“Put him on the boat. Get him to the warehouse at the docks. With the others.”
* * *
There were lights.
Adam awoke to glaring white strobes. At first, he wondered if he was dead. If that white light was the welcoming afterlife coming to claim him.
But the brightness faded away at the edges, becoming only a small hum around a dark silhouette until it vanished entirely to show he was not alone.
It was Yani who snapped the light away, leaving Adam to take in his surroundings.
He was seated in a wooden chair with his arms tied at his front, the dead center showpiece in a large, decrepit warehouse. Made only of rusty brown tin, the ceiling was at least five stories high, with broken machinery and scrap metals littered around the edges.
Looking between his feet Adam saw the discoloration of bleach against dark concrete. His heart sank but he smiled. This was Blake’s killing floor, and he was on the slaughtering line.
“Good, you’re still alive. For now,” Blake said.
Looking to his right, Adam found Dan, Carlos, and Paul standing at attention. From their stance it appeared their wrists were bound behind them. They were flanked by several high-level associates who no doubt would pull triggers first, ask questions later, if any of them so much as moved.
At least they were still alive.
“Alright, who’s going to speak first and give me a name,” Blake said, searching for a volunteer. Adam felt himself dozing again before he was slapped three times. He opened his eyes to see Blake scowling at him with a hand still on his blood-crusted cheek.
“There’s only four of us!” Dan said. “We fucking swear!”
“We’ve told you one hundred times. Only four,” Paul said.
Everything hurt. His face felt so heavy, so hard to lift enough to lock eyes with his friends. Through blurred blinks, he swore they looked terrified. The most terrified he’d ever seen them. But it wasn’t for themselves, it was fear for him.
They’d had a great run. Thinking of it made Adam smile. They did some big things. Crazy things. All of it exhilarating and absolutely worth it. Adam had always said they’d go out big or they’d die trying.
Blake lifted his hand, but Carlos cried out. “Please. There is only us.”
Blake’s eyes shone with amusement as he fought to stifle a laugh.
“I admire the loyalty in your crew.” Blake leaned down to face Adam. “That makes it the most fun to break.”
With a nod, Dorian signaled Yani to strike Adam this time. He did so, with such force that it sent Adam flying backward, the chair tipping over and discarding him onto the concrete as more blood spewed from his mouth.
“Whatever you’re going to do, just do it,” Adam said. “Stop dicking around, for fuck’s sake.” Adam writhed along the floor, the blood from his mouth dripping to his chin.
Blake looked down his nose triumphantly. “You are still cocky as ever.”
Why shouldn’t he be? It was clear enough by now that he was done. He wouldn’t be leaving this warehouse alive.
“Like I said,” Blake kicked Adam in the rib again. “I admire the loyalty in your crew, though I find fear a much more powerful motivator.”
Yani lifted Adam from the floor and placed him back in the chair.
“Let me show you,” Blake whispered, his voice hypnotic.
Blake had always had a sick and twisted game to play. He didn’t delight in simple deaths, no, only in killing the soul before he discarded the body. To Dorian, there was no greater victory than forcing families apart, to make his approval, and his loyalty, the only thing that mattered.
“How far does that loyalty go? Do you trust him with your life?” Blake said, heading over to a wooden folding table to stroke a .357 magnum revolver. He took the gun and faced Dan, Paul, and Carlos. “I’m going to give Adam here the chance to save you all.”
Twisting the barrel of the gun to load the bullets, Blake let out an evil laugh. “Because trust me, he’ll choose not to.” T.B., Yani, and Antonio, spread out at various corners of the room, laughed, too.
“This gun contains three bullets,” Blake said to Adam. “One for each of your friends.” He mimed a gun with his pointer finger and popped it at Paul, then Dan, then Carlos. “Kill them, and you get to live.”
