The leader looked decidedly nervous and glanced repeatedly at the closed velvet curtain and Jozef who now stood behind them, his arms loose at his sides. While the men talked, Jozef took his leather gloves from his jacket pocket and tugged them on.
“H-he wants to express his condolences and hopes that you might consider doing business with him in the future. Perhaps we can offer reparations for your suffering,” the man spoke quickly, his hand straying to his jacket. His gun would have been checked in by club security, but Jozef knew men like this probably carried hidden weapons. His razor-sharp gaze followed their every movement.
“Business is certainly out of the question,” Krystoff said coldly. “I do not do business with men who breach my trust. But reparations… yes, we can put those on the table.”
The guy swallowed nervously and tried to shuffle back but ran into Jozef who stood behind him, unmoving. Jozef’s gaze met his uncle’s, but Krystoff gave a slight shake to his head.
“You can give me one thing,” Krystoff drawled.
“Anything.” Vasiliy’s man agreed desperately, seizing on the opportunity to curry favour with the crime boss.
“Tell me who the Phantom is.”
Jozef frowned, remembering his uncle saying the word after he was rescued. He hadn’t given it another thought, but it clearly weighed on Krystoff’s mind.
“He’s no one,” the guy said quickly. “One of Vasiliy’s contacts.”
Krystoff tapped the fingers of his good hand against the table. “One of you idiots mentioned he was responsible for my abduction, which makes sense, since Vasiliy didn’t seem to know what to do with me. I’m thinking my kidnapping was a botched a job for a third party, yeah?”
The guy looked distinctly green as he withstood Krystoff’s glare. Jozef and Havel glanced at each other. Who was the Phantom? If they were a player in the European or Russian Underworlds, shouldn’t one of them have heard of him?
“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about.” His eyes darted around the room as he sweated profusely. “Vasiliy orchestrated the kidnapping so he could negotiate a relationship with your organization, that’s all.”
“You see,” Krystoff drawled. “This makes no sense to me. In what scenario would any sane person think that kidnapping and torturing a rival is the key to forging an alliance?” When the man didn’t answer, Krystoff continued, “The answer is, no one would think that. Which leads me to another conclusion. Either Vasiliy wanted me for some other unknown reason, or he was working under another’s orders. Someone who doesn’t have the resources to take me into custody.”
Krystoff leaned against the table, giving the sweating man a level look. “You have one chance to tell me who the Phantom is. Give me a name and you will walk out of this club.”
The guy swallowed, a bead of sweat trailing down his hairline. “There is no name. He goes by the name Phantom, but we’ve never – ”
Krystoff nodded at Jozef who moved so fast, none of the three men had time to react. Jozef took the leader by the neck, rammed his elbow into the man’s spine and slammed his face into the table. His nose shattered with a sickening crunch and he screamed in pain, struggling against Jozef’s hold.
When it looked like the other two men were attempting to reach ankle holsters, Jozef pulled his own gun and placed it against the back of the man’s head. Krystoff moved slowly, unfolding his big body until he rose to his full height. He bent over the table and looked into the eyes of the man Jozef was holding.
“I will take my reparations another way and send a message to your boss at the same time.”
The man spat out a stream of blood and saliva onto the table. “What do you want? He’ll pay it. He’ll pay anything!”
Krystoff let out another bone chilling laugh. “Look around you, what do I want with more money?”
“Then what?” he asked desperately.
“Let’s start with your head.” Krystoff nodded to Jozef who pulled the trigger.
Horrified at seeing their comrade’s skull blown out on a table, the other two men scrambled toward the curtain. Havel cut them off, a gun in each hand pointed at the two men, his expression deadly.
Jozef allowed the body to slide off the table and thump to the floor. He lifted glittering blue eyes to his uncle.
“Send my message.” Krystoff picked up his drink and drained it, as though he didn’t have a single care. He dropped the empty glass on the table next to a pool of blood slowly spreading across the varnished surface. “Find out if you can get more information on this Phantom.”
Krystoff straightened his suit jacket and excused himself from the VIP area so Jozef could do his job. Krystoff never stayed for the bloody part. He certainly knew how to use a weapon and he’d spent his fair share of time terrorizing his way to the top of Czechia’s crime scene, but he’d moved past those days and preferred to stay away from the blood and gore.
Havel held the two men down while Jozef took their fingers. He didn’t stop at two. He figured the message would be clearer the more fingers he took.
Their screams echoed through the club as the music pumped louder through the speakers and a woman laughed at something her partner whispered to her. As Jozef was instructing a waitress to grab a takeout box for the severed fingers his phone rang. He answered, hitting the tone to tell the person on the other side he was listening.
Chapter Eighteen
Dasha met Shaun, Leeza and Saskia in the mansion foyer. She was wearing a pink silk bathrobe over matching pajamas, as though she’d prepared for a lazy day at home. The four-inch heels and full makeup were completely incongruent with her outfit. Shaun watched in bemusement as the older woman rushed toward her and took her by the arm, pulling her inside.
“Girls,” Dasha said over her shoulder to her daughters. “Make sure her bags are brought in and taken to Jozef’s suite.”
Without waiting for a response, Dasha rushed Shaun through the mansion. Shaun was impressed with how fast the older woman could walk, considering her choice of footwear. Shaun was still barefoot from when she’d kicked off her shoes in the dressing room before attempting to run through the shop. The two women walked at such a dizzying pace through the first floor of the mansion, Shaun had no idea where they were going until they arrived at Jozef’s suite.
Dasha pulled a set of keys from her pocket, unlocked the door and shoved it open, pushing Shaun inside. She followed and held the door as several servants followed with Shaun’s bags. Shaun was stunned by how fast everyone was moving. Dasha pointed toward the bedroom and the two women waited silently while the servants piled everything onto and next to the couch.
“Do you need anything else, ma’am?” a butler asked Dasha.
She shook her head. “That’s all for now, but please stay close. Alert us when Jozef is in the house.”
Shaun’s heart picked up speed in anticipation and terror at hearing Jozef’s name. What was he going to do once he found out about Shaun’s escape attempt?
As though reading her mind, Dasha said in a serious voice, “He knows and he’s on his way.”
The bodyguard had likely called Jozef the second she was safely tucked in the car. Shaun figured Leeza had called to alert her mother, which is how she’d known to meet them at the door so quickly. Dasha was rifling through Shaun’s packages, tossing the occasional item on the bed.