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Adrik passes out frosty bottles of Baltika from the fridge, popping their caps on the scarred edge of the table.
“Does the lady need a Cosmo?” Andrei smirks at me.
“Is that what you use to get Hakim in bed?” I say, sweetly sipping my beer.
“He might be getting desperate enough,” Hakim snorts. “You’re on a dry spell, aren’t you Andrei?”
“I’d get laid every night if I was willing to take home the dogs you fuck,” Andrei retorts.
“Can we talk business?” Chief pleads of Adrik. “Before I have to hear another recital of Hakim’s conquests and the lies he has to tell to get them in bed.”
“What lies?” Hakim protests.
“Did you or did you not tell some poor college student that you were Zayne Malik’s cousin?”
Hakim shrugs. “I could be. I’ve got a lot of cousins.”
“We can talk,” Adrik says, silencing them all. “Who wants to tell me what you did while I was gone?”
“I will,” Jasper says, composed and ready. “We sold off that load of ARs to the Slavs. They offered us ten keys coming in fresh from Bolivia. But they’re asking fifty per, and I think we can get a better deal from Baldoski. We’ll have to get a sample first and test it—there’s rumors that he’s cutting below forty percent.”
Adrik nods, mentally tallying each point. I have no doubt he could repeat it all back verbatim if he wanted to. I know I could.
“And the books?”
“Up to date,” Chief replies. “We took in twenty-eight K on the ARs, but I had to pay out twelve to theMusor.”
“Good,” Adrik says. “I’m taking Sabrina out for a drink.”
That’s all. He gives no instructions. Dinner breaks up, Andrei washing the dishes because it’s his turn.
As we exit the kitchen I ask Adrik, “Don’t you have any orders?”
“They know what they need to do. They’ll come to me if they need help.”
Interesting. This is unlike what I’m used to, even in relatively flexible mafia organizations. Adrik offers an unusual level of autonomy to his men.
“What’s theMusor?”I ask him.
“The cops. Don’t call ‘em that to their face, though—it meansgarbage.They’ve been raking us over the coals with the bribes. I’m gonna have to figure out some kind of leverage besides money or we’ll never make a profit.”
“Where are you taking me?” I ask him, wondering how to dress.
He smiles. “I’m gonna show you have we party in Moscow.”
* * *
20
ADRIK
Sabrina emerges from our room an hour later, wearing tight leather pants and a silky top I could crumple in one hand. Her hair, freshly washed and waved, floats around her like smoke. She’s lined her eyes with so much kohl that she looks like an Egyptian princess, or maybe something more sinister—a vengeful goddess demanding sacrifice.
Having Sabrina here in my house is so fucking satisfying, I can’t stop grinning.
I saw her and I knew that I needed her—like a good-luck talisman, or the Aquila carried by the Roman legions. Not because Sabrina is a token, but because she fills me with energy, she gives me power. I’m stronger with her here.
I’m determined to make her love Moscow. I want to show her its beauty and its potential.
