Page 41 of End It All

Daiki laughed. "Yeah, well, when you're as important as me, none of that matters. Now, does it?"

Maybe he was right, but it didn't make him look any less weak.

"Harlow never had to have someone held."

Daiki's smile slipped. It was almost a grand moment, until something hard nearly made me black out as it hit the back of my head. My vision blurred and took every last thought out of my head. I blinked a few times trying to get my legs to work under me again. The only reason I hadn't hit the ground was because the brutes were still holding me up.

I licked my lips feeling the hot trail of blood slowly slide down the side of my temple.

"Watch your mouth," Daiki warned. The cruel smile was back on his face. "It must suck to see the whore you love be with another man."

My back stiffened at his words.

His laughter was devoid of humor as it echoed around us. "I always thought you two belonged together. Too bad he was sold off to be the Italian's bitch boy." He snapped his fingers and I was abruptly let go.

I stumbled forward catching myself before I face planted onto the floor. My breathing was shit as I sucked in air. Each breath made my abdomen clench, resulting in more pain.

"Was that necessary?" I forced out.

"Take on these guys and you can go home alive." He patted one of the larger guys' shoulders. His biceps alone were bigger than my head. "Don't take it easy on him. If you kill him, oh well."

A weapon would have been great right now. Shit, I'd take the grenade; blow some of these fuckers to bits. I shoved myself up and stood tall, relaxing my stance a bit as I lifted my fists. There were four of them and one of me. Shit odds, but not any I wasn't used to.

A fist cut through the air aimed at my face. I blocked it, but took the kick to the back of the knee. There was another fist with brass knuckles that scraped over my cheek cutting it open. Pain settled over me, and I moved my entire body back, crashing into the guy behind me. He wrapped his arms around my body, holding me tight to his. I pulled my head forward before slamming it back as hard as possible. My ears rang from the blow.

I didn't have time to orient myself. My vision blurred around the edges as I took on more hits then I'd ever like to admit. Another blow to the head had me reeling back. One of them grabbed my shirt and pulled me close. I used the momentum and slammed my fist into their nose. The cry did little to appease the annoyance coursing through my veins.

The more I moved, the more rage and my need for survival grew. I rammed my knee up and quickly stripped him of his belt. I had it around his thick neck in seconds, and pulled tight as the others came for me. I dodged what I could while I continued to pull tightly on the belt around the man's throat. His gasps of air were getting more and more desperate.

If given the chance, they'd kill me without remorse. It was only fair I did the same. His body dropped to the floor, and I kept a tight grip on the belt, making sure he was never going to get up again. I let the leather strap go just as one of them swung his leg back and attempted to kick me. I grabbed his leg and slammed my elbow down. I did it again before he could yank free. The resounding crack that filled the penthouse was perfection. His bellow and cursing in Japanese followed right after. He dropped to the floor along with his dead friend.

There was no time to wait as I had two more to go. I took on both of them trading blow for blow. Cuts formed over my knuckles as I landed a solid punch in one of their faces. He staggered back and I followed, jumping on him and riding his disoriented body to the ground. I drew my fist back and hammered it into his face. Even as his blood stuck to my fingers and splattered over my clothes, I kept going.

Movement out the corner of my eye caught my attention. I moved back just as the last one came at me. I didn't think, I simply reacted. The knife in the guy's coat that I was already beating to death ended up in my hand. I threw it and it landed squarely in the middle of the last one's chest.

I got up, my entire body aching. I’d taken on more hits then I'd wanted to, but I was still a little loopy after the hit to the head. I snatched the knife out of the man’s chest. Blood bubbled to the surface, and he clutched at the gaping wound. His mouth opened as if he wanted to say something.

"???????"Eat shit. I kicked his head, making it snap to the right. I left him to die a slow agonizing death. I slit the other two's throats, leaving no one alive.

Blood clung to me like a second layer of skin. Some bits flaking as they dried. I wiped my hands off on my pants.

"I see why you're useful now. I have a list of people I need you to take care of," Daiki said, reminding me he was there.

The way he watched me was how I imagined people stared at tigers in the zoo. I was a beast to him, but a caged one.

"I'm not a hit man."

"You're whatever I need you to be, Quincy." He patted my shoulder. "You're a dog. Nothing more."

There was so much I wanted to say, but my tongue felt heavy, and spots continued to screw with my already blurry vision. I couldn’t afford to be here and pass out. I took a step back and stumbled.

Daiki was smiling like he’d won but it had been me who laid waste to his guys. My stomach twisted as everything went black.

I coughed asI hit the ground. The world around me went black for a millisecond. My entire body was on fire as I forced myself to move. My hands scraped against the hard pavement, adding dirt and rocks to the cuts on my hands. I pushed myself up, sucking in a wheezing breath.

Forcing my eyes open, I swore under my breath in Japanese. I was right outside my mediocre apartment. There were a few stray glances my way, but I was too fucked up to care. I was going to have to move. Daiki knew where I was staying.

Shit life was steadily fucking me without lube. I know I told the brat upstairs I liked the pain but there was only so much dry dick a man could handle. I had my wallet out and a fresh joint between my fingers quickly. I lit it up and headed for the stairs leading to my building. Each step pulled at certain areas that were more sore then the others.