Page 74 of Lord of Vice

After trying for two hours to get some rest, I finally gave up. I also needed to shift the meeting with the Santos men from my office to this location. I had no intention of leaving either Penny or Vissarian unless absolutely necessary, at least for a few days.

Sure, my reputation could take a hit, like I was hiding with my tail between my legs, but often the best strategy was found while the enemy believed themselves to be the victors.

I slipped on a pair of sweatpants from the dresser, cautious not to wake either sleeping guest. It was a night full of firsts. I had a woman in my bed and a dog. My thoughts drifted briefly to Katarina, the visit to my house lasting only a few hours until we’d jetted off to the Caribbean. That had been the last time I’d seen her laughing.

And very much alive.

Less than two hours after returning to Moscow she’d been murdered.

I eased from the room, closing the door with a soft click and heading down to the kitchen for a drink then off to my office for a lesson in discovery.

Now I had a fairly long list, including adding Jake Withers to it. He might not be anyone who I should be concerned with but at this point, I would keep the players on an imaginary whiteboard in my mind.

With the various world contacts I had, one would think I could put some pieces together. The problem wasn’t necessarily about having too many players; it was that a couple of them were already dead. How many others would die prior to learning the truth?

The Morellis. The Butcher. Emiliano. Shit. I could go on given the number of savage cartel leaders. Any one of them would love to take my territory.

I had it in my mind to take a little trip to visit Sheldon Peterson to learn who his South American friend had been. Yet given what Zach had said, would it be nothing more than a waste of time? Fuck. I hated not being organized.

The nighttime lights lit up a good portion of the bottom floor, tonight giving it an eerie blue glow. Maybe it was all about my wretched mood, the rage that refused to leave even for a short period of time. When I was on the landing, I listened for any sounds that something was off. At this point, I heard nothing, another surprise since Vissarian usually played his music at all hours of the day and night.

I headed into the kitchen, filling the glass I’d left behind with whiskey. After taking a sip, I moved toward the bank of windows, staring out at the pool and other water features I’d had built for one reason only. Katarina.

She’d wanted nothing more than to live in a warm environment where she could swim all year round.

It was almost impossible not to compare the two women to some regard given they were the only females I’d cared about in any way. The angst was there, the need for Penny even stronger. I chuckled softly and pulled the glass to my lips.

“What’s so funny?”

I spun around, reaching for a nonexistent gun before realizing I hadn’t seen Vissarian sitting in the shadows sipping on a drink of his own.

“Jesus, bro. If you’d had a weapon, would you have pulled the trigger?” he snarled, sitting up in the seat. I didn’t need to have additional light to know he was glaring at me.

After rubbing my jaw, I walked closer to the table. “You startled me, Viss. Okay?” The closer distance allowed me to see he was spinning his glass back and forth on the table.

“Yeah, so I’ve heard before.”

As usual, the silence we shared as awkward, something I hated but wasn’t certain how to break.

“Is it true what you said? Were you attacked and almost killed?”

“Yeah, it was true. If it hadn’t been for that lady upstairs, I think I’d be dead.”

“Wow. A groupie of yours?”

That’s what he’d think since he had his share of them, women falling all over him because he had our mother’s extremely good looks. In truth, other than our eyes, we looked as if we hadn’t come from the same family. “She was a young woman in search of food for her pup, forced to live in her car.”

“Shit. Really? And she saved your life? Heroic.”

“Can you drop the chip on your shoulder?”

“Can you?”

He could always make me laugh. “Let’s both do that. And try to make it sound like you don’t wish the assholes had been successful.” Maybe I was goading him but we needed to find some middle ground, especially now.

At least he was able to laugh with me, another rarity for the day.

“Nah, bro. I don’t want you dead. I just want my own life. I know all the dangers. You’ve told me many times. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to find my place. You know?”

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