Chapter 57 Episode 57
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He smiles thinly. “You don’t have to remind me. Xena wouldhave my balls if I hosted her wedding in this dining room.”
“Too late. I think she already has them.”
Giorgos’s smile falls. Whatever brief moment of levity wecould have enjoyed, I’ve just killed it. Good f*****g riddance.
“We both agreed to this deal, Nikolai.”
“If only I could forget.”
“And I still have other options,” he adds.
I turn to him, eyebrow arched. “Do it and see what happens.”
But Giorgos knows this already. I made it clear to him at ourlast meeting that if he partners with the Battiato mafia, I’ll killhim before he can reap the benefits. I’ll do it with my ownbare hands, too.
And if it brings on war with the Battiatos? So be it. It’s been along time coming, anyhow. I’ve been on a collision coursewith the motherfuckers who ruined my family since the day Iwas born.
His mouth tightens into a grimace. “Then here we are.”
“Here we f*****g are, indeed.”
I look past him into the room. I don’t see Xena. She’s probablywaiting to make a grand entrance. She suggested the two of usplan a speech for when we walk in together, but I told her I’drather choke. She took that to mean “no” and said we shouldarrive separately. Thank f**k for that.
I’m about to peel away from Giorgos and go hunt downanother drink when my phone rings.
The name on my screen takes me by surprise. I have to read ittwice. But both times, plain as day, there it is.
I’m answering before I can even consider whether it’s a goodidea or not.
“Nikolai?” Elise whispers so softly I can barely hear her. “Isthis the right number?”
“It is if you want to talk to me.”
She sighs. “I didn’t know who else to call. I swiped yournumber from Belle’s phone.”
I grip the phone so tight I hear the casing crack. Giorgoslingers nearby, that nosy bastard. I turn away from him so hecan’t eavesdrop. “Where is she? Does she know you’recalling?”
Elise snorts. “No. She’d be… well, it wouldn’t be good if sheknew we were talking. She’d be mad.”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t have called.”
“Just listen to me first. Please.” I can tell it takes real effort forElise to beg. The strain in her voice is obvious.
“I’m listening. But I won’t be for long, so hurry up and outwith it.”
“She’s sick,” Elise blurts. “Ever since we got home, she’s beengetting worse. She can’t eat, she’s exhausted. It’s getting bad.”
Something stirs in my chest. Something I refuse to name oracknowledge.
“She can’t blame me for everything that goes wrong in herlife,” I growl.
“This isn’t because you cheated on her,” Elise snaps.
Elise laughs bitterly. “Save your breath. I saw it with my owneyes, okay? You broke her heart, and I hate you for it.”
I grit my teeth. “Then why did you call?”
“Because you’re the only person I could think of who canhelp.”
“Get a phonebook and find a doctor. I’m told they have those,even in Oklahoma.”
“She won’t go! I’ve been telling her, but she swears she’sfine.”
“If you could see her, you’d know she isn’t,” Elise argues.“Something is wrong. I don’t know if she picked something upoverseas. Maybe on the plane. I don’t know if it’s a virus orwhat. But something is wrong and it’s getting worse. That’sthe only reason I called you. I’m desperate.”
Giorgos is still watching me with a gleam in his eyes I don’tlike. An idea strikes me suddenly…
Could he have done this?
If the Greeks outright assassinated Belle, I’d know. But if theyplayed the long game, if they poisoned her bit by bit… I’d besurprised, but not shocked. People have gone to strangerlengths to keep a deal together in our world. Maybe Belle wasan obstacle Giorgos wasn’t comfortable living with.
“You said she’s not eating?”
“Hardly a bite,” Elise sighs. “She’s sick all the time and reallypale. And she hasn’t been sleeping well. Nightmares, I think.”
Fuck. It could be anything. Poison is a coward’s game, and Iknow nothing about it—intentionally. I do my killing face-to-face
I drag a hand through my hair. I’m one day away fromcompleting this deal. From securing the future I set out tosecure when I was a broken little boy staring at his mother’scorpse.
I let Belle distract me once. I can’t do it again.
But if she’s being poisoned because of me…
“Please, Nikolai.” Elise’s voice breaks. “I don’t know whatelse to do.”
“I’ll call you right back.”
I hang up and pull up my web browser as Arslan appears at myside.
“What’s goin’ on?” he asks. “You look tenser than normal.”
He looks over my shoulder. “What is—where are you going?”
I ignore him. “Can I trust you to handle s**t here?”
“Handle what?” he hisses. “You can’t exactly tag in asubstitute for your own goddamn wedding, Niko.”
“I’ll be quick,” I say. I see a flight to OKC leaving in the nexttwo hours. I buy the ticket hurriedly. “But I have to go.”
Arslan grabs my arm. “Slow your horses. Who was that on thephone? What in the hell is going on? I need more than this. Ineed to know—”
“All you need to know is that I’m making it your job to keepeverything from falling apart while I’m gone. I’ll be back.Don’t f**k it up.”
Before Arslan can say anything else to stop me, I turn andleave.
The smell of the damp, musty bar rag makes me feel nauseous.But that’s not exactly unique these days.
I keep telling Elise I’m fine, but I’m not. I haven’t been inweeks.
Standing on my feet for eight or more hours at a time andslinging drinks to people who can barely stay upright on theirstools is exhausting in a way I never would have guessed. Butit’s a job with a reliable, if measly paycheck. It’s better thannothing. Not by much, though.
A slurred voice from the end of the bar calls for “another one,”and I obey. My first night, I tried to cut a man off after he’dhad at least twice as many drinks as he should have, but myboss informed me that wasn’t my call to make.
“We aren’t liable for these people. If they want to drinkthemselves to death, just make sure they clear their tab first,”Tony said.
Charming one, that Tony. But unlike Roger, he’s never made amove on me. I’m not worried he’ll corner me in the backcloset.
My bar for what makes a good boss is so low that Tony couldclear it without even picking up his feet.
When I first got back from Iceland, my instinct was to try andreclaim my old life. Maybe I could erase the last coupleweeks, go back to the way things were before.
But then I heard Nikolai’s voice in my head.
When you get back to your ‘priorities,’ be sure to give Rogermy best.
He was right, obnoxiously enough: I couldn’t go back to workfor Roger. Getting tangled up with an engaged man andfooling myself into believing he could want me was patheticenough. I had to at least find a job where the boss hadn’t triedto assault me.
So I slipped into my teeniest pair of denim cutoff shorts andassured Tony that I could increase business, bring in moremale clientele, blah blah blah. He couldn’t have cared lessabout that, though. It took me about four seconds into my firstshift before I figured out why.
Tony’s Watering Hole is for the drunks who have been bannedfrom every other bar. The people sitting across from me aren’tmotivated by tiny shorts or flirting; they’re motivated byendless drinks and no questions. The best thing I can say aboutTony’s is that it’s quiet.
Which is why I look up the instant the bell above the doorrings.
And when I see the familiar figure standing under thedimming neons, my heart stops.
“Long time, no see,” Roger says, ambling over to the bar witha Cheshire cat smile.
Suddenly, eighteen inches of solid wood bar between me andthe patrons isn’t enough. Not nearly enough.
“What are you doing here?” I croak.
“Getting a drink. Think you could help me out with that?That’s what you do now, right?”
I clench my jaw. I could try to kick him out, but Tony wouldbe pissed. Unless someone is tearing up the bar or refusing topay, Tony doesn’t kick anyone out. “It’s bad for business,” healways says.
“What will it be?” I grit out.
“Dealer’s choice.” Roger grins mischievously. “You’re theprofessional. Did you go through training for this? Do they
teach you to spin the bottles without spilling?’
I pour him a flat, foamy beer and slide it across the sticky bartop. “No.”
He’s so busy staring at me that he doesn’t even touch hisdrink. “You should have had your new boss call me. I could’vegiven him a recommendation. Glowing, of course.”
- Writer
