Page 81 of Beautiful Devil

Thank fuck.

I'm even more determined to find Dante so I can get back home, casting a look around the club. Not much has changed since the last time I was here. A half-naked woman, with her tits hanging out, flings her legs along the pole, showing off as much of her cunt as possible. Men at the tables in front of the stage are either jerking off or getting their dicks sucked while watching the show. Amber and Cindy make their way up onto the stage for their performance, as my gaze sweeps around the busy club, trying to find the reason we’re here.

It’s been ten agonizing minutes and I still haven’t seen him. A loud moan sounds on stage, getting my attention. I look up to see Amber grind herself on Cindy's face. She turns her head in my direction, looking at me and winking before she cries out from her orgasm.

"He's here," Marco whispers beside me.

I look around the room again, but there is no sign of Dante anywhere

"He's not here. There’s just an old man in his usual spot. Let's go." I stand when Marco reaches out to stop me, pulling me back to my seat.

"Fab, that's him."

He must see the confusion on my face, because he leans in to talk low so that only I can hear him.

"The old man in his spotishim."

"What the hell happened to him?"

The last time we were here, he was dressed in his custom-made suit, a cigar hanging out of his mouth, surrounded by women. One look at him, and you knew he had money. But now? Now he's a frail old man who looks like he's lost about thirty pounds with his clothes hanging off his body. He's not sporting his chunky gold watch or his trademark cigar. He's not surrounded by women or friends.

Instead, he's surrounded by his men, wearing a hat I would bet money is to hide that he's losing his hair. He stares at the stage, and even though his eyes are hidden by the brim of his hat, I'd wager they're as dull and lifeless as the rest of him.

"Is he sick?"

"Not sure. We tried to get his medical records, but they're sealed, and Luca hasn't been able to hack into them yet."

"If he's sick, why the fuck would he show up tonight? I bet my net worth he can't get his dick up anymore. So why come?"

"Maybe to keep up appearances?"

"It's been almost a month since he was here. If he wanted to keep up appearances, he would have made an effort to show before now. My gut tells me he's meeting someone here tonight and wanted it to be public for a reason."

Just then, another man joins Dante. Dressed in an expensive-looking dark navy suit, he's about 6'1” with salt-and-pepper hair. He sits with his back to us, so all I can see is his broad shoulders. It's not until he sits down that I get a glimpse of his face.

"Is that…” Marco trails off in shock.

"Igor Volkov," I finish for him.

"Why would Dante be meeting with the head of the Russian Bratva?"Marco voices the question that I’ve been considering.

It's no secret that Dante and I don't like one another. Our families have been rivals for longer than I've been alive, fighting over which family had control over the city. Mine won and has been running Boston for over fifty years. Dante oversees some small territories in Boston, but I own them and this city, and he hates that.

It's why he's coming for me. It's why he torched my warehouse. And though Luca hasn't officially given me Dante's name as the culprit for the car accident as well as the warehouse. I know it was him.

The attacks and running me off the road, I understand. That's what he does; in our world, warehouse fires and car accidents are part of the job. However, meeting with a rival Don in my club is a different story. He's got something up his sleeve. I just don't know what yet.

"What's he playing at, Fab? Is he so desperate for power that he's willing to stoop to making alliances with the Bratva?" Marco questions, apparently on the same wavelength as me.

"Not sure, but I'll tell you one thing. If he thinks about trafficking in my city, I'll start a war with them both."

The Bratva have their fair share of legal and illegal businesses. They're mostly known for trafficking young girls, which may bring in good money, but I'm entirely against it and refuse to allow it within my city. Dante and Igor know this, because they have repeatedly approached me over the years to reconsider.

The only thing I reconsidered was going back on my word of no weapons at meetings, so I could kill them and not hear them talk about this subject again.

I continue to watch Igor and Dante from my darkened corner of the club. He hasn't moved or taken his eyes off the stage, even with Igor now talking to him. If Igor is bothered, he's not showing any signs. You'd almost think Dante was ignoring him, if it wasn't for the slight head bob every so often.

After another round of drinks and one last show on the stage, Igor bids Dante farewell with a handshake, exiting the table with his men close behind him. Ten minutes after Igor's departure, Dante stands to leave. His eyes remain hidden under the brim of his hat as his guards flank him as they leave the main showroom.

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