Page 1 of Beautiful Deception

Chapter One

Viktor

Idon’ttakeittookindly when someone tries to kill me.

And someone just tried to kill me.

I stare down into the face of some man I’ve never met before. Stringy black hair covers his eyes. Tremors overtake his body. This man looks like a drug dealer but I know him not to be.

This is a Bratva man – a member of the Russian Mafia.

“So, Gleb,” I say, leaning against my desk. He shakes even harder as he kneels before me. The hard cement floor of my office isn’t helping his knees, I’m sure. My nightclub that I own is in full swing tonight. It’s beautiful and luxurious out there but in here, it’s a dark, cold place. I like to intimidate my enemies that way.

“You thought you could hurt me,” I continue. “Why is that?”

“Please. I just need money. Please.”

“You’re that lowly Bratva man, Gleb Petrov, aren’t you? We’ve never had the chance to meet. I’m Viktor Smirnov.”

His eyes narrow. “I know who you are.”

“So, if you know who I am, why in the world would you try to kill me? Why not just steal from me?”

“Because I knew if you were dead, it would be easier to steal from you.”

“Ah.” I stand up and stare down at this pathetic man. “Well, with that logic, who can lose? But it was a pretty stupid idea to try and kill me in my own club.”

I was in my office, working, when he stormed in and tried stabbing me. I overpowered him and now, here we are.

As a tall man, it’s fairly easy for me to overpower people, and Gleb is tiny and scared; not a good combination to defeat me.

“What prompted you to do this?”

“I need the money,” Gleb spits out, as if I’m the problem. As if he didn’t just try to kill me. Fucker.

“And why do you need the money?”

“Because I need it.”

“No. I’m going to need a better answer than that if I’m not going to kill you.”

He scoffs. “You’re going to kill me anyway.”

“Well, you’re right about that. But tell me. Why do you need the money?”

“I’m in debt,” he admits. “I can’t help it that I like to gamble. And now… I’m going to lose my house and no one will help me. No other Bratva man wants to help me.”

“So, you thought stealing from me was the way to go? A Bratva man who’s a lot more powerful than you. I’ve heard of you, Gleb Petrov. How you love to gamble. How you love to put your greed above your daughter.”

“Don’t talk about my daughter.”

My face is cemented in stone. “I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting her. What’s her name?”

“No. I’m not going to tell you that.”

“Let’s call it a mystery then. Are you doing this for her? To help her? Because, I can tell you, Gleb, that trying to kill me for money, is not the way to do it.”

Gleb is a low Bratva man on the totem pole. He’s not high ranking like I am. I never gave a damn about him until tonight. Never even met him until tonight.

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