Chapter Thirty Six
They had found the location where Bailey was held, and Marc had prepared for a fight. Then, everything had changed when Marc had heard another very familiar voice, and it was one he had never expected to hear again. Marc was horrified, and his heart was beating so fast that breathing became difficult. That one familiar voice had shocked the hell out of Marc.
Dan and Dennis eyed him with curiosity. Marc was in shock because this was not possible, and yet, Marc had recognized the voice, and he was sure that it was the voice of Alec. Marc was breathing too fast, and his head began to spin. It was Dennis who helped him to get his breathing under control. The bodyguard looked at Marc, the question loud and clear. Dennis wanted to know what was going on with Marc because they needed to have each other’s back without flipping out. “I need a moment; you will understand soon,” Marc whispered. Dennis nodded, but Marc could see that the man wasn’t convinced. Well, he couldn’t blame him because Marc wouldn’t be convinced either.
For the first time in his life, Marc didn’t know what to do; his indecisiveness had paralyzed him. Robert’s voice tore Marc out of his stupor. “I could start with you, old man. I kill you now; that would make me the head of the family. I, as head of the family, would condone killing family members,” Robert said, and to Marc, he sounded too calm, too collected.
“We wait because I want Marc to witness when we torture and then kill Bailey before we kill Marc.” It was Alec’s voice, but the man sounded so cold, Marc didn’t hear one ounce of emotion. That was not the Alec Marc had loved and lived with for many years.
“He’s near; I can feel it,” Alec said. “Robert? What’s gotten into you that you want to murder your brother? And me, your own father?” Mario said. The man was not only flabbergasted to know that his eldest son was involved in everything that had happened in Madison Valley; no, he was livid.
Lucas had seen Alec too because he signaled Marc. Marc signaled back that he too knew that a very much alive Alec was in the barn where they held Bailey. Marc thought about the best way to save Bailey and to keep Alec alive because he had many questions for the man. It had taken more than a couple of minutes for Marc to recover from the shock after seeing a very much alive Alec. The man was filled with hatred, which confused Marc because Alec had always been a kind and fun-loving man.
“What is the plan?” Dennis quietly asked because his boss was inside, and apparently, his psycho son had pointed a gun at him. Marc explained to the two bodyguards what his plan was. Lucas would take out the unknown male; at the same time, Marc, Dan, Keith, and Dennis would burst into the barn through its only entrance. If it were up to Marc, he would go in, guns blazing, but Bailey was in there, and Marc didn’t want to risk the man’s life. Plus, there was Alec, a very much alive Alec, which shouldn’t have been possible. Marc had seen Alec hanging on a meat hook upside down in the basement.
Marc had urged the men only to kill the perpetrators if it was necessary. He wanted Alec alive because a confused Marc needed answers, but Bailey’s safety was priority number one. They had to keep Mario alive as well. Marc wondered how the mob boss would react when shooting and killing Robert, his precious son.
When suddenly a shot was fired, the men acted swiftly and decisively. When Marc entered the barn, he saw Mario, and the man was lying in a pool of his own blood. Shit, this was not good. Then two shots were fired, and Marc saw Dan and Keith going down. A third shot sounded, and this time, it was the unknown man who had fired at Dan, went down, and by the empty stare in the man’s eyes, Marc knew that he was dead. Marc inwardly praised Lucas; the man had come through for him once again.
Shauna, Marc’s sister, screamed in shock and ran toward the man who lay dead on the floor. She was screaming and crying, then Shauna looked up at Marc, and the assassin was surprised to see the hatred in her eyes. “You killed him! You killed my fiancé. I swear to God that you will pay for that, you bastard.” Shauna was now hysterical.
Suddenly she had a gun in her hand, how she got the weapon so fast, Marc didn’t know. Shauna pointed at Bailey and looked at Marc, and said, “Say goodbye to your boyfriend, dear brother.” Then, a shot was fired, but it wasn’t Bailey that was hit. Shauna went down screaming in pain and rage. Marc saw that her shoulder was hit, and he knew that it had been Lucas who had fired the shot.
Marc looked at Bailey and saw that his eyes were too big and full of panic. “God damn, stop firing,” Robert shouted. Marc stayed where he was when he saw that Alec was observing him. “Well well well, the great assassin is here, finally.” The tone in which Alec spoke was dripping with sarcasm.
Thank God that Marc had time to recover from the shock to see his former lover alive and healthy. “Well,” Marc drawled, “You look good for a dead man, but before you kill me, will you share why you faked your death? And, why you hate me so much?” he questioned. “You disgust me.” Alec spat out the words, and there was so much contempt in them that it made Marc nauseous.
What the hell was wrong with the man he once had loved so much? What had changed that Alec’s love for him had turned into hate? It was evident that the man despised Marc. For the life of him, Marc couldn’t come up with a reason why Alec hated him so much that he wanted to see him dead.
“Oh, I will, but first, you will watch me torture and kill this one here,” Alec pointed at Bailey, who tried to move away from Alec, but that was impossible. “I’ll torture and kill Bailey; after all, he’s my brother. You take care of the assassin,” Robert interrupted. Alec frowned, then he shook his head.
“I don’t think so, Robert. I want to see Marc suffer through my hands before I kill him. That means that I will torture the little faggot. “You killed your father so you could take over as head of the Delossantos Family. Let me do my thing,” Alec’s tone was icy and void of any kind of emotion. Marc didn’t recognize his former lover anymore. Alec was had become a complete stranger. He looked like Alec, but it could have been Ted Bundy that stood in front of him.
It seemed that Bailey had made the connection, too, because he glanced from Marc to Alec and back to Marc again. His eyes were begging Marc to help him. Marc stayed impassive because he hoped that Alec wouldn’t notice how much he cared for Bailey.
Alec had his gun pointed straight at Marc when he came closer. He leaned toward Marc and said, “I know how much you care for that little piece of shit. Don’t take me for a fool because I’m not.” Marc felt Alec’s hot breath caressing his skin, and he noticed that he didn’t feel anything; in fact, he didn’t even like it.
From his peripheral vision, Marc saw Mario stir. The bodyguard didn’t move, and Marc hoped that Dan wasn’t dead. Dennis was standing next to Marc, and the man was trembling with anger. Marc only hoped that the bodyguard stayed calm.
Shauna was sitting in the corner; her hand pressed on the shot wound to prevent too much blood loss. “I hate you. You will burn in hell, Marcus Blake. Bastard,” Shauna kept yelling and yelling. “Shut the fuck up!” Robert warned, but Shauna didn’t listen; she kept screaming like a banshee that Marc would burn in hell for killing her fiancé. Technically it had been Lucas who had fired and killed Eddy Davis, Shauna’s boyfriend.
“I said, shut up,” Robert said, and this time his voice was dangerously low; his eyes were bright with anger. Shauna, however, didn’t notice because she was busy yelling at Marc. Robert pointed his gun at her and fired. It happened so fast that Marc hadn’t even time to respond. Would he have tried to shut up his sister so Robert wouldn’t kill her? Marc honestly didn’t know the answer to that question. “I told you to shut up,” Robert softly said.
Marc tried to put the situation into perspective. So many people were involved, he had thought that it was only Robert who was after Bailey. That the man somehow had found out that he had a younger brother. Now Marc realized how wrong he had been and how he had underestimated the whole situation. And he was afraid that Bailey would pay the price for everything that Marc had done in the past.
&nbs
p; Well, no one could blame him for not seeing his sister for what she was. Shauna had been head over heels with Eddy Davis. Marc suddenly realized that he didn’t know anything about Mr. Davis. And even more important, why had he been after Bailey, or had he been after Marc?
Then, there was Alec, the man Marc had loved so much and who he thought had died a terrible death. Marc had mourned Alec for a long time, only to find out that the man wasn’t dead at all. Alec was alive and kicking, and for whatever reason, he hated Marc with a passion.
Marc suddenly heard Lucas through his ear equipment. “I have Robert in my sight. Just say the word,” Lucas whispered. Marc eyed Robert, and when he spoke, it was the answer for Lucas. “I would shoot you myself if I had the possibility.” The next second, a shot was fired, and Robert went down, hard.
Lucas hadn’t killed him, but Robert had hit his head when he fell to the ground. So, the eldest Delossantos child was out cold. Alec screamed at Marc for killing Robert; then, he pointed his gun at Bailey. Before Marc could react, Dennis threw himself on Alec, and both men fought for the gun. Marc managed to take the gun away from Alec and hit him over the head with it. The man went limp and lay unconscious on the floor.
Marc hadn’t seen anyone else, only Shauna, Robert, Alec, and Shauna’s fiancé, Eddy Davis. So, when a shot was fired, Marc dived toward Bailey to get the man out of harm’s way. Unfortunately, he was too late; Bailey was hit full in the chest. “No,” Marc whispered as he ran to the man he loved so much. Dennis had his gun drawn and fired, but he was too late; the one who had shot Bailey had fled. Then another shot was fired, and Marc knew that it was Lucas because he knew that particular sound very well.
Dennis sat next to Mario. “He’s alive,” Marc assured before he concentrated on Bailey again. “The medics are on their way as we speak,” spoke a familiar voice into Marc’s ear equipment. “Let them hurry; Bailey was shot and hit in the chest,” Marc urged as he slowly took the man in his arms. The mob boss stirred but stayed unconscious.
He knew that he had to come up with an explanation because the sheriff would want to know why the shooting had taken place. Right now, the only important thing was to get Bailey to a hospital so that the man wouldn’t die.
Chapter Thirty Seven
“How are you feeling, Baby?” Marc softly said when Bailey opened his eyes. Bailey looked at Marc; he didn’t smile. It had been two weeks since the shooting, and Bailey was home again, after being ten days in the hospital. Mario was still hospitalized, and so were Dan and Keith. Bailey had been so happy and relieved when the doctor had told him that Keith, Dan, and Mario, would pull through.
Marc had wanted to question Alec, but somehow the man had disappeared during the chaos when someone had opened fire. It turned out that it was Arnulfo, Robert’s right hand, who had fired. Arnulfo had dodged the bullet that Dan had fired at him, but he hadn’t stood a chance against Lucas. The assassin had fired once and wounded Arnulfo to the point that he wasn’t able to run anymore.
Robert was in custody, and so were Arnulfo and Shauna. Marc was worried about Alec because the man had escaped when the paramedics and police had arrived. He knew that Alec wouldn’t give up until Bailey was six feet under. Marc still had no clue why Alec hated him so much. It was a question he wanted an answer to, badly.
“We need to talk,” Bailey softly said as he pushed himself upright and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. “Yeah, I know, baby, and we will,” Marc replied while he helped Bailey up from the edge of the bed. Bailey still was a bit shaky, but he felt stronger with every passing day. “After breakfast, we talk,” Bailey said while he leaned heavily on Marc on his way to the adjacent bathroom.
They had breakfast, and then Marc took Bailey outside to the comfortable lounge chairs on the back deck. Marc cupped Bailey’s face and softly kissed him on the lips. Bailey kissed him back, so that was good.
“Do you still love Alec?” It was a question that Marc had expected because he would have asked it too if the shoe had been on the other foot. “No.” Marc’s answer was short and sincere. “Why not? I mean, he’s alive and.” “That man isn’t the Alec that I knew and loved. And my feelings for you go so much deeper than what I ever felt for Alec in all those years. And don’t ask me to explain, because I can’t, not really. I can only tell you how I feel.” Marc took Bailey’s face in both of his hands and said, “I love you so much, and what I feel for you, I’ve never felt for anyone else.”
Bailey smiled, and it was the first genuine smile since after the barn shooting. “Alright, what’s your next question,” Marc said. “Why does Alec hate you so much? You were together for many years, and suddenly the man hates your guts? That’s not logical,” Bailey said. Marc had to agree; it wasn’t logical that Alec hated him with a passion. It was clear that Alec wanted to see Marc suffer. It really didn’t make sense, and Marc was determined to get answers, one way or the other.
“It’s a question that I can’t answer because I don’t know. I’m planning to question Alec about it when we catch him,” Marc replied while he kissed Bailey again. This time Bailey parted his full lips and sucked on Marc’s tongue, making the former assassin softly moan.
Marc had sworn that he wouldn’t work as an assassin anymore. He didn’t know what he wanted to do, but he wouldn’t take assignments anymore. What surprised Marc was that his client hadn’t called anymore. It was strange, and if Marc hadn’t been so focussed on Bailey, he would have known that something wasn’t right.
“What was the reaction of your family when they heard about Shauna?” Bailey questioned. Marc sighed because he didn’t want to talk about his family, but he had no choice if he wanted to keep Bailey’s trust. “My father doesn’t believe one word that the police told him. He wants to hire the best lawyers money can buy, just to keep Shauna out of jail. He, of course, blames me for Shauna’s mess. The old man knows that it’s bad for business the moment the news about Shauna hit’s the newspapers. Blake industries could get hurt badly by this,” Marc softly explained.
“Does it trouble you that the family company gets hurt by the scandal your deranged sister created?” Bailey asked as he put his arms around Marc’s waist and leaned his head against Marc’s chest. Listening to Marc’s calm, steady heartbeat relaxed him, and Bailey sighed in contentment.
“No, I don’t give a fuck what happens with Blake Industries,” Marc answered, and that was the God damned truth. “I don’t understand why so many people want me dead,” Bailey whispered. Marc knew that this question would come, and now it was up to Marc to explain as best as he could, except for Alec’s reason for hating him so much because Marc really didn’t know.
Before Marc could say anything, Byron stepped onto the back deck. “I have some disturbing news,” he said. “Sit and enlighten us, please,” Marc said, and the former assassin knew that it had to do with Eddy Davis. Marc had asked Byron to do a background check on Eddy Davis, find out everything there was to know. The man was dead, but he had left Marc with a lot of unanswered questions.
“Don’t ask me how I got the information that I’m going to share with you because it’s very complicated,” Byron began, and Marc knew that his brother meant well and that computer stuff could be complicated. Besides, Marc didn’t need to know how; he just wanted to hear the results.
“Alright. Eddy was more than Shauna’s boyfriend or fiancé. Get this, brother,” Byron looked intently at Marc; he said, “Eddy was your client. He was the one who gave you your assignments.” Marc was too stunned to speak. It was Bailey who said, “If this Eddy guy gave you the assignments, does Shauna knows about it too?” He was her fiancé, after all.”
“I wouldn’t know because I haven’t spoken to her after she got arrested,” Marc said. And he hoped that his sister didn’t know about him being a former assassin. If so, then Shauna could make it very difficult for him. Marc was confused because who the fuck was Eddy Davis?
“There’s more, isn’t there?” Marc questioned. Byron nodded. “Yes,
unfortunately, there is. Eddy Davis isn’t the man’s real name. Does the name Darren Brown ring any bells? I couldn’t get much information about him,” Byron said. “Are you sure about the name?” Marc said because he knew Darren Brown. Well, not the man itself but his reputation.
“Darren Brown was one of the best assassins of the country until he disappeared, and he was my client? That doesn’t make any sense. Why would Darren give me assignments?” Marc asked no one in particular. “I can’t help you with that, brother. That’s for you to find out. I believe that it’s personal, though.” Byron stood and squeezed Marc’s shoulder.
Assassins the Florist Book One Part One Page 21
