Page 7 of Ensnared
"Let me make this clear. You will get my money back either from another exchange point access or you will take it from the Armenians directly using the information you know. I'll keep you chained to that fucking computer if I have to. Do you understand?"
Tears gleamed in Ricky's eyes. Closing his eyes, he hung his head down. "Please," he begged. "They'll go looking for me and they'll find my family instead. They'll kill them. They'll kill my grandparents," he stressed.
The old memory of his own grandparents came back suddenly to Dimitri. The one that had filled his blood with ice and turned his heart to rot.
Quicker than Ricky could blink, Dimitri grabbed the kid by the jaw and squeezed until Ricky cried out in pain.
Dimitri leaned down until he was inches away from his face. "You just don't get it, do you? Death is a mercy. By the time I'm done, you'll wish I would have killed them."
Chapter 5
"Whatareyoudoinghere?" Dimitri's voice cut through the din of music playing from the nearby slot machines.
Looking up from the glass of beer she was currently pouring, Eve blinked in confusion at Dimitri's unsmiling face. She had been working the bar alone for the past hour after the previous shift's bartender left early. Uncomfortable under his scrutinizing stare, she shifted past him to set the drink on the edge of the bar. Somehow, the man's glare rather than the constant flash of his dimples and bright smile made him even more attractive. There was a harsh beauty about his finely structured face that made her instinctively want to back away. Nothing good could come from a man this attractive.
Eve began to tell him she was working overtime but changed her mind. With fake shock, she widened her eyes and made her voice sickly sweet. "Oh no," she cooed sarcastically, "I've heard about the severity of brain damage," she held a hand to her chest and gave him a pitying look. "My name is Eve. And I work here. Remember?"
His cool gaze slid from her to the customer walking up to the end of the bar to pick up his drink. Watching him leave, Dimitri's gaze snapped back to her and skewered her to the spot. "Mmm," he hummed under his breath. Tilting his head in thought, he studied her. "Now that I think about it, that's a good idea. Maybe I should formally introduce myself," his voice was deceptively soft. "Just so you can be very clear as to who I am."
Eve ignored the shiver of warning that ran down her back. Rolling her eyes and muttered. "More likewhatyou are."
Dimitri let out a dark laugh. "Has no one ever told you about the trouble that mouth of yours can get you in?"
What was this right now? Taking a small step back, Eve eyed him carefully. It felt as if she was being slowly pushed out into dangerous waters. If she wasn't cautious, this man was going to run rings around her.
Refocusing herself, she gave him a reproachful look. "Careful, this conversation is becoming a lot lessmanagerialof you," she warned, throwing his own words from his text back at him.
He raised his brows and uttered a soft "Ah ah ah" to caution her. "Don't back off now, things are just getting good."
Eve wanted to say something witty likeI'm well aware of the trouble my mouth can cause but I'm sure you couldn't handle it.She would love to see his face at that. Would that fan the simmering heat in his eyes to something more? Probably not. But before the sultry comment could even take root enough in her mind for her to enjoy, her practical side shut it down.
Pushing her gold-rimmed glasses up on her nose, she gave him a narrow look. "No thank you, I much rather keep our relationship professional." Not giving him a chance to respond she walked past him grabbing her serving tray along the way.
"Coward."
Eve could hear the taunting smile on the whispered word. He wanted her to turn back around and give him hell. To engage with him in whatever childish game this was, but she refused. Keeping her head up high, she walked out into the sea of slot machines.
Today there was some sort of event happening in the hotel atrium which pulled most of the guests away from her section. After fifteen minutes of thoroughly scouring the deserted floor for customers, she had no choice but to swallow a sigh and walk back over to the bar. And as expected, Dimitri was there, standing behind the bar smirking at her.
Stepping behind the counter, Eve groaned in relief at the soft feeling of the supportive mats beneath her heels. Her feet were killing her and these mats were surely made by Jesus himself just for her. Leaning her back against the counter, she let out a yawn.
"How long have you been on?" Dimitri asked.
Looking up from her phone, she thought about her long day. "I came in at three to work another girl's shift at bar Transcendence, but if you also count the two hours of me arguing with my grandfather at the breakfast table to not believe every scam letter he gets in the mail then I would say I have been working since about nine this morning."
Interested, Dimitri folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the counter. "And what scam is that?"
Eve sighed. Just thinking of her grandfather's excitement over that damn letter made her head hurt. "Some sort of house buying nonsense."
"I would think someone certified in computer science and archival studies would have looked up to see that it's a great time to sell a house."
She stared at him in open-mouthed outrage. "Did you look at my file?"
He gave her a smug look in return and gestured to the gold pen tucked in the vest pocket. "Do I need to remind you of my authority?"
"Manager or not, it's creepy," she huffed, turning away from his dimpled unapologetic smile. "Besides, it may be a sellers’ market at the moment, but it definitely is not a buyer's one. If they sell it, then what?"
She and Ricky would have nowhere to go. A sudden wave of shame hit her at that thought. God, what a pair of prizes they turned out to be. Their grandparents worked very hard to raise them after their mother all but abandoned them and now look what they got. A granddaughter with a four-year degree who was working as a costumed cocktail waitress and a grandson who up and abandoned them on some sort of mystery business venture.
