Page 31 of Play Dirty

Madigan scrunched his face up. But would he? Six months ago, Madigan would’ve said yes with certainty. Now, he wasn’t sure avenging his friend and former fuck buddy would be enough to lure him away from his love shack with Cas. Ah, fuck it, he was probably doomed to be cat food.

He gave the back of the metal chair a few solid tugs to confirm it wouldn’t budge, then gave up and retrieved the bottles of water from the ground, guzzling one after the other and dropping them under the chair when he was finished.

Folding his arms over his chest, Madigan stared at the door and forced the buzz of his fears into the back of his mind. The silence sure as fuck didn’t help. But he’d been through this before, he reminded himself, and he’d gotten out of it alive.

Far more unsettling was his reaction to Az’s voice and touch even at the height of his fury, how the familiarity of it had wrapped around his core like a warm blanket. Maybe he could blame that on whatever drugs Az had given him because it sure as fuck made no logical sense.

Madigan dozed off and on between the throbbing in his cheek and the unrelenting churn of his thoughts, jerking awake when he heard the squeal of the door opening once more. He bet the hinges were rusted on purpose, some kind of psyops tactic to instill anxiety, probably, and he was sorry to say it worked pretty damn well.

13

Azrael

The further Az got from Madi, the more painful the pull to return became. Az needed to explain himself, needed Madi to see the bigger picture. But what could he say that would make up for what he’d done? In the moment, with needle in hand, he couldn’t see any other way to accomplish his goal, but looking at Madi, broken and betrayed, Az wished he’d thought of another plan. Why hadn’t Madi popped up sooner? Admitted his feelings sooner? It was his fault, really.

That was what Az tried to tell himself, anyway. He’d had almost a month to convince himself Madi had this coming, that whatever happened to him in that room would be punishment enough for making Az feel something only to rip it away from him out of nowhere. He’d run through the plan a thousand times, he’d thought of every possible outcome, all but Madi baring his soul, telling Az he’d missed him. All but Madi, vulnerable and compliant in Az’s bed, letting him use him, carve his initial into his flesh, mark him. Why had Madi had a change of heart just when Az had finally convinced himself he could find a way through his hurt?

Az clenched his teeth until the muscle in his jaw twitched. There was nothing to be done about it now. The plan was already in motion. Madi was a prisoner. Az could only pray that Madi understood this was the way it had to be. He shook his head, trying to focus on the task at hand. It had taken far too many negotiations and just as many lies to get to this point. He just had to trust that Madi would eventually see the ends justify the means.

Az nodded to one of the six guards in the warehouse, who gave him a quizzical look but didn’t question Az’s arrival since he’d come with one of the bosses, though not Bennington. He needed Bennington. That was the only bargaining chip he’d have with Madi. His only shot at amea culpa.

He checked his watch. Bennington was supposed to have arrived by now. Az could hardly make a gift of Madi if the recipient didn’t show up to receive him. A strange sliver of nerves ran along Az’s spine. Was he being set up? Was Ryan just playing him? Had he figured out he had ulterior motives?

If so, at least he and Madi would die together. There was some sort of poetic justice in that. Perhaps Madi would forgive him in the afterlife? Did people like them even get an afterlife?

Az leaned against the wall closest to the entrance, doing his best to look bored while he scanned the warehouse. In a perfect world, Az would have been able to stake out the place in advance like they had in Brazil, but that wasn’t possible. After Bennington’s Rio warehouse had been “inexplicably” raided and the girls rescued, Bennington had closed ranks around his other properties. With his two partners ‘missing,’ Az agreed Bennington’s paranoia was warranted.

It hadn’t taken Az much time at all to convince Ryan that they could use Bennington’s paranoia against him, especially once he explained to him that he’d made a mistake trusting Madi, that he’d fled with the money they’d vowed to split. Ryan had delusions of grandeur, always had, and he was easily exploited. But he’d only agreed to bring Az to the warehouse with Madi in tow as a gift for Bennington. Ryan agreed a quick bullet to Madi’s head would guarantee Bennington’s trust.

Unlike Brazil, this warehouse was in the middle of a crowded Boston shipyard. Az had noted hundreds of containers stacked along the water, cranes working to load them onto large cargo ships. Was this how they moved the women? Cargo ships? Was that the purpose of keeping all these women in those shipping containers?

“You look like somebody kicked your puppy.” Ryan leaned against the wall beside him close enough for Az to feel the heat of his body despite the amount of space available. Az forced himself not to move away. Despite making himself clear that their arrangement was strictly business, it wouldn’t pay to make it look like Ryan’s touch made him recoil, even if it did.

“I wasn’t permitted pets growing up. My mother was allergic,” Az said conversationally.

Ryan chuckled. “I thought you might be feeling some guilt about agreeing to put a bullet in your boyfriend’s head to get on the boss’s good side.”

“There’s no such thing as sentimentality in our line of work. You know that. He was exceptionally talented in bed, but that is all it was. A working relationship with benefits. He broke the rules when he took off with my half of the money.” The lies usually rolled off Az’s tongue like honey, but this one had barbs, hooking under his flesh, making him bleed.

He didn’t like lying about Madi’s character, which was ridiculous since that's what he’d been doing for the last thirty days or so. Calling Madi a thief, calling him untrustworthy, unprofessional. Madi was a lot of things but never those things. The lies hadn’t mattered until that night. Now, they did.

Ryan made a noise of surprise. “I guess I was wrong about your guilt. You two are well suited, both so cold-blooded.”

The meaning seemed obvious, given they were both professional killers, but Ryan’s smug voice hinted at some deeper meaning. “Is that so?” Az arched a brow.

Ryan hmm’d. “I did some asking around about your friend after you came to me that night. It seems you are both cut from the same cloth. I’ve heard he once betrayed his own lover for just fifty-thousand dollars.”

Adrenaline spiked through Az’s blood. Was that true? Some warped and twisted part of Az hoped it was. If Madi could kill a lover for fifty-thousand dollars, surely he would understand why Az was doing this. If he could get Madi to understand, perhaps he could get Madi to forgive him. HeneededMadi to forgive him.

Az shrugged. “I didn’t know.”

“It seems only fair that he be on the other end of the barrel this time, no? Metaphorically speaking, of course. Bennington doesn’t care how you put him down as long as he’s dead. Knowing my boss, he’ll likely mutilate the corpse as a message to others who think he might be weak or vulnerable. To tell you the truth, at first, I thought Bennington had taken out both of his partners for a bigger piece of the pot.”

Az was quiet for a long moment. There was that word again… Vulnerable. In their world. being seen as soft made them a target. He’d cast Madi as the villain to Ryan and Bennington to find their other bases of operation, but it was Az who’d proven defenseless. He’d been helpless to resist Madi’s pull. He’d offered up his flesh to Az’s blade, a blood offering, one Az had accepted just before he’d betrayed him in the most egregious way possible.

“Speaking of, how much longer do we have to wait for your boss?” Az asked, needing to be done with this regardless of the outcome. Something about Ryan’s noncommittal shrug raised the hairs on Az’s arms and unsettled him. “Bathroom?” he asked.

“Back of the building on your right. Don’t get lost.”