Enforcer

by Black, Selena

  The other man that escorted them upstairs was told to stay outside the room and it was him that closed the door once everyone was inside. All eyes went to the person sitting down, but he said nothing at first. He eventually got to his feet, came around the desk and perched himself on the edge of it.

  “Well, well, well,” Eddie started. “Isn’t this quite a picture to see?”

  His gaze slowly went around the assembled gathering, but Matt was the only one to meet it.

  “So, what have you got to say for yourself?” Eddie asked.

  “Let the two women go,” Matt replied. “This is between me and you. It has nothing to do with them.”

  “I’ll be the judge of that,” Eddie went on and got to his feet.

  He walked closer and Matt knew the punch was coming before it was thrown. There was no way to avoid it and all he could do was tighten his stomach muscles. It was no defense against a solid blow that doubled him over and he let out a retching grunt. He sucked in air as he tried to deal with the agony, but remained bent over to avoid being struck in the guts again. It didn’t stop the assault. His hair was grabbed to make him look up and the second punch connected with his jaw to knock him to the floor.

  “One thing,” Eddie bawled in a loud voice as he leaned down. “I asked you to do one simple fucking thing.”

  Matt wouldn’t have described what he’d been asked to do as simple, but he wasn’t about to argue the point with the man standing over him. He could taste blood in his mouth again and knew the punch to the face reopened his split lip. The best idea was to remain quiet and not antagonize his ex-boss, so that’s what he did although he suspected the growing anger aimed at him wasn’t going to subside anytime soon. He’d been around enough when he originally worked for the organization to recognize the warning signs and a glance showed the veins on Eddie’s neck already standing out. The sound of his voice also grew louder as he went on.

  “The Matt Harris of before would have walked out the door of this office and made sure the job got done. What the hell happened to you?”

  Matt knew an answer was expected now and tried to gather himself. The agony of the violence inflicted on him made it difficult to catch his breath, but he managed to get the words out.

  “Four years in prison,” he replied. “That’s what happened and I’ve no intention of returning to the penitentiary.”

  The barking laugh Eddie let out was devoid of any humor and his fist clenched and unclenched as the burst of adrenaline affected him.

  “I think prison is the least of your worries at this moment in time, don’t you?” he sneered in a callous voice.

  It was an ominous indication for Matt and he didn’t like the sound of the implied threat, but he was more concerned about Brigitte and Delores.

  “You can do what you want to me but let the girls go,” he said.

  “No,” Brigitte cried out then slapped a hand over her mouth.

  She’d blurted out the word instinctively, but immediately saw it made her the center of attention.

  “Come on,” Matt said to bring Eddie’s concentration onto him. “They don’t deserve this.”

  “Shut up,” the gang boss barked and lashed out with a kick.

  It connected with Matt’s thigh and he grimaced at another burst of pain. He suspected more might be on its way and tried to prepare himself, but it didn’t come. A glance up showed Eddie looming over him menacingly, but the gang boss simply stared.

  “You should have done what I asked,” Eddie said through clenched teeth.

  “Things didn’t work out,” Matt replied. “But you’ve got what you want now. At least, I think you have.”

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  “When I went to Collins’ apartment, he was adamant he wouldn’t give you his contacts,” Matt went on. “That’s half the reason things fell apart.”

  “Well, I’ve got them now,” Eddie replied.

  “Hold on,” Brett cut in to the conversation. “That wasn’t the deal I agreed to. I said I’d deliver Harris to you for a piece of the drug business in town. I didn’t say anything about giving up details of suppliers or associates.”

  It was what Matt hoped to hear. When he asked Lincoln in the car if Eddie would get everything he wanted from the deal now arranged, he didn’t get an answer. From what he just heard, it seemed that Brett still wasn’t up for revealing any contacts. His comment got him what he wanted, the attention turning away from him to focus elsewhere. It wasn’t much, but it was something and gave him a chance to keep working on the rope around his wrists.

  “What the hell makes you think you’re going to make the terms of this deal,” Eddie said when he looked to Brett. “Giving us Harris has nothing to do with that.”

  “You do what we say if you want a piece of the action,” Lincoln added.

  “I’m not giving up my contacts,” Brett blurted out. “I never fucking agreed to that.”

  Matt wanted to say told you so to him, but kept his mouth firmly shut. Brett seemed to think he still had some leverage in the situation and it was a bad mistake on his part.

  “Do you want this fucking deal?” Eddie said as he moved across the room and the simmering anger returned to his voice.

  Matt suspected things were about to get completely out of hand as he watched the scene unfold.

  “I agreed with Lincoln that…”

  “Did you agree anything with me?” Eddie interrupted harshly.

  “Well, no,” Brett said. “But…”

  “But nothing,” Eddie cut in aggressively to talk over the other man. “Do you think you’re in a position to bargain with me?” He nodded his head towards Matt. “The deal is what we sent that piece of shit to offer you.”

  “Then I’m not interested.”

  Matt could barely believe what he was hearing. Brett really didn’t understand who he was dealing with and it was going to get him killed. He needed to agree to what was being asked of him to get out of the office in one piece, but showed no inclination to do it.

  “Is that right?” Eddie shouted in a louder voice and his fist clenched as he neared Brett. “And what do you think will happen now? We’ll open the door for you to walk away.”

  Brett really was completely out of his depth and it was showing. He obviously thought he could get what he wanted on his terms, but he’d let himself be disarmed on a competitor’s home ground and set himself up as the lamb to the slaughter. All he could do now was give Eddie what he wanted or suffer the consequences of refusing. He turned to see Lincoln’s gun pointed at his head.

  “You piece of crap,” he spat out. “We made a deal last night.”

  Lincoln shrugged his shoulders.

  “It appears my boss doesn’t like it, so I’d suggest you renegotiate.”

  “I’m not…,”

  Brett saw the punch coming at the last second and tried to turn away. He moved enough to make it glance across his jaw rather than hitting full on. The power in it still sent him reeling and he barely managed to retain his balance. It put him at a disadvantage and Eddie was quick to follow up. The sweeping ankle kick knocked his opponent to the floor.

  “Give me the gun,” Eddie barked.

  Lincoln wasn’t about to argue and moved forward to hand the weapon over to his boss. Eddie loomed over the man lying on the ground and took aim as he went on.

  “You walk into my office and try to tell me how a deal will play out,” he yelled. “Do you know who I am?”

  Flecks of spittle flew from his lips as he shouted the words and his anger began to spiral out of control towards fury.

  “But…,” Brett tried to say, but didn’t get the chance to finish his comment.

  “I fucking own the drugs trade in this town,” Eddie screamed and started waving the gun around. “Do you think I’m going to let some cocksucker like you walk in and take a cut of my business on his own terms?”

  Brett was now the center of attention in a way he didn’t want and kne
w he’d miscalculated his capabilities. He held up his hands in a submissive gesture, but it was too little, too late. Eddie’s words were streaming into a fast blur of sound as he screamed obscenities and it was only a matter of time before his rising temper snapped to violence. Matt suspected that would be gunfire and shuffled towards the side of the room. Lincoln could see the writing on the wall too and was also moving away from his boss.

  “Maybe we can…,” Brett tried to interrupt.

  “Maybe you can fuck off back to where you came from,” Eddie screeched in a high-pitched voice and aimed the gun.

  “Wait…,” Brett protested.

  The earsplitting explosion of gunfire erupted to echo around the walls of the small space and died away to an eerie second of silence, before the sound of Delores and Brigitte’s terrified screaming filled the room. The bullet struck Brett in the chest and the death rattle of his last breaths went unheard amid the panicked shrieks of the two women. The door burst open as the man guarding the room came rushing through it, but Lincoln put up a hand to show that there was no danger. He grimaced at the sound of the screaming and moved to bring it to an end.

  “Shut up,” he shouted, and then repeated the order in a louder voice.

  The sound of Brigitte and Delores died down to frightened whimpers and Lincoln’s shout seemed to bring Eddie out of his furious trance.

  “Fuck,” the gang boss cursed and shook his head as he stared at the dead man at his feet.

  Lincoln waited a few seconds before speaking.

  “We need to clean this up, boss.”

  Matt knew the words signaled that he, Delores and Brigitte were in mortal danger. Lincoln wasn’t just talking about cleaning up a dead body to remove it from the room. He also meant getting rid of witnesses to end any chance of them testifying about a murder.

  “Not here,” Eddie said in a calmer voice and threw the gun to his right-hand man. “We’ll finish it at the quarry. It’s easier to get things done there.”

  The sound of footsteps coming along the corridor ended with more men running in to the sight of their boss’s latest victim. Lincoln took charge to arrange what would be done. Matt was dragged to his feet by a couple of men and taken from the office, with Delores and Brigitte brought out behind him. The three of them were marched along the corridor and down the stairs to the property entrance. Once outside, they were taken to the cars.

  Matt hoped they would all be put in the same one, but they were spilt up as before. He was dumped in the rear seat of the same sedan he arrived in, while the two women were taken to the other vehicle. The driver got out to speak with someone and it gave Matt a chance.

  He put all his effort into loosening his wrists and knew it was the end for him and the others if he couldn’t free himself.

  Chapter 22

  “I’m so sorry,” Delores said.

  Brigitte caught the note of fear in the words and it infected her. The shaking she couldn’t stop grew even worse and she turned to see the terrified expression on the face of the woman sitting next to her. She knew it matched her own.

  “It’s not your fault,” she let out.

  “I know, I know, but…,” Delores started then hesitated for a few seconds before going on. “It was my suggestion to give you a ride out of the city. If we’d gone our separate ways, it would have kept Matt and Brett apart and this would never have happened.”

  “Maybe,” Brigitte agreed and sighed. “But you didn’t know your boyfriend would betray us in the way he did. You couldn’t have predicted that.”

  Delores said nothing more and looked out the window towards the men standing nearby. They were talking animatedly, but she couldn’t hear their words.

  “Do you know where they’re taking us?” Brigitte asked.

  “No,” Delores answered and brought her gaze inside the vehicle. “Something was said about a quarry, but that means nothing to me.”

  “It’s not a good sign though, is it?” Brigitte said and the fear in her voice now filled the car.

  Delores tightened her lips together and lifted a hand to rub her forehead.

  “We’re witnesses to a murder,” she said quietly.

  Brigitte wrung her hands together and knew what the other woman was implying. She was aware of a tear rolling silently down her cheek and wiped it away. Her mind went to Matt and she glanced towards the vehicle parked nearby. The blacked-out windows prevented her from seeing inside.

  “Will Matt will be able to do anything?” she asked hopefully, but knew it was a foolish question and the answer confirmed it.

  “He’s tied up,” Delores pointed out. “And he’s been brutally assaulted twice in the last few hours. I’m not sure he’s in any shape to fight back.”

  Brigitte closed her eyes as she spoke.

  “He said he wouldn’t let anything happen to me,” she said quietly and looked to the other vehicle when she opened her eyes. “Do you think he’s hurt bad?”

  “He was still able to walk,” Delores replied. “But he was getting help from a couple of men.”

  “Maybe he will be able to do something then,” Brigitte said.

  “I wouldn’t get your hopes up too high,” Delores cautioned. “Matt is good, but he’s not a miracle worker. If we get the chance to run, we need to go as fast as we can.”

  Matt bit his lip to hold in the groan and put every ounce of effort into straining against the rope binding his wrists together. He was close to what he wanted, but not quite there when the door of the vehicle opened and he needed to stop. The driver got in and looked over his shoulders.

  “So much for the great Matt Harris,” he mocked. “You’re trussed up like a turkey and about to be plucked.”

  “Yeah, laugh it up,” Matt replied.

  He carried on working his forearms against each other when the driver faced the front and he finally got what he wanted. The slackening of the rope gave him just enough of a gap that he knew he could get one of his hands free. The elation washed over him, but he didn’t let it show and left both wrists bound. He thought it was unlikely, but there was always the chance the rope might be checked before they got underway and he wanted his captors to think he was still securely bound.

  He looked out of the car window to the sight of Eddie and Lincoln talking to a third man. The trunk of the sedan opened and he heard the dull thud of a heavy load being dropped in it. He didn’t need to be a genius to work out what it was. Brett’s last ride to his resting place was going to be undignified.

  “It’s you next, Harris.”

  Matt looked away from the three men at the side of the car and brought his gaze to the rearview mirror to see the smirk on the driver’s face.

  “Having fun, are you?” he asked.

  “I might as well enjoy my work,” the man taunted and let out a laugh.

  Matt’s attention was caught by the standing men finally breaking apart. He expected Lincoln to walk to the car he was in, but it didn’t happen. It was the third man he didn’t recognize that came to the sedan and opened the rear door to get in beside him. A gun was aimed and he feared that he would be told to show his hands. It didn’t happen and the man spoke to the driver instead.

  “The boss says to follow close behind.”

  The driver nodded and turned the key in the ignition to get the engine running. Matt watched out of the windscreen as Eddie and Lincoln walked to the sedan in which Delores and Brigitte were sitting. It was the enforcer that got in the driver seat and after a few seconds, they were moving. The gate slowly rolled to the side to enable them to drive out and the two vehicles accelerated once they were on the street outside the property.

  Matt kept himself pressed back in the seat to ensure the rope around his wrists couldn’t be seen. The gun in the hand of the man sitting beside him remained pointing in his direction, but he turned away from it to look out of the window. The journey was stop-start to begin with, as they made their way along busy roads. Traffic started to thin out when they got to the outsk
irts of town though. It enabled the vehicles to speed up and ten minutes later, they were rolling smoothly along tarmac when they got on the highway.

  Talk of a quarry meant they were obviously heading somewhere remote, but Matt knew he needed to make a move before they arrived at their destination. There was no way he could take out all four men at once and he needed to subdue the two he was currently with first. That would at least give him a fighting chance of taking on Eddie and Lincoln although he knew there was every chance he might not come out on top.

  “Your time is almost up, Harris,” the driver said when the lead car made the exit from the highway onto a smaller route.