Clark
“Mr. Mercier, there is nothing left. With what you have from Toussaint State, there are little to no funds available unless you sell this business,” my accountant said to me.
“How is any of this possible? Cynthia said she is selling the home. I will not sell this place. It’s all I have left.”
To think that all my money had been depleted was one thing, but to hear that it had been was another.
However, I had one last bullet in the chamber, one I had been holding onto so tightly because I figured at some point, I would outgrow the situation, but the truth was, I hadn’t.
For all the years I’d walked the earth, I may have possibly been reaching the end of an era of wealth.
It took a lot to get where I was, and not a soul was going to pull me down.
My mother, who loved me less each day, broke me. I had done so much to please her, and yet, it wasn’t enough. The love I longed for since my father died, I craved from her, but it wasn’t until after her death that I felt some love when I received the money from her insurance policy.
Grace, my sweet, precious daughter, had betrayed my trust not only by having a baby but by breaking the promise of ever reconnecting with him. She swore on her life, and it cost her. Even then, that money after her death barely made up for the deceit she caused.
Last was The Tyrant. Had he died that day, not only would the policy Matthew and I had on him have paid, but that trust would have been mine.
Different breeds of animals walked the earth. Animals that became savages because they had to, and animals that were born with no souls. I was soulless. It wasn’t that I hated everyone; I hated those who got in my way, and John Doe Calloway was one of them.
My accountant stood from the table, tucking his folder under his arm. “Well, Mr. Mercier, I guess my job is—”
The door swung open. His dark wolf-like eyes narrowed in on me. “He killed one of my niggas!” he barked.
“Kill? Who did what?” my accountant asked.
I shooed him away as I flicked my nose and leaned forward. Once my accountant was gone, I turned back to Jungle.
“So, he got away?”
Ignoring my question, he moved closer. “This is going to cost you. I’m not sure what type of time you’re on, but I—” he leaned over my desk sniffing me like an animal, “—smell bullshit.”
I knew getting to the Tyrant wouldn’t be easy, but I figured the distraction of his missing orphan would make him an easy target.
“Does he know I sent you?”
“No,” he replied.
I could see the irritation on Jungle’s face, and I understood because the longer the Tyrant was out in the wild, the hungrier he was going to get.
“What is a war without death? I paid you for a job, and I want it done. You're hunting a lion; they are clever, they are fast, and they are vicious. Whatever you have to do—” I stood from my desk, “—do it! I don’t care who falls along with him. None of his Zoo animals are safe.”
Jungle rubbed his sparse beard. “My pack has to eat. Not everyone can walk around wealthy. This call to continue is mine alone, but I want more money. If not, Mr. Mercier, you’re on your own.”
For a second, I thought I saw his eyes change into a cat’s eyes, but I couldn’t tell.
“Fine,” I agreed.
If he truly thought he was getting another dime out of me, he had another thing coming. Once the job was done, he would soon find out that he and his pack had better make do on what was already given. In the meantime, I needed to figure out how to pull everyone away from the Tyrant and isolate him.