Page 42 of As the World Falls

“It’s this one,” Tobias says, stopping in front of a door in a dingy apartment building. He had only arrived back from the West Coast Saturday morning in time for our event and was already at my side helping me with the next order of business.

He spent all of yesterday investigating our little friend here, whom we’re paying a visit to, so that bright and early Monday morning before the sun comes up, we were prepared to send a little message.

His dedication was exactly why I chose him to be a part of my business and an even closer confidant. But I suspected that soon, he wouldn’t be happy with me when he learned of his sister's involvement with us. I’ve had him busy away from Labyrinth headquarters, but it was only a matter of time.

Tobias pounds on the door, and we wait until it slowly cracks open. The face of a man pokes through the sliver, but his eyes widen in fear when he spots us and tries to slam the door shut. Before he can, I kick my foot against it, and the door flies off the hinges and plows into him, knocking both of them to the ground. Tobias barrels in now and picks the frail man up off the ground, holding him up by the collars of his shirt and staring him in the face as I calmly walk behind him.

“Hello, Timothy,” I greet him, slowly walking inside. I looked around his small apartment that was an absolute shit hole, perfect for the likes of him. I look back down at him, penetrating him with my glare as he attempts to make eye contact, but he shakes like a leaf. “Do you know who I am?”

He shakes his head. “No.”

I laugh, amused. “You know my name, Timothy, just like I know yours.” I stop behind Tobias, meeting his gaze over Tobias’s shoulder. “You’ve mentioned me in your calls. More than once. I want you to tell me who I am.”

He seems to gather himself slightly and lifts his chin. “You’re James Kingston.”

A devilish smile curls my lips. “What else do you know? Tell me exactly what your uncle pays you to do, and maybe I’ll spare you.”

“If you hurt me, I won’t tell you anything,” he spits.

Tobias’s face curls in disdain as he grips him harder. “I don’t think you’re in the position to be making any negotiations,” he growls.

“Correct,” I agree.

Tears fill Timothy’s eyes, and the sight of them excites me. There was nothing like watching someone regret their actions only after being caught.

“He only told me to make the calls and what to say. Sometimes, he has me stake out your warehouse and take pictures. I’ve only done it a couple of times, but he has others helping him. I’m not the only one, I swear. He’s working with someone else. Someone bigger.”

I grimace at the reminder of Chuck. “Find anything of substance?” I ask curiously.

He shakes his head. “I was told to watch for shipments leaving at odd times or in different transportation, but I never saw anything, even when they told me to make those calls to the police. My uncle always told me what to do and say. I swear I don’t know anything.”

Rage boils inside me. The fact that Hodge has taken it upon himself to turn his rivalry into a full-blown operation makes me want to drive straight to his home and commit murder. I didn’t have time to play these petulant games, but here we are. I couldn’t deal with it when they were wreaking havoc on my business, especially when we were supposed to be operating under the radar.

Tobias drops him to the floor without an ounce of gentleness, and I crouch to get on his level, glaring at him as what feels like hot tar filters through my veins. His fearful eyes meet mine, and he tries to scatter back on the floor away from me, but Tobias places a foot on his hand, making a scream rip from him as he uses all his strength to press down on it and keep him in his place.

“I’m going to need you to send your uncle a message for me,” I say calmly.

“You said you would spare me,” he cries.

I look down at his pathetic form in front of me, anger and disgust rolling through me in waves that I can’t and won’t control.

“I said maybe, but I decided that wouldn’t send a message now, would it?” I declare as Tobias pulls out a switchblade, snaps it open, and hands it to me. Timothy wails at the sight of it, and I laugh again as I snatch his hand from the floor. “Let’s see how well you make calls without these,” I chime as I plunge the blade straight through the base of his thumb. He screams violently, choking on the pain as I cut through bone, severing his thumb completely. I snatch his other hand, fighting against his hold as he tries to scurry away again. Tobias uses his foot again, bringing it down on his forearm now, and I think I may hear bone crunch, but it could also be his other thumb that I’m now cutting off.

Tobias picks up a stray shirt off the floor and shoves it into his mouth, muffling his screams as I stand and pull a handkerchief from my jacket and wipe the blood off my blade. “It’s a shame it had to come to this,” I mention as Tobias stalks around the apartment, his eyes scanning the place until they land on exposed piping on the far ceiling. He uses his bare fists to rip a part of the lead pipe down. He grips it in his hands, smirking down at his newly found weapon and stalking back toward Timothy on the ground as he drags himself away from us by his elbows toward his cell phone on the coffee table in the center of the room. “But this is the only way to ensure everyone’s on the same page,” I finish before adding, “I’d bite down on that shirt a little harder if I were you.” Just then, Tobias stops his madman descent, swings the pipe over his shoulder, and brings it down onto him. Timothy’s pained roar, shattering bone, and wet blood overtake the songs of the morning birds outside.

I headed to work an hour later, wasting no time getting to my office. I didn’t even have time to change my clothes as I wasdealing with one thing after the other this morning, and my little meeting with Timothy took longer than I anticipated. I ignore everyone on the way to my office, shut myself inside, and sit behind my desk. I rip my suit jacket off, roll up my sleeves to relax my muscles, and finally take a minute to cool off. I take my tie out of my pocket and start to tie it around my neck when my office door opens, and I pause my movement as I look up to see Cecilia slowly walking inside.

I hadn’t seen or spoken to her since Saturday night when I was close enough to ring her pretty little neck. I had let my guard down too much with her, and because of that, she felt comfortable enough to go through my personal belongings. I knew better now and wouldn’t let it happen again.

“Good morning, James,” she says softly.

“You’ll address me as Mr. Kingston from here on out,” I tell her. She stands there, looking at me with a surprised expression, and I can’t help but take the whole of her in again like I’ve done every morning so far. My eyes drop to her body, and it’s like my insides physically react to it, which only pisses me off even more.

How could someone so incessantly annoying be so attractive? She was wearing a long-sleeved cream sweater dress with a black belt around the waist. What would generally be a modest dress looks sinful on her. It hugged her faint curves and ended just below her mid-thigh. She wasn’t wearing any stockings, and I couldn’t help but let my gaze roam down her bare legs to her knee-high boots. But it was the deep, low V of the dress that was showing her cleavage that kept stealing my attention. I hated that fact more than I hated how persistent she was in showing up here and sticking her nose in places where it didn’t belong. I hated the way I unwillingly guessed that her breasts were just big enough to fit in the palms of my hands. I hated how I always looked at how she styled her hair, just to see if she tried to contain her curls today or let them spring free.

Today, they were pulled away from her face in a large, chunky braid that rested down her back. Her face was entirely on display, looking so lustfully innocent.

“Okay then,” she mumbles, walking further into the room to sit down. I try to finish tying my tie, but I get that choking feeling again and become frustrated, ripping it off altogether. Her eyes bounce to where I throw it before eyeing me warily. “Uhm… is everything okay?”

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