Page 79 of His to Own

I only shrug.

The guard finally sighs and pulls out his cell phone. He calls someone and after a few seconds, hangs up. “Fine. You can go in to see him but you have to leave your weapons here.”

“Fine.” I hand the guard my gun. Nikolai does the same. I have a hidden knife in my boot that I keep. I’m not stupid enough to go into the home of a mafia man completely unarmed.

The gate creaks as it opens.

“You might want to get that looked at,” I comment. The guard only stares back at me.

Nikolai shoots me a warning look as we walk up the large driveway. Before the front door stands another guard. He frisks me and Nikolai down and lets us on through.

The inside of the mansion is even more grand but also more tacky if that were possible. The large busts of lion heads right inside the front door makes me laugh.

A man enters the foyer. Tall. Handsome in a stark kind of way. Black three piece suit. A mafia man who cares about his appearance. I can relate.

“Aleksander Baranov?” Nikolai asks.

“That is me. You two wanted an audience with me. But I don’t remember inviting you to my home.” He has a slight accent I can’t place.

“Well, when you cut the head of one of our workers off and leave your name behind in blood, I tend to get curious,” I say. “We wanted to meet and see what you’re trying to do.”

“We don’t have to fight,” Nikolai explains. “I’m always open to making deals. You went after our gun shipment. I’m assuming you want power or money or both. I can offer that to you.”

“By making a deal?” Aleksander pulls out an old-fashioned pocket watch. “I don’t make deals with people I deem inferior to me.”

“You’re stuffy,” I comment.

Aleksander calmly puts his pocket watch away. “And you’re rude. Coming into my home, demanding answers.”

“You attacked us first,” I remind him.

“I did. I like the element of surprise. It always works for me in this line of business.”

“Where are you from?” Nikolai asks. “You’re Russian but I have never met you before. Your accent is different as well.”

“I’m from France. My parents are Russian.”

“Explains the accent,” I mutter.

Aleksander’s lips barely twitch. “I came back to my homeland because it just felt right. And now I’m ready to make a name for myself here. I already made one back in France. But it got boring. This is where I belong.”

“You’re coming after the wrong men,” Nikolai warns. “It would be better for you if we made a deal. Me and Maxim came here, unarmed, without any other men. We’re honest about this. Let us make a deal, Aleksander.”

“Did I give you permission to use my first name?”

“No, you did not.” Nikolai’s tone is stiff.

Aleksander huffs. “And you two were naïve and stupid to come to my home unarmed and uninvited without any of your men.”

In one fast motion, Aleksander whips his gun out and aims it at me. I dive out of the way but the bullet lands in my shoulder. “Fuck.” I grit my teeth to fight off the pain.

Nikolai removes a knife from his pocket that the guard missed and throws it at Aleksander, who ducks out of the way.

I grab the knife from my boot and run for the front door. The guard outside has his gun pointed at me but I throw the knife and it lands in his eye before he can shoot. I grab the gun from him and shoot him in the head.

“Let’s go,” Nikolai says, running from the house. The other guard stationed out front starts firing off his own gun. Nikolai and I hide behind a tree in the front yard.

“My arm fucking hurts,” I hiss.