Page 51 of Coach
Most people ended up at the pool hall before, and often after, a trip to the pub. Had they stumbled in after I cleaned, and just blacked out? Then woken up freaked out and ran?
I didn’t know if this was something that I should call the cops over. I mean, I had no proof.
Or maybe I should tell Konstantin and Mikhail?
But was a suspicion enough reason to call them? When Irina made it clear they had an important meeting?
Maybe it could wait until the next day.
Especially when I wasn’t sure.
The tight sensation in my chest and throat didn’t ease, though, until I finished polishing the floor, gathered my things, and turned off the lights.
I had the back door open when I heard more noise at the front of the building.
This time, though, it wasn’t just a suspicion.
The front door opened, closed, then footsteps moved across my clean floor.
More so than that, though, my imagination could never conjure up the male voices. Nor the insanity of what they were saying.
“Fucking waste of time,” Mikhail griped, tossing something that landed with a thud on the desk. “What good is having fucking captains if they don’t know what the fuck is going on either?”
A captain?
What the hell was a captain?
Konstantin’s voice was further away, interrupted with a clink of glass as he—I imagined—poured drinks.
“To be fair, their jobs are to keep an eye on the warriors. This is on us.”
Warriors?
What the hell were they talking about?
Some kind of game, maybe?
Though nothing about the Novikoff brothers said they were the types to play video games.
I needed to either announce my presence or get the hell out of there. No one liked being overheard when they thought they were alone.
“All I know is when we find the sonofabitch who is stealing from us, I’m going to enjoy stringing them up and slicing off their hands.”
My belly flipped.
My blood went cold.
Because that didn’t sound like hyperbole, like some silly made-up fantasy.Can you believe he cheated on me? I want to kill him.
No.
Mikhail sounded deadly serious.
“Examples have to be made,” Konstantin agreed. “No one can steal from us.”
My saliva felt acidic. It burned all the way down when I swallowed.
I had to get the hell out of there.
