Chapter Fifty-three #2
Dmitri stopped the bike outside a restaurant, and I stayed seated for a moment, confused, my hands still resting lightly at his sides.
I expected a club entrance, something loud and obvious.
Instead, we were outside a polished, high-end restaurant that seemed to belong in a completely different conversation.
“We have a casino here, or did you lie to me?”
“Why?” He offered me his hand to get off, and I took it. “Isn’t the restaurant fancy enough?”
“I imagined a casino in a club. That’s the common setup.”
“I do have those.” He helped me take off the helmet. “This one is the safest. The club ones are chaotic. Anything can happen at any time, and I can’t risk anything with you around.”
That made me smile. I didn’t argue further as he led me towards the building. We took the back entrance, and I looked around as we moved through the corridor, taking in the low lighting and the staff who passed us without looking directly at either of us.
“So will I meet drug suppliers here?” I asked. “I probably won’t recognize them. Movies always show people betting everything, putting their property on the line. I want to see that.”
Dmitri looked at me sideways. “You seem interested in drugs.”
“Why not? A hundred grams would make more money than everything Caitlin and I have sold so far in our business.”
“You researched drugs too, didn’t you?”
I laughed. “No, but movies come in handy.” I noticed two men standing at the door at the bottom of the stairs. They bowed to Dmitri, but he didn’t acknowledge them. He just walked through as they pulled the doors open.
We stepped in, except we weren’t on the casino floor.
We were on a balcony above it. Excitement kicked in.
I slipped my hand from Dmitri’s and moved to the railing, leaning forward to finally see what a casino actually looked like.
My mouth fell open. The floor below stretched wide and low-lit in gold, every table occupied, people fully absorbed in cards, chips, and bets that seemed to carry weight far beyond money.
“Oh, my God.” My eyes moved across the floor and landed on the woman moving between tables. She wore bikinis, moving around as she served drinks to customers.
My excitement about the casino faded. I stepped back from the railing and crossed my arms. “I see,” I said. “So this is where you spend your nights. This is why you come home late. What a sight.”
He turned to me and smiled as if he found me more entertaining than anything below. He reached for me, but I stepped back.
“You know what? Forget drugs. I’ve changed my mind entirely. DK Holdings is clearly doing well. There must be real money in that direction.”
He still couldn’t seem to stop smiling. I looked back down, and honestly, those women were stunning. If I could look at them and admit it, there wasn’t a man in this room who could pretend otherwise.
I looked back at Dmitri. “You can look. Stop pretending I’m more interesting than what’s down there.”
“How cute.” He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me in. “Tell me something. Are you jealous?”
“Jealous?” I scoffed. “I am not jealous.”
“Yeah?” He leaned in and pressed his lips to my cheek.
“Do you come here every night?” I asked.
He kissed the side of my neck too, unbothered. “Why would I, when I have a wife?”
“Then why do you always come home late? You’re lying to me. Did one of them give you a lap dance? I’m sure they did.” I pushed him off. “You know what? I’m leaving. You just ruined our first date.”
He caught my hand before I could go far and pulled me back, my chest hitting his. “I love you too,” he murmured with a grin.
“I didn’t say I love you,” I said.
“You’re acting like you do.”
I sighed and turned my face. “I want you to eat dinner with us,” I said. “Dinners matter. They hold a family together. So, will you be coming home early?”
He didn’t respond at first.
I nodded slowly. “You can’t. I knew it.”
“Done.”
“You will?” I asked.
“That’s what my wife wants.” He kissed my chin.
I nodded, settling back into his hold. “That’s all, then.”
“Nothing else?”
That was enough for now. If I wanted something else, I would make it happen. One thing at a time.
“For our date, let’s just go for a ride,” I said.
He chuckled. “So you do love motorcycles?”
“I never said I didn’t,” I said, and he chuckled as we walked through the door and up the stairs.
We stepped out of the building and got on the bike. I settled behind Dmitri, wrapped my arms around him, and we pulled onto the road.
We cut through traffic at a speed that made my stomach drop on every turn.
He swung the bike between cars with the confidence that looked insane from the outside and felt even worse from behind him.
A sharp corner came, and I squealed into his jacket, my arms locking tighter around him.
He didn’t slow down. If anything, he took the next gap faster, and I held on for my life as the wind tore the sound from my mouth.
By the time he pulled to a stop where the road opened up and went quiet, my heart was somewhere near my throat.