"I'm sorry."
"N-no...don't be, you probably...probably just h-had to, circumstances and all that, I don't hate you. I still love you. I...I'll do anything if it means I can still keep on loving you...I'll keep quiet, I won't tell, I'll help or- or anything, really, I-" she stammered. I breathed out at that, relieved. She was willing to stay. I knew it. She'd never leave me, not unless I wanted her to. She had completely fallen.
"You're stuttering again darling," I whispered, caressing her cheek softly.
"Don't leave me..." she begged, voice faltering as the first signs of a sob shook through her shoulders.
"I won't, hon. Promise."
Unfortunately, I can't always keep my promises.
-
We drove steadily towards the motel, stopping at the back instead of the front. I met Audrey's gaze and held her hand, revealing the favour I wanted to ask her.
Her eyes widened in shock as I told her what I wanted. "You want me to poison him?" She gasped in disbelief.
"Poison's a strong word. It won't kill him or hurt him, just knock him out," I promised, handing her the bottle.
"Why? Why do you want to do this? What do you want from him?" she asked warily, her fingers refusing to take the bottle and looking at it as if it would bite her.
"I'm sure you know why. Ask me no questions, and I'll tell you no lies," I answered. "You trust me, don't you?"
"Well yes, but...I don't...I don't know what to do," she stammered. Damn was I gonna miss her face. I bent over her, cupping her hand with mine.
"Is this why you got together with me?" she finally asked, her voice wavering. Shit.
"No, no of course not," I lied, taking hold of her fingers. "Come on, darling. For me?" I asked, closing her fingers around the bottle.
"I cant..." she whispered, not quite looking me in the eye. I tilted my head slightly and lifted her chin up so she had to make eye contact. This was my only shot, I couldn't fuck up.
"And why's that?" I asked innocently. "Don't tell me you love him too much, you couldn't wait to run off with me," I chuckled, brushing her hair away.
"His partners...I can't risk it," she murmured. "They'd find me. I cant."
"Now, don't worry yourself with that!" I responded, straightening my stance. "All you have to do is slip this into his drink. He'd never suspect you. He trusts you. I'll take care of everything, I swear. We'll provide you with everything you need; cash, a new identity, where you'll live, where you'll work. You just have to do this one thing. Okay?" I explained.
She took a deep breath as I held mine. Come on, agree already. She was a bit hesitant, but I could get round her. I could sense her wavering. If things went south, I could always fall back on the team.
"I'll do it."
A smile crept across my face and I exclaimed happily. "Great! I knew we could count on you!" She replied with a nervous chuckle, and I knew she was still worried. But if there was one thing I exceeded at, it was making people do as I wanted. Audrey was even easier than most.
-
"Good job," I congratulated Audrey when she got back, clasping the now empty bottle. I clapped her on the back and flashed her a smile. She smiled back shakily, obviously still in shock.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlM9L4DGLx4
"Fuyumi, Kylie, you guys get Hendrix. Make sure he's secured, and keep your eye on him. Ray will contact Lexis and send an update to Sev," I commanded to the rest. "As for you," I added, turning to Audrey, "I'll keep my promise and give you the details on your new life ー plus some cash to keep you going. Sound good?"
"Could we um, still stay in touch?" she asked sheepishly, looking away. Holy hell was she perfectー I was gonna miss making her blush.
"You can't join us hun, although I wish you could," I smiled, amused at her behaviour.
"No, I didn't mean I would actually stay with you, I know you couldn't possibly take me, but I was wondering if we could still, you know, talk maybe? Meet up sometime? You could call or text and...and perhaps update me...?" she stuttered. I huffed out a chuckle and found myself ripping a piece of paper out of my notebook. I scribbled my number on the paper, placing it in her hand and kissing her fingers.
"Maybe someday, precious. Call me," I smirked, making her glow positively crimson and tinting her freckled cheeks red. "For now, follow Ray back to our place."
-
"Hoe," Kylie commented as soon as Audrey left.
"What? She's cute," I replied. "Don't ruin my fun, Ky."
"Just get to work," I heard her scoff at me. Fucking killjoy.
I lugged Hendrix' body into the back seat with the help of Fuyumi, with Kylie already waiting inside. She revved up the car as soon as I got in and sped off to the safe house. Maybe I would leave the questioning to Ray and the rest while I got some well-deserved rest?
-
Yeah, I wasn't gonna get rest anytime soon.
Hendrix woke up a few hours later. I stood up and strode towards the chair he was tied to as he made an attempt to struggle free, tugging at his bound wrists. Fortunately, I wasn't the one tasked to tie those knots, so they held.
"Sorry, but I don't think you'll be getting anywhere with that."
His eyes widened before glaring at me instead, evidently aware that the bitch that had come calling for his girlfriend most days had tied him to a chair. His eyes filled with rage rather than fear as I leaned against the table. Fuyumi held a handgun to the back of his head and nodded at me and Kylie, signalling for us to go along with the interrogation.
"I knew I couldn't trust you," he hissed at me.
"Smart choice," I replied, "and yet you still fell for it. Uh oh, bad decision," I mocked, loving the look of pure hatred that glowed from his eyes.
"I didn't fall for it. It was just my girlfriend who decided to trust you," he snarled.
Oh what a great moment to piss him off.
His girlfriend. Not anymore, I thought.
Thankfully I have more sense than that, and my intuition (plus Kylie glaring at me) was telling me I should take this a bit more seriously.
"Cut the shit, who are you really and what do you want from me?" he snapped.
"We want to know where Il Rivale is," Ray said, diverting Hendrix's attention to his sharp stare.
"I don't know where they are," he replied, immediately glaring back.
"Don't play dumb with us," Kylie snapped.
"You really expect me to tell you?" He asked, glowering at us. "Over my dead body! I'm not about to risk my life!"
God, he doesn't half go on. I reached into the pocket of my coat and pulled out a wad of cash. His eyes locked onto the cash, a gleam of interest flashing in his eyes as he stopped speaking for a second. Materialistic bastard.
"You can't bribe me with cash."
"But I can bribe you with your life. Tell us what we need to know, and you get away with your life and a brand new identity. If you don't-" I swiftly pulled out my blade and held it against his chin, sliding it carefully along his jaw.
"-well, you know what happens." I smiled insincerely.
He took one look at the blade, swallowed down his pride and spoke quietly, as if the mafia could hear him at all times.
"I truly don't know where they are. I'm just the house guy. They were here two months ago, tracking down some person."
Wasn't a lot, but it was something.
"Where were they headed next?" I asked, pulling the blade away.
"I'm not sure, but I think Germany. Or maybe France. Somewhere in Europe, no further. They might've changed locations after, but when they left this place, they were definitely staying in Europe. That's all I know."
"Who were they after?" Kylie implored.
"And why were they after this guy? Anything important?" Ray added.
"I told you, I don't know. All I know is that they're hunting down some guy for past business. They're meeting up with some other associates."
"Thanks. See, you can be cooperative when you try," I said as I turned my back on them, grabbing my coat, duffel, and the cash bribe.
"Sadly, we can't keep you alive. You'd be too much of a threat. No hard feelings, eh?" I said, making my way towards the doors before mentioning,
"I'll leave the body to you. Don't make it look suspicious."
Fuyumi nodded, pulling out a needle from her bag.
"On it."
Hendrix frantically started struggling against his restraints, pulling for all he was worth. All in vain though.
After a few muffled screams and the satisfying thud of a body, Kylie met me at the downstairs kitchen with Ray and Fuyumi not far behind, dragging Hendrix's body by the shoulders.
"Have you sent the update to Sev yet?" Ray inquired.
"Yep. Filed and sent to HQ." I replied promptly. I was scanning through my phone for any updates with Lexis, but he hadn't responded. I sighed.
"Get in the car. You'll have to leave Hendrix's body somewhere, Lex isn't picking up."
I know I asked him to focus on collecting more information on the mafia, but I didn't mean for the asshole to start ignoring my calls.
"You'll?" asked Kylie, raising an eyebrow at me.
"Yes. You and the rest dispose his body somewhere, take the car with you. I'll take a bus or train or something and I'll just meet you there. Get someone from the agency to do the cleanup. Clear?"
"Noted," Fuyumi answered, slinging her duffel across her shoulders and hoisting Hendrix's body up.
I had just collected my things and was about to leave when Audrey entered the room. Her attention was immediately on her boyfriend, and she stared at his lifeless body for a second before speaking, barely even audible.
"Is he..? She asked, her voice trailing off as she looked at him, not as terrified as I'd feared.
"Yep," I replied, "dead and gone."
She didn't respond for a moment, but then averted her gaze to the team.
"There's a shed near his motel, a little room near a lake. Nobody knows about it and he keeps various things in there ー things he needs for his job. You could leave him there or gather stuff, I have a key somewhere..." she fished in her purse and brought out a set of keys, looking at me expectantly. I took it from her and tossed it to Fuyumi.
"Thanks," I replied, smiling.
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