Chapter 20 NOT MY PROBLEM

Chapter 20 NOT MY PROBLEM
FIN
It was the right thing to do. That is what I have been telling myself for the past week, that I spent avoiding her.
That night, I admitted to myself that the further down the road I went, the harder it would be for me to find my way back. So, I did the right thing and went to him to give him the control he wanted and surrender.
I sigh and focus on the work at hand.
Mia is not my problem.
She belongs to Nikolai, not me. And I didn’t survive this long by wanting things that aren’t mine to take.
I step out of the car with my bag full of tools as soon as my target drives in. The people in Moscow were hiding a traitor, and that is against the rules.
The middle-aged man pauses as soon as he sees me, and so do his two escorts.
“How–how did you get in here?” he yelps.
“You should know better than to ask me such questions.”
I casually take out my silencer and shoot the two men next to him. He looks terrified – which is funny, because with everything the night holds – it’s way too early for that.
I point the gun at him. “Move. And don’t make a sound.”
He puts one foot in front of the other, and I follow closely behind, holding up my gun. We enter the house, and the front door closes behind us with a soft click.
The house is quiet, but I know it’s not empty. There are still a few guards in the house. His eyes flick toward the hallway where shadows move – guards, unaware of my presence.
I push him forward.
The first guard turns the corner, mouth opening to speak, but the words never make it out.
I fire once.
The sound barely exists. He drops like a puppet with its strings cut, body folding to the floor. The man lets out a strangled breath.
“No sound.”
The second guard never even sees me. Neither does the third or fourth, or fifth. By the time we reach the living room, his house is empty.
I shove him to the chair and toss my bag on the closest sofa; he stumbles but catches himself.
“You know why I’m here,” I say, removing my gloves slowly and deliberately. “So, let’s not waste time pretending.”
He shakes his head, and I smile, pulling up a chair to sit across from him. I have all the time in the world.
“We can do this all night long, you know,” I say, smiling.
I reach for my bag and take out my penknife, and get up, pacing the room slowly. “We both know you’re going to talk.”
I can see him trembling and his eyes frantically searching for something – most likely a weapon to use.
“Before you make that dumb move, with the crazy idea that you can beat me, I’ll tell you for free – you can’t.”
He still goes for it, fueled by the slim possibility of getting to his weapon and somehow using it against me. I have dealt with a lot of stupid people, but I didn’t expect Dean Johnathan to be one of them.
I shoot him in the knee, and his fat body falls to the floor with a thud while I casually walk over to him, still trying to crawl his way to – oh wait, it wasn’t a weapon – it was a cellphone.
Oops.
I kick his jaw, and he rolls over, panting.
“Look what you made me do now, Dean. You should have just communicated,” I chuckle. He looks at me with pleading eyes but doesn’t say the words, which, for some reason, pisses me off.
I grab his shirt and drag him with it to the chair I had pulled earlier. “Do you like magic tricks, Dean?”
He doesn’t reply.
I smack him across the face. “I said, Do you like magic tricks?” I ask again.
He nods frantically, and I grin. “Okay then.”
I reach into my bag and pop out some duct tape, then some mint gum that I pop into my mouth.
‘Let’s get started, shall we?”
I take off my coat and strip him naked, wrapping his body with the duct tape. Everywhere, aside for his lower area and his feet. Then I flip the chair over so he’s in a lying position.
I pull out my knife and bend over, eyeing his manhood with wicked creativity. I grab it, I think I’m secure enough in my masculinity to not feel weird about this – I guess.
I sigh and bite my lower lip; I grab his dick and slice through his skin. His scream vibrates through the house and its music to my ears.
I carefully peel off the skin, squinting to see clearly.
“Please!” he cries.
“You can talk whenever you want, Dean. I’m just having fun down here.”
I reach into my bag again and get my lighter. The peeled skin is hanging off his flesh and bones now.
I get to my feet to look at his face, and hot tears are running down his cheeks.
“Tell me where he is, and I will make this quick. If not, I have a lot more creative ideas to try out.”
He spits out blood and coughs out some more. “Please.”
“This is a waste of time,” I get back on the floor and light it under his feet. He cries out, trying so hard to move, but I made sure that he couldn’t.
“He’s in California!” he yells out desperately.
“Oh!” I shrug, a bit disappointed that it’s come to an end.
“That was so underwhelming.” I toss the lighter back into my bag and pull the chair up. He’s bleeding and sweating and crying.
“Details,” I say, switching back to a serious tone.
“I’m not sure… the exact location, but they’re somewhere… in Redwood City. I was supposed to meet them today.” He stutters, trying to take in the pain and speak through it.
‘Thank you for your help, Dean. If it’s any comfort, this would have ended a lot sooner if you weren’t so stubborn.”
“Please, tell my daughter – “ I put a bullet between his brows before he could finish his sentence. I’m not an errand boy, and I don’t give a fuck about his daughter.