Chapter Twenty-Seven
Jackson
“It’s okay,” she whispers, daring to display sympathy when I don’t deserve any. Not for what I’ve done to her.
“No,” I say, knowing this whole thing pisses me off and fucking leaves my head spinning.
I need to get a handle on my emotions and on Sam. The goddamn snitch. My mouth goes dry. Gateley would never allow me to hurt his girl, but that doesn't mean I can't confront her.
My fists hit the bed in a series of calculated misdirections. Still, my frustration level continues to rise, and I've got to do something about it. I place a finger against Madelyn’s lips to stop her from saying anything else. “Forget what Sam told you. For your own good.”
Who knows if she will listen. Better yet, I know she won’t. Still, I’ve got to get out of this room before I spill everything. So, I take off toward the neighboring room, slamming the door behind me.
A new guy in a suit greets me, a hovering presence by the door. "Sir, you cannot go in."
My hands immediately want to go for his throat. “Move. I need to talk to Gateley.”
His hand reaches for my shoulder; however, I get ahold of his fist. Grabbing his collar, I use my weight to slam him against the wall. “If you don't get out of my way, I'll break your neck right here.” My voice turns cold.
“Go ahead,” he replies. “If I let you through, I'm as good as dead anyway.” His eyes flicker back and forth as he braces for death.
“Okay, then,” I say. My hands travel to his neck. With one move, his neck twists with a crack. His body drops to the floor just as the door opens. Gateley pops his head out, eyes going from me to the guard at my feet.
I use that moment to catch my breath. All things considered, killing him should have had some positive effect, but I'm not satisfied at all.
“You’re a pain in the ass,” Gateley says with a slight smirk. “Do you know how hard it is to find good help?” He steps into the hallway, still naked and covered in blood. He places his hands on his hips. I divert my eyes to stay north. Dealing with his cock on his computer was bad enough.
“Did you kill her?” His hands motion toward my own bloody chest.
“What?”
“Tell me now if so. Or did you kill another one of my staff?”
I pull my mouth tight. “I did neither.”
Gateley's hand goes toward the doorknob. “Well then”, he replies, eyebrows raised. “You've got me intrigued.”
“It's Sam I want to discuss something with.”
“She's occupied at the moment.”
I walk toward him, not taking no for an answer. This whole interaction requires a delicate balance of power, but I am unwilling to go back into the room as is. “She was occupied with your dick and all those corpses, but now you are in front of me.”
Gateley narrows his eyes, taking in my statement before a sound I have only heard once before fills the air. He laughs and tsks a finger at me. “You kinky bastard. I knew you would watch.”
I smile at the exchange; secretly relieved things are turning toward my advantage. “And you are a greedy bastard for not allowing me in on the kills.”
He shrugs and opens the door. “Date night. Same as you, it would appear?”
I walk through the threshold. “There is no date night because we are not a couple,” I say. Being a couple means we can be happy together. That I can somehow be happy.
Gateley glances again at the body of his hired help before taking him by the ankles and pulling him through the door.
The smell of rust and sex invades my senses, as do all the mangled bodies.
Bits of tissue, blood, and guts leave spray trails on the walls while the bodies litter the floor.
Sam is on her hands and knees, knife in hand, digging into the open mid-section of a woman.
She, too, is wearing the same thing as Gateley, which is nothing.
“I see,” Gateley responds, shutting the door behind him. “You are going to great lengths for this girl just to kill her.” He pulls out his phone and dials. “The Jackson I know wouldn't even bother with such an arrangement as ransom.”
The phone rings, and a mumbled voice answers. “Get the men down here for loading and clean-up,” he orders before ending the call.
A cooler sits within arm’s reach of Sam, which is the same type the worker was carrying earlier. My heart rate increases, and the whole point of why I came in becomes blurry. “Organ donation?”
Gateley glides over, kisses Sam on the forehead and watches as Sam pulls out this girl’s liver. “Something like that.” He looks my way. “You disapprove?”
I shrug. This isn’t too far from what we were doing before. At least they do not completely waste the bodies they kill. “Good way to make people still useful,” I answer. “But shouldn’t you have doctors overseeing this type of thing?”
“We do.” Gateley reassures me. Trust me.”
“It’s like an extra reward,” Sam interrupts. She places the liver in a sealed bag before dropping it into the cooler. “Date night is just exhilarating.”
“I can imagine. Murder, mayhem, and money. What more could a girl ask for?”
Sam smiles. “Sex.”
“You already got that.”
She looks to Gateley, who smiles and says, “He watched.”
Her eyebrows rise as she stands up. “I would have thought you would have been busy fucking Madelyn.” For the first time, she notices my chest. Her face falls. “Did you kill her?”
I move in closer to her. “Negative, but I fucked her,” my voice goes deep. “In the swing. On the bed. While she was on all fours and on top of my cock. But that wasn't the most interesting part of my night.”
She goes to the next corpse and sits down.
“I'll save us all some time,” Sam responds while making an incision between the breasts of a young woman.
The knife slices the skin effortlessly; the effect is almost mesmerizing.
“Look, the girl was begging to know something about you, and I used that to get her in the swing. Made my job a lot easier.”
“Is that all?” I say through clenched teeth.
Sam pauses to study my face. “You can be mad all you want, but the girl deserves to know why you are the way you are. Perhaps she can make her peace before death.”
I laugh then. Not out of amusement, but out of frustration. “Did these people get your entire life story before you murdered them?” I wave my arm around the room.
Gateley steps in between us. “Careful now.”
“These people.” She points her knife at my chest. “Aren't in love with me.”
“She's not in love with me.” I snatch the knife out of her hand while my breathing becomes a bit uneven. “The only thing Madelyn is doing, or feels, is for saving her own ass.”
Sam crosses her arms. “I don't think so.”
I glance at Gateley, who shrugs in agreement. “You should consider your own feelings,” he says.
A knock sounds at the door. Gateley goes to the door, and five of his men greet him. He motions toward the sealed coolers. “Take those to the doctors. Once that's done, report back.”
The henchmen scurry away like rats to pick up Gateley’s special products. He turns his attention back to me. “This girl is different. She's even made you feel something I thought you were incapable of.”
My fingers grip the knife. “If you say love...”
He waves me away. “Guilt, Jackson. You feel guilty for having to make that kill. I can see it all over your face. Ask yourself why.”
This arrogant motherfucker...
“People like me don't fall in love.” People who kill… that only focus on revenge don’t deserve it.
“I did.” Gateley smiles toward Sam. She returns the favor with red in her cheeks.
I shake my head and throw down the knife. It lands on a nearby corpse; the blade poking into the person’s stomach. “Monsters don't get happy endings.” I always imagined that I would have to go into hiding alone or die trying.
Sam pats my shoulder with a glance of sympathy. “Monsters make their own happy endings. Do they not?”
I think about my brother and the probability of making it out alive after I confront him. I'm fully prepared to do whatever it takes to end him, even if that means I go out with him. “There’s very little chance I can have a future with Madelyn, even if I didn't kill her.” I murmur.
“You’re being a cop-out,” Sam replies.
Heat rushes to my face as I force myself to breathe calmly. She has gone too far.
Gateley must sense my ever-waning patience. He turns towards Sam. “Leave us. We will catch up after I finish everything here.”
She shrugs, “Alright, love.” Taking one last glance around the room, she smiles. “We are going to make a killing. Excuse my pun.” She giggles, the sound hurting my ears, before shutting the door behind her.
I turn toward the glass mirror that allowed me to watch all the action earlier. “I know what you are going to fucking say, and I don't want to hear it.”
Gateley's reflection appears as he walks toward the knife that’s implanted in the corpse. “I have no intention of talking about the girl.” He pulls out the blade and moves toward me.
Years ago, if Gateley came toward me with a knife, a small part of my mind would buckle up for violence.
Between us, Gateley and I have probably killed at least three-hundred people, and there's always a chance the boundaries of our relationship could change.
However, he knows deep down there's no one he can trust and rely on more than me.
Not even his girl. And I feel the same way about him.
“What is it then?” I let him come closer until he hands me the knife.
“You should stay in here for a while. Maybe let out your frustration?” He taps on the glass. “Or are you worried Madelyn is going to find out just how dark you can be?”
It would probably be better if she stays scared of me. I can use fear to follow through with what needs to be done. I grip the knife handle. “Your right. Let me have an hour before your men resume their work.”
Gateley’s lips curl into a smile. “Done.”