32
“Vladimir, come. It's good to be firsts for once.”
I turn my chair around and look at them. One is tall with fair hair, the other is almost a head shorter, wearing a gold necklace that reminds me of a dog collar. I feel like I’m choking. I drink some wine quickly and shake my head gently.
“I haven't been here for a long time,” the Russian with the collar laughs. “They have too many rules about their hookers.” He looks towards the girls sitting in their places tensely. “Bring me a bottle of vodka,” he shouts in Charlie’s direction and when he starts to turn towards the shelves behind him, I tap my thumb on the counter and he stops.
“Dima, I will start by claiming these two.” Vladimir stops in front of the twins. “And when I finish with them, I have someone who will pay a lot of money for them.” They lower their heads and I must do something. “Bring our men in,” he orders, and I stand up straight and cross my arms over my chest.
“It will cost you,” I say dryly, feeling as if someone else has taken over my body and doing whatever she wants with it.
“Who is this bitch?” Vladimir turns to me and spits on the floor.
“This bitch is the owner.” I don’t even blink, as a strange calm envelops me.
“Fine,” he laughs. “Don’t worry, you won't be left out. After I finish with the twin bitches, I’ll do you, too.” He puts his hand on his groin and pushes his pelvis forward.
I fake a small giggle and grow serious again, walking directly to him and stand in front of him. “Vladimir,” I say, “I don’t believe that you haven't heard of me.”
He inspects me for a moment. “You're the bitch they went to war over?”
“I’m that bitch.” I spread my hands to the sides proudly. “And now, if you don’t mind, take your perverted brother and get the hell out of my bar before I go upstairs with you and finish this.” He looks at me quietly and then his expression grows crazy. “Fucking bitch!” he screams in my face. “Now you'll go upstairs with me and we will finish you.” He pulls me hard by the hand, and I realize that if I don’t do something drastic, it will be the end of me. My brain is firing hysterical orders and I take the pocketknife out of my belt, flip it open and stick it into his thigh. He collapses, moaning in pain. “I’ll finish you!” he screams. I keep hold of the knife and twist it in his thigh. He screams again and Dima runs over to him.
“Take one more step and I’ll move the knife to the right,” I say quietly, almost whispering, and Dima stops. “I’ll cut his main artery and you can take him straight to the cemetery.” I have no idea where the main artery is, but I sound believable, even to myself.
“Don’t listen to her!” Vladimir yells, and collapses again when I move the knife from side to side. “Finish her already!”
Dima takes out his gun and I wave my other hand upwards.
“I’d move away if I were you,” Charlie says sternly, aiming his hunting rifle at him. The three guards inside the bar do the same. For a minute it seems as if he is considering his options, but then he puts his gun back in his belt. I take a step back and Dima helps his brother up.
“Wait,” I call out, and they both stop. “My knife. I’m very fond of it.” I twist it again in Vladimir’s thigh and pull it out. Vladimir screams and curses in Russian, and I throw my head back and laugh insanely. I wipe the blood on my white shirt and groan out loud.
“Crazy bitch!” Vladimir screams as he staggers with his brother towards the exit.
“Duchess,” I correct him. “Don’t forget to tell everyone outside.” I burst into laughter again and the door slams behind them. My laughter stops instantly, and I collapse on the floor.
The twins run to me and within minutes I'm surrounded by all the girls.
“You were awesome!” one of the twins says excitedly. “That was amazing acting,” the other continues, “even I believed you were crazy.”
“I stabbed him.” I raise my hand and try to stop it from shaking with my other hand. “I didn’t think I’d have to stab anyone.” My voice is trembling.
“You have to admit it feels good,” the blonde sits down on the floor beside me. The connecting door to the club opens and Leo and Victor rush inside, jumping and clapping their hands.
“We saw everything, what a performance!” They're still jumping as the main door opens again.
“Get away from me!” I order the girls. I cross my legs and remain on the floor. I recognize the three French men walking in casually.
“I saw the Russians coming out and that piece of shit, Vladimir, is bleeding,” one says to the others in English, and then they switch to French.
“Even when they get to be first, they screw up. One probably stabbed the other because they couldn’t decide who'll be the boss,” the second Frenchman answers and laughs. “The Russians always were and always will be too proud.”
“What’s going on here?” they're standing over me and I close my eyes, smile and stretch my hand out to the one on the right. He grabs it and I stand up, hug him, kiss him three times on the cheeks and address him in French.
“I owe myself a moment of pure pleasure after I make someone else scream in pain.” I wipe the pocketknife on my shirt again and tuck it back into my belt. He looks at me suspiciously. I hug the other man and kiss him three times on his cheeks as well and do the same to the third man. “Now, may I buy you a drink?” I'm standing tall in front of them.
“Who is this?” the first one, who I remember is called Pierre, turns to his brothers and they shrug and shake their heads in confusion. “Who are you?” he asks me.
I clap my hands twice and the girls stand up. “Charlie, fetch our best bourbon. I want my French brothers to celebrate with me.”
“Of course, Duchess,” he replies respectfully, and the Frenchmen look at each other questioningly.
“Why don’t you explain to us who you are?” Pierre is losing his patience and he grabs me by the neck. I feel his fingers squeezing, and just before I can’t talk anymore, I caress his hand.
“ Mon Cheri , that's no way to talk and act to the Duchess. Unless you want me to treat you the same way I treated the Russian gentleman who just left.”
“You look familiar,” he narrows his eyes at me and let’s go of my neck. “Got it!” he laughs, “You’re that stupid whore who came to us with Liam.”
I burst out laughing and pat his cheek mockingly. “The only whores that night were you.” My voice is dripping venom and their eyes are wide with fury. “I was an equal partner even then, but you were so stupid that you couldn’t see it was all an act.”
“It’s that physics student they started the war over,” the second man mutters quietly as he inspects me from head to toe.
“Where’s Ralph?” Pierre looks to the sides and walks to the connecting door of the club. He opens it, and I hear the loud music and pray that the men in there are continuing their act.
“Working,” I answer, and choke back a sigh of relief when he closes the door and comes back to me. “Why? Is there a holiday nobody told me about?” When he doesn’t answer and there is no sign of him leaving, I turn to the girls. “What are you doing, sitting there like miserable whores? Did you get the evening off? Maybe you're sick?” I shout, waving my hands in the air. “Come on, show our guests some respectable hospitality like you’re supposed to.” I hit the brunette’s table and she stands up and sashays over to them.
“I apologize,” she flutters her eyelashes. “Your sexy accents made me forget my manners. Would one of you like to go upstairs with me?”
“Fuck off.” The younger brother pushes her away rudely and I take out my fan, cover up half of my face and stand between them.
“Nobody treats my bitches disrespectfully but me.” I raise my head high. “Now I must ask you to leave.” I gesture toward the exit with my eyes.
They take a few steps back and whisper to each other. "The place looks like it's working,” one of them raises his voice. “We can’t claim ownership without getting rid of a few…” they look around and whisper to each other again. “Everyone’s mad at us now anyway for cutting down the packages shipments. Let’s go. We’ll wait for the next opportunity.”
“Duchess,” Pierre says mockingly, and keeps looking at me suspiciously. I raise the fan slightly so he won't see how pale I am. “Very well,” he makes a small bow. “Tell Ralph that we came by and sent our regards,” he says, and the three men leave.
“I’m sorry,” I turn to the girls. “I didn’t mean to insult you, I just—”
“You're amazing!” the brunette stands up and hugs me. “Just amazing!”
The door opens again…
I sway on my feet in a panic, my heart is threatening to jump out of my chest. Carlito, Mariano and Giovanni enter with the steps that make it look as if they’re dancing. They are followed by three bodyguards.
“Call Johanna,” I whisper to the brunette and she hurries to the club.
Carlito looks around indifferently and sits down casually at the round table. His sons sit down opposite him.
The relative calmness enjoyed for the past hour is wearing off and I try my hardest to muster up courage to deal with this new situation. I take a deep breath, pinch my cheeks to give them some color and walk over to them. The sons stare at me in astonishment and Carlito lowers his head and plays with his gold necklace.
“Welcome to my bar,” I say, trying to disguise the trembling in my voice.
“Shut up and get us a drink” Carlito raises his head and grimaces in contempt. Johanna comes in and stands beside me.
“Johanna, three glasses of whiskey.” I say and remain where I am. She hurries over to the counter. “We’re open for business,” I continue quietly. “You can choose any of the girls…”
“I told you to shut up!” Carlito bangs on the table and my heart skips a beat. “A pathetic student who thinks that she can start a war and then take over the business of the guy who is fucking her!” He spits on the floor, missing my shoes by half an inch. Massive waves of adrenalin flood through me and I stamp my foot and bang the table right in front of his face.
“This is my place. The bar is mine. The club is mine. The chairs you're sitting on are mine. So, get off your asses and get the hell out!” I scream.
Mariano stands up. “Stinking pathetic bitch.” He mutters and slides his hand over my shirt. He stops on my chest and grabs hold of my breast. “You dare talk to my father disrespectfully, huh?”
“Yes!” I spit dramatically at the same spot Carlito spat at a moment ago and raise my chin defiantly.
“Then I’ll fuck you right here in front of everyone, so that you understand that you’re just a whore.” He twists my arm and bends me over the table. Giovanni smiles to my face and I can’t see Carlito’s expression. Mariano starts lifting the layers of my skirt and I quickly raise them too.
He slaps me on the butt and laughs. “You want it, huh?”
I manage to get hold of the pocketknife seconds before he tears my panties off. My hand moves forward and I stab the knife hard into the hand in front of me, which is adorned with several gold rings. Giovanni’s scream is deafening, and Mariano lets go of me immediately and looks at him in panic.
“Mariano, get the fucking knife out of me!” he shouts in pain.
“Stop crying!” Carlito hisses furiously and stands in front of me. He raises his hand and slaps me hard. My head jerks back and I sway on my high heels, but I manage to keep my balance and pull myself upright.
“Wow!” I laugh madly, “That was a perfect demonstration of the energy preservation law,” I say and Carlito stares at me blankly. “Your son wanted to screw me, I screwed his brother, and then you gave me one straight in the—”
“Shut up!” Carlito snarls and slaps me again, this time on the other cheek. It’s harder for me to maintain control now. I really want to cry, but I bite my lips and stand upright again.
Mariano pulls the knife out of Giovanni’s hand, and he screams hysterically.
“It’s time to teach the bitch a lesson,” Carlito says in a voice that makes my blood run cold. He takes brass knuckles out of his pocket and fits it over his fingers.
“Oh God…” I mumble and close my eyes. “I haven’t even finished my degree,” I whisper dizzily but I snap out of my daze as a deafening shot sounds behind me.
I whirl my head around. One of the Italians’ bodyguards has been shot in the forehead and he’s lying dead on the floor.
“You broke the truce and forgot to tell me?” the owner of the German accent sounds amused and I look at him in astonishment, trying to understand whether I’m dreaming or if he’s really standing there smiling in a pressed gray suit.
“We didn’t break any truce.” Carlito is furious.
“Then why are you trying to take down one of ours?” he raises an eyebrow questioningly and then cocks his weapon again and shoots another bodyguard casually. He too collapses on the floor like a rag doll.
“We came here to claim ownership and this one got in our way.” Carlito looks at his dead bodyguards lying on the floor, mutters a curse and removes the knuckles. “You know the rules change in situations like these.”
“Charlie,” Ralph turns to him with a wide smile. “Was the bar abandoned at midnight?”
“No,” Charlie answers. He raises his hunting rifle and aims it at the Italians. “Elena… I mean the Duchess, had already taken over.”
“I see.” Ralph says quietly, cocks his weapon once again and shoots the third bodyguard in the forehead.
“Enough with the shooting,” Carlito raises his voice and Ralph walks over to us.
“What's wrong, Giovanni?” he fakes a concerned tone, “Did Daddy’s little boy scratch his hand?”
I turn my head toward the sons and stare in horror at the blood pouring from Giovanni’s hand. Mariano is pressing the open wound with napkins, trying to stop the flow.
“Shut up, you crazy German,” Giovanni answers and furiously tries to move around his brother. Mariano stops him and looks at their father.
“We are not done here,” Carlito says as he returns the brass knuckles to his pocket. He walks past me towards the main entrance with his sons following. “The truce will be over in a few days, and then you'll feel my anger.” Mariano opens the door for him, looks at me again and spits on the floor. “I look forward to seeing you again.” He smiles icily and the door closes behind them.
Before I can even breathe, the door opens again. Three men enter and remove their friends’ bodies.
I place my hand over my heart, close my eyes and murmur a prayer of thanks. When I open my eyes, I see an amused look on Ralph’s face.
“Where were you?” I ask wearily and sit down at the round table.
He narrows his eyes at me, inspects my clothes and sits down opposite me. “I disappear for one day and you become an aristocrat?”
I pick up a glass of whiskey and gulp it quickly, shaking my head as the liquid burns it way down and I sit back up again.
The brunette comes over. “Duchess, Elena, you were amazing!” She strokes my shoulder and returns to her place. One by one the girls come to me and sing my praises. I nod heavily, take the second glass of whiskey and toss it down in one swallow.
“Ralph, where the hell were you?” I ask again.
“I was out of town on private business.” He signals Johanna over and asks her to bring the bottle.
“Didn’t you get my messages?” I ask and lean back. “Didn’t you hear they were arrested? Didn’t you know that you had to be here by midnight?”
“My phone was turned off. I needed to clear my head.” He doesn’t even thank Johanna when she returns with the bottle and puts it in front of him. He just refills my glass and pours himself one. “When I heard the messages, I knew I wouldn’t make it back in time. But you know me,” he empties the glass into his mouth and laughs, “I wasn’t going to give up without a fight.”
“It’s a good thing you finally got here.” I finish my third drink and realize that I’d better stop.
“Were they the first ones?” He wrinkles his forehead in shock.
“No,” I groan. “The Russians were first, then the French and then the Italians.” I shiver and he looks shaken up.
“How did you—”
“Not now.” I raise my hand and yawn. “I need to say goodbye to some important customers.” I stand up and arrange my skirt. I raise my head, draw out my black fan and cover my face halfway. I walk through the connecting door with Ralph behind me. I clap twice and the music stops. “Thank you for coming tonight.” I press my hands together in gratitude, and the men who are sprawled on the couches jump up and shake their hands in disgust.
“Oh, it was awful!” one cries, and they all burst into uncontrollable laughter. “I never want to see tits again for the rest of my life!” another says, and they continue laughing.
“What's this?” Ralph asks in revulsion, “Are these supposed to be men?”
“They’re better men than any of the others I met tonight,” I say dryly and look at him. Victor and Leo approach me and I hug them affectionately.
Victor takes my hand and kisses it. “Duchess, you deserve an Oscar for your performance tonight.”
“Thank you,” I say and escape back to the bar as I feel tears of relief filling my eyes.
“How did you persuade the bitches to cooperate with you?” Ralph asks as we return to the round table.
“I just asked nicely.” I am so exhausted, I can barely even open my mouth. “Can I go now?” I ask and yawn.
“Where do you want to go?” he sounds concerned all of a sudden.
“To my apartment. I need some quiet. Tonight I had enough drama to last for a whole year.”
“I'll get you a ride.” He calls over one of his bodyguards. “And you will have a personal guard. You can relax.”
“I’m so glad you’re back,” I say my voice is trembling as I stand up.
He stands up in front of me. “Elena, you did very well without me. You really are something special.” He caresses my cheek and bends down on one knee. “I apologize,” he lowers his head and kisses my hand,
"Duchess.”