41. Rook
The night was pitch black,with only the colorful lights of the yacht ahead to guide us. The small excursion boat crashed through the waves of the ocean sea, making us rock from side to side. I clutched the handles tight, trusting Fallon to navigate us through the rocky sea waters.
The wind whipped at my hair, the salty sea air infiltrating my nose, mouth, and eyes.
My rage simmered underneath the murky waters of my soul.
I hated Saul, but this mission was just as personal.
The sound of the small engine of our boat was drowned out by the party on board the yacht. Booming music, laughing girls, and the smell of weed filled the air as we silently climbed aboard.
Fallon was my shadow, watching my back as I quickly swept through the stern. He also made the first kill, the soft pop of his gun muffled by the silencer.
The guard fell before he even saw us, his Glock still holstered. Fallon quickly threw the body overboard while I dealt with the alerted guard.
Within twenty minutes, we”d killed eight guards hired by the lawyer. The ocean below made a convenient way to get rid of the bodies. And soon, we stood outside the door to the main bedroom.
There were three girls all in different stages of undress, surrounding Terrance—Douglass’ lawyer.
There was a yelp as one of them twisted to see us enter. Her eyes widened at the sight of our drawn guns, finger on the trigger.
The other two hadn’t noticed. One of them giggled as her hands went behind her back, popping the clasp to her bra.
When the first one shrieked again, the other two finally turned towards us. Like it had been planned, all three scrambled off the bed and towards the far wall.
”What the fu?—“
It took Terrance a moment to notice us. Then he grabbed for his own gun from under a pillow.
“Put that down,” I growled, coming to stand at the edge of the bed.
”Ladies,” Fallon said, his dark and low voice immediately commanding their attention. He didn”t say more, but he didn’t need to. They quickly gathered their clothing and ran towards the door.
After they left, Fallon stood guard, keeping an eye on both inside and outside the room.
I leaned towards Terrance, who hadn’t given up his gun. I could see the fear sinking in his brown eyes. Let the butt of his gun push against my chest. “If you shoot, make sure to aim well, otherwise, you won”t like what happens. And if you do kill me,” I gestured towards Fallon, “he has my permission to butcher you as he pleases.”
Terrance”s normally tan face drained of blood and his hand shook, his eyes going to the pale minister in black: everyone knew what the sin eater was capable of.
”I didn”t kill him.” Terrance finally said, lowering his hand, revealing that he knew exactly why we were here.
”Funny,” I took his gun, and tucked it away, ”I don”t believe you.”
He lunged, aiming to run. I grabbed his neck, slamming his head against the wall.
There was a harsh thud. Then another as he fell to the floor. A cry escaping his lips.
”Please!” On hands and knees, he scrambled away from me. “I swear.”
I lunged forward, “The more you lie, the worse it will be for you.” Grabbing his ankle, I twisted. There was a loud popping sound.
He screamed. “I swear! I didn”t know.” An anguished sob escaped him. He held his ankle, his face blotched red.
”You didn”t know what?” Slinging my gun into my holder, I grabbed him by his arm, dragging him upwards. Then I threw him on the bed. ”I haven’t asked a single question.”
I flipped him on his stomach, my knee making his back bow. Just a little more pressure and it would break.
“Please!” He was still crying.
Annoyed by the sound, I shoved his head into the mattress. ”If you”re innocent, then you have nothing to fear from me.”
He tried to fight me. Struggling. Kicking out. He managed to hit my torso, then he screamed from the pain to his ankle. The idiot.
I leaned forward, shoving his face deeper into the black sheets. Smothering him so he couldn’t breathe. I patiently waited as he wore himself out, still trying to get away.
It took mere minutes before he gave up, slouching.
After a long moment, I let up, enough for him to take a breath.
”Whose idea was it?” I asked.
”I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
I pulled out a set of plastic ties and threw them to Fallon. “Tie him up. Pull down his pants and spread his legs. I want his ass.”
Fallon pulled out his own rope, his eyes dark as he left the doorway.
“Noooo!” Terrance howled, his energy suddenly renewed.
Fallon was thin, but stronger than he looked. He was tall, athletic, and had a lot of experience taking a man down. Between the two of us, we easily subdued Terrance: tied up, pants and underwear to his ankles, and spread eagle.
He immediately stopped struggling when I placed the tip of a knife at his asshole. ”Fine!” His voice panicked. Breathing heavily. “Whatever you want, I”ll tell you!”
”Tell me exactly what happened to the Duvall fortune. And I”m going to need you to be very specific.”
”It was Benson”s idea. The old man was dying?—“
I shoved the tip of the knife in, and Terrance roared in agony. ”God! God! Stop!”
I twisted, ”I”ll stop when you stop lying to me.”
”I”ll tell the truth,” he screamed, “I swear!”
I pulled it out, the smell of blood sharp in my nostrils. It poured down his thighs.
”Oh God.” If I thought he was crying before, he was wailing now. “Please don”t kill me.”
“You hired guards, Terrance. You knew the consequences in our world. Did you think we wouldn’t come for you?”
”The Magnolia wouldn”t have cared. All they wanted was the girl.”
”I seriously doubt that. The Veritas would want both.”
”Saul said if we could get her in the Magnolia, we could keep the money.”
”And you believed him?” I leaned down to murmur in his ear, a cruel smile to my lips. “Guess who gave up your location, Terrance?” It was Maxon, but Terrance didn’t need to know that. Laughing, I slapped his ass with my gloved hand and he squealed out in pain, ”Tell me everything. And don”t even think about lying. I already know the truth, I just want to hear you confirm it.”
”Please don”t kill me.”
Growing impatient, Fallon grabbed Terrance’s nose and jerked it. There was a loud popping sound and another shriek from Terrance.
”It was my idea!” he cried. His eyes grew unfocused with pain. I could barely make out what he was saying. Why did weak men always blubber incoherently when they were in pain? ”I convinced him to help me steal the money. Told him that I would invest it, and we”d split it.”
”And Benson did it willingly?”
”He had to be…persuaded.”
“And how did an idiot like you manage to do that?”
“He has a kid. And a woman. He loved them.” Terrance’s words were in a rush. “He would’ve married them but he knew that if he did, they would only be in danger. So he sent them away…”
“And?” I gestured for him to spit out the rest.
“His kid got sick. Needed money for the hospital bills.”
“So you took advantage of poor, old Benson. Then what happened?”
”We siphoned it, slowly, and since Douglass was sick, neither he nor you noticed.”
”And you thought we wouldn”t.”
”I thought that those spoiled brats had enough with the sale of the house.”
”And the money Douglass paid you over the years wasn’t enough for you? You know he spilled blood and sweat to keep the Magnolia away from his daughters. And, all because of you,” my voice was low with simmering rage, “Summer is now under their thumb.”
”I swear. I thought she would sell the house and leave. Benson was supposed to convince her.”
“But he didn’t. In fact, he told her about the secret office where Douglass kept all his stuff about the Magnolia.”
“I…” He stuttered, “I didn’t know. I don’t know about that.”
The Magnolia must’ve found out about his secret family. Or gotten to him somehow.
”But he had regrets, didn”t he?” I said out loud.
”He wanted to come clean. But I couldn”t let that happen.”
”And so you killed him.”
”I wasn”t going down, just because he developed a conscious.”
“Flip him over,” I told Fallon, who adjusted the rope. Terrance gripped the sheets, but I grabbed his ankle and twisted.
Terrance screamed, letting go of the sheets. Fallon held him down while methodically tightening the rope, keeping him in place.
Leaning over, I covered Terrance’s mouth, muffling his screams. “You have a family.” I said, a shooting thrill inside me at what came next. I loved this part. “Children. And you threw their security away for this.”
”Please,” he was begging now, his eyes wide. He stopped struggling, his eyes pitifully sad. I released my hand over his mouth to let him speak. Though begging was annoying, it usually got their acquiesce quicker if they thought you would listen. “Please don”t kill me.”
”You don”t deserve to live.”
“But are you going to kill me?” He repeated, and a foul smell hit my nose; he”d pissed the bed.
”Although you don”t deserve to live, I”m not done with you.”
”A-anything.”
”You”re going to get Summer out of her contract. You will answer when I call.”
“God, no,” He was shaking his head, ”They”ll kill me. P—p—plea…”
”They allow her representation, you know that.” I paused, staring into his frightened eyes. “Are you telling me no?” There was a dark edge to my voice.
“Fi..fi…” His teeth clattered. He was clearly afraid. Well, one shouldn’t get into bed with the devil, because he will fuck you in the ass.
“I’ll d..d…do it.”
“If you run, I will find you, and let Fallon have you.”
He shook his head. “I under… I understand. Will you let me go now?”
“In a minute,” I said. “Way I see it, you fucked Summer and Callie,” I grabbed his dick and tugged, the knife still in my hand. His eyes grew as big as saucers. His fear fueled me. ”You don”t deserve to be able to fuck again.”
His screams must have been drowned out by the party because no one came to help him.