“Looks like they have Pac-Man,” Lev says to Josh who doesn’t know what Pac-Man is.
“Want to play?” I ask Josh.
“With you.” He casts a still unsure glance at Gleb.
“I’ll be right here. You can see me the whole time, and I can see you, okay?”
He nods, but I see it takes him a minute to slip his hand in Dima’s even though Dima is attempting a smile. I wonder if I should tell him it’s better if he doesn’t.
“He’ll be fine,” Gleb says.
Lev and I both turn back to him. He leans toward me and pushes my hair back from my face. He’s closer than I expect, and it takes a moment for me to remember not to pull back. He runs his thumb over the healing yellowing bruise.
“Andrei Stanislov did this? Laid a hand on you? That bastard, Vasily, knew she was pregnant and put a hit on her. He knew I had a child, and he didn’t tell me.” He shakes his head as if in regret. “All these years. A grandchild too.” He reaches into his pocket and takes out his phone. Someone answers immediately. “Any word on that rat?” I can hear the disgust in his voice.
He nods, mutters something under his breath.
“I want them both. Alive.”
17
Lev
“I have something I want to show you.” Gleb gestures for me to follow him out back. It’s late, past midnight, and I don’t like leaving Kat alone at the hotel, but at least Maxim is in the lobby, keeping an eye out for me. I just hope he stays sober enough to recognize any problems that might pop up.
“Don’t worry so much.” Gleb waves off my concerns. “I got a couple of my guys parked outside of the hotel. If they see anything, I’ll be the first to know.”
It shouldn’t surprise me that he’s already figured out where we’re staying. New York is Gleb’s turf, and he’s got eyes and ears everywhere. Still, they are guys I don’t know.
“You should have spoken to me first,” I tell him.
Gleb stops, meeting my gaze in challenge. “Are you telling me I need to ask permission from you to protect my own daughter? My grandson?”
I consider my words carefully but refuse to back down on this. “She might be your daughter, but she’s my future wife. And I look out for both of them. I don’t know your guys. Kat doesn’t know your guys. You need to understand that she didn’t grow up in this life. If she sees a couple of bozos speaking Russian, the first thing she’s going to do is run. That’s all her experience has taught her.”
Gleb is quiet, his face unmoving, and I can’t tell if he’s going to club me over the head or finish the conversation. He doesn’t give a lot away. I can see now why Ciara would have been worried about coming to him and confessing her sins. But I also know that he can be softer than his reputation. I saw it with Kat. And I saw it when I mentioned Ciara too.
“You make a valid point.” He shrugs. “I’ll give you that. The last thing I want to do is scare her off. But you need to understand that being her father, and the man that I am, I have a say in what goes on in her life. That includes you. Now, I can respect a man who stands up for his family, but if you want to deem yourself worthy of my daughter, you have more work to do.”
He steps away from me and continues toward the door, leaving me to follow without any resolution to the conversation. This is the way of a mafia boss, and Gleb owns it. He doesn’t have to wait for me. He doesn’t have to respect me as a man, a husband, or a father. And even if I’ve known Kat longer than he has, he also has the right as her father to tell me to fuck off. Not that I will, but he has that right.
I don’t know Gleb well, but I think he’s a man I can respect. He doesn’t fly off the handle when he’s challenged like Vasily would. He listens, and he can be reasonable. And at the end of the day, I want his acceptance of my relationship with Kat. Because with a man like Gleb, you’re either with him or you’re against him.
The back door to the club swings open, and at least five of his men are waiting for us outside. Their faces are a mask of indifference as they allow him to speak first.
“You get me what I wanted?” Gleb glances at the van that’s been backed up to the club.
“Yes, boss. You want it now?”
Gleb nods, and one of the guys gestures to the driver in the van. A second later, both front doors open, and a couple of guys dressed in scrubs step out. I look at Gleb, but he gives nothing away as they walk around to the back of the van and open the doors, revealing a hospital bed.
It takes me a minute to recognize what I’m seeing. The parking lot is dimly lit, but I can make out the familiar face as four of the guys work as a team to offload the bed and wheel it toward us.
“Andrei?”
I can’t help the grin that curves across my face as they get closer. He’s as quiet as a church mouse, but that’s probably because they’ve wrapped a shit load of duct tape around his mouth. His hands and feet are also bound together, and it already looks as though he’s had a hell of a day. Or a hell of a month, more accurately.
“Take him down to the basement,” Gleb commands.
The guys nod and wheel the bed inside, and I shake my head, a little impressed by the reach that this man has.
“How the hell did you get him out of the hospital?” I ask.
“This isn’t my first rodeo.” Gleb smirks. “Now, let’s get down to business, shall we? You want to prove yourself worthy of my daughter?”
I arch an eyebrow at him. “I am worthy,” I assure him. “But I’m willing to prove it if that hasn’t already been made clear.”
“You’re a cocky son of a bitch.” He narrows his eyes. “I’m sure I don’t have to remind you what he did to Kat.”
“No, you don’t.” My voice hardens. “I remember it clearly.”
Gleb closes the door behind us and leads us back to the stairs. “Then make him pay for it. I want to see exactly what she means to you.”
I doubt anybody would suspect that in the basement of one of New York’s most exclusive clubs is a room that could easily rival a torture chamber. I’ve never been a real creative guy, but as I look around at all the instruments at my disposal, my pulse thrums with possibilities.
Gleb is parked in the corner, vodka in hand, watching me as I make my first selection. It’s a sanding machine in an alternate universe, but in ours, it’s better known as a human meat grinder.
“First order of business.” I set the grinder down on the table beside Andrei’s hospital bed and grab a pair of scissors. “I want to see what we’re working with here.”
I cut the hospital gown away from his body in bits and pieces, leaving him stark naked and shivering. He can’t move an inch, his arms and legs bound to the rails of the bed, but his eyes are free to roam over my face as I examine the nub where his dick used to be. There are still stitches along the skin they’ve managed to piece together, and it’s a gruesome sight to behold.
“Ouch.” I shudder. “Did quite a number on you, didn’t I, Andrei?”
He mumbles something beneath the duct tape, but I shake my head and tap his face.