Page 36 of Tarnished Reign

All the while Jinx and Dimitri continue to talk.

I'm desperate to know what they're talking about. Not because I'm a nosy person, but because I have the horrible feeling that this might involve my fate. Luckily for me, where they are talking is right next to the bar. As well as a selection of alcoholic and cold drinks, there is a coffee maker. Using the excuse of wanting a coffee, I quietly stroll to that end of the deck. I fill my cup with some hazelnut syrup and then start the coffee machine. Again, luckily for me, it's a quiet machine, and that means I can hear some of what is being said. The men are speaking in dulcet tones, but I still manage to overhear the general gist of the conversation.

It seems that Jinx has been ordered to stay by the man who is his boss, Virgil. However, Dimitri is not happy with this.

“Why the hell does he believe I need a babysitter?” Dimitri demands. “If it wasn't for me, his daughter would still be on this boat.”

Jinx shrugs. “You know how it is, boss. The brigadier is the one who's in charge of making sure that everything runs smoothly. Perhaps he's just ensuring that everything goes according to the plan that he and Jacob have implemented. After all, Jacob has none of his men on board either; it’s you and all your men. That is highly unusual, no? With all due respect, I mean.”

“Why is it fucking unusual?” Dimitri scoffs. “We have run things this way many times before.”

“This is why, no offense. It shows at times that you are not from our world. In our world view, for the enforcer to be left in charge of a situation without some of the Pakhan or one of the brigadiers’ men is unusual.”

Dimitri lets out a low, grumbling laugh. “Oh, come now, Jinx. Let's talk freely as friends. Don't pretend that this organization is run the same way as the Bratva back in Russia. It hasn't been that way for a long time. Hell, your leader, my stepfather, isn't from Russia. He’s from Crimea, with Russian roots. This group has been a mix of Russian, Ukrainian, and other Eastern European people as well as American-born citizens for a long time. We left the ways of the old world behind long ago.”

Jinx shuffles in his chair, licks his lips, and runs his fingers through his hair. He might be arrogant, but right now he clearly feels uncomfortable. His body language is screaming “Get me out of here.” He sighs and steeples his fingers. “Dimitri, between you and me, there are some who think you overstep. That's all I'm saying. Perhaps, sometimes we need to think about how things look. About the visual we're creating with our actions. Perhaps, sometimes, we need to think about making sure we don't put people's noses out of joint for the sake of it. Don’t tarnish your reign as the second when it is only just beginning. One day it will all be yours and you don’t want to have made things difficult.”

“Is this coming from you, friend?” I get what he means but it’s not his place to say this to me. Plus, I think my reign is already tarnished, because the entire damn kingdom is. Tainted. Bloodied. Tarred by violence and vengeance. What an inheritance.

“Who else would it be coming from?”

“Oh, I don't know, perhaps your boss. You know, the man whose daughter I just saved.”

“This organization ran long before you joined it. It has a history and ways of doing things woven into the fabric of its being.” Jinx is slowly losing his conciliatory tone. “Anyway, it doesn’t hurt to have extra manpower right now. It’s a double win. An extra body and the upholding of tradition.”

He glances to the side, and I immediately look away and stir the syrup in the base of my coffee cup as I fiddle with the creamer, pretending I'm intensely interested in the coffee.

“That may be so,” Dimitri replies. “But before I joined there were many more incidents and raids against us. There were many occasions that our side lost soldiers to the enemy. There were organized groupings trying to take our territory. None of that happens anymore. The reason is me. Not because I think I'm some sort of superhero, but because I am the sort of person who will walk into the bedroom of a rival group's leader in the dead of the night and slit his and his wife's throats if they threaten me or mine. I will fucking end people who come for us, and the world knows it. When those men of Virgil’s betrayed their brigadier and forgot their duty, I cut off their fucking hands.”

I drop the spoon in the coffee cup, and the metal clatters against the porcelain side, making an awful racket.

Both men turn to look at me, halting their conversation.

Jinx, as usual has nothing but sneering disdain on his face, but Dimitri looks angry. Worse, he seems disappointed. As if he can't believe how stupid and naive I am trying to listen to this conversation. He may have a point.

“Can I help you with something?” Dimitri asks pointedly.

“No, it's fine. I'm done now.” I try to keep my tone light and breezy. “Sorry if the coffee machine was making it hard for you to talk. It's noisy; I know.”

“Quietest damn coffee machine I've ever heard,” Jinx mutters.

His gaze flicks down my body, fast, not lingering, but Dimitri must notice because he actually growls.

“Jinx, look at Adriana one more fucking time, and I’ll pluck your eyes out and wear them as a necklace the way I promised. Understood? Or I’ll give it to her to wear. I’ll fucking set them in resin, you piece of shit, and leave you alive with nothing but empty sockets.”

Jinx chokes a little.

“Under-fucking-stood?” Dimitri snaps.

“Yes.” Jinx doesn’t remotely glance my way as I pick up my cup.

I try to keep the cup steady as I walk across the deck, but my hands tremble uncontrollably at what Dimitri just said. Did he mean that, or is it just idle threats? The image imprints itself on my brain, and I don’t want it there.

Jinx staying is not good news for me, even without Dimitri’s unhinged threats adding to the tension. The man probably loathes me by now. It also seems that he doesn't have to follow everything that Dimitri says. I don't really understand the criminal world, or the hierarchies, but it seems that there is possibly some sort of battle for supremacy raging amongst these people, and I don't want to fall into the middle of it.

I vow there and then to do everything that I can to avoid Jinx. I'm also going to ask Dimitri to never make a show of him that way again over me. It puts me in a dangerous position. I don't need to be the focus of anyone’s anger while I'm here.

My mind lurches back to his words about cutting people’s hands off and plucking eyes out. I decide it must be a threat only. Surely to God.

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