And Then The Devil Cried [3] Page 5

  “Why’d you bring me here?”

  “To prove to you that I could.”

  I wanted to slash his throat with the knife I had hidden, tucked under the belt or shoot his face with the gun in my holster. Either would come in handy. “Now what?”

  “Come here,” Sergei said.

  I walked up to him. The anger inside me was eager to go, to do something to make that smug face suffer. But I had to pick my moment, or it would all go to waste. There was a lot riding on this.

  “Wait!” he bellowed. Then turned to his men. “Did you pat him down?” When they both shook their heads, he glared at them and they came up to me and started frisking me. They found the holster right away. They even took away my phone. The second one found the knife at last. Great. Now I was at a serious disadvantage, both my weapons had been confiscated. I wondered how I could alert Travis, he was on a break to see his pregnant wife in the hospital. I didn’t ask for his replacement because it hadn’t occurred to me that morning Sergei’s people were counting on me to miss a step.

  Sergei was clearly enjoying this. “What were you going to do, huh?” he said. “Stab me? Were you going to shoot me in the head? You even know how to shoot someone in the head?”

  He pulled his gun at me, a 9mm, and then before I started counting down the seconds to my death, he moved his hand, so the weapon was pointed at one of the men, and he took a shot. There was a blast right next to my head and the next moment I was bathed in a dead man’s blood and what was quite possibly grey matter. I felt paralyzed like I couldn’t move. I was terrified, but it wasn’t just fear that was pushing at me; I was filled with a need to see Sergei’s head blowing up to smithereens right in that empty boardroom.

  The place started reeking of death right away, it was an unbearable stench. Poor fucking dead guy. He must have had a family. Did he maybe have a pregnant wife in the hospital too?

  “That is how you shoot someone in the head, Adam.”

  I knew my resolve to keep calm was breaking fast. I knew I was fighting back tears and every other useless emotion, but Sergei could smell my shock and horror. He looked oddly calm himself. Once again, I wondered when that happened. When he became this cold, calculated murderer? The stench was driving me insane. If I didn’t get away I was risking a major panic attack. I might not even be in my senses.

  “Fuck you!” I was suddenly angry, not sure why. My brain wasn’t making any sense.

  “Lighten up,” Sergei said nonchalantly, taking his seat on the chair. “It’s just a dead body. Stop overreacting.” He gestured to the other guy. “Find his replacement and bring him here, right now! And alert the others.”

  None of that sounded like something I shouldn’t be concerned about.

  It would have made more sense if I wasn’t shaking all over. “What do you want?”

  “You’re just a child,” he said. “I’m trying to prove that to you, so you can see what the hell is really going on. You’re not going to take Marcus’s place because you’re not Marcus. You’re just some sad, pathetic little creature, that your mother and I created. Did you think I was going to give you any real power? I made you this way.”

  “You don’t know me.”

  “Adam, why can’t we just stop fighting for once? Aren’t you tired? Of fighting alone?”

  “And I suppose you want to do something about my loneliness?”

  “Look, I’ve had time to think. The whole thing with Marcus,” he said. “Could have been handled better. I was angry and Marcus, he’s an enabler. It was happening, and I lost control. Adam, you know how I really feel about you.”

  “You’re unbelievable!”

  “Do you think these people are going to let some shit like you rule over them?” Sergei said. “The only reason they don’t eat me up is that I have power. Together, we can rule over them. The Superiors, they don’t stand a chance if we band together.”

  “And what would I have to do?”

  “You have to sit back and watch me crumple them.”

  I looked at the dead guy who was still on the floor, his body on the ground, in a pool of blood and gore, his limbs slumped over. “You know what,” I said. “I’ve never been much of a sit back and watch type.”

  Sergei glowered at me. “Are you really that stupid?”

  I don’t know? Am I? Wouldn’t it be better to just give up and take his offer? Let the world burn and come to ashes in a freak accident? I’d been with Marcus for over a year, I was certainly trained well enough to last in Sergei’s bed for longer than that surely. And just the idea, that I was thinking of this as an option made my heart feel like it was weighed down by a giant rock.

  The doors opened, and more guards filtered in, there was about three of them including one man who I was guessing was the dead guy's replacement and he was taller than Travis and bulkier. He looked like he weighed a ton. Is this it? I couldn’t beat Travis on a good day. This was certainly not a good day.

  “That’s my recruit,” Sergei said, clearly proud of his accomplishment. “They call him Big Andy.”

  “Let me guess. Dumb Andy was already taken,” I retorted.

  “He might be dumb,” Sergei replied. “But he’s a legend.”

  “And I’m sure there’s some weirdo twink who’d be into that. But I’ll pass. I don’t like the big, dumb type—” Something hit me in the back, a big, heavy, object, and knocked the wind out of me. I turned to find Big Andy standing right behind me, and I had to guess that big heavy object was his gigantic foot clad in heavy boots.

  “Say dumb one more time,” Big Andy said. “I dare you.”

  “If you can get past Big Andy,” Sergei said. “You can walk out of here alive. You have my word. No one else will get in your way. Not even me.”

  There was a troll and a giant metaphor in there somewhere I just couldn’t think of it, because my brain was kicked up in a fight or flight response. Fuck everything. I could totally beat him. He was big, and I was smaller, I could use that to my advantage just like Travis taught me. I did once bring Travis to the ground. I did it once, I could do it again. Besides, this was a real-life situation, not a fucking gym. People reacted more boldly in real life maybe it was a subconscious thing. The difference is that after a sparring session with Travis I would go back to my life, and after a death match with Big Andy, I was more likely to end up in a hospital than a sauna. But if I give up and let Sergei take me, I was more likely to end up sick feet under or worse, in permanent captivity.

  From somewhere Travis’s voice came back to me. “You fall, Adam. But you always get right back up, kid. You don’t quit. That takes balls. That’s where your strength lies, you just need to harness that power.”

  Guess it was time to find out for sure if Travis was right.

  I raised my fists in a fighting stance just like in our training sessions. This was no different than that. It wasn’t like Travis ever went easy on him, right? Oh my God, was Travis was going easy on me?

  Adam. Focus. Big Andy is about to squash you like a fucking ant. All you need is to stay out of the general region of the ground under his boots. Just wear him out, be fucking Rocky… shit Rocky didn’t even win… that’s beside the point. Rocky didn’t get crushed under Creed. That’s all you need to do. Keep being the underdog that you are, and fucking stay out of his way—

  Big Andy launched into a series of punches and kicks, that I managed to block and backtrack from. I even managed to launch a few strikes of my own, but mostly I just defended myself. Until I felt Big Andy’s boot underneath me. I lost my footing and came crashing to the floor. But before he could get a chance to stomp on me, I was back up again, ready to… I wasn’t exactly sure what I was doing but I managed to keep myself going. If I could just get a few hits in…

  But another sharp kick to my face made blood flow out of my mouth, and my mouth was filled with something disgusting. I spit on the floor and saw a broken tooth lying in the tiny puddle of blood. Fuck this bastard was batshit crazy, as I was abo
ut to find out.

  I hit him again, delivered a jab to his jaw, but he grabbed my hand and I felt his free hand slamming into my chest, knocking the wind out of me. He grabbed me and slammed me against the wall. “Who’s the dumb one now?”

  “Okay so maybe I need to work on my pep talk—” Big Andy’s hand was on my throat. “You really want to see this through to your pathetic end?” he grunted. “Or are you going to quit while you still have a windpipe?”

  I stared at him. “I’ll take my chances—” Big Andy grabbed me by the front of my shirt and pushed me to where the dead guy was still… dead. I was at least ninety percent certain I was going to end up next to him. But that remaining ten percent kept telling me I had managed to defend myself. That I could win. I could take this guy out.

  I turned to Big Andy and stared back in his dark, dead eyes. Then, I said the one thing that I’d been itching to say all that time. “You know what Big Andy? You’re the cumshot that your mom wanted to swallow but your dad couldn't pull out in time.”

  There was silence in the room.

  Everyone’s eyes were on us. Can’t believe this passed for entertainment for some people. I’m sure the others wanted to pounce on me. I’m fairly certain Sergei had a shit eating grin on his face. Me, I was just happy I got this far. Adrenaline will do that to you, it makes you stupid. So, you say dumb shit like that to further piss off your already furious attackers.

  I was already short of a tooth. I was practically maimed. Fuck this underdog shit.

  “You’re going to wish you hadn’t said that,” Big Andy confirmed my doubts. I was as good as dead. Might as well go nuts.

  “Maybe,” I said, panting. “But you’re going to have to catch me first.”

  Big Andy grinned like he already had me by the balls.

  You can only rival crazy with crazy folks.

  I got on top of the conference table and turned to Big Andy.

  “You little shit—” Big Andy started to say but before he could finish, I grabbed a chair and clobbered him with it. I put all my strength into the hit. The chair hit Big Andy’s face and upper body and he doubled over in pain. The broken chair lay next to him. Big Andy was bleeding from the nose. I knew I had to move fast. I put my remaining strength into kicking Big Andy to the ground and then stomping on him until I could no longer do it.

  I glanced at the others and then at Sergei. I knew that look. He was disappointed. He was also furious. Before he could change his mind, I made a dash for the exit. I climbed the table again, they weren’t expecting that and leaped off the other side before they could catch me. I almost bolted toward the door and managed to bypass the men.

  “Get him,” Sergei’s orders were the last thing I heard before I made off for the elevator bank.

  RHO

  PRESENT DAY

  The address the anonymous tipper gave me led me to a parking garage.

  At first, I didn’t understand what was going on until I turned off the engine. I heard the loud noises, people, more than one, and other sounds I couldn’t quite figure out what they were.

  I knew it could be a trap. But the tipper was extremely careful and kept insisting on my being discreet. I knew Jace and the other guys were just a phone call away but still. What if I was walking into a bad situation? But I couldn’t just do nothing after what the tipper told me. He wasn’t quite clear on what exactly I would find there, but he knew it was important to me.

  The first vehicle I saw was a GMC truck. I recognized it. What the fuck had I walked into? I started rethinking my decision because I knew this place. It was where the Russians came to drop off their dead bodies for the cleanup crew. Perfect ending to a shitty life. Offering your head to the Russians on a plate. Let’s hope I come back as the Dalai Lama in my next life. Anything would be better than being Rho Bennett. But with my luck, I was probably coming back as a rodent, or a toad, and not the kind who turns into a Prince either. I reached into my holster for the Glock and pulled it out. I checked the bullets. Everything seemed fine. If someone had told me I would be walking to my grave that evening I would have come prepared.

  I got out of my car and closed the door as softly as possible. I made my way in the direction of the sounds. They were coming from further down the lot. I was separated from the people by the empty parked cars and large concrete columns. As I made my way toward the sounds, they started to get clearer. I could hear the screams, and grunts and groans. I could hear full sentences: “It’s going to be so much fun!” followed by another muffled cry. And then a loud thud. For some reason, I had quickened my pace.

  Finally, I got a glimpse of them. Standing next to a large SUV were a group of Russians, there was at least five of them. In the middle, doubled over in a puddle of blood was a man, whose face was unrecognizable because of the bleeding cuts and scrapes. He was barely conscious and the other five had been using him as a punching bag.

  But despite the way he looked, despite the bloody, torn clothing, I noticed the light blonde hair partially covered in blood and without thinking, I raised my Glock at the attackers. “Leave him alone!” I cocked the gun and shot one of them in the foot to show them I was serious. There was no time to waste on niceties.

  “You shot him!” one of the guys said, looking shocked.

  “I'll shoot you in the head if you don’t do as I say,” I warned them.

  They exchanged glances and then looked at me. “He doesn’t have the balls to kill us,” one of them said. “He’s just bluffing.”

  Now, I hate useless violence as much as the next guy. But neither of these were good Samaritan types. They were killing machines. That’s what they were designed to do. If they bought Adam here, they must have wanted to kill him. So, I aimed for the one I shot in the leg and pulled the trigger. The guy couldn’t even scream as his body fell to the ground with a nasty thud. Adam was staring at me, probably still in shock. I would deal with that later.

  “Who wants to go next?” I asked. In response, I heard them dropping their weapons. They just stood there, looking lost. It was hilarious. All their smugness of earlier had disappeared. To one side, there was a little chamber of some sort. For a security guard, but it was empty. I made them go inside that tiny room, and I took away their phones and locked them in.

  Then I walked back to Adam, who still hadn’t been able to get up. “What the fuck are you doing here?” he screamed.

  “Saving your ass, Adam!”

  “I don’t need saving.”

  “Really?” I said. “Okay then. Get up. Get up and come over to me and I’ll leave.”

  He looked angry and in pain. I saw him struggling before with the leg, I knew he couldn’t put any weight on it.

  “Go on, Adam. What’s stopping you?”

  I knew he wasn’t mad at me. I knew he was mad at himself. But I wasn’t about to let him destroy himself. I held out my hand. “Let me help you.”

  But he refused to take it.

  ADAM

  I knew I was staring at Rho, but I couldn’t stop. I know he felt it.

  “Let me help you,” he said.

  “You could have died.”

  “Well, it was a close call—”

  “You could have died!”

  “And it would have been worth it.”

  “No! It wouldn’t, Rho!” I couldn’t believe I was getting all teary-eyed. “It wouldn’t have been worth it because I’m not… worth it.”

  “Adam, you’re worth everything to me—”

  “You need to stop this.”

  “Stop what?”

  “You need to get as far away from me as possible!”

  He offered me his hand again. “Take my hand and let me help you.”

  I had no choice. The slightest amount of weight on my foot sent my whole body in agony. I grabbed Rho’s hand and he pulled me up. He was stronger than when I’d known him before. He was pretty much carrying my full weight. “There’s no strength in being stubborn,” Rho said. “You’re not really strong if y
ou don’t know when to ask for help. You’d be surprised at how many people are willing to give you a hand if you don’t push them away.”

  I had too much going on inside my head, but the physical agony was getting too much to bear. I looked up at him. “I think it might be broken.”

  “Okay,” Rho said. “Let’s get you to the emergency room.”

  I looked into his eyes. He was calm. Even after everything, he was handling it well. “Thanks.”

  He grinned. “Will you hate me if I carried you to the car?”

  “What am I a damsel in distress! Fuck off!”

  But I knew he was eyeing me in a weird way and I knew him well enough to guess his next move. “Rho, don’t even think about it!”

  “I’m sorry but since you are in distress and I am your knight in shining armor…” with that he put an arm on my back, the other around the bend in my knees and lifted me up. I didn’t have a choice but to grab on to him for support. My foot was still giving out hot, flared up pain every time I so much as took one breath. The rest of my body wasn’t doing any better.

  “This is really embarrassing,” I commented.

  Rho kept grinning as we walked to the car. “What’s the matter, Adam? Afraid one of your hotshot people are going to see you and talk about you behind your back? The big, bad ass Adam Delaney hurt and unable to walk? Being carried by his boyfriend?”

  “Shut up and put me down!”

  “Adam, I was just joking. Relax.”

  “I’m not in the mood for jokes.”

  He stopped. We were near the car, and he set me down gently. “Of course not. You’re still punishing yourself for whatever it is you think you did to me. And no amount of asking you—”

  “I slept with Ian.”

  There was silence.

  Rho gently helped me get in the passenger seat. He closed the door to my side. I waited until he got in the driver’s end.

  “Was it while you were with Marc—”

  “It was two days ago.”

  Rho started the car.