Chapter 36 #2
“The only business I have with this piece of shit,” I hiss, staring at the manager of The Mirage, “is the business of putting him in the ground, where he belongs.”
Lou bristles, glaring at me through a still badly fucked-up face. He’s got bandages on the bridge of his nose and over one eye, a brace around his neck, one arm in a sling, and is leaning heavily on a cane to walk.
Good .
I'm planning all the ways I’ll break him again when Dimitri places a steadying hand on my shoulder.
“I realize I’m asking a lot,” he hisses. “But this. Is. Business , Kir. Put aside your personal thoughts. We all do it when we must.”
I grit my teeth as Lou limps over and drops heavily into a chair next to Dimitri.
“Well,” Dimitri sighs. “I suppose we can skip the part where you pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about when I say we need to speak about the girl currently living at your house.”
“What the fuck did you call me here for, Dimitri,” I growl quietly.
“It would appear we have a…” He grimaces. “ Hiccup in our agreement.”
I grunt. “Our agreement doesn’t have anything to do with this maggot.
Although, I’m quite close to making sure it does—as in, our deal doesn’t happen unless I get to bring this piece of shit to a quiet basement somewhere and play with him for a month or so with a blowtorch and some gardening shears. ”
Lou’s mangled face pales as he glances nervously at Dimitri.
“Mr. Moskovic,” he gulps. “We…we had a deal?—”
“Shut up,” Dimitri mutters at him before he turns his attention back to me, sighing.
“Unfortunately, Kir, Mr. Cassavetti here, along with his club, are under my protection. As you know, he performs a certain service for me, and in exchange, he is permitted to run the day-to-day operations of the club as he sees fit.”
My eyes narrow. “Does that include assaulting the girls who work there?”
Dimitri’s eyes glint darkly, but he spreads his hands and shrugs.
“It’s his club, Kir.”
“ Yeah , motherfucker,” Lou spits. “It’s my fucking—Mr. Moskovic!”
The little bitch scrambles from his seat and literally hides behind Dimitri when I jump to my feet.
“Kir, please ,” Dimitri growls. “Sit. I have a daughter the same age as the girls at his club. Believe me, I don’t work with pieces of shit like him willingly.”
Lou scowls at Dimitri as he takes his seat again.
“Let’s talk about the girl you’re living with, Kir.”
I stiffen. “I don’t think that’s any of your concern, Dimitri. It’s definitely not his.”
“Well…” Dimitri clears his throat. “Unfortunately, Kir, it is both of our concerns. This dancer…a ballet dancer, I’m told… You are… involved with her?”
“I’m not answering that.”
Dimitri smirks. “She’s living in your house, Kir.”
“It’s a large house.”
He eyes me and sighs. “Regardless, Mr. Cassavetti would like his dancer back.”
I bark a cold, mirthless laugh. “I’m sorry, are you being funny?”
Dimitri sighs even more heavily. “Mr. Cassavetti performs an important service for me, Kir. And again, he and his business are under my protection. What you stole from him is part of that?—”
“He has an inability to hear the word no . What I took out of his grabby little hands is a person , Dimitri. Not a cog in someone’s business. A person .”
He exhales, nodding slowly. “I understand. But, Kir, it would go a long way with me if you were to?—”
“She’s a human being , Dimitri,” I snarl. “She’s not being returned like a piece of merchandise. If you push on this, I’m getting up and walking away right now.”
He holds his hands up. “Okay, okay. I hear you.” He turns to look at Lou with contempt. “It’s off the table.”
Lou scowls. “But?—”
Lou yelps when Dimitri slaps his face.
“I said the matter is off the table .” Dimitri glares at him. “If I hear anything more about you mistreating those girls, I’ll kill you myself. Understood?”
Lou nods miserably, slumping back in his chair.
Dimitri turns back to me. “Now, this ballerina… I’m told she’s quite good.”
I say nothing. Dimitri’s jaw sets a little.
“So good that I hear rumors of her auditioning for the Ballet Imperiya Korona .”
Shit.
He clucks his tongue. “Imagine that. A pretty girl, living in your house. You, with your close personal ties to Ivan Yelchin. Which—and stop me if I’m wrong—this girl of yours is almost certainly aware of.”
I stand from the table and calmly button my jacket. “If your intentions were to invite me here for a chat about my personal life, you could have said so earlier, Dimitri.” I level an icy look at Lou. “And you probably could have left this motherfucker in the urinal where you found him.”
Lou glares death at me. But it’s Dimitri who actually looks angrier.
“Do not make the mistake of confusing my friendly disposition during our negotiations as weakness or stupidity, Kir,” he growls.
“I know you’ve been coaching Ms. Ellis. I don’t think I have to tell you that you doing so makes me doubt the future of our arrangement.
” He levels a cold look at me. “Should it be anyone but my Inessa who is offered that apprenticeship, we have no deal.” He drums his fingers against his glass again. “In fact, Kir, we’ll have war .”
I tilt my head. “And here I thought we were moving past the violence and stupidity of our fathers.”
“Deals require a sacrifice on both sides to be equitable, Kir. You’re getting New York. Apparently, you’re getting the girl, too. Take them . If you push back on the Imperiya Korona question, I can promise you…” His eyes turn icy. “You will lose.”