Black
With my bow tie long gone, the first three buttons of my white dress shirt unbuttoned, and exhaustion settling in my bones, I sat across the table from Bartholomew Sterling. His eyes were piercing me with hatred and I didn’t give one shit about it.
“You’ll never be mayor, Bart. Quill will not drop the charges, your son will be convicted, and you’ll never get your fucking hands on your son’s money, then your entire family will cease to be an issue for Quill or the Hart family.” I liked reminding him of all these things throughout the night. Each time, the anger ignited something and he fought the bindings.
“I’m called in when nothing else has worked. This time, however, I’m doing this because you fucked with my world.”
I was sure if he wasn’t gagged, he’d have a few choice words for me. But he’d said all I wanted to hear right now. He saw Henry, the homeless kid he had hired to pretend to be Dylan, tied beside him and spit right in his face, calling him worthless. Jaclyn made sure to separate them, and I didn’t think I’d have any use for the kid right now… But people like him needed a new direction, so I had Jaclyn keep an eye on him. When this was over, I’d deal with Henry.
“I kept warning you to accept the way things were, but you kept thinking you were unstoppable.” I punched the table, smiling when Bartholomew jumped. “I am the unstoppable force. I am the immovable object. You are just another person thinking they can alter how things are done here in Haven Hart. But you got cocky, Bart, and made too many mistakes and pissed off too many superpowers here. That’s why you’re here and why I’m the last person you’ll ever get to see.” I placed my 9mm on the table, followed by the silencer. Bartholomew eyed them nervously.
“You’ve told me all I needed to know, which wasn’t a lot.” I twisted the silencer onto the gun. “See, there was a time you could’ve made this right and lived. But now,” I aimed the gun at Bartholomew’s head, “that moment has passed.”
Bartholomew got out a screech before I gently squeezed the trigger and a perfectly placed shot went through his forehead. Blood and brain splattered against the kitchen counter of the vacant house I owned. Bartholomew’s head snapped back and then forward. Crimson flowed over the table, and I stood before it reached me.
“Clean that up,” I said to Leo, who got straight to work.
Bartholomew admitted to allowing his son to contact Dylan Almeida and asking him to take care of the Quill problem. Ronnie was having a hard time letting Quill go, but when threatened with having no money, the choice was easy.
Now it was time to pay Ronnie a visit. I was saving Dylan for last.
Ginger tracked down Ronnie and I changed from my tux into black pants and a black, long-sleeved shirt. Poe informed me that Bartholomew’s wife filed a missing person report, but that he’d handle it. I had to trust him. Christopher messaged me that Quill had been informed and was taking all this news well. Everything was falling into place. Sure, the Sterlings had gotten the jump on me, but that only happened once. They were in my game now, playing by my rules, and I won every time.
By the time Bartholomew’s body was moved and cleaned up, I got word they were approaching with Ronnie. Lee set up the TV with the video ready to go. So I made myself comfortable on the couch and enjoyed my coffee.
Ronnie struggled, of course, not enjoying being manhandled. He was a man who lived to be the alpha, but not this time.
“Welcome, Ronnie, you’re just in time for the show,” I said loudly to be heard over his cursing and shouts. “Take a seat.” Steve pushed him down on the chair while Leo and Jaclyn tied him to it… tightly.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing? I know you know who I am, so I guess you’re stupid because…” Nope. I wasn’t listening to this. With a simple wave of my hand, a gag was securely placed in his mouth. Of course, he tried to talk through it, so it was time to shut him up. I clicked play on the television. When Bartholomew appeared on the screen, Ronnie shut up immediately.
He watched his father and I watched him as I sipped my coffee. The entire confession, how he admitted he’d kill his own son for that money. Ronnie watched as his father admitted to handing it all over to Ronnie to deal with Quill and how he thought his son was a huge liability. I rolled my eyes when he cried, realizing he was no more than a cash cow for his father.
The video ended when I shot Bartholomew, killing him. And it was in that second, Ronnie realized his fate.
“You had a piece of shit father. You and probably sixty percent of the population. It’s the facts of life, Ronnie.” I pointed to the TV. Bartholomew’s face frozen and lifeless was on the screen. “He got off easy because he never laid a finger on Quill. You however did, repeatedly. So allow me to show you what it feels like to be on the other end of those fists of yours.”
I went at him for hours. By the time I was done, my knuckles ached. They were split open and bleeding. He still breathed, but barely.
“Finish him,” I said as I kicked the chair over.
Steve and Leo dragged him out and Jaclyn came over with a first aid kit.
“One more left,” she said as she cleaned me up.
“Best for last, I guess.”
She smiled softly. “You must really love him to see this through personally, sir.”
Love him? Did I? I knew I felt for Quill more than I did any other person alive… or dead.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to overstep,” she said as she wrapped my knuckles.
“Did we locate Dylan?” I opted to ignore her and stay in the headspace of the job.
“Not yet, sir. But Lee is going through Ronnie’s phone now. He was able to vocally manipulate his voice to sound like Ronnie. He’s giving Dylan this location as a safe house for where Quill is. Dylan won’t be able to resist.”
She was right, he couldn’t resist at all. With all but the bedroom light out, we heard Dylan arrive. Lee told Dylan I was off with a lead on where Ronnie’s men were hiding and that Quill was at the safe house fast asleep. Dylan couldn’t resist.
I rested on the bed, sitting up against the headboard, gun pointed at the door. Any second, the monster that chased Quill for years was about to come face to face with his fate. His end. Me.
“Oh Quillion!” Dylan’s voice echoed through the house. Taunting, vicious. Like Quill was a play thing. It made me sick and angry. “Did you miss me?”
Oh, I wasn’t going to miss.
When he opened the door, he was alone, the smile of thinking he had won vanished the second one of my bullets shattered his kneecap.
“Mother fucker!” Dylan shouted. He reached for his own gun, but I shot again, this time through his hand.
“I’ll take you a piece at a time if I have to.”
I rose from the bed and walked over. He sat in a pool of blood. Eyes that looked nothing like Quill’s stared murderously at me.
“Many people have given me that look, Dylan. But I never wanted to end anyone quite as much as I want to end you.”
I crouched down, then grabbed his gun and tossed it on the bed.
“You’re Black,” he said as he gasped for air. There was a lot of blood. No doubt, he was feeling it.
“I am. And you’re Dylan, his piece of shit brother.”
He screamed as I applied pressure to his wounded knee. “Did Ronnie tell you who I am? Did he tell you who Quill was to me?”
“Fuck, man, stop.” He tried to push away, but my grip was fierce.
“I run the most successful assassin organization in the world. Quill is the only person that matters to me. You’ve spent years making his life a living hell. So now, I’m going to take you there, in pieces.”
By the time I was done with Dylan, he was exactly how I’d promised. He felt every shot, every stab, and every slice. He didn’t go quietly, and he didn’t go peacefully. He knew why he got what he deserved. And his last words were to please just kill him. It was his dying wish and I happily granted it.
My entire body vibrated as the adrenaline left me. I needed to see Quill at the same time I was afraid to look him in his color-of-the-day eyes and tell him what I’d done.
I waited until the sun rose two days later to face him. As I drove to Christopher’s mansion, I hoped it wasn’t to say goodbye. I knew my life was blood and violence, but Quill made the loud chaos an easy hum. For the first time ever, I needed someone. I needed him.