Zayne
IF I HADN’T CAUGHTsight of the bastard in the back seat of the car when I raced out of Incognito, I would’ve assumed the attack was meant for Ashrika. Did he think I wouldn’t see him? When I gave chase, I hadn’t thought of my actions, just that I wanted to nail the asshole. Not for sending armed men into my club to take me out. I didn’t care if they did. But his hit put Ashrika in harm’s way, and she was my Achilles heel, whether he knew it or not. Only, he’d gotten away.
The second the engine died, I was out of the car and heading up the stairs not caring that one side of my body stung like a bitch. I crept through the building knowing someone was going to die today and it sure as fuck wasn’t going to be me. If there was one place I’d find him, it would be here. After all, this was where it all began and where it would end.
It was fucking amazing how life spun its mighty web on unsuspecting prey. I’d waited years for this, knowing he’d come for me. What I hadn't expected was for him to show his face, to be so brazen and to challenge me. He had just upped the stakes of the game. A true narcissistic fucker, but he had ultimately played into my hands without realizing it. I was two steps ahead of him. Always.
My side twinged and I glanced down, ignoring the burn, nothing was going to stop me from killing the motherfucker. Tonight!
The sound of the key card sliding into the door resounded around the silent hallway. I inched the door open and peeked around it. All clear. I slipped inside, closed the door, and with quiet steps crept further into the room. I dragged a chair to the middle, sat, and did what I always did well. Waited.
I didn’t have to wait long. The familiar sound of the key card clicked the door open. I glanced at my watch. I’d sat there for eleven excruciating minutes. My breathing intensified as pain clawed through my side. But it was agony that I would gladly tolerate. It was worth every wince. Drawing in two deep breaths, I leaned back in the chair, gripping the barrel of my gun hard as I listened to the door open on a squeak and close with a bang.
He didn’t notice me. Then again, he was as cocky as he was stupid. He’d always been that way, thinking nobody or no one could get to him. He believed his face was too innocent. He wouldn’t harm a fly, that’s what people said, according to him. Sadly, I had probably assumed the same thing, never once believing he’d be the man. The fucker I was there to end. Had he not had shit for brains, he would’ve known something was wrong the minute he entered.
He’d been considered my shadow, yet always trying to outdo me. He failed. Couldn’t keep up. Still, I’d shown him, taught him how to be evasive and wary. He’d gotten the evasive tactic right. I mean he’d blindsided me for years. As for the wary, not so much. He’d become too brash for his own good. Ultimately it would be his downfall.
He moved further into the room. My fingers twitched to end him right then and there. He wouldn’t see the bullet coming. A quick end. Only, I needed answers.
“Would you look at what the cat dragged in?” I scoffed from my position in the middle of the room. I didn’t lurk in the shadows. I was a man you saw coming from a mile away and knew your time was up.
Easton Daniels, once a friend, now a foe. His smile was all the confirmation I needed he’d expected to find me there. That’s what swimming in your own shit would do to you. You knew sooner or later, someone would flush you down the toilet. He was a gem when he’d started. I figured with time, the diamond had lost its sparkle. Now he was just looking for the next jeweler, to give him another polish. Well, fuck that. A forty caliber was all he needed. Straight through his brow, I wouldn’t miss.
He slipped his hands into his pants pockets and leaned back against a wall. At least his dress sense was up to standard. I’d taught him that too. His pristine baby blue shirt was tucked into fitted navy slacks like he was ready to meet his maker.
“Took you long enough.” He shrugged. “Seven odd years to be precise.” His grin triumphant.
“Would you like a medal of honor to go with that headstone?” my voice was deathly calm. Something he didn’t know how to read.
“Judging by that,” he pointed to the growing red patch on my white shirt. “You’ll be needing the headstone long before I do.”
“You and I both know they spent a lot of money teaching me how not to die after they were done training me how to kill twisted fuckers like you.”
He snorted a laugh. “That’s swell, coming from you. I must say, you did a fine job hiding her from me.”
What the fuck? I nearly dropped my gun with that reveal.So, he was after her.I gripped the barrel tight. How the fuck had I not seen that? What was his connection to her? Keeping my expression blank, I cut to the chase. “Why Ashrika?”
“You mean Davina?” He blinked. “Ah, yes, the memory loss, I forget. Didn’t see that coming.”
Davina?What the actual fuck? I was growing impatient for answers. I drew in air through my nostrils, letting it calm me. “Why?”
He lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “She was a means to an end. A very lucrative means that would set me up for life. No more shit.”
I saw nothing but fury as I braced myself, allowing my breaths to even out. It would be easy to end his life right now. A bullet to the head. Done. The end. No. That would be too fast. He deserved the opposite of that. He deserved a slow death—a slow mutilating death. He fucking touched her. Hurt her. He’d almost killed her the first time. Took away her memory. He was going to kill her again. I wanted to take my time. Kill him slowly, the way he’d tortured her. I calmed my temper.
