Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 87880 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87880 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
I hear footsteps behind me and don’t look back. He stands beside the rock and gazes down at me with a deep frown before reaching out for the bottle.
I pass it over. Casso takes a long pull before handing it back.
“Nice night,” he says. “Good wine.”
“I stole it from one of your many sitting rooms. How many receiving areas does a single house need?”
His lips quirk and he shakes his head. “It’s a power thing. The more redundant rooms we have, the stronger our family looks. It’s like wealth begs waste, like the more money we have, the more inclined we are toward throwing it away just to prove we can. It’s a mess.”
“It’s all games. I know. Papa plays them too. He had these little Russian nesting dolls in our receiving room back home made of solid gold and studded with diamonds. They’re silly though because Papa doesn’t know a thing about Russian culture.”
“Do you miss your father?”
“Not really. We weren’t close. He spent all his time running his cartel and pretending like I didn’t exist, which was kind of great for a while actually. Have you seen him since he trapped me here?”
He nods and gestures for the bottle. I hand it over. “So far things with your father are going well. We got a shipment this morning.” He takes a drink and hands it back.
“I hope my father’s drugs are to your liking. I’m sure the people of Arizona will be thrilled.” I tap the bottom of the bottle against the rock. It makes a soft clink in the otherwise quiet night.
He waves a hand vaguely. “Arizona, Chicago, Philadelphia. We’re working with a man named Roman to distribute all across the country.”
“Roman? Never heard of him.” Probably one of those shadowy figures Papa’s always going on about: those rich Americans that are so wealthy than can buy an entire country if they wanted to, and some of them do.
“You wouldn’t have.” Casso moves closer and sits on the rock beside me. He’s in a suit without a jacket or a tie, the top shirt button undone. Our thighs touch and I pull away, making space where there’s barely any to begin with. “Roman is a secretive man, but powerful. Stupidly rich. I’m not sure why he’s interested in working with us, but I don’t ask questions.”
“Someone stronger than you? Big shock there.”
He laughs and takes the bottle again. I watch him sip from the end, thinking about that kiss, his warm lips and his grassy, earthy taste invading my mouth, that taste I remember from so long ago. It’s been ten years and he’s not a boy anymore, but he seems so young still, like no matter how far and how hard we run from the past, we’re still those same people trapped in aging bodies. We grow, but we don’t change.
“These days I don’t feel so strong.” His voice is quiet and I take the offered wine back. Is this a moment of weakness? Or is Casso playing at some game here? Even when he seems sincere, I can’t let myself believe anything he’s saying.
“The Russians?” I sip the wine and put the bottle between my legs.
“Among others, but yes, mostly the Russians.”
“Who are they? It has to be someone impressive if they’re worrying you.”
He laughs like it’s the most absurd thing in the world. In the sky, a profusion of stars scatters. Moonlight tilts and slips through his hair and his lips seem to glow. So many rocks all over. He’s a beautiful man, which only makes me hate him more.
“We went to school with him. Isn’t that crazy? He was in your year, a guy named Danil Federov. His father was a player back in the day and now Danil runs the Federov Bratva. They moved down south again in the last couple months after working the Pacific Northwest for a while, mostly around Seattle. I guess they got tired of the rain.”
I close my eyes and can see Danil’s face vaguely. He was a quiet boy, pale skin, dark hair, very smart. Kept to himself mostly. “We had science class together. I remember him. I find it hard to believe he runs a crime family now though. He didn’t seem the type.”
“He still doesn’t, but it’s true. How well would you say you know him?”
“Not well. We were lab partners for a semester, but we didn’t talk much beyond school stuff.”
He nods and keeps staring out at the sky like he can’t bring himself to focus on the here and now. “Better than I know him at least. So there’s that. Might be good to have someone who knows him.”
“What, you want me to get involved with your war?”
He shrugs slightly as if that’s not the most insane thing in the world. I laugh at him, unable to help myself, and the sound echoes back off the nearby cliff formations. The sound magnifies and shimmers away as I drown my mirth with more wine.