Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 82579 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82579 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
He’s not looking at me, but I can tell by the way he’s sitting and the tone of his voice that he’s paying very close attention to this conversation.
“Yeah? What’s that?” I act like it’s no big deal and keep polishing the watch I’m working on.
“You know the high-end watch business is a pretty small place.”
“Incestuous,” I agree.
“Everyone knows everyone, good or bad.”
“And plenty of them are fucking bad.”
“Right, well, from what I hear, Emory Smith skipped town yesterday after someone broke into his house and nearly killed him.”
I pause and look over. “Really? Emory? Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.”
Alex is still staring at the computer screen but I can practically feel his attention focused on me. “It’s strange. Emory was one of the guys we were going to win over, right?”
“Best Rolex dealer in the city, unfortunately.”
“And suddenly, right when we need him, the guy gets attacked. Freak break-in.”
“We’re a cash business. I bet he’s been taking stock home instead of keeping it in his safe.”
Alex’s lips pinch into a frown. “Emory’s a prick, but he’s not stupid.”
“You sure about that?”
He slowly turns, eyes narrowed. I know what he’s thinking, and he’s right, but it still pisses me off because he’s got no particular reason to suspect me.
And yet he does.
Which says a lot about how he thinks of me.
“Tell me the truth, Lev. Did you go pay Emory a visit?”
“Carmie and I went to his office two days back.”
“The day before he ran off?”
“That sounds right.”
He takes a deep breath and schools himself. It’s taking all my self-control not to start laughing. Honestly, he’s got this serious fucking glare on his face. Alex can be such a hard-ass sometimes.
“What did you do?” he asks.
I tell him everything. It’s not like I was keeping this from him on purpose. It just hadn’t come up yet. When I finish, his eyes are closed and he’s taking deep, calming breaths.
“He crossed the line,” I say, making it very clear that I am not remotely apologetic about what happened.
“I get that, and he deserved to get knocked out. But it doesn’t sound like you stopped there.”
My jaw works. “You didn’t see it. The way he was looking at her right in front of me.”
“I hear you, and like I said, he probably deserved what he got. But, Lev, the word is someone really fucked him up.”
“If Carmie hadn’t stopped me, he’d be dead, and I wouldn’t have felt bad.”
Alex nods grimly. “That’s what I thought.”
“He’s going to do the right thing. Emory’s not stupid. He knows I won’t ever stop if I think he’s going back on his word.”
“You can’t go around threatening and beating people into submission. That isn’t how this business works.”
I spread my hands. “We’re a bunch of fucking criminals and thieves, Alex. How the fuck do you think shit gets done?”
He rubs his face with his palm. “I don’t know, but it’s not that.”
“Emory hit on my wife right in front of me. He was practically drooling on her. I held back for as long as I could and he still didn’t stop. I don’t regret it. I won’t apologize for it.”
“He’s going to talk. You know that, right? Sooner or later, he’ll start to think he’s safe, and he’s not the kind of guy that can keep his fucking mouth shut. Word will travel.”
I go back to finishing up the watch I was working on. “Let it travel then.”
“We’re trying to do this the right way. That was the deal, right? That’s the only reason I’m in this with you.”
I don’t look at him. “That’s the only one?” I ask, very softly.
He doesn’t reply. I know what he’s thinking. Alex respects my father—almost reveres him, honestly, and it’s kind of pathetic—but he knows what kind of man my father really is. He knows how Oleg treated me when we were growing up. My father was smart and kept it as hidden as he could, but there were leaks. There were tells: bruises, unexplained broken bones, days when I could barely get out of bed.
Everyone knew. Nobody did shit about it.
Not that I expected Alex or Step to get involved. So long as Dad was focused on me, he wasn’t bothering with them.
It worked. They thrived. Then Step got himself killed and Alex started to lift his head up from his little obsession with being a perfect soldier, and now he’s starting to see the truth about things.
My father’s not a good leader. He never fucking was. For some reason, Valentin Zeitsev’s put trust in him, but that’ll only end with misery.
The door to the front opens and Dasha sticks her head back. “Boys, Oleg’s out front,” she says, frowning at us. “Wants to see you two.”
I glance at Alex. He’s not looking at me. “Speak of the devil,” I say, and we head out together.