Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 81162 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81162 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Since this was what Maddox lived for, he took the lead and teased the men. “You want me to let you go?”
The leader did his best to be brave by keeping a blank expression, but the slight tremor in his left hand was his tell. The tattoos on his face made him seem more like a clown than a monster. “I have money.”
“What a coincidence, I have money too.” Maddox crossed his arms over his chest and paced in front of the men. Instead of his body moving with quiet rigidness, his shoulders slightly bumped up and down, like he was about to start skipping across the concrete floor. “So, if I have money, why would I want yours?”
The leader remained silent.
I got tired of watching him play with his food, so I moved to the back of the room to see what we could salvage. There were a lot of barrels of unmarked chemicals, but I was certain it was stuff we could use in the lab. I bent down and examined everything before I continued to move around the space.
“Call me old-fashioned, but I don’t like to take shit from people.” Maddox stopped in front of the leader. “I want to feel like I earned it, ya know? If I just take everything from my enemies, that’s too easy. Where’s the accomplishment in that?” He stared at the guy while he rubbed his fingers along his chin.
Maybe I was used to these stunts, but I could tune him out pretty well. I started to organize everything we would have our crew take away. When I was running my own regime, I rarely spoke to my enemies. I just killed them and moved on. But Maddox seemed to thrive on these tense conversations. He seemed to care more about them than all the money he made. I’d been working with Maddox for a while now, and I still didn’t understand him.
Maddox kept talking. “How about we set up a poker table right here, and we play for it?”
The leader glanced at the other two men like he couldn’t believe what was happening. “So, I can gamble my way out of here?”
Maddox laughed. “Not quite. I’ll let one of you go. The other two, I’ll gut your stomachs and your wallets. High stakes, first one out is gone.” He clapped his hands loudly. “That’ll be fun, right?”
I had just turned around to grab a case of their product when I heard the commotion.
The room was suddenly silent, and Maddox’s energy disappeared like air being sucked into a vacuum. I heard the distinct sound of a gun being drawn. Then Maddox spoke in a tone of voice I had never heard him use before. “Hades, duck.”
Instinct kicked in, and I didn’t think twice about it. I fell to the floor.
The sound of the gunshot was amplified in the factory, the boom echoing off the concrete floors and unadorned walls. That sound was quickly followed by a heavy body hitting the ground.
I looked behind me and saw the guy dead on the floor, a knife in his lifeless hand. He must’ve snuck up on me because he was hiding behind the barrels. He probably hoped to take me hostage so he could negotiate his way out of there.
Or he could’ve stabbed me in the back and killed me on the spot.
I rose to my feet and continued to stare at the corpse in front of me. There was adrenaline in my body even though there was no fight. I turned to Maddox, unable to accept the fact that he’d just saved my life.
Maddox looked at the three men in front of him, his nostrils flared in rage. He sheathed his gun and pulled out a knife instead. “Change of plans, boys. You come after my brother, and I come after you.” He slit the throat of the first guy then gutted the next.
I stayed put and watched the slaughter… unable to believe what had just happened.
I sat at the bar across from Damien, still in a daze from what I’d witnessed a few hours ago. It was three in the morning and I should go home and get some sleep, but I was so disturbed by what I’d seen that I couldn’t close my eyes.
If I did, I would relive it…over and over.
Damien was still a part of the business, but since Maddox didn’t care for him, he sent him on mediocre errands. I was the one he wanted, but he put up with Damien to keep me happy. I took a big pay cut because of it. I never told Damien why.
Damien rested his fingers on his glass as he leaned back against the booth. It was late on a Tuesday, so we were the only two people in there. The bar closed an hour ago, but they stayed open for us. There was a distinct animosity between us, but we stayed diplomatic to get the job done. “So, you took those guys out?”