“Why do I think you’re lying, asshole?”
“I’m not!” He pleads, “He knew I found her and didn’t tell him, the club was a test, okay!? To get back in his ranks. If I didn’t, he would have killed me.”
“You should have let him end you.”
“I don’t know where she is. He keeps moving, the last location I know about was in the city centre, an apartment block but underneath, it wasn’t an apartment listed on any map.”
“The address?”
He rattles off an address which Ryker writes down.
“That’s good Griffin,” I tell him.
“You’re going to kill me, aren’t you?”
“I am, Griffin.”
He hangs his head, “You’ll never find her, Valentine’s smart.”
“All you fuckers have underestimated me,” I step up to him, pulling the knife from the holster attached to my belt, “Every single one of you. You’ve come into my city, started a war that you have no hope of winning and have expected me to what, give up? Let you all fuck me in the ass whilst you take my city and my girl?”
I nod to Ryker who makes quick work of finishing the other guys hanging from the ropes. They’re no use to me, low in the pecking order, they’ll have fuck all information I could actually use. Griffin’s eyes widen as he watches each of them die, a single bullet to their foreheads, quick and easy. My face remains impassive. Taking life is as easy as the air I breathe.
We come into this life screaming, bloody, traumatic and it fits that we exit it the same way.
“You’ve called the monster now, Griffin, don’t be surprised that he’s answered.”
I step up to him, tilting my head a little so I can look directly at his face. Fear swims in his eyes as I raise the blade and rest it against his neck. I don’t waste a minute, there’s no more words to say as my knife slices across his throat, cutting through skin, tissue and muscle, his windpipe opening up to me like a yawning jaw. Blood pours from the gash, sliding through the gaping wound and down his front, staining his white shirt red. His gurgles and muffled cries last only seconds as he bleeds to death, sucking in air that’ll never reach his lungs and then his head droops and his body goes slack and the life finally drains from his body.
“Clean it up,” I tell the men stationed sporadically around the barn, “make sure this one,” I point to Griffin, “Ends up in public view. I want Valentine to see what he has done.”
They get to work as I grab a cloth and wipe the blood from my fingers, the two bracelets around my wrists clipping together to make a tinkling noise that is almost melodic. Death permeates the air, the stench of blood and sweat heavy. Ryker joins my side as we exit the barn back towards the house.
“Ten minutes,” I tell Ryker, “then we go to this address.”
With the blood cleaned from my skin and the clothes on my back fresh, I step from the SUV, holding back the wince as my body cramps with pain. There’s no time to recover, no time to sulk in the compound when my little bird is out there waiting for me.
The apartment building ahead of me looks like any other, a high rise but it’s clean and tasteful, no wasters or low lives hanging outside. There is a security call button outside the large glass doors listing apartments from one to sixty five but they are not what I am looking for. There’s no button for an underground apartment but that’s hardly surprising and from the research I’ve done, this building belongs to a real estate agency here in the city, one that isn’t on my payroll.
I laugh to myself, cheeky fucker.
It’s non-descript, to look at you’d never know there was a secret apartment below and so instead of going through the entrance, we round the building, my guys following and find the fire escape. It’s locked but that shit is easy to get through and then we’re in a stairwell. To the left is a set of stairs leading up to apartments above and to the right is a supply closet.
The building is silent all around us but the sounds of our boots on the hard floor echo up the stairwell. Ryker shoots the lock on the closet door and three guys slam through into the darkness.
“Clear!” One yells and we follow in, taking another set of stairs down to yet another door though this one is unlocked.
The apartment inside is huge, a ten bedroom mansion fit onto one floor. Opulence and money drip from the walls, chandeliers made from crystal hang from the ceilings and art worth more than most cars people drive hang on the walls. I sweep through the place, finding it empty of any human presence but Valentine left a lot of shit behind.
He must have been tipped off that we had been given his location and ran. He gets it. I’ll go to all and any lengths to get her back.
“Search it,” I tell the guys, “I want everything empty. I want him found!”
They don’t dawdle, splitting up to search the rooms whilst Ryker and I head through to the office room.
A huge oak desk sits against the back walls, and as it’s underground, there are no windows so he’s compensated by installing lights every few inches against the wall. A huge cabinet sits against one side, bottles of aged whiskeys and brandys sitting on the shelves. On the desk is a glass still half full with an amber liquid and there’s a half smoked cigar in the ashtray though there’s no laptop, no phone, only a note sat in the centre of the desk. I guess he knew I wasn’t dead then.
Silver.
Give up. I have Wren.
Give me the city and you can have her back.
If you don’t, I can assure you nothing pleasant will be in her future.
Today is Monday, you have until Friday to surrender.
Choose wisely.
M Valentine.