Page 38 of The Assistant
I had to get out of there. If I would have stayed even a moment longer, he would have come and swept her away. Then after that, he would have promptly taken her to Malik, where she would have been handed over like cattle.
Well, that’s what would have happened if she was a virgin. She would have been brought to that doctor’s appointment, and they would have seen clear signs that she’s been getting fucked, and she would have been disposed of like garbage—likely after Malik and his cronies had their fun with her.
I wasn’t just going to stay there and let that happen.
Now that I’m here, I feel like I can breathe. The compound is safe, and nobody who isn’t invited can get in. If they try, they’ll be shot and dumped at the bottom of a lake where no one will ever find them. Anyone with half a brain wouldn’t even try.
“What do you think, Dawson, should we retire to the study and discuss business now?” Xander says after the conversation has lulled and all of us have had our fill of the spread on the table.
Harper and Ella have been talking amongst themselves for the past half an hour, getting on brilliantly. I knew they would. Ella has a way of charming just about everyone she meets.
Both of them look at us, and Harper raises her eyebrows as if expecting to join me to take notes like she normally would.
“Why don’t you ladies spend some more time getting to know each other while we talk?” I say, standing up alongside Xander as we stretch and turn toward the house.
“Sounds perfect!” Ella chirps, clasping Harper’s hands to make her feel better about everything going on. I don’t know what Ella knows of the situation, but if I’m here with Harper, she must understand there’s something serious happening. “I’ll take you on a tour of the garden.”
With that, Xander and I head back inside to his study. I’ve been here once before, so I sort of know my way around. His study never ceases to amaze me. Xander has more money than God, and that shows in his home. He has artifacts that he’s collected lining floor-to-ceiling shelves, surrounded by books both old and ancient. Looking at his office, you might think he was some kind of esoteric collector, but really, he just has more money than he knows what to do with. His home could probably be turned into a museum one day.
He opens a cigar box and pulls out two cigars, handing me one. I look it over in my fingers, thinking that this must cost at least $30,000. Xander takes it back, clips and lights it forme and hands it to me again. I take a deep inhale, savoring the chocolatey, bitter taste of the tobacco before exhaling the smoke.
“Not that I don’t enjoy your company,” Xander begins as he takes a seat beside me and crosses his ankle over his knee, “but what do I owe this pleasure? You didn’t give me much information over the phone.”
Where do I even begin? I can’t tell him the full truth of the situation because he might want nothing to do with me or Harper if he knows. But despite Xander having his fingers dipped in so many different pies in this underground world, I know he’s a good guy. He would never let something so unjust happen, especially when it’s about someone I clearly care about.
“What do you know about Malik?” I ask, leaning back and twirling the cigar between my fingers.
Xander raises his eyebrows and slowly exhales as he shakes his head. “I know he’s a dangerous man. He’s one of the most brutal people I’ve ever had the displeasure of knowing.”
“Have you worked with him before?” Xander wrinkles his eyes at me as if trying to question why I’m asking. In our line of business, you don’t typically tell people about the business dealings you have with others. They’re kept private because you never know who is going to sell you out to deepen their pockets.
“Never. I never want to either. Malik isn’t to be messed with, and I do my best to steer clear of him,” Xander promptly replies. Malik is dangerous, and I know that, but for a man like Xander to be afraid of him says something. Malik must be a very serious threat. “I don’t know why you’re asking these questions, but you need to stay away from him if at all possible.”
I nod and take another inhale of the cigar to buy myself some time. It’s far too late to stay away from him now. I’m in much deeper than I ever thought I would be. In no time at all, Harper is going to be handed over to him, and he’s going to find out she’s not a virgin, and it won’t take long for them to figure out I’m the one who stole her innocence. My head is going to be served to him on a silver platter.
I just have to figure out a way to keep that from happening.
“What happens to the people who tell Malik no?” I ask, hoping I can get some insight, so I can properly weigh all my options.
Xander sits up straight and uncrosses his leg, turning his whole body toward me as he looks me in the eye. I can feel how serious he is about this, and even talking about Malik like this stresses him out.
“I had an associate who was working with him years ago. Malik wanted them to help move some product around the country, mostly light stuff that they could buy their way out of with relative ease. But then heroin was added to that list, and they pushed back. Malik threatened them and gave them a warning, and they gave in.” Xander pauses and takes another drag of his cigar before exhaling it. I watch him, knowing this isn’t the end of the story. “After Malik saw he could intimidate them, he added women to the shipments. Human trafficking. The associate put their foot down and said there’s no way in hell they’d continue with that. They told Malik to find someone else because they wouldn’t do it. Well, Malik had trouble finding someone else willing to do this for him. He asked my associate to reconsider, hoping to sweeten the deal. Of course, they said no. Drugs are one thing, people are another.
“About a week goes by, and they’re away on business, and they get a call from a local hospital telling them their entire family is dead. Coincidentally, they turned Malik down, and their entire house blew up after there was a gas leak.” Xander pauses and raises his eyebrows at me as a silent warning. This is what I would get myself wrapped up in if I chose to work with Malik. This is what my dad chose. “Nobody turns him down and walks away from it unscathed.”
My stomach wrenches, and I feel like I could be sick, but I take a drag of the cigar and try to think. Xander just watches me as I attempt to brainstorm a way out of this. Turning Malik down isn’t impossible. Maybe nobody has done it before, but I am not giving in.
When the conversation is done, we both head outside to the garden to find Harper and Ella sitting on a bench and laughing with each other. I watch both of them as I approach, delighted to see Harper happy for once. I’ve never seen her smile the way she is now. There’s always a tentative nature about her, and now that she’s alone with someone as friendly and welcoming as Ella, she’s carefree.
How am I supposed to see her like this and hand her over to a monster like Malik? Once he has her, she’ll never smile like this again.
There has to be a way to get out of this arrangement without getting either Harper or myself killed for it. I could curse my father for all of this. He knew damn well what he was getting himself into, and he didn’t care.
Xander and I approach, and all of us make small talk before Harper and I excuse ourselves to go to our room. I know where it is, so I turn down the offer to show us there, and I wrap my armaround Harper’s shoulder as we walk. She almost seems a little confused by the affection I’m showing her, but Xander and Ella are friends. Plus, I doubt they’re surprised by it.
She doesn’t say anything as we walk through the mansion, but as soon as the door closes behind us, she whips around and stares at me with her arms folded in front of her.
“Can you please tell me what the hell is going on now?” Her face is contorted in a mixture of confusion and desperation. “I know something is wrong.”
