His Reluctant Savior (The District #3)

28. Chapter 28

It nearly killed me to leave Dalton and Owen behind. It took all my strength to keep from grabbing them and running from my very family. I cared deeply for them, but I would do anything to protect Dalton and his son, which was why I came back home in the first place.

I just prayed they all kept Sully under control while I was out of sight.

Malik had his hands casually in the pockets of his slacks as I followed him back to his office. He had his suit jacket off, with his shirt sleeves rolled up over strong forearms, covered in dark hair.

He exuded power, strength, and refinement. No, he didn’t just exude it. He was those things. He had a lifetime of hardships and experience behind him. I respected the hell out of Malik, which made my betrayal all the more difficult, but if I could start over, I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again. Dalton was everything to me.

We didn’t exchange words as we stepped into his office and closed the door behind us. He went to sit behind his desk. I took the chair opposite him and crossed my ankle over my knee, waiting for the storm through the calm.

Malik was deadly, and if he wanted me dead, I wouldn’t see it coming. A quick death would be kind and a testament to our friendship.

He leaned back in his leather office chair, crossed his legs, and steepled his fingers to his face. “Do you have any idea how hard it has been to hold Sully back?” he asked, his accent thicker in the agitation he struggled to keep under control. No, not struggle… he intentionally showed me his frustration.

“I’m well aware of Sully’s nature.”

“Yet, you turned your back on us, anyway.”

“And I would do it again if I had to.” There was no point in lying to a man who could see right through me.

He nodded slowly. “Of course you would, or else you would not have done it in the first place. ”

Before I responded, he stood, headed toward his small bar by the picturesque window of the Washington Monument, and poured two fingers full of bourbon into tumblers.

“It is early, but I think I need something strong right about how,” he said, as if he needed to explain himself.

After setting the tumbler on the desk for me, he sat back down and took a small sip. I joined him out of politeness and respect, even if I didn’t want to drink right then.

“Choose your next words carefully, Sid. I would very much like to understand why you choose to betray your family before I make a decision.”

That was the only thing that had kept me alive through all of this.

“I had to do the same with Easton when he found me. My life was on the line, and how I answered hinged on whether he would kill. He was very angry with me.”

Malik’s mouth twitched into a smile before he schooled his features. “Indeed. He is quite attached to you.”

“No less attached than Sully is to you, except East and I are not lovers.”

“He would, you know.”

I nodded, knowing that if I approached Easton with sexual intentions, he wouldn’t have turned me down. “And he’s a child and the same reason you held back from Sully when he was young. But while I care for Easton, I don’t feel the same about him, and he knows this. He gets… other transactional interactions from me, which are more important to him.”

Malik took another sip of his bourbon before setting the glass down. “And what convinced Easton not to kill you? ”

“I told him the truth. I owed Dalton my life, who didn’t know it at the time, but he does now.”

“How so?”

“You don’t know my past before I joined The Brotherhood, except that I had killed my uncle, but you never learned why.”

“You hid your past well, as I have mine. All Layla found was that you attended high school with Dalton Reed.”

“I figured you would. Only Easton and Dalton know of my past. I told Easton years ago, so he’d trust me to understand where he came from. To show he wasn’t alone. I told Dalton because I treated him like hell growing up, and I needed him to trust me.”

Malik slowly nodded. “So, your uncle abused you?”

“He raped me repeatedly for years. As I got older and bigger, he would drug me so I couldn’t fight back, and then he would rape me. As you can imagine, I became an angry child and took a lot of it out on Dalton growing up because he was bright, happy… a beacon to my jealousy and loneliness.”

Fuck, I hated telling this fucking story. I downed the rest of my drink, stood, and poured another, staring out at the city, taking a risk by turning my back on Malik, but I had to trust him to at least listen first.

“I kissed Dalton one night at a party. It changed everything, not just because of the kiss, but because of how he reacted to me. It didn’t matter that I treated him like hell for four years. He wanted to give me a chance to do better. That he could so easily forgive… I’d never had anyone do that for me before. No one had ever just seen me and knew I was suffering. ”

“I think I am beginning to see,” Malik said. I turned to face him, leaning against the sturdy bar. “That was the night you killed your uncle.”

“Yes. That night changed my life forever, and Dalton was the catalyst. I wanted to do better, and my uncle drugged and raped me that night. Once I recovered, I took a knife to his jugular as he slept.”

Malik nodded thoughtfully, hearing me and contemplating my story, no doubt deciding if it was worth killing me over. “So, this was a way to pay him back?”

“At first. But as soon as we reunited, I wanted Dalton as mine.”

“And why was it you could not explain this to me in the first place? Why all the secrecy?”

I scoffed, taking another sip of the bourbon, my stomach not used to alcohol so early in the day. “Because I know you just like you know me. What do you think would happen? You would tell me I was too emotionally invested and compromised. I couldn’t risk you handing it off to Sully. Even if Dalton had to die, Sully wouldn’t have given him a quick death. You know damn well he likes to ‘ play with his food ,’ so to speak. I had to save Dalton, not kill him. You wouldn’t have allowed me to do that.”

I sat back down and leaned forward. “Look, I know this business has always been just a job for us. But now it got fucking personal. I’m not gonna deny that. It changes your perspective on things, making you reanalyze your life and what you’re doing.”

“And what does that mean? Are you saying you want to leave us? ”

I shook my head. “No. I would like to stay, but with changes.”

“There is not a lot of room for negotiation, Sid.”

“I’m fucking well aware. My stance doesn’t change.”

“And I am not sure we can trust you again.”

“You can and you will.”

Malik raised a brow, the only expression on his face. “Is that a fact? Explain.”

“You will be able to trust me with Dalton in my life because I’m bringing him in to work with us. He will be on our side.”

For the first time, Malik let his walls crumble to show his anger, slamming his fist on his desk. “You dare?! He is with the FBI. He is a danger to us! Are you so consumed with him you would risk all our lives?”

I wasn’t to be dissuaded. “As if you haven’t risked it all for someone. Besides, Dalton has no one to whom to turn. He cannot trust his employer. Even if he gets his life back, he will never be able to look at them the same again. He has been betrayed, backstabbed, and used as a pawn by people with more power than he has. He is desperate to fight back in other ways. To make a difference without all the red tape bullshit that always seems to protect the wealthy and those in power. You know damn well how it works, Mal. Dalton is beyond frustrated and angry. They hurt him and nearly killed him! Do you really think he’d want to go back to that life after organizations such as ours have been hunting him like prey? Fuck! They drugged his son! A five -year-old!”

Usually, I was calmer than this, but I had to make Malik listen. He had to know how much this meant to me .

I stood and paced the room, pinching my nose and breathing to calm down. “I’m sorry I turned my back on you all, especially you and Easton. But I had to try . There was a chance I could save Dalton, and I took it. I couldn’t risk that you wouldn’t send our people after him anyway. I came back because I didn’t want to leave permanently, and I deeply care about what we’ve built here and everyone in our family, even Sully, the pain in the ass that he is.”

Malik sighed and ran his hands over his face before taking another sip of his drink. “And your Dalton is going to just accept us as killers? Just like that?”

“Yes, and no.”

“Sid, I am warning you.”

“Yes, he will accept us as killers. He loves me despite knowing what I do for a living. He has accepted me. But he won’t come in without some changes. And I’m going to be honest… I agree with him.”

He eyed me dubiously, but I was still there breathing, showing he was willing to listen. “Out with it. What changes? My asking does not mean I accept.”

“First, he wants us to do checks on all clients. I know Layla does it sometimes for the more iffy clients, but he wants us to look at every single one. He’s right when he says sometimes the clients are worse than the targets. Look at what he’s just gone through. Had we not been hired, I wouldn’t have been able to save him.”

“That can be an easy enough change. The client does not have to know we are watching. And the second thing?”

I downed the rest of my drink, setting down my glass, not pouring another, needing to keep a level head .

“He wants us to stop killing anyone simply because we’re paid. He would like The District to take on jobs of those deserving death, not innocent men and women, because they’re in the way of larger machinations.”

Malik shook his head, surprisingly calm. I expected him to blow with that one. “We are killers, Sid. And who is to say who is innocent or not? Us?”

“Would you say that to children like Sully? Luca? Dante? Easton? Me? You? Look at our family. We were all innocent once. We all suffered at the hands of someone else who had more power and control. We could actually make real changes. Men like my uncle or Dante’s father were powerful men. The law would never have found them and convicted them. It is up to people like us to end the cycle. While it doesn’t change who we are, it changes who we take on as clients. As Dalton said, we could be the outlier and actually make a big name for ourselves in the underground world while keeping competition down, which in turn, protects us and those we love.”

He huffed a laugh. “You make a great speech, Sid, but you know as well as I that men never change. Kill one evil man, and another takes his place.”

I sat down and nodded. “Then what the hell are we doing? Why do we bother to do what we do? For money? We have more money now that we know what to do with. That we are killers because this is all we know, and we will never fit into regular society? Sure. Hell, we never fit into other organizations either simply because of who we are as queer men… and woman. I don’t know about you, but in the few weeks I’ve been gone, everything has be come clearer and put more into perspective for me. I guess love will do that.”

“The family might not go for it.”

I perked up. “Does that mean it’s a yes, Mal? We created The District together. This is our baby. We can make it any way we see fit. The family will go for it because they will listen to you. Not me so much anymore until they trust me again. And they will stay because what they do for us won’t change. What does it matter to them if we kill some human sex trafficker as long as they can take out the intended target?”

Malik quirked a smile my way. “Sully will not be pleased.”

“Sully can get over it. He, too, can still do what he does. Just don’t share the gory details with Dalton.”

“Very well. I will have a talk with them.”

“Does that mean Dalton can come on board?”

“If he betrays us, you both will die.”

“Deal.”

“And I will have Sully do the job.”

“Your threat is loud and clear.”

Malik stood, donned his suit jacket, and put on his tie. “Now, to give them the news.”

I stood in front of him and straightened his tie. “Wait. I would like to catch up with you for a moment.”

Malik’s black eyes were wary again.

“Easton told me Sully had hurt you.”

“How would Easton know such a thing?” he asked.

“He’s observant, and if anyone understands what Sully is, it’s him. ”

Malik sighed and nodded. “Sully chased after some men who wanted me dead. Those men were tied to the death of Sully’s family. I told him to stay away, but in his constant endeavor to protect me, he disobeyed me and learned the truth that the death of his family had been my call. You know very well I never ordered his family to die, only the father, but the killer took it upon himself to murder everyone. Sully had almost died from it but was put into foster care at my bidding, which resulted in his sexual assaults and the death of his best friend. All his pain had been my doing over one decision. When he learned of this… let us just say he was not happy and nearly killed me… and rightly so. I do not blame him.”

I gripped Malik’s shoulder tenderly. “And decisions like that are the very reason we should change The District. We cannot let something like that happen again. How do you feel now?”

“I am well, but once he learned of my betrayal, I lost some power and control over him. Be warned that he will not always listen to me now.”

I nodded. “Understood.”