56. Arsen
56
ARSEN
“We’re just gonna roll up with no backup?”
“You are the backup, Dom.”
“Well, gee, I’m flattered you chose me to die by your side,” he grumbles. “The Skulldraggers may be small-time nobodies, but they do have a reputation for being sneaky little fucks. How do we know this isn’t a setup?”
Because the dealers who were chasing Jasper were so green, they didn’t even recognize me until I gave them my full name last night. I trust, in the day since we last spoke, they’ve done their research. They won’t risk moving against me and compromising their entire operation.
For the sake of Dom’s nerves, I stick with the facts. “Because they wanted this twenty-five grand enough that they went back home and waited for me to show up with it today. They’re broke and desperate.”
“Not unlike the asshole who got us into this mess.”
Dominik can’t help but take shots at Jasper, and I don’t blame him. He was right about him from the start. I’m gonna be hearing “I told you so” for the rest of our natural lives.
I park the car on the corner and kill the engine. “Come on. I want to be in and out of here in under ten minutes.”
Dominik retrieves the suitcase of cash from the backseat and we walk together to the seedy pub that serves as The Skulldragger Motorcycle Club’s headquarters.
The windows are blacked-out, so I have to squint into the gloom when we step inside. Slowly, the ambience takes shape, and I decide I might not mind being blinded, after all.
The walls are murky red, the air is stale, and cigarette butts litter the stained floor. A man stands at the bar, bearded and skeletally thin. I recognize Cranium—whose name makes me roll my eyes; no one will ever accuse The Skulldraggers of being clever—by the dim glow of the cigarette hanging between his yellowed teeth.
When he sees me, he spits the cigarette on the bar top and crushes it with his palm, then jumps to his feet and dips his head. “Mr. Adamov.”
“I see you did your research.” I tip my head towards the suitcase. “I’ve got your debt right here.”
“Let me show you to a private room. Our boss wants a word.”
Suppressing a sigh, I follow Cranium, Dominik close at my heels. He takes us through a door behind the bar. The room is small. Mildewing boxes are stacked against the walls, and a bare bulb hangs over a rusted metal table.
“You sure we aren’t being murdered?” Dominik mutters under his breath.
Cranium waves an arm towards a rickety chair like it’s a throne. “Have a seat. My boss will be out in a moment.”
“I only have a moment, so tell Bones to hurry the fuck up,” I bark.
Cranium hurries out of the room and Dom leans on the table, the metal squealing under the weight of his elbows. “Why was it so important that you showed up in person?” Dominik asks. “These guys are not fit to be in the same room with you.”
“I need to send them a message. They need to know that if they continue to come after Jasper, they’ll be coming after me, too.”
Dominik’s jaw drops. “After everything he— You’re still protecting that stupid bastard?”
“I know you don’t understand.”
“You bet your ass I don’t understand!” Dominik snaps. “Whatever debt you think you owe him, you’ve paid it. Ten times over. You don’t owe Jasper anything.”
I know he’s right, but every time I come close to closing the door on Jasper, I hear Laila’s words in the back of my head.
Sometimes, loyalty pays off.
“He’s hit rock bottom, Dom. I can’t turn my back on him now.”
“Even if he drags you down there with him?”
“I won’t let that happen.”
He huffs out a frustrated breath. “You can’t control everything, Arsen.”
“That’s never stopped me from trying.”
Hissing in wordless disgust, Dom flops the briefcase on the table and leans back to pout in his chair. “If Bones doesn’t show up in five minutes, we’re outta here.”
I shrug. “I was only going to give him three.”
My phone buzzes. Laila texted me a picture of Nina, and my heart clenches like it’s been days since I’ve seen her instead of just a couple hours.
My daughter is wrapped in a fluffy towel, wearing a goofy, toothless smile on her face as she reaches for the camera.
LAILA: Nina missed her Papa today.
ARSEN: I’m sorry I wasn’t there for bedtime. I had some business to take care of.
There are voices in the hallway. Dominik stands to go answer the door, but the three dots appear as Laila texts me back, so I decide to let him handle it.
LAILA: Does this business have anything to do with why you were holed up all day with Gedeon and Dom?
ARSEN: I’m handling it.
Dominik mutters something to me, but I miss it as Laila’s next text comes in.
LAILA: Did it have anything to do with Charles?
I don’t exactly want to tell her I haven’t even thought about Charles since Jasper scaled the fence last night—or that Jasper scaled the fence last night, if we’re keeping track of my omissions.
ARSEN: I don’t want you to worry about it. I’ve got it all under control. Just go to bed. I’ll be home in an hour.
I barely get my phone in my pocket and look up before there’s a deafening crack and Dominik is hurled backwards.
“Arsen!” He turns towards me like he wants to shield me from fuck-only-knows-what, but blood is blooming across his chest.
He falls to the floor, and I follow him, ducking under the table as more shots explode through the wooden door.
“ Blyat’ .”
Dominik is lying several feet away from me, the pool of blood around him growing fast. I want to go to him, but shots are still ringing out.
I pull out my gun and position myself behind the tables, waiting for the moment the door opens.
And it does. The Skulldraggers charge in like a horde of rats, mindless and with no cover. I send bullets raining down on them. One after the other, they fold like cheap paper until there’s a heap of bodies lying in the threshold.
Gunsmoke is thick in the air. I cough as I grab my phone and punch in Gedeon’s number.
My ears are ringing, so I don’t even hear him answer; I just start shouting, “Dominik is down! Get here now! Dominik is down.”
I toss my phone to the side and rip off my shirt. I press it to Dominik’s chest, trying to ignore the way he looks like he’s already halfway gone—pale white and barely breathing.
I’ve managed to staunch the blood flow as well as I can when I notice one of the bodies in the doorway stir.
Satisfied that my makeshift bandage will hold until the ambulance gets here, I grab the still-breathing, soon-to-be-dead body and press him face-down into the pool of Dominik’s blood.
“Please…!” he splutters. “D-don’t kill me.”
I wrench his head out of the sopping crimson liquid. “Tell me why and I won’t.”
His own blood bursts from between his lips as he tries to speak. “The bounty! Ten million dollars is a lot of money.”
“On me?” It’s the first I’m hearing of it, though it wouldn’t be the first time there’s been a price on my head.
He shakes his head, coughing up more blood. “N… no. Not you. The… the… the girl. The wife. Laila Adamov.”
Everything in my body tenses at my wife’s name on this man’s lips. I tighten my hold on his throat until he’s red and then purple.
He can’t speak, but I can see the accusation in his eyes. You said you wouldn’t kill me.
“Well,” I spit as the light fades from his eyes, “I lied.”