AllFreeNovel
Share Us
SAM
The Bratva ownedmany businesses in Davinapolis, but the one where Alek preferred to spend most of his time was a private club downtown. The members of the club were the wealthy elite of the city, and the club was designed specifically to appeal to them.
The place wasswanky.
There was a huge indoor pool at the basement level, a cigar lounge, restaurant, and a rooftop bar with a hell of a view of the city. The rooftop was where the meeting took place.
Sam was the last to arrive. Alek had cleared the rooftop for this, and the men were all sitting on cushioned chairs under a white pavilion. Roman was there as well as the Spies, the two men directly under the Pakhan. They were in charge of support and security, making sure that brigades were in check and doing business as expected.
Nikolay and Vlad were the spies that had been working with Alek ever since he took control of the Bratva five years ago. They were brothers, and Sam had immense respect for both men.
The other two Brigadiers were present as well. Sam took a seat next to Iron, a mountain of a man that most people wouldn’t dare cross, and nodded a greeting to Oleg, the oldest person present. He’d been a brigadier in the Bratva for a hell of a long time and seen it all.
Sam poured himself a whiskey from the decanter on a low table and leaned back in his seat while Alek told everyone about his encounter with the FBI agent yesterday.
“I heard about him from a few of my men,” Iron said. “He’s been sniffing around for the past few days, trying to get us to turn on the syndicate.”
“He’s barking up the wrong tree,” Roman said, finishing off his own glass of whiskey. “Our people are loyal.”
“That may be true, but we have to be careful,” Alek said, his voice dangerously low. He was pissed about this. “Spread the word, men. No one is to tell this Agent Calloway anything. No confirmation that the Bratva even exists and be on alert at all times. I don’t want him getting anything on us. Don’t even jaywalk if this fucker is around. From now on, I want to be informed immediately about any and all interactions with this man.”
Everyone agreed, and Sam thought of Nix. He needed to warn the man. Calloway had him on his radar, and he didn’t want to see his friend wind up behind bars again.
They moved on to other business after that, and Sam tried to focus, but he couldn’t get past this feeling of unease that he had every time he thought of Calloway. There was something about the determined look on the man’s facet that made Sam sure that he wouldn’t give up until he got what he wanted.
“Roman, how are things going with Vic’s out of town visitor?” Alek asked as the meeting came to an end.
“Fine,” Roman replied, finishing off his second drink. Sam had never known him to be a heavy drinker, and he wondered if something was wrong.
“Fine?” Vlad repeated, smirking. “I saw the two of you in the club a few nights ago. She was all over you. I’d say it’s more than fine.”
“Bad idea,” Oleg said, shaking his head. A strand of gray hair fell onto his forehead, and he brushed it away impatiently. “You shouldn’t shit where you eat.”
“I’d say you shouldn’t mix business with pleasure,” Nikolay chimed in. “But I think it’s fine as long as you’re doing the job.”
“Oh, I’m doing it,” Roman said with a trace of bitterness in his voice. “Vic was right to be concerned. The woman’s got an attitude that makes enemies everywhere she goes.”
“And you’re fucking her?” Iron asked with a chuckle.
Roman didn’t laugh. “It was a mistake, and I’m looking for an opportunity to break it off. She’s hot, but she’s also turning out to be a pain in the ass.”
There was a little good-natured ribbing of Roman, and the gruff bastard got annoyed enough to storm off. Not a surprise. He never could take a joke.
Sam smirked along with the others, but he was glad that he didn’t take bodyguard duty. It sounded like it was proving to be a lot more trouble than it was worth.
* * *
Two days later, Sam decided to take Lexi out on their first date. It felt strange to refer to it that way, considering all that they’d been through together and all the time that they’d spent with each other in the past couple of weeks, but he hadn’t officially taken her out anywhere yet.
She was still working hard to prove herself at the restaurant, but she had mentioned that a few of the people giving her a hard time were starting to come around. That was good for them, because he was starting to get angry about their standoffish nature with his woman and was close to stepping in to take care of the problem himself. A few carefully chosen threats could really change a person’s attitude real quick.
But Lexi didn’t want him to interfere, so he was giving her a chance to turn things around herself. She certainly had enough time to accomplish it. She was working her ass off, and today was her first day off all week. He wanted her to enjoy herself.
“So, where are we going?” she asked as she stepped out of her apartment and locked the door behind her.
“Lunch.”
She chuckled. “Not the mysterious type, huh? I should’ve expected that.”
