Page 70 of A Pawn in the Game
“My favorite drink. I guess you get used to it.”
“It must have taken a while.”
He hits me with another smile and it’s no less deadly. “You want something else to drink?”
“You have a stash around here?” I pretend to look around, knowing full well there’s nothing here.
“I can get whatever you want from upstairs.”
“I’d like a tonic, then.”
“Coming right up.”
Unlocking the door, he heads upstairs. I look after him, thinking about the fact that he left the door wide open. Something about it knots my stomach. The sultry bass music reaches the dungeon. I’m still staring at the stairs when he gets back.
He offers the tonic, and I take it. “I’m not sure if you have too much or too little faith in me.” I gesture at the door.
He glances at it, and his smile drops. “Something like that.”
That was the furthest thing from an answer, but it’s apparently the most I’m going to get. I slip back into the chair, placing my legs underneath me.
The bitter liquid trickles down my throat, removing the last traces of rakia.
“Are there many people upstairs?”
“Yeah, it’s pretty crowded.” His shrug screams disappointment.
“Why the sad face? Isn’t that something that the owner should want for his bar?” A thought popping into my head, I quickly add, “Or is this a money laundering front?”
He cracks another smile. “No, it’s an actual business. But the crowd here is not the crowd I’d like.”
I nod, remembering when I just got here, and he was talking to Leon about wanting to attract a different crowd. “You just bought this placerecently?”
This time, he’s the one to nod.
“Big fan of sex clubs?”
He huffs a laugh, taking another drink. “It seemed like a cool idea. My brother Leon, he has a whole franchise of casinos along the East Coast. I was always the less responsible younger brother. I did my job well, don’t get me wrong, but I wasn’t much of an entrepreneur. A few months back, I decided to build an empire of my own.” His eyes trail the room. “And this… this was something I wanted to make. Sex clubs can be both the best and the worst place in the world. I hoped to make this a good one.”
“And how’s that going for you?”
Another laugh escapes him. “Slower than anticipated. Besides, it’s hardly my project anymore.” He looks pensive, almost sad.
“Can’t you put a stop to it? Aren’t you the big bad mafia prince?”
He raises a brow at me, a corner of his mouth turning up.
“You know what I mean.” I wave him off.
“Yeah, you’d think so. I guess I just have too much to lose to risk shit.” He glances at me, his eyes full of sorrow, and my breath catches in my throat.
He needs to keep peace. Even though it kills him, he keeps peace with his uncle. If he didn’t, who knows what would happen to me.
I roll my lips nervously. “If you didn’t have shit to lose, what would you do?”
“I’d ban Toma from even entering the club, fully gut it, and start from scratch.” He shoots me a small smile.
“And probably found and murdered my dad faster than things are happening right now?”
