Page 47 of Toxic Salvation
“Sit, my friend.” Nico points to the sofa. “It’s been too long. I heard this crazy rumor that you’ve gone domestic. Shacked up with some wholesome, girl-next-door type. Any truth to that bullshit?”
“I wouldn’t believe everything you hear, Nico. For instance, I heard the cops were investigating you for statutory rape.”
“She was seventeen!” He scowls. “And she knew exactly what she was doing, shaking that ass in my face. What’s a man supposed to do?”
“Keep it in his pants, for starters.”
Nico rolls his eyes. “We can’t all have your self-control, Kovan. Some of us like to indulge in life’s pleasures.” He crosses his legs and stretches an arm across the back of the sofa. “Well, fill me in on the fun, juicy details,amigo.Why’d you hunt me down tonight? You don’t frequent clubs, especially not places like this.”
A cocktail waitress passes wearing flower pasties and dental floss for underwear. Nico’s eyes follow her before snapping back to me.
“Or are you finally embracing the joys of debauchery? If so, I’d say it’s about fucking time.”
I shake my head. “Debauchery isn’t my style.”
“No, it never was.” He sighs regretfully. “We could have ruled this city together. Think of the parties we could have thrown!”
There was a time when the thought of a room full of naked women would have sent blood rushing south. Now, everything stays limp and uninterested. Nothing here appeals to me anymore.
“Your parties are legendary without my help.”
“Too true.” Nico smirks. “I’ll ask again. Why are you here?”
“Business.” I slap the list between us. “Several of my men owe you money.”
Nico examines it briefly, disinterestedly. Then he shrugs and leans back. “Possibly. I don’t track every transaction. My bookies handle the details.”
“Cut the shit, Nico. You play the party boy fool, but you’re shrewd with finances. Especially when you profit. You know every name on that list and their allegiance to me.”
He takes a long, thoughtful pull of his beer. “It’s a free country, Kovan. Your men approached me. Was I supposed to turn away paying customers out of loyalty?”
“I don’t care that you took their money,” I answer. “I care that you’re using leverage over them to gather intelligence on my operations.”
“You know the saying.” He grins. “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”
“Which am I to you?”
He drains his beer in three gulps, setting it among the empty bottles and overflowing ashtrays. “Both. In this business, it’s always both.” Nico tilts his head. “Can I run another rumor by you?”
“What have you heard?”
“That you and Ihor are at war. Word is there’s a takedown coming. My guys are even taking bets on who survives.”
I narrow my eyes. “You better have money on me.”
Nico laughs. “I had to consider it carefully. Ihor has old-school strength behind him. Power, respect, a violent history that commands fear across all the families.”
“And me? What do I have?”
Tilting his head to the side, he looks me up and down. “You’re young, ambitious. That counts for something. Except I hear you’re planning to shut down the Keres operation.”
“You hear many rumors.”
“I profit from them.”
I stand. “Thanks for the conversation. As for my men’s debts, I’ll settle them within the hour.”
Nico’s jaw drops. “You’re paying everything? All of it?”
