The Prince

Part 53

The next day, Skye was on his way to Hellion's offices to interview his bodyguard and secretary. He was sort of hoping that his grandma and Hollard were joking, but so far he seemed doomed. He'd decided to take the bus instead of calling for the car to enjoy the last bit of freedom.

As the bus was en route, two rowdy young men got on, sitting behind a young woman in her mid-twenties. They loudly started trying to chat her up, which had the whole bus in silence as they watched on. When one got up to sit next to her and started touching her, Skye got up to put an end to it.

Sitting in the seat in front of the young woman, he looked at the one whose hand was on her leg.

"I think you should let go now and sit down quietly." He watched as they laughed at him, one pulling out a knife. Without a second thought, Skye's arm shot out, his hand tightly gripped around the would-be attacker's throat. The man struggled to get out of his grip, and the more he struggled, the tighter Skye's grip on him became.

"Sit down! Sit down and drop the knife, or I will choke the life out of him." He watched as the young man slowly sat down and placed his knife on the floor.

Turning his attention to the other, he watched as the man struggled to breathe, his eyes becoming glossy. As soon as he let go, the man heaved to get air into his lungs, making gurgling noises while trying to cough his airway clean.

"Now get off at the next stop or I will break both your necks!" Skye warned, staring ahead of himself again, watching them scurry off as soon as the bus stopped.

"Thank you," a quiet voice said behind him.

"Don't worry about it. Just be safe, okay?" He waved it off, watching her nod. She seemed of average height, with light brown, frizzy hair braided, a rich almond complexion, and vivid green eyes.

When the next stop came up, he got up and started walking to his doom.

"Hey!" He turned and watched as the young woman rushed toward him.

"Hi, sorry to be a bother; I was wondering if you wouldn't mind helping me." When he didn't respond, she charged on, hoping to save at least part of this day. "I have a job interview, but I don't know where the building is. If my phone weren't dead, I would kill it, but would you mind helping?" She asked with hope, a desperate smile on her face.

"Sure, where are you going?" She was obviously off to something important from the way she was dressed.

"Oh, thank you!" She sighed in relief. "I need to get to Hellion, fast."

"Well, follow me. I'm heading in that direction anyway." He watched as she hurried forward to keep pace with him. "What's so important at Hellion anyway?"

"I have an interview," she glanced up at the tall young man who seemed perfectly harmless, even if he nearly strangled a man to death with one hand.

"Where were you going?"

"Well, I'm also heading to Hellion." He grinned down at her.

"You are? What are you going to do there?" She curiously asked. This small talk was helping to distract her from doom if she didn't get the job. Her parents were already hounding her to return home and live a sensible life.

"Well, I'm also going to interview, sort of."

"I hope you're not going to be my competition, because then the boxing gloves will come off!"

"No, I don't think we are there for the same job," he laughed. "Here we are!" He pointed to the entrance of the building.

"Okay, thank you!" She grabbed both his hands and leaned in. "We're both going to get these jobs and celebrate afterward, okay? I can only afford fried chicken, so I hope you like it!" She seemed pleased when he nodded and rushed forth into the building.