He got up and went into the kitchen. He came back a second later with a dishrag, which he shoved into my mouth. He used a roll of duct tape to tape my mouth closed.
“Can’t have you ruining the surprise, can we?” Abram said.
I struggled against the knots, but I knew it was useless. I had to hope that Brooks could somehow save us.
I was in his hands again, my life his to save.
13
Brooks
I was looking forward to seeing her as I parked my car.
I wanted to see the look on her face when I gave her the album. Maybe finally she’d start listening to me, finally begin to trust me a little bit.
I had a strange feeling in my gut as I opened the apartment door and started walking upstairs. It was part excitement and part something else, something like worry. I was excited to see her, excited in a way I hadn’t felt in a long, long time, but I was also worried, unable to shake that feeling that I had been being watched back there.
I put my key in the lock and turned it. As I opened the door, I heard a strange sound, like chair legs scraping against the floor. Something toppled to the ground with a thud.
I kicked the door open and was in the apartment in a flash, my gun up and ready.
Abram stood in the kitchen, grinning his creepy smile at me. “Hey there, Brooks. Lower the gun or I splatter this bitch’s skull on your apartment floor.”
He was standing above Emma, who was tied to a chair. She clearly had tipped it over as I’d unlocked the door, which was what I had heard. Abram was pointing his gun at her head casually, his finger on the trigger.
I slowly lowered my gun. “I’m surprised to see you, Abram,” I said.
“Toss the gun down.”
I did as he said.
“Shut the door.”
I turned and closed it.
“Kick the gun to me.”
I kicked it and the gun slid halfway toward him.
“Very good.” Abram smiled again. “Welcome home, Brooks.”
“You were following me earlier, weren’t you?”
“Impressive,” he said. “You saw me?”
“No,” I admitted. “Gut feeling.”
“Well your gut is right.”
“Why?”
“Dante sent me,” he said. His gun hand was steady as he pointed it at Emma’s head. “He had his own gut feeling about you. Looks like his gut was right, too.”
Fucking bastard. I never would have guessed that Dante would put someone like Abram on my tail. Even for a hit man, Abram was unstable, a little insane. I didn’t enjoy working with him, but he was a professional and did his job well.
But in this case, I had no clue what to expect from him. He didn’t have a partner with him, which meant he wasn’t bound by any of our usual safeguards and rules. No, this was just one psychotic killer in my apartment, holding a gun against Emma’s head.
“What’s the play here, Abram?” I asked him.
“My turn to ask questions, actually. First, why is this girl still alive?” He pressed the gun harder against her. “Lie and I will end her. Then I’ll force you to clean it up.”
“I don’t hurt women,” I said. “I was going to let her live, but then you came into the room. Taking her as a prize was all I could think of in the moment.”
He nodded. “Thought so. I knew you couldn’t fucking do it.”
“No, I can’t.”
“Why? Tell me why you can’t.”
“A man has to have a code,” I said. “I’ve seen too many women suffer in this fucked-up world. I don’t want to add to it.”
He laughed loudly at that. “You fucking kidding me, Brooks? You sound like some dumbass feminist bitch or something.”
“Don’t care what I sound like,” I said. “After my mom died, I promised myself I’d never hurt a woman.”
“All because of your mommy?” He laughed again, clearly enjoying himself. “You fucking pussy.”
“Put the gun down, Abram. I can pay you.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Interesting. How much?”
“Fifty thousand in cash.”
“That’s a tempting bribe, Brooks.”
“I can get it for you now. It’s not far.”
He laughed, shaking his head. “And give you a chance to fight me? I don’t think so.”
“What do you want then, Abram?”
“You told me that every man has to have a code, and I agree. See, my code is the code of our organization. I follow the rules, I act like a good little soldier, and that gives my life meaning.”
“I get that. You’re good at what you do.”
“Don’t fucking patronize me,” he said, anger creeping into his voice. “I’ve always fucking hated you. For some reason, you get away with everything. You show up late, you don’t hurt women, you live by your own little fucking rules. Meanwhile, I follow all the rules and get nothing, no fucking promotions or invitations to special jobs.”