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Dimitri’s jaw shifted but he said nothing. There was nothing he could say, no defense he could give because I was right on every account. But just because I managed to silence one critic for the time being didn’t mean I’d won over Sergei yet.
“Have I not done enough for you that you still mourn the loss of one man?” I asked, turning my attention back to Sergei. “Did I not compensate you enough for Sasha leaving? Do you want more money? Or did I not bleed enough? Do you want me to actually fight my men this time to prove to you that our ranks haven’t been weakened in his absence? If there is still a price to be paid for losing Sasha, thenI’llbe the one to pay it. But you willnotsend my men to their deaths to try and satisfy Dimitri’s goddamn ego!”
Dimitri looked all too eager with the prospect of me suffering again but Sergei waved me off and walked over to his desk to pour another glass of vodka for himself.
“No one is blaming you, Misha,” Sergei said, shooting a glare at Dimitri to cut off whatever snide remark was lingering on the tip of his tongue. “But my faith has been shaken. I want it restored and only you can do that by finding the motherfuckers trying to undermine my business.”
“I’m working on it,” I replied with a modicum of calmness, smoothing down my tie.
At least I could rest easy knowing Sasha was safe from Dimitri’s reach thanks to an entirely new identity I had set up for him. There was no denying Dimitri was resourceful. He was one of the most competent spies a boss could want, but I had specialized training and access to advanced technology on my side—two things that had secured my entry into Sergei’s world in the first place and Sasha’s subsequent departure from it. Dimitri could look for Sasha for the rest of his life and never find him.
Even after everything I went through to engineer his disappearance from Illinois, I was thrilled for Sasha. Truly. He’d settled into his new life with surprising ease and he seemed sohappy. My heart seized at the thought, along with a combination of envy and grief for a freedom I’d never have.
Much to Dimitri’s dismay, Sasha’s queerness was what saved his life all those months ago—along with his penchant for utter brutality. By convincing Sergei he could use Roan as leverage to keep his pet assassin on a leash, Sergei allowed Sasha to live despite Dimitri’s proclamation that Roan and Sasha should both be killed on the spot. He’d also demandedmyhead for not shooting Sasha the second I found out about Roan. At the time, Sergei hadn’t entertained that last thought but I feared Dimitri was gaining ground with him, reclaiming some of the influence I had taken. The clock ticked louder.
Steering Sergei away from any further discussion on queerness, I brought him back to my more pressing concern. “Since Ilya’s not available, who else would you like for the manager position?”
“I told you, I don’t care, Misha,” Sergei groaned.
“So I have free rein to pick whomever I like?”
“If it stops you whining at me about payroll and gets you back to focusing on these fucking Nirvana dealers, then yes! Pick!”
“Then I pick Marek.”
“Who?”
Dimitri straightened, taking a renewed interest in the conversation, which immediately raised my hackles. If he hadn’t already looked into the newest bartender, he certainly would now that he was connected to me. I dreaded what he might find that Eduard and I had not. Hopefully, like Hayden, Sergei wouldn’t care about his civilian staff’s sexual orientation as long as they kept the money flowing in, which I had no doubt Marek would be capable of.
I stepped up to the window next to Sergei and nodded toward Marek. “That one. White shirt, dark hair.”
Leaning against the bar top, Marek chatted with a group of girls from a bachelorette party, their glittering tiaras and pink sashes gleaming in the neon lights. It looked like he was going over drink options since there were a variety of cocktails in front of them that they passed around, talking animatedly about each one.
To further amuse the women, Marek balanced a wine glass on his hand, filled with something red and fruity. The group in front of him cringed and giggled as he flipped the glass, catching it again without spilling a drop.
Watching him work was the highlight of my night. In addition to mixing drinks, he had the necessary flair to be a great bartender—one that kept patrons coming back. But more than that, he actually seemed to like it. It was one of the few times I glimpsed a genuine smile on his face.
“He knows about us?” Sergei asked, his gaze glued to Marek as he expertly threw ice from a shaker into the air, arcing it into a waiting glass. He slid it to one of the women and flashed her a dazzling smile that, to anyone who didn’t know him, looked like flirting. With Sergei watching, the timing was perfect, even if a pang of jealousy stabbed right through me.
“More or less,” I replied. “He’s smart. Street smartandbook smart. Someone with his background knows when to look away and he won’t go to the police for anything. Ever. I can assure you.”
Sergei watched him for another minute, grunting his approval. “Good. It’s settled. Now go bring me that supplier’s balls. Yes?”
I didn’t bother replying before I ducked out of the office as quickly as I could and headed back downstairs, exhaling a slow breath along the way. At least one good thing came out of that meeting. Two, if you considered the fact I wasn’t dead. Yet.
Anton shouldered through Dimitri’s men when I hit the bottom of the main staircase. He slipped the toothpick out of his mouth and raised his brows at me. “How did it go?”
“He’s getting impatient which is never good for anyone. Dimitri isn’t helping matters. If I don’t get results soon, you’ll be dumpingmybody in the lake.”
“Does he not realize how many people we’ve killed this month alone? It’s like no one knows shit! I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Youtry telling him that.” As soon as I saw Hayden approaching at a brisk pace, I waved Anton forward, muttering, “I’ll be down in a minute.”
“Do you have a sec?” Hayden asked, all business from the looks of it. “There’s a problem with the inventory.”
“Of course.” Thank God after tonight it would all be Marek’s problem and I could get back to my primary objective, the thing I was actually good at instead of this endless tedium.
Hayden led the way through the club to the large stock room off the kitchen and held the door open for me.
