My Worst Enemy

A/N: Thank you again so much for continuing reading this story. Your reviews, comments and ratings mean the world to me, so please, keep them coming.

Kathy: You did it again. You are a gem. Thank you so very much. Yes, the story will have lots and lots of action, drama, tension, romance and everything in between. I hope you'll stick with me till the end.

I hope you will all like this chapter. These first chapters, will introduce us to the major characters and this one will tell us who Andryse really is and her place in all of that. Enjoy!
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Chapter 3.-

A few minutes later, Joe was shaking Max's hand telling him goodbye, simply bobbing his head when the young man wished him good luck. He laid down, face up, in the bed of a white beat-up truck and looked at the sky above him, his bag full of guns next to him. After a while of driving, the truck finally stopped and he turned on his stomach, staying low and watched two guys heavily armed, talking with the driver.

After a few minutes, a woman who was a passenger, step out of the truck with a bottle of whiskey in her hand and started screaming around. The driver got out from his seat, trying to calm her down and forcing the two guards try to push them to get back inside the car. All four people shouted incessantly, making a big scene and no one paid attention to the man laying in the back of the truck, watching them closely.

Joe swiftly and noiselessly jumped down from his improvised bed and, his back leaned against the truck, the bag over his shoulder, slowly made his way to the now unsupervised entrance. Noticing the two mobile cameras at the top of the big white gate giving access to the house, he immediately guessed that they were thermal as they seemed to turn and follow the four people still arguing loudly behind him. If he could just crawl slow enough so that they can't pick up his movements, he would be gold.

He got inside a little booth, getting out by a door opening directly behind the gate that the guards probably use to come in and out without actually being outside. He came upon a very large yard with three cars parked in the front and quickly hid behind one of the big oak trees that were lining on the sides of the driveway. Leaning down, he picked up one of the machine guns, put it over his shoulder and tuck one semi on his waist and the other against his back. He put the bag back on his shoulder and studied the best way to get in the house without alerting too many of the goons that were surely scattered around the place.

He quietly went from tree to tree, his arm ready to fire at sight. He frowned and stopped when he saw a black-skinned woman with a heavy, curly black mane that reminding him of Andryse's, coming out of the house. He was sure that she was her mother and watched the woman with the tailored suit and briefcase got in one of the cars.

He lowered his body to the ground, hiding himself as much as possible, waiting until the car disappeared completely. He resumed his little jumps from tree to tree until he reached the last one and ran as fast as the flower beds allowed him, to the back of the big white house. He stopped quickly, his back stuck on the palisade, when he saw two little children inside a pool, squirting water on each other.

He leaned further trying to see if there were any adults with them. He counted two teenage couples, snuggling on long chairs, laughing and talking loudly. He cussed silently. Unless he killed them, there was no way he could get through this way. He turned around, studying what other options he had. And that's when he heard "her" voice calling out from a balcony, talking to the people down by the pool. He had to find a way to her.

He was going to kill her father but before, he needed some answers like why did she try to save his life? He looked up and noticed that the branches of one of the trees were actually near the rooftop. With a big jump, he could definitely make it, then go the other way. He put the gun behind his back and climbed as fast as he could, ignoring the weight of the bag pulling him down. He landed like a cat on the rooftop and ran quickly to the other side, his head lowered.

The poolside was right underneath him and he could also see the balcony from where Andryse was talking. Being careful not to make unnecessary noises, he slid himself down and landed directly on the balcony, keeping his head on the ground. He looked down to make sure no one heard him but held his breath when he felt the cold metal of a gun behind his head.

"Get up." a cold, whispering voice ordered him, pressing the metal harder against his skin. "And put your hands up."

He got up, his palms in the air, smirking. He didn't need to see who it was to know that it was exactly the person he was looking for.

"Turn around and walk inside." she ordered him, the gun still pushing on his neck.

He walked slowly into a small living room expensively decorated and turned around to look at her. She was wearing a red bikini and the top could barely keep her breasts in. Her black hair was up in a bun and just a small necklace with a blue rock pendant, was around her neck. Once again he admired her beauty but this time, didn't feel troubled at all.

"Do you have a death wish?" she asked very softly, lowering her gun and closing the door after her. "Why did you come here?"

He lowered his hands and looked in her eyes directly. Boy! She had the most beautiful eyes he's ever seen. But he shook himself up, careful not let himself distracted by her again.

"Nice house." he finally let out, trying to look everywhere but in her eyes. "I'd say the "Mandarine" business is flourishing and very profitable."

Andryse frowned and straightened her body, her face still emotionless. "What can I say? It's plucking season."

He smirked and crossed his arms on his chest. "Well, enjoy it while you can, sweetheart, cause I'm going to burn down all the fields."

She walked up to him, the gun leaned against her leg, standing right in front of him. "You do realize that if I make one single noise, you're dead right?" She didn't look impressed or scared of him at all and he was really amused by it.

"You would have done it already." He answered, shrugging, a mocking smile on his lips. "For some reason, you don't want me dead. Why?"

She looked at him with fire in her eyes and pointed the gun against his chest, right under his left side. One pull of the trigger and his heart would be the first welcoming the bullet. He could easily take it away from her but something strange was pushing him to stand still, to play her game.

"Well your luck just ran out."

"Do it." he whispered to her, taking a step forward, getting the gun deeper into his stomach. "Go ahead, kill me."

A slow and sexy smile tugged at the corner of her lips and he felt like the room was closing up on him, making his heart suddenly beat very hard and his breath get caught in his throat. Why was he so turned on by this woman? The gun made a subtle noise as she remove the security lock and the bullet set into the chamber ready to get fired. He didn't stop smiling, liking how fearless she looked.

"I'll give you a five minute run." she whispered quietly. "Think it'll be enough?"

He smiled up to his ears this time, feeling really amused. She was definitely a lot of fun to be with. "You keep on being kind with me. Two would have been enough."

"How about one?" she sneered. "And I'll even throw in that I'll shoot you myself."

"Who are you, Andryse?" he suddenly asked, his eyes running all over her face. "If that's your real name of course."

"I guess this is one of the greatest mysteries of the world you'll never know."

He heard the door behind him open and instinctively grabbed the gun on his back and turned around to see a teenage girl walk in the room. But before he could do anything, he felt a severe pain on the back of his neck making him sway, then another one even stronger knocked him out and he fell heavily on the floor.

When he woke up, he was surrounded by an intense darkness and he couldn't see his own self. A throbbing pain made his head throb and he directed his fingers towards the source of the pain and felt a gooey substance on his fingers while the pain worsened. He was bleeding. He pulled himself to sit up straight and tried to remember exactly what happened to him. It was blurred at first, but his memory came back and he cussed, touching the wound on the back of his head again. He couldn't believe that she hit him. She had taken advantage of him turning around to knock him out.

"Bitch." he groaned with a low voice but it echoed in the room.

He paid attention to how many times the word bounced back and estimated that it was probably a 10'x 30' room and that it was pretty much empty. He stood up and stopped for a second feeling a little dizzy, but quickly found his balance, his eyes trying to pierce the thickness of the dark. His hands in front of him, he decided to walk, just to see at what distance from a wall he was. He talked again and listened to the echo one more time. Slowly, lifting his foot carefully, he started walking forward.

But he didn't get too far as a bright light shone on top of him, blinding him. Without his glasses, his sensitive blue eyes were hit pretty badly so he grunted, quickly closing them. He heard a loud noise like an heavy metal door opening up and he forced himself to look up, his body stiffening. His eyes first ran around the room and like he thought, it was completely empty except for a few boxes made out of wood, like little cages, randomly scattered. He heard footsteps and turned his glance to the entrance.

Andryse was walking up to him, very slowly, her lips pinched, an angry look in her eyes. He almost didn't recognize her. She looked nothing like the sweet and charming girl he met in the plane. Her hair was pulled up in a severe knot with the pony tail brushing her shoulders, her eyes circled by dark lines and she was wearing black tight jeans with a black t-shirt tucked inside and high heeled, black knee-high boots. She was carrying a bag that he immediately recognized as his own. It was the one he had left behind in the house across the church.

Her steps were steady and precise but very light and she crossed the room to him very quickly followed by two other women, who were holding two big automatics, pointed at him. She stood a few steps away from him and when she talked, her voice had changed too. It was now way deeper, colder and much more intimidating. Just like someone used to order people around and actually be obeyed. If he wasn't in that peculiar situation, he would have felt extremely aroused. But the pain behind his head reminded him of who she was and the reasons he was there in the first place, so he gave her his full attention.

"You try anything funny and these two ladies will be more than happy to put an end to your miserable life."

He glanced at the women standing far behind her and frowned. They were very different one from the other. One was very dark-skinned with braided hair and the other one was a blond with her hair up in a ponytail like Andryse's was. They were both holding their guns perfectly on their shoulders and he saw two bright red lights on his chest. Even if he wanted to try anything, from the distance he was, they could easily bring him down before he succeeded. He gritted his teeth, feeling extremely annoyed to be controlled like this by women and paid full attention to Andryse again. She threw him the bag that landed with a thud next to his feet but he didn't move, still watching her closely.

"I think this belong to you." she said quietly, crossing her hands over her chest. "Mr. Colt." His brows scrunched together and his pulse raced faster hearing her say his real name. She lifted one eyebrow, her eyes still very cold. "You seem surprised. Isn't that your real name? Troy Colt?"

"And how would you know that name?" he asked, buffing his chest and quickly finding his confidence back.

Andryse snickered, her arms still crossed. "Oh I know a lot of things about you Mr. Colt." she rolled her eyes, looking somewhat bored.

He smiled offensively. "Such as?"

She uncrossed her arms and pulled a folder out from behind her that was probably previously buried in her back pockets. She unfolded it before throwing it in front of him and he frowned again when his saw a bunch of papers gathered on the floor mixed in with his pictures.

"You were born in Sacramento California. You're 25 years-old, never married, no children, no family, empty life." he still hadn't moved, just looking at her with darkened eyes. "Your parents died in a car accident when you were eight years old and you had to live with your grandmother." she continued, oblivious of the rage she was wakening in him.

"But she died as well when you were twelve from…" she paused and brought a finger up. "Did they ever find out how she died?"

He felt a huge desire to strangle her but swallowed his impatience remembering the lights of the two precision guns still on his chest. She looked at him strangely, then continued, this time walking around in one spot, like an animal roaming in its cage.

"Yeah well, she died too, making you a real orphan. You went from one foster home to the next, committing little crimes, thefts here and there, getting yourself arrested now and then. But you always had the easy way out due to being a minor."

She stopped to look at him and smiled dryly. "As soon as you were eighteen, you ran away to enroll into the army to come out one year later after punching your commander in chief. But, surprisingly, you avoided doing prison time. At twenty, you were recruited and trained by the government to become what you are today and what you've been dedicating yourself to do. A killer, preying on the bad guys."

"You mean like your father?" he asked her softly, making fists to stay calm.

She snorted and shook her head. "They've informed you wrong Mr. Colt. My father is not the bad guy." she retrieved her seriousness and he noticed ice fire dancing in her eyes, making them appear a strange mix of copper-green. She paused and lifted her dimple chin before adding in a very cold tone. "I am."

His mouth opened slightly, his eyebrows furrowed. He looked at her from head to toes and tilted his head on the side with his eyes mi-closed. She leaned her fists against her hips and continued with the same cold voice as before.

"My father is a… -how do you call that?- A decoy. I took over the business two years ago."

"Your face wasn't pretty enough to put on the dollar bill?" he asked huskily, his heart thumping savagely. This woman was becoming more and more fascinating to him.

She looked at him silently for a moment, her head lazily tilted on the side and shrugged.

"We have to use every way we can to maintain prosperity, wouldn't you say? My father has been feared for years and suddenly telling the world that a woman is now their leader, would cut us a lot of gain and people will start... rebelling. So everybody believes that my father is still holding the reign…"

"While you're free to go and do as you please." he finished for her, his eyes piercing her.

"Oh no Mr. Colt, not as I please. We have rules and everybody, even I, have to respect and follow them. But I make the decisions and I decide what goes and what doesn't. Just like I decide who lives or dies."

Their eyes met and he could see a mocking smile lingering at the corner of her mouth. But somehow, he couldn't find anything amusing in the calculated glare she was sending him. He swallowed achingly, understanding that she really was the one to decide if he would leave here alive or dead.

"And why am I still alive?" he asked slowly, deciding to thread carefully.

He could swear he saw a flicker go through her eyes but she looked down before he could read what it was, not answering. When she looked up, her eyes were fierce again and her voice commanding. "I want you to go back to your country Mr. Colt and forget about my father and everything you've learned here so far. If there's anyone to kill, that'd be me."

His jaw clinched once again. "Then I'll kill you."

She tilted her head on the side and smiled maliciously at him. "And what makes you think I will give you the chance to?"

"Because you and I both know you don't have the guts to kill me." he felt a cold river of sweat run down his spine but kept his composure. He knew that he was probably playing with fire but he wanted to bet on the fact that she had the chance to kill him twice before but didn't. "That's the reason why I'm still alive, right? Because you're just faking it to protect your father. If you were the boss, I would've died in the plane just like everyone before me had."

She didn't answer, just kept looking at him quietly. He took one step forward, but he stopped when he heard the blond girl's voice. "One more step and you're dead."

His nostrils flared up with anger but he turned his eyes to Andryse who still had her head slightly tilted, smiling.

"Your father sent you to kill me but you didn't have the guts to." he continued with his bluff. "And now, you're just trying to do some damage control because you know that if I stay, I will kill your father anyway."

He was expecting her to get mad, but instead she just pursed her lips like a little girl and turned to the women standing behind her, telling them something in their native language. They replied sternly but she simply shook her head and he watched them slowly backing out and close the door after them. Oh, she was the boss, all right! He couldn't say that he didn't feel relieved not having the guns pointed at him anymore and smiled when she faced him, the same smirk on her face. She slowly walked up to him and stood just a few inches from him, her hands disappearing in her front pockets.

"You have blue eyes." she whispered softly, looking deep in his eyes. "They're beautiful. I never noticed that before."

A very sweet, light smell tickled his senses and he sniffed, wondering what kind of perfume she used that smelled so good and so delicate. He bit his inner jaw not to tell her how much he liked the play of colors in her eyes as well and made a fist, bulging his muscles, feeling completely unease. Just like in the plane, his heart was beating really fast and he swallowed, trying not to look in her eyes anymore than necessary.

"At least something you didn't know about me." he breathed out.

Andryse burst out laughing, her body half bent and he looked at her tenderly liking the clear sound of her laugh. Fuck! Why was he suddenly finding everything so freaking amazing about her? That was just borderline stupid and crazy. But his face regained his offensive stone mask when she pulled up, wiping tears from her eyes. She calmed down before talking again, shaking her head.

"You're a charming man, Mr. Colt." she said in an upbeat tone. "The others were never as charming."

"I guess I should feel flattered." he scratched his head, impatiently shifting from one foot to the other. Funny how a minute ago, he wanted to kill her and get out of there but now, he wanted to do something so very different to her that didn't have anything to do with him physically harming her. Actually, pain wasn't involved at all but rather pleasure. And lots of it. He scratched his throat. "Where are we going with this?"

She bit her lip and pulled out a gun from the back of her pants, removed the security lock and pointed it at his head. "How about we tested your theory that I don't have enough guts to kill you?"

He sighed, putting his hands in his pockets, giving her a full smile. "This should be interesting."

But he frowned when she dismantled the gun and let all the parts fall on the floor. She swiped them on the side with her foot and faced him, all humor gone from her face. "Is this still interesting?"

His heart was hammering even more painfully now from looking at her, standing there, defying him. Fearless. He should have been really pissed and kill her with just one punch but he couldn't help thinking about how hot she looked. His eyes ran on her body and he started hardening. And it wasn't his biceps.

"Come on Mr. Colt." Andryse shouted, with her arms open. "You want to kill me, here's your chance. I don't have a gun anymore, I'm defenseless."

"I don't fight women." he said calmly, devouring her with his eyes.

"Now you see? This is the fucking reason why we have to pretend that my father is still the boss. Because of condescending assholes like you who always think women are the fucking weakest gender."

He sighed and ran a hand on his hair. God! Why the hell did he feel more and more aroused by the minute? He didn't want to fight her, he wanted to make love to her. He grimaced and bent down to look inside his bag, deciding to ignore her all together. As soon as he opened it, he felt a heavy blow to his jaw and his head turned on the side. He spat the blood from his injured jaw and he looked at her. She was standing firmly on her feet and by the way she was carrying herself, she obviously knew how to fight and the throbbing pain on his jaw that was swelling by the minute was an attestation to that. He slowly stood up and walked up to her, his hand on the side of his body.

"I don't fight women." he repeated gently.

He received another blow on his jaw and grimaced, feeling more blood in his mouth. He spat again and groaned when she threw her pointy heel in his stomach, forcing him to knee down. If one thing, he had to admit that she not only had guts but knew perfectly well how to hit. He wasn't up yet when her foot landed on the side of his head, throwing him on the floor. He cracked his neck to make sure it was still in place and stood up with one fast movement.

"Come on, fight me." she shouted again, throwing another punch at him. "Or I will beat you down until you die."

This time, he blocked her fist easily but didn't anticipate how fast she was and was shocked to feel her knee land right in his stomach. His breath cut short, he exhaled loudly. His peripheral vision caught her foot coming again and he turned around letting it fly. She kept on throwing him punches but he negligently just moved out of her way without making any evident effort, blocking her by occasion. He wasn't going to hurt her but at least, he could minimize her blows.

But she was very good and fast and her small figure helped her in agility and he cussed when she jumped, putting her left foot on his chest, while the right one hit his head, throwing him across the room again. He hit his fist on the ground, pulling himself up.

"You're really starting to piss me of." he hissed furiously, massaging his now very swollen jaw.

"Then do something about it." she shouted back, ready to attack again.

This time he didn't just stay out of her way, he caught her hand and turned it over to twist it behind her back but she rolled over, freeing herself from his embrace and kicked his knee on the same movement. He groaned again and pulled her by the pants making her loose her balance and she landed on the floor, her back first. He quickly got on top of her, holding her wrists down with both hands and promptly raised his body up to avoid her knee aimed at his crotch.

She was moving all around trying to free herself but he placed his legs on hers, completely immobilizing her. She grunted, her breath short but he was looking at her calmly, waiting for her to quiet down. After a moment, she finally stopped fighting and looked at him furiously. A heavy silence invaded the room as they just looked into each other's eyes. She held her breath, her mouth slightly opening and he quickly stood up as he felt himself gravitating towards her lips.

She stood up as well and fixed herself up, clearing her throat. He saw her take a deep breath, closing her eyes and he swallowed the big ball in his throat. He knew that she was as moved and disturbed as he was, but he needed to remind himself that she was the daughter of his target and that made them enemies. He still had to finish his job and she will still keep on trying to prevent it from happening. He realized at that moment that he could never hurt her. For some strange reason, she was wakening something inside of him that made him feel weak and he didn't like it at all.

He looked at her again and read the same thoughts in her mind. She, too, realized how pulled they were towards each other and was fighting it as well. She walked up to the entrance with a quick step but slowed down, her back still turned at him, when he called her name.

"I still have to kill your father."

"Then I'll still have to kill you." she answered with a cold tone without pausing and without looking at him. She continued walking and opened the door before finally turning around and raised her chin defiantly at him."You have 24 hours to leave my country Mr. Colt. Or I will kill you."

He watched her step outside, leaving the door open after her and disappear into the night.