Page 18 of His Smile
Moscow ignored the unspoken accusation in Dimitri’s tone andstraightened from the wall as he looked from Alexei to Mikhail. “At the end oflast week, Roman sent Rahina from his office and issued orders for security notto allow her back in.”
There were a few seconds of silence before Alexei answered.
“You are telling me, that fucking bastard came into myoffice acting like a goddamn lunatic because he got into a fight with thatgirl?” Alexei’s voice was so tight and restrained just like his posture, Moscafeared that the ex-enforcer might snap and spring from his seat at any momentin a storm of fury. And though Mosca could understand Alexei’s anger after hismeeting with Roman earlier that day, Mosca would not hesitate to shoot the manbefore he let him within striking distance.
Dimitri gave Alexei a mocking sympathetic nod in agreement.“Yes, that sums it up.” Waving in Mosca’s direction, he gave an evil smirk. “Ifyou’re feeling the urge for violence please direct your fists towards Mosca,since he was there the day all my hard work was destroyed.”
Mosca didn’t dare take his eyes off Alexei to glare atDimitri. Keeping his face expressionless, Mosca stood still as he watchedAlexei’s cold eyes snap to his before going back to Dimitri’s. With a growlingsigh of annoyance, Alexei sat back against the couch cushion temporarilysubduing his need to punch something. Mosca let out a concealed sigh. When hehad first joined the organization years ago, back in Russia, Mosca had onlyheard rumors about Vladimir’s top fighter, Alexei Petrov. Tales of his brutalfights were passed around amongst the men, each gorier and more savage witheach retelling. By the time he met Alexei, Mosca had been positive they wereexaggerated. What underground fighter had a face that good looking? It wasimpossible! Alexei was originally supposed to be Roman’s captain when Roman wasfirst sent to America, and fortunately for Dimitri, the fighter was picked upand thrown in prison giving Roman the opportunity to take Dimitri as hiscaptain instead. After a few years, Alexei was out and showed a real skill fornumbers and was sent directly to work under Roman. A cold fact, Roman remindedAlexei of earlier today.
It had been the third time Roman had been to Alexei’s officeuninvited in a week. Standing side by side, both Dimitri and Mosca had watchedas Alexei confronted Roman.
“Roman why the fuck are we doing this? This is the secondtime you forced me to stay late to run numbers on something we have alreadydiscussed,” Alexei had stood with his knuckles pressed against his desk andspoke through gritted teeth.
Roman sat very still in one of the two chairs in front ofAlexei’s desk. The office was at the top of a skyscraper downtown, the viewbehind Alexei’s desk displayed the city below gleaming against the night sky.Quietly, Roman stood up from the chair, and Mosca could see Alexei’s whole bodycoil tighter in response at the boss’s cryptic mood. Mosca felt the slightshift next to him before he heard Dimitri’s whisper.
“Vladimir wouldn’t want Roman to kill Alexei. If it comesdown to it, shoot Alexie in the leg before the boss gets ahold of him.”
Mosca wasn’t sure how the fuck that was supposed to happen,not without having his gun already out and ready. Roman was damn fast.
With one hand in his pocket, Roman looked down at the floor inthought as he carefully walked around to the side of Alexei’s desk.
Looking up, he gave Alexei and unfathomable look. “Are youforgetting how this,” Roman motioned back and forth between himself and Alexeiwith one hand, “works?”
Alexei’s mouth twisted into an angry sneer but Romancontinued before he could say anything.
“I have apparently been too lax with you,” there was alethal bone chilling softness to Roman’s deep voice that Mosca had never heardbefore. “Because, for some reason you are under the impression I need to askfor your permission when we both know, it is the other way around.”
Stepping fully around the desk, Roman stood only a foot awayfrom Alexei’s seething figure. A few inches taller than the man, Romancontinued to stare at Alexei with an unreadable blank face. Taking his handfrom his pocket, all three men stared in coiling tension as Roman rested theflat of his fist against the top of Alexei’s desk, directly next to the tinysilver picture frame. The frame was the only ornament on the large desk, andthey all knew who was in the photo. He was daring him, Mosca realized. Romanwas actually daring Alexei to go against him— he was picking a goddamn fight.
“Everything you have is by my grace, my protection,” Romanwent on to explain, never once taking his eyes away from the burning fury inAlexei’s gaze. “I am the true face of your power. When you want things done,whose weight do you think is actually being thrown around?” Roman smirkedcruelly. “It sure is fuck is not yours. Whose men guard your building? Protectyour family? Whose name is on all the fucking accounts?”
Tension serrated the air around them as Alexei’s eyesnarrowed, but thankfully, he said nothing.
Staring at Alexei a couple of moments longer, Roman finallyturned away and walked back around the desk, removing a folded envelope frominside his suit jacket. Tossing it on the desk, he walked to the door. “Therecent Russo transaction. Clean it and transfer it by the end of the week.”
Mosca was still exhausted from that visit earlier, it hadfelt like at any moment Alexei was going to explode and by the looks of it, hestill might.
“You’re not the only one he has been to visit,” Mikhailoffered solemnly to the brooding accountant. “Roman has been in my officenearly every day this week inquiring about upcoming shipments and currentinventory, all information he could have read on my reports I copy him and onto Vladimir. But I tolerated it, I said nothing of the constant interruptionuntil I came home to find him sitting on the couch rubbing my wife’s feet anddiscussing baby names.”
Dimitri gave Mikhail a tired grin as he leaned forward inhis seat, scrubbing his face. “I know you don’t care, but that time spent withMisha helped his mood that night at least for a little bit.”
“You are right, I do not care. He should find his ownwoman,” Mikhail snarled back.
Shaking his head, Dimitri stood up and leaned with bothhands on the back of the chair and shot Mikhail a beleaguered look. “That justbrings us back to the current issue at hand.”
“You mean the issue that Roman is losing his goddamn mindbecause he dumped the girl you forced on him?” Alexei growled caustically.
Mosca watched Dimitri reach the end of his patience. Justlike him, the captain was exhausted from dealing with their boss’s violentmercurial moods. Every moment this week felt like months in a silent war, bothof them doing their best to make sure Roman didn’t kill anyone.
Standing straight Dimitri gave both men unyielding looks.“Look, this was just a courtesy call. I’m letting you both know why he isacting this way and what to expect. This,” Dimitri paused for emphasis andpointed to the floor. “Is just him being a minor inconvenience. What you twoare not seeing is the daily uptick in his aggression. The other day, instead ofsending me or Mosca or any other enforcer, Roman himself walked into the homeof our guy, Blakely, that we have established at the DA’s office. We had beenwaiting a week now on advanced intel on a high-profile proceeding, the manclaimed he still didn’t have the information we needed— Roman put the man’shead through a plate glass window in broad fucking daylight with tons ofwitnesses.” Neither one of the two men flinched, but Mosca could see thereality of the situation sink into their eyes. Dimitri continued. “We receivedthe file with all the current data we were looking for the next day. My pointis gentlemen, this will get worse before it gets better and we either betterthink of something fast or just be prepared to deal with him because in caseyou haven’t noticed, Roman hasn’t smiled in a week.”
~*~
Taking his seat in the private box seat, Roman staredblankly down at the murmuring crowd filling the red velvet seats of the operahouse. Around him, the opulent gilded walls and marble columns stood quiet andregal, infusing the patrons with a hushed sense of majestic eagerness. Quietly,the orchestra readied their instruments as the eyes of the crowd looked pastthe carved Baroque finishes and stared at the heavy red stage curtain in anticipation.
The lights dimmed, and slowly the first dulcet tones ofTchaikovsky’s Swan Lake filled the air as the curtain lifted.
Looking past the pale dancers, Roman let his mind wander;Act III was still a long way off. It had been twelve days since he told her toleave and every day since he had paid for that decision. Around him, the worldturned gray and lifeless. The ennui he had not felt in weeks came back with thecrushing force, overtaking every aspect of his life, spreading like cancer.Roman should have never let her in his life. She was a goddamn witch, some sortof enchantress who filled the dark corners of his world with addicting dazzlinglight. A light so bright and unrestrained that was now suddenly gone.
