Page 5

It’s showtime.
Chapter One
Maksim.
EdenCasino & Night Club
Five Months Ago
“He’s downstairs.”
I inhale deeply and hold the eye roll, standing to put my coat back on. Fastening the top button, I clear my throat and give Niko, my right hand, a nod. “And he’s getting the royal treatment?”
“Only the best for the elite.” He rolls his eyes as we enter the small elevator in my office, above the deli next door that’s attached to this building. Obviously, the deli is a front and has been for over fifty years. But it does the job of keeping us camouflaged, and it keeps the patrons here fed when the kitchen’s closed.
Closing the iron gate of the old-timey elevator, Niko pushes down the lever. We’re behind bulletproof glass as we descend, watching the writhing bodies on the second floor where the nightclub is, the gambling going on in the first-floor casino, the fighting going underground where I make my real money, and finally, the glass is gone and we're in the basement.
It's a favorite room of mine.
The room is silent except for the sound of mine and Niko’s Italian shoes stepping on the epoxied concrete floor of the lowest level of Eden – Casino & Night Club. Oh, I lied. Approaching the suit chained up in the hot seat, the only other sound… is his gargled, labored breathing.
“Mr. Winters,” I greet, although I don’t usually do pleasantries. “It’s been a month, and I hate that I have to ask this from you again,” I run my fingers through my dark hair, taking in the lovely view oftheDavidShane Winters, forty-eight, owner of Winters & Co Law, divorced with only the one daughter that will miss him once I kill him. Because let’s be real, men like me and him? Once we’re gone, the world will be better for it. “Where. Is. My. Money?” I ask, punctuating each word.
He takes a wheezy breath, wet and sticky, one eye already closing. “I don’t… have it.”
I put my hands on my knees and bend forward to inspect him just a tad closer. He reeks of piss and blood and shame. I suck on my teeth. “That’s unfortunate. I was hoping I was going to have a good night, but you know, this is pretty good, too. Niko, my gun.” I stretch my hand out to grab the .9 from my consigliere.
“Wait! Wait! I can… I can get it to you I just- my daughter!”
I quirk a dark brow, watching the old man sputter, more blood accumulating into the frothy bubbles at the corners of his mouth.Rabies. That’s what it reminds me of.
What the hell is this cazzo doing bringing her up? “Your…daughter?”
“Yes! Yes! She… she has a trust fund from her English grandmother. She either needs to get married or turn twenty-six for her to have full access to her funds.”
“When does she turn twenty-six?”
“Two”gurgle“years.”
“I’m not waiting two years for my money, Winters. That’s close to three million dollars you owe me. Gambling debts, women, your tab… you’re an expensive man, and I’m a man with no patience. Do you see our conundrum?” I gesture between us.
“You… can marry… her. I’ll make a contract… you’ll get your three mill… and power-“
“Power, I already have, David.” I reply monotonously.
He shakes his head. “More.”
I do like the sound of that. “Go on.”
“You’ll have… access to the… inner circles of… the Syndicate. Me. I can put you in with the right people. As my son-in-law.”
“Can’t do it without the title? I have no interest in marriage. Women are… a weakness. I have no time for a relationship, much less a marriage.” I tell him, checking to make sure the magazine is loaded. It’s embarrassing when you turn your gun and pull the trigger and it’s empty.
Yup. All good.
I shove the magazine back in and aim it at his balding head.
“No, she- she keeps to herself! She… she’s a good girl, my Sabrina, she won’t bother you. She… she bakes.”