The Billionaire's Assassin [COMPLETE]

File 15: Loyalty

Portland, Oregon

2018

There was nothing more satisfying to Rex than the sound of his gun rifling through the flesh of some sorry souls that came in between him and his next target. Herald Rockford was an illustrious businessman whose power had reached most of the pockets of politicians. He must have rubbed someone the wrong way or shook a hand he shouldn’t have. Because of this, someone paid a generous penny to wipe him out. And Rex needed to let off some steam, receiving a series of calls and texts from his former lover.

“There’s no way I want to meet that prick,” Rex grumbled to himself at the thought. He’d seen Eli Bridgemont from his office window, escorting Mia to his sleek Jaguar. He looked pretentious in sunglasses despite the little light they gained from the sun. Even from the high scaled building, Rex could note the gelled product build up in his golden hair. There wasn’t any way in hell he’d be spending a night watching that man gamble for Mia’s affection.

Killing felt better to his system than schoolboy jealousy.

Reloading his gun, he crossed the entrance of Rockford’s opulent mansion on the outskirts of Portland swiftly. Malcolm was finishing up the other half of the mission on the other side of the city. This was his second job tonight, the first guy an easy shot from the building across the way. Wasn’t as protected as Rockford here as his security team scurried like rats when the second body fell to the ground. The silencer on his gun could only do so much as his finger trailed the steel daggers between his gloved hands.

“Who’s the--?”

Before the armed guard by the backdoor could finish, Rex caught him by the throat with his forearm. Squeezing tightly against the squirming man, Rex found it almost laughable when he tried to swing at him from behind. Without hesitation, he smacked him in the head with the butt of his gun, watching the man fall down the stairs onto the lawn.

Once entering the house, Rex found it too quiet when they had four armed guards outside the facility. Maybe he kept them out like dogs but that was unlikely, having grown up with security around him most of his life. There were two types of dogs that patrolled: the scruffy dogs that died for a buck outside and inside, the loyal hounds with higher level skills close by.

Creeping through the parlor and up the stairs, Rex expected to see one of these loyal hounds any time now. The stairs rounded up to the top, much like his old home he constantly ran away from but now, he’d do anything to walk through those doors and see his mother dancing around as she organized the decorative flowers. An ache in his heart had him wincing in pain from the memory.

Swoosh!

The sound came abruptly from the right, Rex leaning back suddenly to avoid a long dagger from grazing his nose. It stuck out the wall, the rays of moonlight catching it before Rex pulled it out, pointing his gun in the direction it came from.

“Give me Rockford; you won’t have to die tonight,” Rex ordered, stepping back down the staircase. He could hear the footsteps of his opponent down below, pointing his gun at a figure by the full-length window. The moonlight shimmered against his bald head, Rex analyzing that he had to be a man from his build and a short one, at that.

“Master Rockford is my sworn duty to protect,” a deep voice answered. The figured morphed into the shadows once more as Rex approached him closer. “If he dies, I die.”

“Then have it your way and die along with him.” Rex pulled the trigger, letting out several shots from the gun. The figure dodged them effortlessly, circling him with great speed. Shooting again, Rex took notice of the chill in the room, the silence of it while he tried to get a better reading on where the figure ran.

Suddenly a foot kicked his hand, knocking the gun out and onto the floor. Rex winced, reaching upwards to catch the solid ankle of his opponent before they could kick him square in the jaw. Pushing him back, Rex found himself face to face with an older hand beneath the moonlight of the parlor. The man swiftly took out two knives from behind him and Rex held the blade once lodged in the wall, matching his footing. They both caught their breaths before the man took charge, swinging his knife towards Rex’s face. He leaned back, barely dodging it before swinging his blade to catch the second attack.

Elegantly crouching, Rex swung his legs into the man who jumped and caught Rex in the shoulder, causing him to stumble. Not a moment went by before the man tried to strike again, slamming his blade towards Rex’s head. Tossing to the side, Rex propelled himself to his feet as the man's blade caught into the floorboards. Rex took a step behind him and plunged his knife into the man's back without hesitation. The cries of pain, like the howling of an injured wolf, brought a smile to Rex’s face, catching the man by the neck behind him with his forearm. That sudden wake of pain would be his doom, Rex’s blade swiftly slicing through his throat, feeling the man’s body grow wet and numb in his arms.

Now for the big man himself.

Rex raced up the stairs towards the master suite he knew Rockford had been slumbering in, watching him from his window. As he kicked down the door, he found the powerful businessman cowering in the corner with tears in his eyes.

“Whoever’s paying you, I’ll double it--no, triple it!” the man begged.

Rex smirked, rotating the blade in his hand. “This isn’t about money, man. Just wanted you to understand something.”

“Th--then what is it?! Please! Spare me!”

“A little thing called loyalty.”

Rockford’s eyes widened in horror. “Nicole…”

“You f****d over the wrong people.” Before Rockford could reply, Rex slung the knife straight into his skull, watching the blood run down his face before he slumped to the ground. The night air went cold and still against Rex’s ears, just how le liked it after a job well done.

“Daddy?”

Rex swirled around to see a tiny girl around the age of five in rainbow pajamas, eyes wide with fright. They caught Rex’s to his dismay before he took a breath, bending down to her level. The curls of her hair were frizzed from her pillow, sleep still twinkling in her eyes. Rex gently patted her on the head, gesturing for her to turn away from the gruesome scene. “Daddy isn’t feeling very well. How about you head back to bed?”

Her bottom lip quivered as Rex covered her eyes, the sounds of her whimpering breaking his heart. To witness your own parents murder and be so defenseless. He was all too familiar with it. “Daddy…”

“Go into your room and count to a thousand. Can you do that?”

Reluctantly, the little girl nodded while Rex stood up, gently pushing her out the door to close it behind him. With his behind her, she scurried to her room and under the covers, starting to count silently to herself. Her eyes were still wide with fright and it took everything in Rex not to tremble as he closed her bedroom door. A wave of nostalgic feels came flooding through him, the child's eyes burning now a new haunting memory. The torment, the anguish, the pain. All caused by him.

He continued to prove his father right, becoming more and more like the man he hated.

*~*~*~*~*~*

“I am more than just pissed at you, Rex!” Mia shouted at him, ignoring the people filing in and out of their building. Rex rolled his eyes, holding the passenger door open. “And news flash, kidnapping people in the middle of work isn’t a gesture of forgiveness!”

“Just get in the car, woman! Sheesh!”

Mia scowled at him before entering the car, Rex slamming it behind her loudly. “Rude.”

He entered on the drivers’ side, starting up the car. “I’m trying to make it up to you, okay?”

The fury rolling through her was only picking up the pace as they drove through the city. That weekend, she had to console two grumpy kids with ice cream and an entire day filled with animated musical movies. Some of the catchy songs were still ringing through her head. “Why didn’t you show up? Or tell me before? It would have spared us a lot of drama.”

“I said maybe. I had other plans that needed my attention.” And a long weekend of binge drinking to forget them. “Don’t tell me your boyfriend missed me?”

Rex could feel the heat of her glare even while keeping his eyes on the road. “Is that why you skipped out? Because you thought Eli was going to be there?” Ordinarily, to gain confirmation that Rex still felt the spark of jealousy would have made butterflies flutter inside of her. Now it just made a burning flame engulf her insides, clawing at the leather material of the car handle.

“Was he not?” The words fell off his tongue coyly which only made her agitation with him worse.

“No, he was not! Why would you think that?!”

“Because you said I’d be meeting guests that pertain to the contract. Like the boyfriend you want to protect from The Sun.”

Mia rolled her eyes as they parked in front of a cafe in downtown Seattle. “You’ve got to be kidding me! Do you know…” Mia caught herself before she ranted the wrong thing. Do you know how disappointed your kids were? At that moment, she began to question if she truly wanted this man in their lives. He was still selfish and childish. Always caring about making sure he didn’t get hurt by his own emotions. Some things never change. “Nevermind. I thought the old Rex was dead but it seems you still have pieces of him. Unfortunately, they’re the pieces no one wants.”

Rex felt the scorching sting of her statement hit him hard in the chest, knocking the breath out of him. Turning off the car engine, he took this time to think. If Eli wasn’t on the guest list, who were they? That petty jealousy at the thought of another man loving Mia always felt like he devoured blue flames that charred his insides. He couldn’t stand it. And now it had created a misunderstanding. Maybe he was acting selfish, immature, like the boy who’d rather throw a temper and run than stay and confront his problems.

“I’m sorry, Mia. We’re partners until we can get The Sun and I messed up. I let my emotions get the better of me.” He opened his door. “That’s why I thought I could make it up by taking you to brunch. But I’m guessing that’s not going to be enough.”

The corner of her lip pinched upwards. “We’ll talk further about this inside.”

Stepping out the car, they headed inside towards the cafe where they were properly sat at a table by the window and given menus. Mia kept her eyes on the menu, trying to collect her thoughts. This man that sat across from her was someone she had to get to know once more and yet, that familiar tingle from the youth still dwelled inside her. He was still the jealous fool from high school she fell in love with. And maybe if she played her cards right, she’d find all the pieces of him once again.

“Sorry to keep you both waiting,” a young waiter with curly brown hair and peach fuzz above his lip apologized. He slipped a card out the pocket of his apron and handed it to Mia. “Compliments from The Sun.”