“I’m going in heavier than we did at Prague. Only a fool would consider acting now.”
Although I agree with him, my gut still has a niggle I can’t ignore. “The men in this industry aren’t known for their smarts. We’ve fed off their ignorance the past four years.”
“And we will continue to feed off their ignorance now. You’re not the only man capable of cutting out the tongues of insolent men, Trey. I’ve had my fair share the past twelve months.” He smirks like he’s aware I removed West’s tongue before feeding him to the pigs at Jim’s this morning. He probably does know. There isn’t much that gets past him.
With that in mind, I take a moment to conjure up another way to get through to him. If I were honest, I’d admit this isn’t solely about Nikolai. We’ve travelled the globe the past six months ridding the world of the men stupid enough to bid on Justine. We had a common interest. Most of the men who bid on Justine placed down deposits on a pretty blonde sex-slave who didn’t speak a word of English. However, K travelled with us then. She was at my side as she has been the past nine months.
She can’t do that this time around. Rumors are just that, rumors, but if any of the ones about the Vasilievs moving to the east coast after their failed bid are true, I can’t risk taking K there. Achim is dead, the drenching I gave his head with my piss this morning assures me of this, but he wasn’t my only enemy. The Dvoráks were high on my list as well. If they’re aware of Achim’s one-off siding with Alexei, K’s safety could be in jeopardy.
I swore I’d protect K. I can’t do that by dangling her in the face of danger.
Seemingly aware of my inner workings, Nikolai says, “I sent a crew to Hopeton last night. They’re mission is to solely sniff out any rumblings of a takeover bid. Rico’s contacts have been updated about our visit, and we’ve made it clear my visit has nothing to do with business.” After moving to the other side of his office, he takes a seat in his big leather chair. “I’m not stepping into this lightly, Trey. I’ve put measures in place to ensure my queen…” He stops before correcting himself, “…Ourqueens are safe. I’ll slit the throats of a thousand men before I’d let anything happen to Justine. You have my word I’ll do the same for K.”
As air whizzes out of my nose, I slump into the chair across from him. I want to believe everything he’s saying, and in all honesty, I do, but the niggle in my gut won’t fucking quit. Something feels off.
Nikolai does his best to eradicate my worry. “I told Justine she’d have the world when she claimed her throne. I’m a man who keeps his word.” When my brow pops up, he adds, “NowI keep my word. Things change.” He returns my jeering smirk before he mumbles, “You know that better than anyone. We don’t marry whores, Trey. We fuck them, spill our seed inside them, then go home…alone.”
“Fuckedwhores. We don’t fuck them anymore.” After working my jaw side to side to weaken its grip, I say, “Besides, Kristina wasn’t a whore.” Usually, Nikolai’s riles roll straight off my back. I must be feeling a little bit temperamental today. “Don’t fucking start, Nikolai. I’m taking enough shit from the guys. I’m not up for more crap.”
My grumbled comment wipes the smirk right off his face. “What shit?”
I want to tell him my brothers are as wary of his plans as me, but since that’ll most likely cause him more issues, I direct our conversation in another direction. Nikolai worked hard to gain the honor of his crew. I don’t want him thinking he’s lost it just when he needs it the most.
“Just the same shit we’ve been hearing the past twelve months. The whores are whispering in the men’s ears, worried your relationship with Justine hasn’t just seen their nail marks removed from your back.”
He clues on to my remark rather quickly. “They are worried they're being replaced?” When I jerk up my chin, he growls out, “They’re not going anywhere. Whores are a part of our industry. Justine understands this.”
A chuckle rumbles in my chest. Justine may understand whores are a part of our lifestyle, but she is far from okay with it. There’s only one time she’s come to Clarks the past nine months. It was when we arrived back with K. If we didn’t need someone to speak on K’s behalf, I doubt she would have stepped foot in the place the past nine months.
“What?” Nikolai sneers, annoyed when he reads the truth from my eyes. “The main compound is off limits because it’s our home. I want Justine to feel comfortable here. But there are no limits at Clarks. If they want to fuck a whore an hour, so be it.” After pushing away a sheet of paper with more aggression than needed, Nikolai lives up to his namesake. “If any of my men have an issue with my rules, they can bring it directly to me. But be warned, they won’t be breathing by the time I’m done with them. Everything they have—whores included—is because of me. I also don’t take kindly to assumptions that I’m being led by my cock.”
I’m an ass for smiling, but I can’t fucking help it. If anyone had any doubt Nikolai wasn’t born for this lifestyle, they won’t now. Hell is empty again because the devil is once-again walking amongst the living.
Upon spotting my grin, Nikolai warns, “You won’t be smiling when I slit your throat for goading me.”
With a laugh, I hold my hands out in front of myself. “I wasn’t goading, just testing a theory. Your reply pocketed me two freshly printed Benjamin Franklins.”
“Testing a theory? Whose theory?”
“Rico. He’s so convinced you’re under the thumb, he bet two hundred dollars that you’d have the whores extradited to Russia before sundown.” I wish I was lying, but I’m not. I bumped into Rico on my way to Nikolai’s office. He was peering around the parlor, lost as fuck on where all the whores had gone. Vladimir was a pompous prick who preferred to display women as trophies instead of actual accomplishments. “He seems to have forgotten he’s the only one bedding a kitten too timid for our way of life.”
My comment brings Nikolai’s attitude down a notch.Just.“Speaking of playthings, where’s Rico? I thought he and Blaire were traveling back to Ravenshoe this morning.”
“They are.” Rico said that exact thing to me only minutes ago. “He just had some old memories he wanted to recreate before his flight.” I hit him with a frisky wink to ensure he gets the gist of what I’m saying. Rico wasn’t on the hunt for a whore when I bumped into him. He needed a strip of condoms. Something about party balloon tricks? Fucked if I know. He didn’t stick around for an interrogation when I handed him a three-strip of rubbers from my wallet.
After shaking his head to rid it of the horrid image I forced in there, Nikolai gets back to business. “Have the men traveling with Justine and me ready to move by this evening. I want to touch down in Hopeton before sun-up because every man knows a devil has never seen the sun rise.”
Although wary he’s still moving forward with his plans, his comment reveals he isn’t taking this lightheartedly. My first thought when told of his plans was for him to move in the darkness of the night. Even a soft-cock like Achim knew about the benefits of a 3 AM raid.
“Who do you want at the helm while we’re gone? Zoran has shown great improvement since Andros gifted him to us. He still has a long way to go, but it might smarten him up a little.” Zoran is the nephew of Andros Smirnov, the richest man in Russia. He’s rich because he has sanctions like the Popovs and the Yurys protecting his assets. If he entrusted anyone else, he would have been broke by now.
Nikolai shakes his head. “Zoran is a good kid, but he doesn’t have the balls needed for our line of work.”
I twist my lips, wordlessly agreeing with him. Zoran can kill, but only if he has no other option. Nikolai’s crew works on a kill now ask questions later motto.
I arch a brow, telling Nikolai to get the fuck out of my head when he says, “I need a man who will kill without thought. One who’ll never second-guess any decisions I make. I need a man as ruthless and as brutal as me, while also understanding my greatest asset has blood running through her veins, not white powder, lead, or liquid gold.” He locks his eyes with mine. They’re all sentimental and shit. “I need you to cover me while I’m gone, Trey, to keep our ship on course.”
Although pleased as fuck he still considers me his equal, notoriety doesn’t count in this industry. My family’s legacy became as worthless as a piece of paper when Cole killed our father. He broke the rules we lived by and dishonored a sanction once worth millions of dollars. Could I have turned it around when Nikolai found me? Possibly. But at the time, I didn’t have the strength to do that. When you break the rules in this industry, you pay the highest price. Cole’s was his life. Mine was knowing I’ll forever be number two.
