Chapter 36
Luka
Her pussy grips me like an iron fist, pulsing in sync with the waves of her orgasm. Holding off is impossible, so I follow right behind, emptying myself inside her, my whole body seized by the tremors. Both of our bodies are wet from exertion as she slumps down onto me.
“Whew,” she whispers. “I’ll have no problem falling asleep after this.”
I chuckle, responding, “Glad I could help.” But it’s not the full truth.
I get that the release helps her sleep. And I’m glad to at least be able to give her something. But as our hearts race together, I know I want to give her more. More than keeping her locked in a fucking dungeon.
She starts squirming, and I reluctantly exit her warmth.
I was expecting her to head to the bathroom, but she turns to her side with a soft sigh.
Her breathing deepens and not a minute after, she’s out.
Turning to the same side, I spoon her to me, enjoying the feel of being molded to her body.
My chest expands with the knowledge she’s leaking my cum, and it’s something I’d rather not analyze.
Placing a tender kiss on her hair, I drift off to sleep.
Sophie slept in and I refused to wake her up before I had to leave. My feet are restless knowing I left without saying goodbye, but I had to get to work. Leaving Ivan, the only person I know she feels comfortable with, in charge of keeping her safe, I take Andre to deal with another drop-off.
We pull up into the empty lot in front of the seemingly abandoned building. The place is suspiciously eerie. Though there were tire tracks on the gravel road we drove through, ours is the only car currently parked here.
“Shouldn’t they already be here?” I ask Andre, the flame of my lighter flickering as I light my cigarette.
“Maybe they got lost.” He shrugs, though he’s drawing his gun. This is not our typical place. It’s one of the temporary spaces we found for drop-offs while we deal with the Russians.
My hand on the trigger, I exhale a cloud of smoke and step closer to the entrance. Ozzy, our coke guy, is never late.
Andre kicks the door in with his boot, both of our weapons raised, but the place is empty. He does a quick sweep of the room, while my gaze trails the space, my nostrils flaring with each covered inch.
Three wooden crates lay on the floor wide open, all of them containing our ruined merchandise.
The typically neatly stacked bricks obviously lost a knife fight, but that wasn’t enough.
No, the expensive white powder is covered in yellow liquid in one of them, coated with ash in the next, while three dead mice adorn the third one.
I grab the one closest to me, and on a grunt, throw it in the direction of the closest wall.
The crate hits the window with a crack, and a cloud of white powder puffs in the air. Fucking Russians destroyed our goods. Three full crates are here, so, from what I can tell, nothing was stolen, but it might as well have been. “Fuck.” I run my hand through my hair, my insides heating with rage.
I throw my cigarette in one crate and walk out of the damn place.
“You good, boss?” Andre asks, his voice hesitant as he follows me.
“Peachy,” I bite out, grinding my teeth in a way my dentist would chew me out for.
“Where’s Ozzy?” he asks.
“He was likely smart enough to leave before we got here. Or he was the one who tipped Russians off.”
I flick the cigarette box open, extracting another smoke and light it up, desperate for it to calm me the fuck down.
It makes no sense. Me and Ozzy were good.
Over the years, we made him a very rich man.
Him making a deal with the Russians doesn’t make any damn sense, especially since they don’t care what they sell, and Ozzy prided himself on the quality of his product.
Still, no one other than him and us knew the new drop-off location.
Who the fuck is responsible for this?
Just as I’m about to punch my fist through the battered door, my phone pings with a text.
Ivan
She’s working out. She looks better.
My shoulders relax, my fists unclench, and I take the first deep breath since this morning when I left the dungeon.
It should be concerning. Our business is falling apart, and I feel better because the girl I kidnapped has done a couple of pushups.
Still, the rage that was bubbling simmers down to a low boil.
I type a quick text to let Leon know what happened and get back in the car. We peel off the lot faster than the gravel road allows, swerving as we turn. Andre is smart enough to stay quiet as I drop him off in front of the club and head home.
If Sophie’s doing well, the last thing she needs is seeing me like this, on the verge of a breakdown.
It’s not like I can tell her I can let her go.
If anything, shit’s more complicated than it was when I first took her.
We’re further away from finding Landers and getting our shit together.
I grip the steering wheel with enough force to tear it off, emotions swirling inside of me like a cocktail of shit.
After an hour-long workout with the punching bag and a five-mile walk with the dogs, I decide it’s time to get back to the club.
The music is loud, and the place is already crowded, which only grates on my nerves. The damn waitress that’s still flirting with me shoots me a sultry smirk, but I look away. I pass the bar, and Ivan exits the hallway to my office and the dungeons.
He smirks as he notices me. “Check this out, ?efe.”
“This better be good news.”
He opens the door of my office, and I realize it’s finished. The disgusting wood paneling is gone, replaced by cement-colored walls. No more velvet chairs or destroyed wooden furniture. The center of the room is a long black desk, with a steel construction. The chairs are black leather.
“Now, this is more like it.” I let out a relieved breath. Thank fuck something is moving in the right direction.
“What are we doing next?”
I should probably put a pause on all the work around the club and focus on dealing with the Russians. But why give them the pleasure of postponing my plans?
“We’re gutting the back room. It can stay open for the night, but tomorrow, I want it gutted.”
“Sure thing, ?efe.” I can hear the excitement in his voice.
Unfortunately, another voice appears while I’m still looking at my new office. “I don’t think closing off the back room is a good move right now.”
“Uncle…” I grit out, turning around to see his short form. His bald head is sweaty, just like his upper lip. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
He narrows his eyes, seeing right through my sarcasm. My brother stands behind him, rolling his eyes at me.
“We have some things to talk about,” my brother says, eyeing my office.
“Let’s grab a drink in the bar,” I suggest, not wanting Toma’s sweat all over my fresh chairs.
Leon purses his lips, but I make my way out front and the both of them follow me. One gesture of my hand is enough to scare away the guys in one of the booths. I slump down into the weathered leather seats, sending a pointed look at the bartender.
I’m way too sober for my uncle.
“As I was saying, the back room should stay open. The girls can make us a lot of money there,” he says.
The hair on the back of my neck stands. Luckily, the bartender brings us a bottle of rakia, and I make quick work of pouring myself a glass and downing it before responding, “Like I said, the back room will be closed for renovation.”
“You see…” He turns to Leon while pointing at me. “It’s obvious he’s doing it just to spite me. He doesn’t care about the business, because if he did, he’d know this was a good business idea.”
“This is my fucking club, and I’ll decide what’s going on with it.” The music thumps in my ears, but it’s unfortunately not loud enough to drown out Uncle’s voice.
Leon levels me with a glare, but he’s an idiot if he expects me to play nice with him anymore.
“Sorry for not trusting your judgement. What happened with the shipment today?” Toma pokes another dig. He knows exactly what happened but wants to place the blame on me.
“It was interesting, really. Since pretty much no one knew where the drop off would happen.” My voice drips insinuation.
Trying to bring the conversation to safer ground, Leon says, “You said you needed to talk to us about something.”
I down another shot of rakia, and Toma extends a nervous glance. “I’ve come to let you know I’ve taken matters into my own hands,” he says, pouring himself a shot. It’s another dig to let us know he finds us incompetent.
“How so?” Leon asks, while I roll my eyes in response.
“I found us an ‘in’ with the Russians.” This time, his glance is pure glee as he downs his glass.
“An ‘in’?” Leon asks.
“Yes. As far as I’ve heard, they’re having a pretty big meeting in a few days. I’m just waiting for the last confirmation of the time and the place.”
It doesn’t seem real. But he is also too much of a pussy to make that up.
“That’s… good.” Leon’s voice is apprehensive. He’s obviously as surprised by it as I am.
“I’d say it’s brilliant.” Uncle scoffs. “You just hold still and wait until I let you know the time and place. Hopefully, you’ll be able to deal from there.”
I suppress a growl while he extracts his overweight body from the booth. He already acts like he’s the boss, positioning us as the enforcers.
“I will see you both soon.” With that, he’s gone.
Leon exhales a breath loudly enough to overpower the music. “Do you have to do this?”
I can barely believe the words coming out of his mouth. “Do what?” I turn to look him straight in the eyes, my tone conveying I’m not messing around.
“Taunt him. I’m trying to keep the peace…” His fingers pinch the bridge of his nose. “But you two are acting like children.”
I swallow down the urge to knock my brother straight out. “You can’t be serious.”
Once again, he sighs. “Do you have to be so difficult? Can’t you just let him have this while we handle the rest?”
I know what he means. He wants me to let him take over the club to distract him from the other shit. “Would you do the same thing with your casinos?”
“You know it’s not the same thing. My casinos are my business.”
“And what do you think this is for me? A hobby? Should I leave this to Toma and just start crocheting instead?” Tiny flames of rage dance on my skin. It’s one thing for Uncle to piss me off, it’s what I expect him to do. But Leon, Leon treats me like a kid.
“You know that’s not what I meant.”
“I don’t give a shit what you meant,” I bite out, pretty sure anyone close to us heard me.
“Let me make myself clear. And trust me, this is the last time I’m doing that.
This is my club, and I’m not turning it into a shady brothel.
I don’t give a fuck what he or you think about it.
” My palms slam on the table before I get up and head into the crowd.
A girl bumps into me, drunk out of her mind. I help her straighten and she barely looks at me before her hand snakes to my cock. I grab her wrist to stop her. Her mouth parts, but her eyes are a blur. Pressing my lips into a thin line, I move away, approaching Ivan, who sits at the bar.
“Should I confirm we’re moving along with the backroom?” he asks, clicking on his phone.
“Yes. And also, starting tomorrow, we’re implementing a two-drink maximum.” I raise two fingers, like my words weren’t clear enough.
Ivan follows me on the way to my office. “You sure that’s smart?”
I give him a pointed look. “Don’t tell me you agree with those two?” I gesture my head to where Uncle and Leon stood before and sit in my new chair. It’s more comfortable than I expected.
Ivan smirks while taking a seat in the chair across from me. “Hardly.”
“Good.” I slide a palm over the desk, feeling the texture.
“But I am wondering if you know what you’re doing.”
I ignore him, trying to pretend I don’t know what he means.
“I know you, Luka. And this… this obsession you have with her. I’m not sure now’s the right time.”
I scoff. He acts like I chose it. “Are you questioning my abilities or my loyalty?”
“How do you see this ending?”
My hand grips the edge of the desk, turning white. He hit a nerve.
“Do you think this will end well? For her?” he continues.
I swallow the lump in my throat as a fresh wave of guilt hits me. “I don’t know.” I drop my head into my hands.
“Well, figure it out.” He taps my desk with his index finger and leaves the room.