Page 9 of Unwritten Rules

We didn’t.

I mentally prepared myself for another dead body as I hopped on my bike, slipping the helmet over my head. Sure, I was violent, but the dead bodies? Not my favorite.

I preferred punching men in the face and having them put up a good fight with me. Even better when they rightfully accused me of sleeping with their girlfriends. They were desperate to prove their manhood by winning a fight with me... which they never did.

The ride was nice and smooth, keeping up with Reaper as he split traffic was always the fun part. He never cared about his reckless driving with anyone, while I had to at least try not to die. My grandfather’s conglomerate, Chamberlain Industries, would be mine one day, seeing as I was the sole heir. It died with him if I didn’t get my hands on it.

We used a spot owned by an associate’s real estate company for a lot of our less-than-professional dealings, and this site was no different. A place under construction and heavily monitored by us was the perfect spot to, well, execute.

Reaper hopped off his bike, his weight lifting off it made it look as if it gasped in relief. He was a beefy motherfucker and somehow got giddy at each job he could get violent at. His body looked ready to crush heads with his biceps and insane amount of muscle. However old he was, he looked to have spent his entire life in the weight room with the goal of not fitting into door frames. Where I was built for speed, he was built for brute strength.

I wondered what his free time looked like some days. Other days, I didn’t want to know.

“You read the file?” I asked him.

He shrugged. “I only saw the end result.”

My hand went to my nose, pinching the bridge in annoyance. “Weneednames and information first. I need something to bring back to The Dictator or it’s my ass on the line.”

His eyes squint as he strokes his chin through his mask, kind of like how someone would stroke a beard... but I’m not sure if he even has one, I’ve never seen the dudes face

“How many names, and how much information before I send him to hell?”

“Just... whatever you can get. He’s been working with some rivals for a while and I need to know who, what, when, and where. Can you manage that?”

Shrugging again, the giddy motherfucker skipped over to the door like a school kid across the playground. And to thinkIliked violence? Being named ‘Reaper’ seemed to be for...reasons. All my thoughts ceased when he busted through the front door without so much as a warning.

If he wasn’t so good at his job...

I shook my head and followed him in.

What I found was Reaper had booted this man out of his chair onto the floor and stood over him, arms crossed. His bulky frame in skin-tight black clothing was intimidating this small man on the floor into almost tears.

“Woah! Augustus said that this was a business meeting!” He was basically screaming in fear of Reaper. Honestly? I would too. The fucker was scary.

Trying not to laugh at the scene of a grown man cowering in fear, I stood with my arms crossed in a similar stance. “Thisisa business meeting, but it’s also an intervention.”

He tried backing away, holding his hand out in a protective manner. “Wh-what is this about?”

I rolled my eyes. “Look, I’m going to make this easy for you. Give me the names, dates, times, or anything you have floating around in your noggin. Otherwise, Reaper here will pull them out of you.”

His eyes bulged out of his head as he looked back to the large, imposing figure standing over him. “I don’t know what you want!”

Reaper set his boot slowly to his head. “John, I will count to three because I’m a nice man sometimes.”

His boot pushed slowly.

“One...” His head was guided toward the floor.

“Two...” The ground and his head made connection with one another. Next, he’d apply pressure.

“And–”

“Wait! Wait! Jason! J-Jason Haines! He approached me about three years ago with a proposition.”

I scoffed. “You fucking scum. You’ve been a rat for three years?”

“He said your grandfather was going down with some other woman and told me I could be useful and make it out unscathed! I don’t know much more than that, I swear!”

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