Page 40 of The Sweetest Note

Moving around him, I walk slowly and calculatedly up to Sherman. My shoes crinkle the clear plastic that’s underneath me as well, and even as goosebumps begin to litter my skin, I refuse to react. I know they’re watching me closely. “Do you know who I am, Sir?” I ask politely.

My father snorts softly, crossing his arms over his chest as he watches. It’s only the three of us here, which means he was bluffing about beating the shit out of me. Orion is also a lot stronger than he appears to have trussed up Sherman the way he did.

Sherman heaves in a breath, his face bright red. I may not have to do anything, maybe he’ll just expire from outrage. It would make my job so much easier. “You’re William’s football son and delinquent. Aren’t you a college drop out as well or something?”

My eyebrow raises in amusement. I most certainly have a college degree. I punch the man in the gut and he grunts in pain. “I went to college and graduated with a communications and mass media degree,” I explain blandly. I step back and then punch him as if he’s a heavy bag and I’m working out. I am going to have to start training again with the bag I have in the basement if this is the kind of ‘negotiations’ I’ll be handling.

“I have a lot of education in these five fingers,” I tell him, stretching my hand. “I understand you’re a stumbling block in my father’s campaign, keeping him from finding the votes he needs to become governor. Am I correct?” I feign a punch and Sherman gives a pained scream.

I smirk, allowing the world to think I’m amused by his suffering.

“No!” he yells. I take a step forward, my brow raising again. Now he’s just lying to me.

“You do understand it’s probably bad for your health to lie to me, right?” I ask. Sherman takes gulping breaths as he stares at me.

“I just don’t think it’s right that everyone bends over backwards for the man when he’s done nothing toearnit,” he whines. “I wanted my cut, is that so awful? It takes years to get clinical trials going, and there’s people in these medical clinics without rights that are perfectly primed to help people.”

“So, taking advantage of people in the clinics my father has set up is a worthy sacrifice for your pharmaceutical company?” I ask. It’s so ludicrous and entitled, I have to fist and relax my hands continuously to maintain control.

“Listen, they’re in an enclosed environment, no one really cares about them because they’re outcasts in their own families. What’s the worst thing that could happen?” Sherman roars, despite his injuries.

Glancing over at my father’s smug face, I know the correct answer. “The problem with this is they aren’t your clinics or your patients. This entire set up is devised as a platform to get my father elected. As far as what he’s done to deserve this, he’s lived a quiet life for years serving a small community to the best of his ability. Now, it’s time to move on, and you need to step aside, or you’re not going to enjoy your life choices, Sir,” I spit out.

Politeness can be both scary and effective I’ve noticed, because your adversary will misunderstand exactly how dangerous you are. This is how I’ve survived my father for so long. Swallowing, Sherman stares at me as Orion drops my jacket on a table, pulling a cart over to us. My eyes glance over at the items, almost in disinterest. I’m going to follow this through, regardless.

There’s a hammer, nails, pliers, and more and I grunt at the tools before me. “Are you really ready to go through with this, Mr. Sherman?” I ask mildly.

“Oh fuck,” he moans. “Grant, you can’t honestly be serious about this?”

Sherman’s eyes roll to look at my father, but my dad just shrugs. “Look, you’re not giving me any choice. I asked nicely, but you went to Mr. Xav and above my head. He’s not as nice as I am, and he’s asked to make a permanent example out of you.”

Fuck.Anxiety and adrenaline hit me so hard, the room spins. Thankfully my feet are planted wide, and the angle of my head doesn’t show anyone my eyes have closed. He doesn’t mean permanently the way I’m understanding him, does he? And yet… the plastic underneath my feet makes a hell of a lot more sense now than it did before.

Swallowing hard, I open my eyes, looking at Sherman. He’s gone from angry and afraid, to deathly white. Orion shows me a hammer and a sledgehammer.

“Honestly, I enjoy the weight of a sledgehammer, and you’re a big guy. Since he’s going to end up on the wall of his big fancy estate as an example to everyone, which would you rather?” Orion’s eyes glint with eagerness, and I get the impression he’s done this in the past. I also feel like he enjoys this.

Cutting to my father, I watch as he sits in a chair, feet propped up on a box as he observes.

“I never promised to give you all the information exactly when you wanted it. The sins of the father are now the sons. Have fun with it, but be sure to make him scream. I need it to be bloody for Xav, the fucker likes it. His executives are planning to have a meeting at his estate tomorrow morning, so ya know… don’t dawdle so we can set him up just right,” my father says, crossing his arms.

This is all so much worse than I thought. Choosing the sledgehammer, I learn the weight of it before lunging at Sherman’s kneecap. I believe his screams will follow me into my nightmares, which means Carrie will have good company.

12

DEREK

After two “meetings”, I stare down at my blood soaked hands as I wash them vigorously in the steel sink.

“Be sure to use the brush, or you’ll never get it all, and then soak it all in bleach,” Orion says, leaning against the wall with a smirk.

We are in another warehouse, having just made an example of someone who stood against my father and Mr. Xav. His name was Langston. I don’t know why his name is ingrained into my brain, it just feels right to remember the people I kill. Fuck. I’m a murderer now. I grunt at Orion in answer, using the noise to push out a breath. Forcing my hands to stay steady, I spray bleach on my palm and start to scrub. I know this isn’t exactly what Orion wanted me to do, but I don’t think I’ll ever feel clean again.

“I don’t know why I expected you to lose your shit doing this, but you did alright, Baby Williams,” Orion chuckles, slapping my back.

I wince as he walks away. I really hope that isn’t a nickname that sticks, as it makes me cringe. My armor is a little tarnished at the moment, and I feel raw underneath it. My father had someone collect the body at this location, setting up another surprise for the board members Langston was meeting with tomorrow morning.

Dad has always been known for his dramatic flair, but this is going a little far, even for him. Taking even breaths, I tell myself I’ll unpack it all later. I earned myself a call to my mother, and while the price is higher than I expected, it’s still one step closer to my end goal.

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