Mess Us Up – Jaxson Kidman Page 0,58

Mama and Declan…”

“It’s being handled,” I say to her. “Same with Ado. It’s all being handled.”

There’s silence again for a few seconds.

I cut the wheel to the right and the tires scream.

I slam on the gas pedal and the engine roars.

“Where are we going, Mac?” Jolie asks.

“You’re getting an apology, sweetie,” I say to her.

And then I’m going to kill Declan.

Declan lives on the ground floor in a shit-hole apartment building just outside of town. It’s the kind of place you’d never think a cop would live, but it’s the exact kind of place a dirty cop would live. Because Declan pisses all his money and time away on women, drugs, and fantasizing about being something he’s not.

There’s a million things that could have went wrong the night he barged into Jolie’s apartment. I guess in a way it’s a good thing he’s a complete idiot or else it could have been bad.

I park the car and look at Jolie.

“Wait here for a second, sweetie,” I say.

“Mac…”

“You know what? Fuck it. Come with me.”

“Mac, please…”

“No,” I say to her.

I get out of the car and wait.

Jolie gets out of the car and follows me.

I rip open the main door to the building and the first door on the left is Declan’s apartment.

As I pound on the door with a heavy fist, I can feel Jolie tensing up.

I grab her hand and squeeze it tight.

You’re not going to like this, sweetie, but it has to be done. You have to see and know that nobody is allowed to fuck with you.

The door finally fucking opens and Declan has a gun in his hand.

“Mac…”

“Mama sent me,” I say to him. “We have to talk.”

“Yeah, sure,” he says. He looks at Jolie. “I see you’ve been found.”

“Yeah,” Jolie says. “Magically.”

Declan laughs.

He opens the door and lets us in.

His apartment is a dump.

There’s pizza boxes on the coffee table. Beer bottles on the dining room table.

Everything is shit except for the couch, the TV and the sound system.

The place smells like old food and cologne.

Declan is in shorts and a t-shirt.

I carefully watch what he does with the gun.

“Didn’t know you were coming,” he says. “I would have cleaned up a little. Sorry, Jolie.”

“I don’t mind,” she says. “We’re not here to live.”

“True,” Declan says. He puts the gun down on the dining room table. “Want a drink? Water? Soda? Beer?”

“No,” I say. “No drinks. Just wanted to talk a little.”

“Sure,” Declan says.

I release my hold on Jolie’s hand.

I feel her grab for me.

I keep going.

Declan’s back is to me for a second and that’s my chance.

I lunge for him and hit my shoulder into Declan’s back.

He lets out a yell and reaches back for me.

I drive him forward and into a wall.

The thud echoes around and I step back.

Declan starts to turn and I throw a punch, hitting him in the side of the face.

He drops down.

“What the fuck, Mac?” he yells.

He tries to shield his face but I kick him in the jaw.

I’m not here to fight fair. I’m here to kill him.

I kick again and hit him in the chest.

He throws a punch and hits me in the stomach. Hard enough that I inch back and gasp for a breath.

When he looks at me, he knows.

He knows I know.

The corner of his eye is bleeding.

He looks around, looking for a way out.

The only way out is to take me out.

“Mac, just tell him everything and let’s go,” Jolie says.

“Listen to her,” Declan says.

“Fuck you,” I growl.

I dive at Declan and tackle him the rest of the way to the floor.

We throw punches back and forth. I give him a few seconds to try and defend himself. But all it takes is one good elbow to his jaw and he’s face down on the kitchen floor.

When he lifts his head, there’s blood dripping on the floor.

I reach behind me and take out my gun.

Declan looks at me. “Seriously?”

“You fucking went after her, bro,” I say.

“I was told to,” Declan says. He takes a deep breath. “I was told to scare her. That was it. I was never going to touch her. I was never going to hurt her.”

“Apologize to her,” I say.

“What?”

“Say you’re sorry for what you did,” I say.

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

I swing my right foot and kick Declan in the ribs.

He falls to the floor and groans in pain.

I point the gun at him. “Sit up and look at Jolie and apologize.”

Declan shows his hands and sits up. “I’m