Before I Die

When I park in a spot near his building, Logan says, “Let me go in first and talk to him. I think I’ll have a better chance of convincing him to drop the threats and work out a payment deal if it’s just me.”

Getting out of my car, I slam the door shut and light a cigar. “I’m giving you five minutes to talk to him, then I’m going to handle this bullshit myself.” He already said the guy’s broke, so I know damn well he’s not getting money from him, but I’ll give him his five minutes and then I’ll find out what else he’s hiding.

Logan heads toward the building to the cop’s door. I watch him knock, and then knock again. A good minute or so later the door opens and then Logan enters the apartment, closing the door behind him. It’s in the sixties today, so I find a sunny area near the building to smoke.

It can’t be more than five minutes later when I hear yelling coming from the apartment. It’s becoming evident Logan isn’t handling business properly. After I deal with the cop, I’m going to have to reassess Logan’s position in my business. Hiding shit from me is a huge damn red flag and I would be a fool to ignore it.

The door opens and Logan steps outside. He closes the door behind him and locks eyes with me, but doesn’t walk toward me. Okay…I guess I’m going to have to handle this shit.

As I push myself off the wall and take my last drag, I spot a woman stumble out of a window. Her ass hits the ground, but she doesn’t let it slow her down. She pops up and starts to run. What the fuck. She whizzes past me, and for a second, I think I recognize her. Where the hell have I seen this woman before? She doesn’t stop running until she gets to her car, and once she’s in, takes off, her tires peeling out.

Throwing my cigar into the grass, I stalk over toward Logan. Something’s wrong here. As I get closer, I see he has a gun in his hand, and his face is white as a ghost. I quickly assess the surrounding area, making sure there are no witnesses. “Get inside,” I bark. He steps back inside, and I follow him in, shutting the door behind me.

My eyes immediately go to the dead body on the floor. It’s not the first time nor will it be the last that someone has been killed by the hands of one of my guys, but with the business I run, I try to leave it as a last resort.

“What the fuck did you do?” I accuse, because really…there better be a damn good reason to kill a fucking cop.

“He left me no choice! He wasn’t listening.” Logan is staring at the guy bleeding out all over the floor.

“I told you to talk to him, not kill him. You should’ve let me handle it. After I call Franco to clean up your damn mess, we’re going to have a serious fucking talk.”

Logan looks at me, not saying a word. He’s in shock. I remember the first time I was forced to pull the trigger. I had no choice, and if I had to do it over again, I would still make the same decision I made back then. But knowing I did the right thing to save the person I loved doesn’t change the fact I still played God with a man’s life. It’s also the day I came to terms with the fact that if there is a God and heaven, there’s no way I’ll be walking through those pearly gates.

Taking my phone out of my pocket, I dial Franco’s number. With my eyes trained down on the screen, out of the corner of my eye, I notice a pair of women’s shoes. The girl falling out of the window. Fuck.

My head shoots up to Logan. “Was someone else here?”

He looks at me like I’m stupid but then looks around. Franco answers on the first ring. “I need a clean-up.”

“You got it.”

I give him the address while glancing around the room. A purse. I point to it, and Logan’s eyes follow my direction. I move to the kitchen and notice the clean dishes in the strainer. Two cups. Two sets of silverware.

After we hang up, I go back out to the living room and Logan is going through the purse. “I have a license. Her address isn’t here. I’m telling you, nobody was here.”

“She was here. I watched her fall out of the damn window.” I stalk down the hallway, knocking open each door until I find the window. The goddamn bathroom. “She was hiding in here.”

Jesus fucking Christ.

“Let’s go. Grab her purse and shoes. Franco will be here soon to clean this all up. You’re going to find the girl.” I point my finger at Logan. “Find her and bring her to me. Don’t fuck this up, Logan.”