Chapter 6
Luka
Ismash two whiskey glasses on the floor before finding a clean one, then knock back three shots in a row at the bar upstairs.
The liquid burns my throat, but it’s nothing compared to the rage I’m feeling.
I can’t afford to be guarding her twenty-four seven.
There’s work to be done and the men Leon sent me are idiots.
It doesn’t surprise me she had a breakdown, considering the circumstances.
What pisses me off is that she stayed sane through being kidnapped and chained, but loses her shit over the dog?
My father is fucking dead and the only thing she cares about is her dog?
I launch the glass into the shelves, knocking off a couple of bottles. It’s daytime, so the club is closed. It should probably stay closed until I get things where I want them, but that would defeat the purpose of keeping Sophie here.
I rub my forehead, hoping to clear my head, but it’s about as effective as I expected. My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I groan, noticing my brother’s name on it.
“Now’s not a good time.”
“Too bad.” The fucker, as usual, doesn’t give a shit about my mood.
“What do you want?” My fingers rake through my hair.
“I’m on my way.”
“Why?”
“We have shit to do with our guest.”
“Fine,” I grit out, gulping whiskey straight out of the bottle. It’s disgusting. I need to bring some real alcohol here.
“Wow. This place looks… horrible,” Leon states, looking around my new club.
As always, he wears a designer suit that probably cost more than this place, and shoes shined to perfection.
His hair is meticulously groomed, as to withstand the number of times he runs his hands through it while under stress.
Unlike the scruff I’m currently sporting, he never looks like more than a few hours past shaving.
“Yeah, well, I haven’t even started on it.”
This is his first time visiting. Leon has owned a successful casino franchise for years now, while I was still finding my passion. This club was my attempt to build something of my own. To show Father I can be responsible, too. Then he died.
Now, I’m even more determined to make this work. Even with all the side quests I’m forced to do.
“Show me where she is. And grab your mask.” He extracts a balaclava from his suit pocket.
I wince. “No need. She might have seen me already.”
He sighs his disappointment, but keeps his mouth shut and I lead him downstairs to the dungeon, nodding to the current guard to get out.
“The men you’ve sent me, they’re idiots,” I tell Leon, making sure the guard hears me.
“Use your own, then.”
“Can’t. We have some business upstate to take care of.”
“Then shut up.”
Sophie is still on the bed, soft sniffs escaping her. The bag with food lies untouched next to her. That’s going to be a problem.
Leon shoots me a questioning look, and I just shrug in response.
“So, what are your plans here?” he asks.
“Not sure. I want to make this a real sex club. A place where people will feel safe to explore. It’s currently crawling with creeps, and I want it to be high end, with top-notch security.”
“And how do you plan to do that?”
“There’s another club I’m planning to check out. To try and see what they’re doing and copy the same shit.”
A shaky but spiteful voice interrupts our conversation. “You could start by not keeping women kidnapped in the dungeon.”
It’s so unexpected, I snort with laughter. In the two days since I’ve kidnapped her, she’s managed to surprise me more than once. And it takes a lot to surprise me. Leon narrows his eyes at me before turning to the lying figure.
“Sophie, we haven’t met yet, but I’m sure my brother has told you all about me.”
Her forehead scrunches as she looks at us.
“Didn’t really have the time,” I respond.
“I’ll give you the cliff’s notes.” His voice is calm and collected. I’m the brute. He’s the charming one. But he’s no less dangerous. “Your father is responsible for our father’s death. And now we’re going to kill him.”
I roll my eyes at his theatrics. “I told her that much.”
“You’re going to help us do it,” he continues, ignoring me. “You see, Landers is a smart man.” Her jaw clenches. “A smart man who is good at hiding. That’s where you come in.”
He reaches into his pants and pulls out his gun, pointing it towards her. Her eyes widen to the point of discomfort, and she freezes in place, her heartbeat almost visible on her neck.
“Leon…” I push his hand down, lowering the gun. If we want her to survive long enough to get our revenge, we need to chill out. “What my lovely brother meant to say is we’ll film a video, showing your father we have you.”
She swallows, not saying a word.
“Great! We can start,” Leon says, approaching her.