AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I step further into the room, letting the heavy steel door slam shut behind me casting an even darker shadow over his fate. I know it, my men know it but somehow Danny doesn’t know it yet. He’s not ready to accept his fate is death and I can’t kill him until that realization settles in. Fear is what makes the kill rewarding.
I decide I’ll help him out. “What should the punishment be for betraying me?”
His expression turns stoic which only adds fuel to my rage. I pick up a long, jagged blade placed strategically in his line of sight. “I could cut your hands off for stealing from me. I could cut your legs off for running from me.” I tap the tip of the blade on each body part I mention for emphasis. “I could cut your tongue out for lying.” I stalk a circle around him as he strains against the binds keeping him anchored to the chair. Dixon, hovers close by as usual adding to the fear flooding through Danny, my business associate. “When I’m through with you there won’t be anything left to ID. Your family won’t be able to give you a proper burial. They won’t be able to grieve your loss. All because you’re a greedy, backstabbing asshole and got what you deserve.”
I press the knife against his throat. “Or I could sever your jugular and make it quick. Just tell me where my drugs are or the money.”
“I… I don’t have it.” He stutters.
“That’s too bad.” I remove the blade from his neck and flatten his hand against the arm of the chair, bringing the knife to his wrist. “This is going to hurt.”
“Wait.” Danny begs, halting me mid back swing.
I hold steady, ready to bring down the final blow. “For what? Did you suddenly remember where it was?”
“No, but I do have something worth even more.”
A bark of laughter rips from the back of my throat reverberating around the small space. A desperate man will try anything, but his sudden burst of bravado piques my curiosity. “Worth more than a half million dollars?”
He swallows the lump in his throat when he hears the cost of his thievery. The street value on uncut cocaine straight off the transport line from Mexico carries a hefty price tag. Stealing said cocaine before it reaches its intended destination costs even more. It’s not about the money, I have more than I need. It’s about loyalty and making it known to anyone who dares to cross me I’m not one to fuck with.
“Yes. Far more.”
My brow cocks at his response. My interest is growing, if for no other reason than to see how far he’ll take this. “I’m a wealthy man, Danny. You’re the owner of a trucking company. What could you possibly offer me that's worth more than you stole?”
“My name is still worth something in this town.” Danny pleads with me.
“Not anymore.” I taunt, growing bored with his stall tactics. “Let’s get this over with. I have other business to tend to.”
“But my daughter’s is. You remember Callie, don’t you?” He pleads with me.
I do remember her vaguely. If I’m not mistaken, she’s cute and innocent but was far too young to hold my interest. The first time I saw her, she held the weight of the world on her shoulders. She had just buried her mother and I struck a deal with her father that would make me rich and if her father wasn’t so reckless with both of their lives, they would have been as well.
“She just turned twenty-one. She would make a good wife to the right man.”
I laugh again, this time unable tocontainmy amusement. “What makes you think I’m in the market for a wife? Or that I would need your help to procure one if I were?”
Even Dixon and Manny are having a hard time keeping straight faces at the ridiculousness of his comment. I have no need for a wife. My life is complicated enough without adding a permanent female into the mix.
Danny hangs his head, swaying it side to side. “Callie is the only thing I’ve ever done right. Even my Old Man saw that. That’s why he left controlling interest in Hawk Transport International to her when he died. As soon as she marries, the business is hers to do with what she wishes.”
“Sad story but I don’t give a fuck.” The implications of a change in ownership to the transport company I use to carry cocaine and other nefarious goods across the border are already running rampant through my mind, but I won’t allow this piece of shit to know it.
“You should give a fuck because Xander Castillo has been sniffing around her since she turned eighteen. I’ve managed to keep him at arm’s length from her until recently. If I’m dead…” he levels me with the kill strike of his stare, “I won’t be able to stop him. She’ll either grieve in his arms or he’ll take her and the company by force. That cuts you out and gives Xander the means to take over as the biggest dealer in the US.”
I’d be lying if I said his words didn’t rattle me. The possibility of my transport operation falling into the hands of Xander Castillo makes my blood boil. Xander and I have been rivals for years. Both battling for control of the region's drug operation. A battle I’ve won before, although it costs me money and manpower every time. Xander keeps coming back for more. If what Danny is saying is true, I need to make a move that will decimate Xander’s plan once and for all.
I’ve made it this far in life with my smarts and intuition, I hope like hell they aren’t failing me now. I jab the blade still gripped in my fist into Danny’s throat, hard enough to pierce flesh but shallow enough to draw only a little blood. “You have twenty-four hours to bring me a willing bride but understand this if you fuck me over it’s not just your life I’ll be taking.”
I toss the blade back on the table. “Take his wallet, his cellphone, and his shoes. Drop him outside the city limits. He can find his own way home. He’s not getting off that easy.”
I storm out of the room with Dixon on my heels. “I want to know everything there is to know about Callie Hawkins before she arrives. And get eyes on Xander. I want to know what moves he makes before he takes them. Understand?”
“I gotcha Boss,” Dixon cuts his eyes at me. “Are you really marrying this broad?”
“Appears so, which means for the next twenty-four hours I need as much tits and ass as I can handle.” I step into the elevator, claiming the space for myself. “Don’t call me, I’ll find you.”
The elevator door closes, and I finally let out a heavy breath. “What the hell did I just get myself into?”
