The entire time all of this was going on, the three men walked towards all of us. The man who’d held on to me, guiding me into the warehouse, suddenly seemed uneasy. He pointed his pistol at the three men, specifically the man in the middle.
His hand shook.
“What’s that bitch talking about, homes? You better not be trying to fuck us!”
The man in the middle came into clear view. He had red hair, a freakish red-orange hue. His eyes were dark, beady and vacant, like a doll’s eyes. I swear to God he looked like a sinister version of a clown, fitting right in amongst the strange surroundings.
I glanced towards the man on either side of him. Each held large duffle bags in their hands. I glanced towards Ainsley who still remained unconscious on the ground.
“A deal is a deal.” Clown man said. “You’ve delivered as promised. I don’t understand what the problem is.”
With that, he turned and looked at each man nodding for them to drop the duffle bags. They did. The man who knocked Ainsley out reached for them, dragging them close with a nervous pull.
The man standing behind me spoke. “Count it. Make sure it’s all there. If it isn’t the deal is off, and we’re taking these bitches with us.”
I swallowed hard, my eyes fixated on the kneeling man. He reached for the zipper, yanking on it and then reaching inside.
“What the…” he muttered.
He glanced up towards clown man. I did the same. He had a bizarre grin on his face, bordering on sinister. I heard the sound of a second zipper followed by rummaging inside of another one of the duffle bags. I’d just about turned to see what was happening when I noticed the gunman leap to his feet, pointing his weapon.
“What the fuck is this?”
The man still holding my arm looked at his partner. “What’s wrong?”
Clown man took a couple of steps forward. The bottom of his expensive looking loafers scraped the cement flooring. The sound captured my attention. I looked at him again.
“What?” he began, drawing his hands together behind his back. He walked until he reached one of the bags, peering down inside of it. He looked at our captors. “It’s all there. Count it.”
The gunman who’d looked into the bag, reached inside of it and grabbed a handful of the cash, brandishing it at clown man.
“It’s got your face on it! This ain’t real money! Where’s our money mother fucker?”
Clown man nodded, slowly raising his index finger upwards. Kneeling down in front of one of the duffle bags, he grabbed a few of the phony bills before standing up again.
“Oh that’s simple,” he began, peeling the bills off one at a time and tossing them to the floor. “I just wanted my face to be the last thing you see before you go to hell.”
The men who dragged Ainsley and me into the warehouse backed away, raising their guns. Clown man released the remainder of the money from his hand. It fluttered to the ground and then…
KAPOW!
A deafening sound, almost like cannon fire, echoed from overhead. On instinct, I screamed, squeezing my eyes shut. The thunder subsided, and I heard Ainsley groaning on the floor. The firm grip of the man who’d held me withered away. Opening my eyes, I staggered back in horror. Both of them lay dead, half of their skulls missing.
Immediately, I turned my attention to clown man.
He looked up towards the ceiling and called out. “Well done gentleman. Clean kills.”
I followed his gaze upward to see two men perched in the superstructure overhead with high-powered rifles in their hands.
Jesus Christ!
It was only the sound of Ainsley that broke my attention on them. I turned to see her scooting backward on her butt, hands still bound.
“Stay away from me you… You fucking psycho!”
Clown man seemed unconcerned with her insult. He turned to one of his men.
“Help her up, and then get rid of those two dirt bags. There’s no sense leaving a mess behind.”
One of the men stepped towards me. I backed away, but it was no use. He grabbed me before I could take another step. The other man took hold of Ainsley and pulled her into a standing position. Clown man approached her. Ainsley’s face went white as a sheet.
“It’s been a long time, Ainsley. Too long. You are more beautiful than I remember.”
Clown man reached for her face, touching her cheek with the back of his hand. Ainsley recoiled, her demeanor changing on a dime. She looked back at him with a hard expression on her face.
“Whatever you are doing, Malcolm, it’s not going to work. Dorian will hunt you down and kill you… Like the worthless dog you are.”
I swallowed hard, looking at clown man again, a name finally matching the face.
Holy shit!
This is the Malcolm. The one Dorian and Kendrick were discussing the first night I was at his estate.
Oh no.
16
Stop At Nothing (Dorian)
I felt like a caged animal the entire flight. No matter how hard I tried to convince myself everything was fine -- man, there was something gnawing at me. No sooner did we touch down than I grabbed the phone, calling my security chief again.
“What’s the latest, Mark?” I asked the instant he answered.
He cleared his throat, obviously hesitating. That didn’t help my state of mind, not one goddamn bit.
“Out with it!” I demanded.
“Haven’t established contact with them yet, sir.”
Dumbfounded, I jerked backwards in my chair. “What the hell do you mean you haven’t made contact with them yet? It’s been hours since you and I talked last.”
Mark started to say something, give me some bullshit excuse, but I cut him off.
“Have you sent anyone else over there to see what the hell is going on?”
“No, sir,” he muttered.
“Jesus!” I balled up my fist, just about to put it through the fuselage before I managed to get my rage under control.
“Quit fucking around. Text me the address to her apartment. I’m headed straight over there from the airport, and we will break down the fucking door if we have to. Do you hear me?”
“Yes, sir, I…”
Before he could say another word and mumble some half assed apology, I disconnected the call. Within minutes, he texted me the address to Tempest’s apartment. We arrived, and I saw Mark along with a few of my other security detail huddled at the base of the stairs. After getting out of the limo, I marched towards them, not even bothering to stop and talk.
“Let’s go. Fuck, come on. What the hell am I paying you for?”
Leaving them behind, I ran up the stairs, nearly taking two at a time. Together we stormed down the hallway until I reached the door of her apartment. Without waiting, I knocked on it with several hard strikes.
“Tempest! Open up!”
I paused, pressing my ear to the door. Turning over my shoulder, I glanced at Mark. “I don’t hear a goddamn thing.”
He shook his head. I turned back towards the door and started to pound on it with my fist. “Tempest! Ainsley!”
“Fuck!” I growled, backing away from the door. “Kick the fucking thing in.”
Mark gestured for a couple of the guys to step up. We broke through and I walked in ahead of everyone. The place was completely trashed, beat to hell. I looked to my left and saw the bodies of Devon and Robert. Tempest and Ainsley were nowhere to be found.