep tabs on you, make sure I know everything I need to know about you."
"Who are you?"
"My name is Angelea. I would shake your hand, but..." she looked at him still tied up.
"My bitch of an ex-wife hired you, didn't she?" Angelea smiled.
"No."
"She's involved somehow, I know it. Didn't think she was smart enough to do something like this, but she has been surprising me lately."
"Mr. Mitchell, do you enjoy beating women?" Angelea asked, crossing her left leg over her right. Xander just laughed. "I'll take that as a yes. I don't take kindly to wife beaters, Mr. Mitchell. Nor does my employer. "
"Well, she deserved it."
"Oh really?"
"Yeah, really. And when I get out of here, I'll finish what I started."
"Mr. Mitchell, I regret to inform you that you won't be getting out of here. Alive that is."
"We'll see about that." Angelea said nothing. "That's what I thought, you fucking bitch."
"I'll be back, Mr. Mitchell. Wait right here." Angelea left the room, leaving Xander alone again. He looked around the room, seeing if there was anything that he could get his hands on. He needed to get out of these restraints and he needed to get out of there. Xander's job was apparently not finished. Xander pushed his weight forward, hoping the chair would move. It did.
"Dumb bitch." Xander sneered as he scooted the chair towards the work bench full of tools. Somehow, Xander got his hands on a rat tail rasp. He worked it on the hand restraints for what seemed like ages before they finally gave out. "Yes." Xander untied his feet and the rope around his waist. He stood up, shoving the rasp into his pocket. He had a feeling he was going to need it. Xander crossed the room to the door, turning the know. To his surprise, it opened. Xander stepped out, looking at his surroundings. "What the hell?" In front of him, to Xander's surprise, was Angelea and Denny Hamlin.
"You were right, Mr. Hamlin. He is as clever as he is evil."
"What the fuck is this?"
"This, Mr. Mitchell, is the man who hired me to watch you."
"Seriously?"
"You honestly messed with the wrong person."
"My ex-wife is a dumb bitch and deserved everything I did to her."
"You were right about that as well, Mr. Hamlin."
"You seriously underestimated your plan to make Taylor's life a living hell. I found your rat on my raceteam. It was a shame to fire her, I liked her. I found the other rats that you had placed on other teams. Oh, and the two people you had at NASCAR. They've all been dealt with."
"When I get out here..." Denny cut him off with a laugh.
"Didn't Angelea tell you? You're not getting out of here." Denny nodded his hand before two sets of hands grabbed Xander from behind. Denny took a few steps forward before he was only inches from Xander's face.
"People are going to know I'm missing."
"That's is where you're wrong. I have connections, some connections that don't exist to the government, so nobody is going to know that you're missing."
"That's it? You're just going to kill me?"
"Oh, I'm not going to do it. I was never here. I'll be seeing you. Or not. I'm not sure yet." Denny turned on his heel and walked away as Xander was dragged off.
"WHEN I get out of here, I'm coming for you, Denny Hamlin! And that bitch of an ex-wife." Denny said nothing as he left the building. He found Justin pacing outside.
"So?"
"He confessed. Sang like a fucking canary."
"Taylor..."
"Both Taylor and Ross need to stay out of this. You're getting a little too involved."
"If this goes south, Denny, Taylor is going to be the first person he goes after. He's not going to stop until she's..."
"He's not getting out of there. Not alive."
"Denny..."
"Angelea and her men are professionals when it come to stuff like this. This isn't their first rodeo."
"All of this makes me feel uneasy."
"That's because you're getting too involved. You're the one who asked me for my help in the first place."
"I didn't think this was the kind of help you were going to give me."
"After what you told me about this bastard, I knew this is the kind of help Taylor needed. There was no way she was going to get away from him. Not alive. What would have happened to her if I didn't show up that day? Or he would have came back to finish what he started? Would you have lived with yourself if she was worse off?"
"Absolutely not."
"Exactly. That piece of scum doesn't deserve to see the light of day. This is the only way we can guarantee Taylor's safety." Justin hated that Denny was right. All that mattered was keeping Taylor, Ross, and their unborn child safe.