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Because I’m older now, and I’d consider myself wise enough not to fall into the same trap.
But for Delilah?
I’d kill anyone for any reason. She wouldn’t even have to ask.
I barely know Delilah, and I feel completely overwhelmed by the way I feel about her, to the point where it borders on obsession. I was never obsessed with Anastasia. I could barely call it love at that age.
Regardless, Anastasia lived a life of complete luxury for four years while she cheated on me relentlessly for three of them. For the first year, she was able to keep up the appearance of liking me. I would never have thought that she would betray me. I thought her typical cold, uncaring behavior was a mechanism that she developed to protect herself from the past.
When I found out that she was sleeping with my best friend, I almost blacked out.
It’s not unlike Delilah’s story, which is probably why I reacted the way I did about what Elliot did. If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s a cheater. Kill, lie, and steal all you want, but don’t fuck with a woman’s heart.
And that’s why I put Elliot in the hospital. Not because he was an entitled prick, but because he broke Delilah’s heart.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, pulling me out of my thoughts.
It’s Luka.
I hold the phone in my hand almost hard enough to break it while I puff furiously on my cigar, reading Luka’s asinine text message. This punk just doesn’t give up, does he?
He’s begging once more to meet with me to discuss a business deal with him and his father. While I’m not afraid of him in the slightest, he does annoy the fuck out of me, and if this is the only way to get him off my back, I’m willing to concede to his wishes just this once.
After this, he’d better leave me alone forever.
It isn’t that I haven’t thought about similar offers he’s made. His family has a ton of range and influence in the organized crime operations in this city, and he would be able to get me into a room with anyone I wanted. There are infinite ways in which I could benefit from associating with him.
But he’s not trustworthy.
Even setting aside the fact that our families have never crossed paths in a significant way, he’s gotten into some deep shit that only a select few people know about fully. Nobody outside of his immediate family knows it, but I’ve always assumed he was blamed for multiple deaths in a drug case.
Whatever it is, it’s gotten him hated by half the people that meet him.
But none of that is relevant to me. Just this once, I’ll take him up on his offer. That doesn’t mean we’re friends, but money is money, and I could launder a lot more through Agave than I already do.
13
Delilah
“So, did Akim tell you about the deal he’s about to close?” asks Shura, one of Akim’s close associates. I’ve grown friendly with many of them, and they’re way more willing to speak to me about what’s going on here than Akim is.
Maybe he thinks he’s protecting me, but I’m entitled to know what I’m involved in.
I sigh. “No, he never tells me any of the interesting stuff. I think he’s just more comfortable with telling me stuff on a need-to-know basis,” I say as I hand Shura a tumbler full of bourbon with one ice cube.
“Well, let’s call this a need-to-know situation because if everything goes smoothly, you could be working for the most profitable nightclub in the city,” he replies, taking the tumbler and gulping down half the drink at once.
“Okay, so what’s it all about?” I ask, still uncertain of whether or not I reallywantto know. If it’s this big, things could get sticky. I’m not sure how I feel about being involved in an operationthisbig.
“He’s joining forces with the cartel to open up our business to imports from central America,” explains Darya, one of the bouncers sitting at the bar tonight.
“The cartel? Isn’t that kind of dangerous?” I ask, feeling a knot forming in my stomach.
“It’s all dangerous; that’s why it pays well. That’s a risk you take. For now, he’s more than willing to weigh the costs and benefits,” Shura continues.
“If everything goes as planned, he can run drugs through the club. They’ll sell out nearly every night. I don’t think I’ve ever gone into the bathroom when therewasn’tsomeone snorting coke off the toilet tank,” Darya adds, laughing a bit.
I know he’s right; the drug use in the club has become rampant since we’ve gained more popularity. Even with my limited experience with nightclubs prior to my job here, I can sense that there is far more drug use here than at any other club in the city.
