The Halloween Party #3
I scroll through the comments, most of which are overwhelmingly positive.
There have been a few that were critical, clearly jealous of our success.
I make a mental note to figure out where they live and have Sasha pay them a visit.
Our hotel is not “satanic propaganda” or “woke liberal nonsense.” I don’t even know what that means! Whatever.
Just then Sasha and Seth come down the stairs, clothes looking pleasantly rumpled. I smirk at them, and Sasha gives me a death glare in return. “Fun night?” I ask. Seth blushes. What a cutie.
“Everything good?” Brandon asks Seth, who nods in reply.
“Perfect, yeah,” he says.
Sasha has to be on his best behavior with Seth. Everyone in this hotel is protective of him, and Sasha’s days would be tragically numbered if he hurt Seth. Based on the dopey grin Sasha is giving him right now, I don’t think that’ll ever be a problem.
I find myself grinning dopily as well, until a group of tall, tattooed guys walk through the door. I recognize those tattoos immediately. I put a hand up to stop them from approaching the desk.
“What do you want?” I ask icily. “You’re not welcome here. Please leave.”
The one in the center speaks first. “We are here on business and would like to speak to the owner of this hotel.”
“What are your names?”
“I am Alexei.” He points to the guy on his left. “This is Kolya, and over there is Nikita.”
“Elder Covington is dead, were you aware?” I ask.
“News has spread fast about his disappearance. I’m not surprised to hear this, but was hoping to find him here. He pissed off a lot of people, owed lots of money. Did you do it?”
I point to Sasha. “He did, so don’t fuck with him. He’s a badass. Do you have a problem with that?” If he wants to make a scene, I’m more than ready to play ball.
“I do not care if he is dead, I care about making money. We had deal with Covington. Was very lucrative deal for us.”
“Well, we’ve gone legit, gentlemen. No more money laundering, or whatever it is that you guys do. If that’s gonna be a problem for you, we’re more than happy to resolve this less amicably.”
Alexei runs his gaze over all of us, probably assessing for potential danger.
Sasha steps up, putting his body in front of Seth’s. “We don’t want trouble. If Alex says there will be no business, there will be none.” His tone brooks no argument. He looks ready to kill. With Seth in here, he’s probably on a hair pin trigger.
Alexei considers this for a long moment. “I understand, and respect your business. We are out a lot of money, though.”
“Well, he’s dead, so consider your deals with him done. If I could resurrect him so you could kill him again, I’d do it in a heartbeat, trust me.”
He nods, looking around the lobby. “This is nice place you have. I read reviews on google, very positive. It’s not so nice when Covington was in charge here.”
“Thanks!” I say, loving the positive feedback. “We’ve been thinking about putting in a pool.”
“You need help around here? We have background in construction, and can dig big hole for pool. Kolya can make borscht for guests. Is very good.” I consider the offer. Keeping these guys legit might offer us some extra protection.
I look over at Kolya, who seems too young to be in his line of business. He doesn’t say anything as he eyes me warily. “I don’t know, you might have some competition in Sasha. He’s the cook around here.”
“I do not mind if someone else wants to use kitchen,” Sasha says. “I only cook for Seth.”
I think about it for a second. Trusting them would be crazy, right? These are bad dudes. I hold a finger up to the Russians. “Let me confer with my business associates for a second.”
I turn around and whisper to Sasha, “What do you think? Can we trust these guys, or will they fuck us over? Maybe we can lull them into a false sense of security and then BAM! Double cross, burn their bones. What are you thinking?”
Behind me Alexei speaks up. “We can hear what you are saying.”
“Oh shit,” I squeak. “Hi, hello. Um, you said you know how to dig a hole? For a pool?”
Nikita nods. “I can do this,” he says. I give him a once over. He’s lean like Sasha, covered in tattoos and piercings. That’s hot. He’s got the prettiest white blond hair I’ve ever seen.
“Okay, and you’re not going to try and take revenge for Mr. Covington? Or Andrei? Because we killed both of them, and if that’s going to be a problem, let me know now and we can sort it here and now,” I tell him, ready to rumble at the first sign of heat.
Alexei chuckles. “In this line of work, you learn to go with the flow. Mr. Covington is old boss – dead now. You’re our new boss.”
I like the sound of that. I really should discuss this with Jake first, but… “I have one demand, if you want to work for me.”
“Name your price,” says Alexei.
“A guy named Sergio, do you know him?”
He shakes his head. “But I can find out very easily.”
“Good, I want him dead. Immediately. He hurt my boyfriend and threatened to come after him again. This is nonnegotiable. And I want him to suffer. He put hands on my man, and he needs to understand what a mistake that was. Do we have an understanding?”
“I understand. We will get this done for you.”
I nod. “I want pictures of his mangled corpse,” I say, feeling bloodthirsty. “Well, send them to Sasha,” I amend.
“Consider it done.”
“Okay, cool. Well, welcome to Keystone Hotel!”