Page 23 of Owned By the Bratva

The second floor held some private dancing rooms, a restaurant, and a pool area with a bar. We moved through to the bar area and found a spot where we could practically see the entire floor. Piotr ordered a couple of beers as we sat down.

Once the lovely blond waiter had brought our drinks and left, he turned to me and spoke in the same deep voice but not as loud as before. “You need to be careful with that little dove of yours.”

Feeling my anger igniting, I turned to face him. I could see on his face that he meant what he said. This time, I thought before replying that I needed to stay calm. Scanning the floor, I took a deep breath and sighed.

Piotr reached across the table and tapped my arm as he continued. “I don’t want to interfere, but I don’t want to have to deal with the fallout if it goes firing up.”

I understood what he meant. I didn’t want trouble either, but I couldn’t explain how I felt around her. Instead of answering, I gave him a sharp nod, indicating I understood. This wasn’t the time or place to discuss personal issues.

Piotr returned my nod and waved his arm in the air showing the waiter to bring two more. We downed our first beers without any further discussion. Checking my watch, I knew it wouldn’t be too long before Ashan arrived if he wasn’t already in the club. Which was very possible, as he surely took care of the business.

We were about halfway through our second beer when Ashan and Jamie came waltzing in. We rose as they came over. Stepping around the table, we greeted like old friends.

“Come with us,” Ashan said as he and Jamie started towards the other side of the pool area. There were three closed-in gazebos, which offered more privacy for business deals. We entered the first one. As we sat down, a waiter came in with a tray of drinks.

The young man, probably barely a day over twenty placed it on the small round table. He turned to Ashan, gave a slight bow, and left. “Right then,” Ashan said, smiling. “Tell us about the progress?”

I listened as Piotr went through the events and results we had on all the other projects we were working on. Once he was done, it was my turn. I took a deep breath before starting. Ashan sat listening intently. Once I had gone through the two messed-up situations, he suggested we use Cindy.

“I will find another way, I guarantee you. I just need a bit more time.” I pleaded with him.

Ashan glanced at Piotr and then at Jamie before responding. “Sure, you have a week; please note time is of the essence here.”

Nodding, I replied gratefully. “I know and won’t let you down. Thanks, Ashan. May I be excused?”

Ashan nodded, and I left, heading back to the bar on the other side of the floor. At the bar, I grabbed another beer and sat on one of the chairs, scanning the floor again. The kind of work we did, we had learned to be cautious. Even though we were on friendly ground, I knew things could still change within a second.

Even the Morozov family surely had enemies, maybe even more than we had. At this, I smiled. I was sure they had many more people coming at them than we would ever know. I had barely taken a sip of my beer when a lovely young woman slid onto the chair next to me.

“Would you like to dance with me?” She inquired in a silky voice. Glancing back, I noticed Piotr was done and coming my way. In the past, I might have taken a woman like her up on such an offer. She was beautiful, her eyes sparkled like diamonds, and her smile was inviting. I could see myself riding this ocean, but now my mind was filled with Cindy.

This beauty before me couldn’t even come close to what Cindy had. “No, thanks, I’m on my way out,” I replied as I moved to join Piotr.

“I’m going to the bar down our way. Do you want to join?” I asked as we exited the den. Piotr nodded, pulling on his helmet and starting up his bike.

The bar was about midway between our mansion and the den. It wasn’t as fancy as the den, but we had visited it before. It held two pool tables, a dartboard, a jukebox, a small stage used only on the weekends, a dance floor, and about ten tables. I had never seen it to full capacity, which suited us better.

We sat down at the bar and Piotr ordered a round of beers. I wanted to forget Cindy, and my mixed emotions and beer weren’t going to do that, so I got us some shots. After two rounds, we played a game of pool against some creeps hanging around the tables. I hadn’t seen them here before, but they appeared harmless enough.

Piotr had stopped taking shots with me once I started feeling a buzz, but I wasn’t ready to go home yet. I wanted to forget everything. I wanted to keep on drinking. After another couple of rounds, Piotr took me by the arm as he spoke. “I think it’s time to go; you’ve had enough. If you continue, you won’t be able to drive home.”

I let out a small chuckle as I responded, pushing him back. “No, no, I want one more.”

Piotr spoke softly as he pulled my arm around his shoulder. “No more, brother, let’s get out of here.” We walked to the door but had to turn sideways to get out together. Stepping into the cool evening air, it brushed my cheek and made me smile.

“You feel that?” I asked Piotr as we headed to my truck. “I think an angel just kissed me.”

Piotr smiled, “I think you had a little too much,” he said as I pressed the remote buttons, hearing the door popping open.

“Right you are, as always,” I said, opening the door. “But I feel better.” Before I could get in the night air rang with the sound of metal colliding with metal. Glancing at the back of my truck, I saw three men with metal bats. One was tapping his bat on the back flap of my truck.

Regaining my senses instantly as anger surged through me. I slammed the door closed and stepped closer as I spoke. “Hey, please don’t do that.”

The three men looked at each other, smiling. “We heard you have been making some waves. It has to stop or else…”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Piotr said, taking a step towards them. I heard the rise in his voice and saw his clenched fists at his sides as he readied to take them on. The three men stepped out behind the truck as another spoke behind us.

Swinging around, we were met by three more standing behind us and another three to the side. The men before us had what looked like pipes or crowbars in their hands, and the men to the side were armed with knives.

---