Chapter 49 The Leak
JAXON’S POV
“Bring him in.”
My voice was calm, deathly calm for what was about to happen next.
The door opened, and he was dragged in by two of my men who threw him forward.
He staggered but braked in time, more out of fear of tumbling into me than a need to keep himself from falling.
Despite that, he still dropped to his knees. His body was trembling too badly to keep his weight up, and he looked when he was picked up.
His lips had split open, the part where he’d taken a punch to, and even more parts of his face were bruised.
“Joe,” I called, and he shook all over, scrambling to pull his palm together, “Please, Boss, give me a chance…I…I can explain…”
“You can explain?” I repeated emotionlessly, holding my hands to the light to take off my cuff links.
Following that, I rolled my sleeves at a carefree pace, working on one arm first, then the other, before finally looking at him.
My eyes flicked to the others, “Set him down.”
“Wait, please…Boss…” Joe breathed fearfully as they forced him to the ground.
A foot was stamped onto his back, keeping him in place while he squirmed and writhed in pain.
Blood trickled down his head from a cut there, and dust covered him all over.
“Go on,” I gestured, “Explain yourself.
On cue, the foot on his back was taken off, and whimpering in pain, he scampered to get on his knees.
Now kneeling, he held his hands over his knees as his chest heaved, “Boss, I swear it wasn’t supposed to happen. I swear, I had it under control…”
“Control?” My gaze sharpened, and he promptly kept mute, shivering.
“You lost my shipment.”
“No,” I chuckled, “You caused me a massive loss.”
“Boss, I…” He tried to speak, but no words came out.
“It was a cargo worth millions,” I continued, as calmly as before, watching as he took even faster breaths now.
“It wasn’t my fault, someone tipped them off…”
“Who?” I cut in.
He paused abruptly, and for a split second, his eyes widened in shock.
“I don’t know,” he muttered finally.
I let out a belt of humorless laughter that waned in an instant, “Well, that’s unfortunate.”
He must have felt the murderous intent of my gaze because he hastily began to plead again, “Boss, please just give me another chance. I swear, I can fix it…I….”
I chuckled quietly, then let out a light scoff, “You think this can be fixed?”
He froze, then lifted his head to glance at me in shock, as if to ask if that was true.
I rested my hands on my thighs, then leaned forward slightly in my seat. “You of all people shouldn’t have done that. You know I much rather prefer incompetence over disloyalty…”
“Rots spread faster than you can control if you don’t cut them out.”
His face, which was already pale, lost even more blood.
“No, no, boss, please…I’ve been loyal.”
“You crossed a line you shouldn’t have.”
“No, please…”
I stood up slowly, then paced around the room for a few before stopping right in front of me. I lowered myself to his level. “Do you know what happens to people who betray me?”
He didn’t respond, but it was more because he couldn't speak.
“Hmmm…How about I show you?”
I lifted my hand and signaled, and one of my men quickly walked forward, presenting a gun to me.
Joe broke down instantly, sobbing now, “No, please…Boss, have mercy, I have a family.”
I gave a fluttery sigh, turning the gun over in my palm, “Everyone does.”
Slowly, I raised the gun to his head, hands locked over the trigger, and like a bomb, time ticked with the sound of a racing heartbeat.
Suddenly, someone called out, “Stop.”
I didn’t even need to look to know who it was.
Nathan.
He stood by the door with a frantic look on his face, chest heaving as though he’d run all the way here.
I lifted my gaze slowly, questioningly, “You’re interrupting.”
“I know,” Nathan stepped in with paced movements.
“You can’t kill him.”
My brows raised at that.
I straightened, still staring at him, “Care to tell me why not?”
Nathan glanced at Joe briefly, then back at me before responding, “There’s a pattern.”
“What pattern?”
He glanced at Joe again, then continued, “This isn’t the first time we’ve taken a hit like this. The last one, we didn’t even know what was going on until we discovered that someone had been making secret deals behind our backs.”
“And?” I cut in, wanting him to get to the chase.
“Now, I think we can figure out much more if we make good use of him. I don’t think this is a one-man operation, and if we kill him now, we won’t be able to verify that.”
I lowered my gaze to Joe, who was now staring gratefully at Nathan, “You think he knows something?”
“I'm not sure, but I do know that someone will be glad we killed him.”
“It’s best we leave him alive for now until we can figure out who’s directing the scene from the shadows, and who knows, if we grill him a little more, we can find out pretty useful information that might help in our search.” He finished, then paused, waiting for me to make a decision.
I considered his words for a moment, then retracted my gun and leaned back, looking back at Joe, “You heard Nathan, he still thinks you are useful or might be useful.”
The hope in his eyes magnified, and he muttered hastily, "Thank you, thank you so much, I won’t disappoint…”
He never got the rest of his words out, and as soon as I fired the gun, confusion replaced hope in his eyes.
Nathan’s eyes widened, but the deed was already done.
I turned to Nathan and then said icily, “I don’t need betrayers.”