CHAPTER 8
Zinovy
“Tell me who the girl is to you.” I have made the same demand three times, and three times this fuck has pretended he has no clue who I’m asking about.
Gleb was pathetically easy to find. His predictable addictions making it children’s play to track him down.
The idiot couldn’t even lay low for two days before his urge to gamble drove him to the nearest backyard dog fight.
My lip curls in distaste, the memory of the terrified bait dogs and snarling fighters another nail in Gleb’s rapidly approaching coffin.
I’d left Segei to ensure no one there, gambler or organizer, made it out alive.
Overkill? Perhaps. But men who will abuse animals or pay to watch others do so are not worthy to walk the earth.
I may be a criminal, but I am not so depraved as to standby while innocent dogs are mauled.
Sergei and his crew will ensure the dogs are given proper vet care and placed with rescue groups.
Much as I’d have preferred the chance to remain and dispose of the human garbage, Anatoly has expectations of me that don’t include personal crusades.
I refocus my attention on Gleb Kuzmin and his blubbering.
Snot mixes with blood and tears, dripping from his chin onto his heaving chest. I’ve worked him over for hours, ensuring I have all the answers I need before I slit his throat and end his suffering.
“Ghfmpbgh-ugh,” he garbles around broken teeth and a tongue swollen half out of his mouth.
“The girl with your phone, dolboyob. Who is she to you?” This is the last bit of information I want from him.
He folded the second I showed up and started asking questions about the information he’d given the authorities about how the Vor operates.
Fortunately for everyone involved, especially the Kuzmin bloodline, what he knew couldn’t fill a thimble.
His weight sags in the chains holding him upright as he falls unconscious, and I realize he’s too far gone for comprehension.
I don’t really give a shit how he knows Petal.
Or at least, I won’t care how he knew her once he’s dead.
Right now, it’s a thorn in my palm thinking of him somehow being important to her.
Touching her. Believing he has some claim on her.
His phone was with her for a reason, and the fury of not knowing why unleashes something feral inside me.
Smelling salts under Gleb’s nose jolt him back to consciousness, but it’s immediately obvious I won’t get anything further from him.
He trembles and shakes, rattling the metal chains and setting his body swaying from the hook attached to the beam above him.
He moans incoherently, the pain too much for his piss poor constitution to tolerate.
I should let it go. Finish Gleb off, report back to the Pakhan, and be done with this.
Should but I won’t. Feliks grumbles under his breath at the doorway to the temporary kill room I build in one of the many safe houses the Vor maintains.
As Anatoly’s obshchak, the money man of sorts for the Pakhan’s entire organization, he rarely shows up for the wet work.
Instead, preferring to wield our leader’s money like a blade against our enemies.
His presence here in the midst of my work is enough of an oddity to draw my attention from Gleb’s piteous whimpering.
“What is the problem?” I demand. “All the information should already be to the boss.”
I hate having a babysitter, especially one who might have a weak stomach.
I respect Feliks. Have seen him kill when necessary.
But still, he’s more like a bean counter than a bratva warrior.
I imagine he’s already tallying the wasted return on investment that comes with torture and converted it into lost revenue.
“That’s not why I’m here. You’ve withdrawn a lot of money from your accounts today.
Enough to raise red flags across my monitoring systems. I’m here for answers.
” Feliks sounds bored as fuck, but I hear the steel beneath the words.
As irritating as it is to have him crawling up my ass about how I spend my money, I know he’s not leaving without an explanation.
“I’ve decided to invest in some additional real estate. Everything is above board,” I say. Idly, I drag my knife in swirling patterns over Gleb’s heaving torso. Not deep enough to lead to real damage, but enough to keep him drowning in pain.
“You bought a house and a storage lot. Neither of which were on the market this morning. That draws attention, Sin.” Feliks uses my nickname as though we are still young boeviks, rising through the ranks together to serve at the Pakhan’s side.
“The world sees a man who owns several small businesses and properties. Where does the problem lie?” I continue toying with the bleeding man beside me as we talk.
Now, I’ve moved on to twisting the tip of my knife into the shallow cuts, the curved end catching the inner meat of his flesh and tugging it out and separating the tissue from the fat underneath.
“Would you stop fucking with that traitor scum and pay attention here?” Feliks grouses.
I flick my knife over Gleb’s throat, slicing the carotid and ensuring the prick dies before this bullshit conversation is likely to.
Feliks flinches as I walk toward him, but I don’t mistake it for fear.
He’s not afraid of me. He’s disgusted by the gore covering me.
It’s a good thing he’s got a head for numbers, because he could never survive doing what I do without hesitation.
“Are you implying I should not spend the money I earn however I choose to spend it, obshchak?” I like Feliks, but if he thinks anything he says will stop me from buying the storage facility where my little bird has been staying or a home to give her instead, he’s got another think he ought think.
“No, Zinovy. Just, maybe, next time, consult with me first? I could have helped you find a better property than that shithole Dino-Mite. Are you aware the man you bought the place from is related to the mayor? No. And now, I have to soothe ruffled feathers because you offended him. Soothe him with your money, so be prepared to see more debits from your accounts. Perestan’ bit dabayobom! ”
“I’m not being a dipshit. I have my reasons. Take what is needed to shut up the nephew. I have more important things to do now.” I turn my back to Feliks, conversation over as far as I’m concerned. My pockets are more than deep enough to handle whatever bribe is necessary.
I swing the lever to release the chain Gleb hangs from, and his body drops like a stone to the tarp covered concrete. I really like the layout of this safe house’s basement. I may use it again in the future. For now, I’ve got a mess to clean up and a woman to get to.