Page 52 of The Assistant
Quinton scours the room for any sign of me and Harper, and as soon as he sees us, he rushes over to make sure we’re okay. He looks Harper in the eyes and assures her that nothing bad is going to happen now.
Looking around the room when everything is clear, I see some of Quinton’s men have a few cuts and scrapes, surface wounds that can be easily mended by their doctor. Malik, on the other hand, is slithering along the ground with a trail of blood behind him as he tries to escape the warehouse.
I let go of Harper’s hand, which I only just realized I’ve been holding, and walk over to Malik with one of Quinton’s guns. Malik hears me approaching and tries to hurry up as if he’s going to outrun me.
As I approach, I stand in front of him, stomping on his hand and savoring the shriek that escapes when I break his fingers.
“You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this,” I say as I squat down in front of him, grabbing a handful of his hair and forcing him to look at me. I spit in his eyes, completely degrading him as he’s about to die in shame. “I’ve lain awake during the night for the past week dreaming of ways to torment you. I know what you’ve done to the women in your life. I know what you would have done to Harper. I thought about torturing you, about cutting your dick off and shoving it down your own throat.”
I pause and watch the fear settle in his eyes as he stares at me with his mouth hanging open and blood dribbling from his chin. By the look on his face, he’s not above begging. I just wonder how many people have begged him for mercy and he’s shown none.
“But I was thinking about it on the drive here. You and I are two different people. I’m not the monster that you are, and I take pride in that.” I stand up and pull the gun from the holster on my belt, turning off the safety and pointing it at his head.
“No,” Malik groans as he shakes his head.
“You should be thankful I’m making this quick,” I say before pulling the trigger. The bullet lands between his eyes, and he’s instantly limp on the ground. I just stare at him in silence for a moment, feeling the weight of this lifting off of me.
Malik is dead. That means Harper is no longer endangered because of him. I should be happy, running around and screaming out in joy. But I still don’t have Harper back. She still hates me for my role in this. I don’t have anything to be thankful for right now.
“You selfish bitch!” Diana shrieks from one end of the warehouse. I look up to see her storming across the open area with Harper in her crosshairs. Harper doesn’t move. She only stands there, still covered in bruises from Malik and his men tormenting her, watching as her mother approaches with her fists balled at her sides. “All of this was your fault! How could you be so stupid as to sleep with the first man who shows you attention? I should have known you would let us all down.”
Harper is dumbfounded and doesn’t know what to say. I close the distance between me and Diana as she quickly approaches Harper to stand right in front of her.
“Leave her alone!” I shout. Diana whips her head around to glare at me. Her arms are folded indignantly across her chest, and I just know she truly believes she’s a victim in this scenario. “None of this is her fault, and you know it. I’m the one who got her into trouble. Nobody told me about this deal when she came to live with me. It’s my fault.”
My dad approaches the group with his arms crossed in front of him angrily. I shake my head seeing him and feel I need to correct myself. “Actually, it’s all Henry’s fault. He’s the one who offered Harper up like a pawn to begin with. This never should have happened, and he knows it.”
“You don’t know—” my father begins before I hold a finger up to silence him.
“We’re done. You have no hold over Harper anymore after everything you’ve put her through. I’ll pay for her art school tuition. I’ll make sure she’s taken care of.” I look at Harper and wrap an arm around her shoulder to hold her close to me. I feel her body relax in my embrace, and it feels like a positive step forward. “In fact, you’re done with the business too. I’m running it from here on out, aboveboard. Feel free to take your wife and enjoy the rest of your life together.”
My father looks me up and down to try to figure out if I’m being honest about the way I feel, and he must determine that I am. Honestly, he’s lucky he’s not ending up like Malik. I’m furious with him, and if push came to shove, I would do what I have to to protect Harper.
He grabs Diana by the arm and pulls her away from the two of us, guiding her toward the exit. Diana tosses one furious glance over her shoulder before storming out beside my father.
“Did you mean that?” Harper asks, looking up at me with wide eyes. “You’ll help me go to school?”
I nod. “Of course. I’ll let you go.”
A smile grows on Harper’s face, and I feel a moment of warmth in my chest before it’s replaced by ice. I wish I could get her to stay with me, to forgive me for my hand in the pain she’s gone through. I want nothing more than to stand by her and to protect her.
But the truth is, if leaving is going to make her happy, I love her enough to let her go.
Chapter 28
Harper
I never thoughtthis day would come. Even as I was packing up my meager belongings and bringing them to my dorm room on campus, the idea of actually going to art school felt foreign. I’ve fought for this.
Every single bullshit task Dawson gave me, putting up with Malik and Richard, all the pain I endured after the truth came out—it was all for this moment. Now I’m here in my dorm room, with everything I’ve ever wanted. Yet there’s a part of me that still feels empty, like I’m missing something.
It pains me to say that I know exactly what it is. It’s Dawson. After everything that happened, he knew I needed my own space. I stayed at Xander’s safe house with Ella and Xander for a few weeks while he made sure I had everything in order for art school. He paid the tuition, got me all the books I needed, and paid for me to have a new, not-professional wardrobe. He even got me a car so I can drive to and from campus and my new job at a cafe in town.
I thought about reaching out to him and touching base, but every time I let my fingers hover over his contact in my phone, I stopmyself. My fear is that being around Dawson is only going to cause me more pain. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to forget what happened between us.
Dawson and I have too much bad history to ever work out. He’ll always see me as the victim, and I’ll always see him as a liar. The two of us aren’t meant to be together.
It’s just a tough pill to swallow.
