Hard Bastard(60)

I knew the building pretty well. From its days as a slaughterhouse and meatpacking plant, there were a bunch of side entrances were the entrails were brought out and where the workers came in. I moved down an alley and stopped outside of one of those doors, listening.

There was nobody else around. I gripped the gun I got off Boris then tried the doorknob. It was locked, of course. I stepped back and slammed my boot into the door, just above the handle. It buckled and splintered. I kicked it again and again until the door cracked and swung open.

Kicking in a door wasn’t fucking subtle, but fortunately the building was pretty damn big. Someone would be along to check it out, but I had a few seconds.

I stepped into a small room and kicked the door shut behind me. There were lockers all over, dusty and unused. I quickly went up to the door that lead out into the hallway and peered into the distance. I saw a guy walking fast toward me, looking annoyed, probably the asshole they convinced to check the disturbance.

I pressed myself against the wall behind the door and waited. He came into the room mumbling to himself, saw the mess I had made, and turned around, a look of panic on his face.

I brought the butt of my gun down on his head. He crumbled to the ground without another word.

I quickly grabbed his gun from his pants and stepped out into the hallway. I looked around, getting my bearings, and made a right at the end of the hall. I could hear the bar back behind me. Ahead, there were smaller workrooms with drains in the bottom, probably where they carved up individual animals back in the day. Now the mob used them for interrogation rooms, and I knew Sadie would be in one of those.

I crept up along the hallway, listening as I went. There were muffled voices up ahead, and I slowed down as I reached a turn in the corridor. I peered around the corner, careful not to make too much noise.

Ahead, I saw two guys standing outside of a room. I quickly pulled back. I didn’t recognize either of them, which was unusual, and I figured they were probably either new or hired muscle. There was nobody else around, and I had to assume that they were there to keep Sadie safe.

I took a deep breath then turned the corner and walked directly toward the guys.

It was crazy. I knew it was crazy. But I was assuming that if I didn’t recognize them then they wouldn’t recognize me. They’d know I was mafia as soon as they saw me, but they wouldn’t know that I was the guy everyone was after.

The man closest to me looked up, frowning. He was young, maybe in his early twenties, with an awful mustache and a cigarette between his lips. The guy next to him was older, maybe in his forties, and was overweight. The older guy stepped toward me.

“Yo,” he said. “Who are you?”

“I’m here to see the girl. Vadik sent me.”

The two guys exchanged glances. I didn’t slow down.

“Hold up,” the younger guy said, putting his hand on my chest as I approached. “Vadik didn’t tell us about this.”

I stared at his hand then back at him. “You better fucking move or I’m going to move you.”

The young buck stepped up to me, ready to throw down. The older man, though, stepped between us. “Okay, enough,” he said. “What’s your name?” he asked, looking at me.

“Boris.”

“Alright Boris. Vadik didn’t mention you, but fine. Go ahead and see the girl. She’s not long for this world, anyway.” He gestured at the door.

I nodded at him. “Thanks.” I pushed open the door and stepped inside.

Sadie was sitting in a chair in the center of the room. She looked up at me, her eyes wide. The door slowly shut, and as soon as it was fully closed, I ran to her and threw my arms around her, pulling her from the chair.

She hugged me back, sobs ripping through her body.

“I thought you were dead.” She said.

“Takes a lot to kill me.”

“Gage. Oh my god. I can’t believe it.” She kissed my neck, my cheeks.

I grinned at her. “It’s good to see you too.”

“I’m so sorry. This is all my fault. I should never have gotten us into this mess.” She was babbling, and I put my hand to her lips.

“Stop,” I said softly. “The guards might hear us.”

She nodded. “I’m sorry,” she said more softly.

“I love you.”

She blinked, surprised. Then she kissed me hard, her whole body pressed against mine, and I assumed that she felt the same way.

That was all I needed. As soon as she kissed me, I knew that we were going to beat this. I knew that we were going to survive. There was no way I’d let those bastards out there take her away from me, not now.

We finally broke off the kiss, our foreheads touching. I could taste her tears but I didn’t care. I was too busy smiling my ass off, happy we were back with each other.