Page 32 of A Pawn in the Game
“Toma doesn’t know about this?” I ask.
“No, that’s why I came here first.”
“We’ll have to tell him.”
“I know. I thought we could make a plan first.”
My head dips. “I might have an idea.”
Acouple of hours later, our uncle meets us in the storage room of the club. My office is still a work in progress. I feel like a giant in the small and narrow room, with shelves of liqueur surrounding me from both sides.
“That’s ridiculous. We can’t let Liz get away with this.” Uncle’s balding head shakes from side to side.
“What the hell does Liz have to do with it?”
“Tommy was his problem!” Foam appears at the corners of his mouth. “It was him that made us look weak.”
“Tommy’s dead and he’s no one’s problem anymore. We have bigger fish to fry.”
A figure appears inthe doorway.
“Luka,” Ivan’s voice jerks my head up. “You’re getting kind of loud. I’m not sure how much the people out front can hear.”
Clenching my jaw, I respond, “Fine. Thank you.” I turn to my brother. “Let’s go downstairs.” I really need that fucking office done.
Toma, his two men, Leon and I make our way to the dungeon. I unlock the door to find Sophie in her usual spot, playing chess with Andre.
“Leave,” I say to Andre, and he listens instantly.
“Oh, how lovely.” Uncle’s voice drips sarcasm. “Here we are stressing about the whole thing and the girl responsible for it all is playing games.”
Her eyes widen in fear before they darken, pure hatred pouring out of them.
Luckily, Leon interferes, “She’s hardly the one responsible.”
Toma shrugs. “Who knows. She could be in on it. She could have worked with father dad to screw us all over this whole time.”
The thought crossed my mind more times than I could count, but it’s highly unlikely. She seems to have no real connection with him. I’m not even sure she’s expecting him to try to save her. My chest constricts at the thought. The thought is almost incomprehensible. My father would’ve killed and died for Leon and me. We would’ve died for him, too, if given the chance.
CHAPTER 17
Sophie
My body decides to rise from the chair and get into bed as soon as the disgusting uncle looks away from me. Over the past few days, this bed has become a sanctuary for me. Or the closest thing, under the circumstances.
I tug the blanket up to my neck, opting to sit rather than lie down. The tension is so thick you can cut it with a knife.
I noticed it the last time, too. Something about their uncle irritates the shit out of Luka and Leon. And it makes them slightly more real. Slightly less terrifying.
“This is a waste of time. We need to threaten her for real, to push him out in the open.” Toma waves his hand at me, as if I’m a moth that needs to be swatted. Breath hitches in my throat.
“Ne slažem se,” Luka responds in the foreign language, and even though I don’t know what he’s saying, I can tell he’s disagreeing, making my chest expand.
“This is only making us look weak. You should leave her to me. The Russians will think we’re amateurs.” The uncle turns to Leon, as if Luka is a child that can’t be reasoned with.
“She’s my prisoner!” A deep, loud roar bubbles out of Luka, almost shaking the walls of the dungeon. His eyes are pitch black,filled with the fire I’ve seen a few times before. His shoulders are tense under his shirt, making me remember how they looked without it. Wide, hard, and covered in ink. The man is a mountain, and I wouldn’t want to be on the other side when his control eventually snaps.
“I’m just caring for the family business.” Toma tries to strike a threatening pose but being a head shorter and a foot narrower than his nephew, it’s a futile feat.
