Chapter 24
Moment of truth.
What choice do I have?
Absolutely fucking none, because it’s back to the wall time. Fight and kill and debase myself or let Parker hurt Empire, which isn’t something I’m willing to entertain. So no, the call did not go the way I wanted it to go, but it went the way I knew it would. There are only black and white options when dealing with Stanic. I’m well aware of his movements and his proclivities, even if Parker deludes himself into thinking another way.
He’s been involved with the mafia longer than I have, but he has nothing left to lose, whereas I have everything. He’s in it for what he can get and what he will gain.
There are no excuses on my end.
No choices.
It won’t be so bad, I think, reaching toward the desk, to hang myself at the noose instead of her. It’s nothing I haven’t handled before, and I’ll be able to make it out again. I have to make it out.
For her.
It’s all for her, to make amends for what she lost at my hands. There’s no one else out there who will protect her. Not the way I will.
“Careful.” Parker pulls a gun out from the holster at the small of his back and reaches down to grab Empire in the same smooth movement. He hoists her to her feet, her features twisted with her yelp of pain, and sets her in front of him as a human shield.
I halt all movements, my fingers splayed to show him they’re empty.
“Will someone tell me what’s happening?” Empire whispers.
“Looks like Prince Charming here thinks he’s going to play the hero for you. I have news for him.” Parker angles the gun toward Empire, who sucks in a terrified breath. “There’s no way he’s getting out of this, and if he’s not careful, you won’t either.” He clicks off the safety in the next heartbeat.
“Marcus.”
There is only my name on her lips, and the air thickens in the room.
“Parker, calm down.”
I slide my fingers along the edge of the desk.
“What are you doing, Marcus?”
“What is it you think I’m doing?” I ask instead. “Since you’re the one in control, Heath. Tell me.”
“I think you’re trying to outmaneuver me, but you have nowhere to run,” Parker answers. “Desperation isn’t a good look, especially when you know I’ll put a bullet between her eyes.”
Empire yelps.
What I wouldn’t give to see her smile again, something broad and real and without the usual restraint of her grief. It’s been such a long time since her lips lifted in the gesture without any kind of caveat. Her smiles have always been the light I’ve looked forward to, the bright spots of my bleak existence.
Parker is right about one thing: no matter how far I’ve tried to distance myself from the family; they come for us all in the end. Once you’re in, you’re in forever, and probably beyond death.
Empire is going to smile again if it’s the last thing I accomplish.
We just have to make it out of this first.
“Be careful and really think about your next move,” Parker continues. “The Family won’t be happy if you shoot me. You’ll get yourself into deeper trouble than you’re already in. Besides, we go back too far for you to kill me.”
“Oh, I know. Which is why this is an easy choice,” I tell him. Movements slow and restrained, I pull my own gun out from my desk and point it at Parker. A second is all I get, no room for hesitation.
His eyes widen, and I pull the trigger without hesitation, landing a shot directly through his chest.
The silencer hides all noise except for his clutch and exhalation. I follow the first shot with a second between his eyes, but his fingers have already slackened, and his gun drops to the floor. The thud is followed by a second soft impact as Parker collapses to his knees. His body folds until he’s in the fetal position on his side, the life draining from his eyes.
I feel nothing.
It’s like riding a bike.
No one tells you how easy it is to take a life, how there will be nothing but numbness for the longest time, and even then, the mental repercussions may not show themselves for the longest time.
Parker had to go.
His death is only a tightening of the chain around my ankle, the one I’ve ignored for long enough. The one I willingly slipped back on.
Except Empire is there, staring at me like I’m a stranger, shaking, crying. Her face is white, and two twin spots of bright color dot her cheeks along with the blood spatter from the hit.
I tear my attention away from her long enough to catch the twin looks of surprise on the faces of the two men Parker brought inside with him. They quickly mask any emotions and resume their look of detached apathy. Well, one of them.
The guy who’d brought Empire into the room holds his hands up in front of him. “Whoa, there!”
The classic please-don’t-shoot-me-next fear ripples off him. I practically taste it on my tongue. Slowly, I set my gun back down, ignoring the thin trails of smoke from the nozzle.
Whoever the men were, Parker must have hired them without inquiring too deeply about their prior experience. Or perhaps Stanic assigned the underlings to Parker, and they’ve seen no action since then. The one on the left got himself back together quicker than his cohort, as one on the right has turned a distinctive shade of fish gill green, staring down at Parker’s rapidly cooling corpse. Not professionals by any stretch of the imagination, no matter how much they bench press or how willing they were to play with the big boys.
The one who’d spoken looks back over at me and swallows hard.
Empire sobs, the sound low and heartbroken, as she slowly sinks down into the chair in front of the desk. Her father’s office, I think distantly. “Marcus?” She starts to shake, and her fingers grasp the arms so tightly, her knuckles go white.
I push aside all regret, all shame at the ruinous part I’ve played in her life, not only recently, but back, back, back when her mother first gave me a chance to manage her rapidly growing career. They took a chance on me, and look at what I’ve done to repay them.
More death, and this time, it’s splattered all over their daughter.
I’ll make my apologies to her later, when we’re alone. Right now, I push every bit of sentiment and emotion down to a small part of my head and refuse to examine them, refuse to show any kind of weakness in front of the men.
There are steps to take before we have our moment, Empire and I, and right now, those steps must be executed flawlessly and without hesitation.
To these men, I cannot show weakness.
I set my lips in a scowl before I face them. “In case you were wondering,” I start, speaking for their benefit and not for Empire’s just yet, “I just made a deal with Stanic Maxim. Does the name ring a bell to either one of you?”
One of them nods, but the other is blank faced. I turn to fully face the first one.
“I’m now handling the arm of his operation in Hollywood, with Stanic’s full approval.” I gesture down to the body. “Parker was no longer of any use to him and thus had to be disposed of. Clean up the mess and get that out of my sight. We’ll reconvene later.”
Show no weakness. My word is law. It’s the first order of events in any takeover.
The balance of power shifts right into my lap without anything else said, and the two men move in tandem to grab Parker. I’ll have to tug on a few more strings from the past, make sure the cleanup goes the way I need it to go. Riding a goddamn bike indeed.
The old contacts will be good, and I much prefer to use people I’ve already established a relationship with, no matter how dusty.
It’s too easy to fall back into the movement and the mindset until I head around the desk to gather Empire against my chest.
She stays still and stiff, shivering as though I’ve just brought her in from the cold and she’s spent too many hours outside without a coat. She won’t touch me, won’t move outside of breathing, and all my mental resolve falters.
I shove down the disappointment.
“Are you all right?” I ask her, even though I already know the answer.
“No.” Her voice is small, a barely there sound.
“Make sure you leave nothing behind. I’ll be back to inspect the job as soon as possible. And don’t even think of running to Stanic to double check me, because if I find out about it, you’re out.” It’s my last order to the men before I scoop Empire up and get her out of the office.
There’s more blood on her than I thought, dripping down the side of her face, her chest, into her lap. I know the look of shock when I see it. Right now, beyond my deal with the devil, I need to focus on getting Empire back to herself and making sure she’ll be able to keep her fucking mouth shut.
“Everything is going to be all right.” I didn’t realize I’d said it out loud until she starts to shiver, as though my words have given her the okay to start to break down. “I promise you. I’m not going to let anything hurt you.”
“Is that why you killed him?”
“Yes.” I’m not going to lie to her. Not anymore. Not when she’s so small and delicate and I’m the reason she’s an orphan.
Parker is dead, and it’s a lie to say I’m upset. There will be a mess to handle in terms of his active projects. Stanic agreed to let me take the helm of his operation, knowing full well what kind of asset I am, especially if I rejoined his operation willingly. A better asset than Parker, and I’d been banking on the scales shifting in my favor.
The reality of the situation hits me hard, and I stop at the foot of the stairs, my breath catching in my chest. Empire still hasn’t shifted a muscle, laying limp in my embrace.
Get your shit together, Ortega.
I got out once, I remind myself. I’ll be able to do it again, and this time, there is far more at stake than my own miserable life.
“I will tell you everything,” I say out loud once I get myself under control and start walking again. “But you’re going to have to promise me something.”
Empire remains silent.
I take it as my cue to continue. “You have to promise me you’ll never tell anyone what happened here today. As much as you’re going to hate me for it, it’s you and me, and if you tell anyone the truth, it will only reflect poorly on you.” I feel like a bigger piece of shit with every word. “Do you understand me?”
I bite down on my tongue waiting for her to answer. And when none comes, I squeeze her a little tighter. Prepared to be the bad guy yet again until she squeaks out a single word.
“Yes.”
Yes. That’s all I need to hear.
Yes, she’ll keep this secret. Yes, she’ll never get anyone else involved with our lives. And perhaps, down the road, yes—she might even understand why I did what I did.