Weeks had passed and we still hadn't found Alex or heard from him. He suddenly went quiet after his feeble attempt in Boston. But, as much as I didn't want to admit it, his silence made me uneasy. Alex might be a spinless bastard but he was also a conniving snake. The car pulled up in front of the warehouse.
"We're here." Viktor said before he stepped out.
A moment later, he opened the door and I stepped out. I adjusted my jacket as I stared at the old rusty warehouse. To people on the outside it was nothing more than that, but hidden underground was one of my many drug factories. A couple of my men stood watch while the rest followed me into the warehouse, down the basement. It was stuffy and smelled of sweat and chemicals.
"Mr Adonis!" A voice squealed and half ran towards my direction. "I didn't know you were coming today." Margaret said nervously. Margaret was in charge of keeping this place in check and making sure everything went smoothly, she had been responsible for that for as long as I remember. She had a shitty life before I found her, the kind that being a drug worker seemed like a better life for her.I still had guards stationed here for security, but I also needed someone who didn't work with brute force.
"I was going through the list, and something had dragged my attention. The goods from last week weren't adding up. It says it's complete but at least a pound or two were missing. Someone is stealing from me." I said sharply. "You know how much I hate that."
"Stealing?" She chuckled nervously, fidgeting with her hands. "That's impossible, no one would dare do that."
I glared at her, my gaze cold. "Are you trying to say I'm lying?"
She immediately went still, fear clear in her eyes. "No, of course not." She said, her voice low. "I am sorry if it looked that way, I would never say that..."
My eyes scanned the room, ignoring her mumbling. Everything looked normal, all the workers were focused on their work, pretending not to notice me even though I knew they did. I had once chopped off a man's hand once for getting too distracted and letting a package pour away.
"Why don't we go to my office? There's warm coffee in the pot." Margaret said, showing off her crooked teeth.Her office was located right at the middle of the room, it had a glass pane so she could monitor the workers from where she sat. "Here you go sir." She said and handed me a mug.
I stared at the cup for a moment before taking it from her. "So what are you going to do about the little thief, you know how much I hate people stealing from me. Every drop is money and I won't tolerate it being chipped from."
"I haven't noticed anything out of place, the workers know better than to take even a pinch out of your drugs." She turned to Viktor, giving him a sultry smile. "Do you still take your coffee without sugar, Viktor?"
Victor kept his focus on his surroundings,not paying her any attention. "I'm good, thank you."
"Well someone is stealing from me Margaret, and if you don't want me making you an example then I suggest you find out who it is quickly." I took a sip of my coffee and spat it out immediately. "Why the fuck isn't there any sugar in this?!"
"My bad, I thought you liked your coffee plain, just like Viktor." She threw another flirty gaze at him but he didn't even notice.
I placed the cup down and sighed. "You know with the years that have passed, I would have expected you to stop jerking off to the sight of him."
I glanced out the glass and immediately my gaze caught a worker who seemed out of place. He was fidgeting, his wide eyes darting around nervously. I didn't need anyone telling me what was wrong with him, and I wasn't surprised when he discreetly slipped something into his pocket. I dug my hands into my pocket. "Who's he?" I nudged my head towards his direction.
"That's Karl, he's part of the new intakes and quiet handsome I might say." Margaret replied.
"He just stole from me, and I'm pretty sure he's high on it too." I said
"What? How do you know that?" She asked.
I ignored her and walked outside, Viktor trailing behind me. I headed towards him, my gaze not leaving him. "What did you hide in your pockets?" I asked, my voice low and even.
"Nothing sir." He replied nervously. "I was just wiping my hands that's all."
My frown deepened as I moved closer to him. "You're wearing gloves."
His wide eyes darted around nervously. "I saw something on them and needed to wipe it off."
I stared at his trembling hands. "Check him boys."
The man remained still as my men began checking him but I could see the tears threatening to fall from his eyes.
"I found something." One of my men pulled out a tiny ziplock bag halfway filled with my drugs.
I took a step closer until I was no more than an inch away from his face. "Stealing from me?" I said, my voice dangerously low.He fell to his keees and began crying.
"Please, I won't do it again! It has just been so hard and I needed a little bit of escape, so I just took a little."
I glanced around at the other workers who were trying their best to stay focused on their work.I folded my arms across my chest and stared down at him. "What's the number one rule you were told when you were recruited?"
"The products are off limits to us." He stammered.
I punched him in the face and he stumbled back before falling to the floor. "I couldn't quite hear you, what was the rule again?"
He winced in pain as he struggled to his knees. "The products are off limits to us." He said, his voice shaking.
I kicked his sides and his pathetic cries filled the room. "Speak louder!"
"The products are off limits to us!" He yelled in tears. "I'm sorry! I won't ever do it again!"
But I didn't stop, I kept stomping on him, not hearing or seeing anything else but Alex, crying pathetically on the floor, begging for my forgiveness. Suddenly, a phone call pulled me out of my blind rage. I took a step back from the trembling man on the floor, he was covered in blood now, still begging for forgiveness.
"The next time anyone thinks of stealing from me, they better think twice. Just because I showed mercy to him and spared his life doesn't mean I'd do the same to you." I said loud and clear for everyone to hear. I looked back at my men. "Take him away from here and find someone to clean this mess."
I pulled out my phone from my pocket to see the caller, it was Gomez. I walked a measurable distance away from everyone before I picked it. "What's wrong?"
"Boss, your wife hurt herself!"My heart went still.
"What?! How?!"My men had noticed my outburst and were heading towards me.
"I don't know, I went into the room to give her lunch and saw her lying on the floor covered in blood."I turned to them. "Get the car around now!" I let out a shaky breath. "Gomez, tell me you already called Ramirez."
"The maids already did and he's on his way. He'd be here in about five minutes."
I cut the call and half ran out of the warehouse to the car. Viktor ran just as quick as me and hurried into the driver's seat while I got into the passengers seat. "Drive Viktor!" I yelled.
He nodded and began the car, speeding out of the warehouse. As we rushed to the mansion, I tried calling Ramirez but it went straight to voicemail. My hands were trembling so bad that it was hard to hold my phone. I took in a deep breath and pushed my hair back.
"Drive faster Victor! If we don't get there in time, I swear I'll blow your brains out!"
He stepped on the gas and the car surged forward, weaving through traffic recklessly. I held on tight, my eyes fixed on the road ahead. For the first time since I was a child on those cold steps, I was scared. My trembling hands weren't enough to explain what was happening on the inside. My mind was a jumble of the worst case scenario and each of them ended with Summers lifeless body. The car screeched to a halt in front of the mansion, and I leapt out, my heart pounding in my chest. I sprinted towards the entrance, Viktor, a couple of steps away from me. I took the stairs three steps at a time, cursing at it for being so long. I met Gomez at the top of the stairs, his face grim.
"Is Ramirez with her?" I demanded, my voice low.
Gomez nodded. "He got here a couple of minutes ago."I wanted to ask him if she was alright, if nothing was wrong with her, but I didn't trust my voice anymore. I headed towards her room, taking slow steps. As I reached I room, I was sure I was going to have a heart attack if my heart kept hitting this hard against my chest. Ramirez was kneeling beside her bed muttering something to one of the guards.
"Ramirez" I said and headed to the bed. Summer's eyes were closed, her face drawn and her skin pale. There were bandages wrapped on each of her wrists."What happened?" I asked.
He looked up at me. "She cut her wrists, by the time I got here, she already lost a lot of blood."
"So what's going on? Is she..Is she okay?"
He looked back at Summer. "She's alive Adonis, but we need to get her to the hospital now or she will die."
Everything suddenly went quiet.