Page 18 of Mafia and Scars

I grit my teeth but plaster on what I hope at least looks like a welcoming expression to the man who once served alongside me in the military. Rolling the window down, my chin dips ingreeting. “Geliy.”

“Thanks again, man.” Despite his years in the States, he still has an underlying Russian accent, but it’s not as strong as mine.

“Don’t mention it.”

“Can we grab a bite first? I’m starved.” Geliy doesn’t wait for my answer as he rounds the car and slides into the passenger seat. “Fuck, it’s hot.”

“Uh-huh.”

His hand cranks up the AC, and my jaw tightens. Another stab of irritation hits me when he turns the radio on.

I look over my shoulder and pull from the curb. “Where’s your stuff?” I ask.

“Oh, I gotta pick my luggage up later. It’s, er, with a friend right now. Look, I can’t tell you how great it is you’re letting me stay for a couple of days.”

Great? That’s not the word I’d use. In fact, I want to shove him out of the door and into traffic as he cranks up a loud song causing the base of the speakers to pulse. The man might have saved my life once, but it seems his lack of boundaries is still the fucking same.

It takes us all of ten minutes to pull into a restaurant’s parking lot. It’s one Grigory and Matvey have recently added to our roster as a way to expand the business—or rather to provide another front for our real work. Matvey has told us a million times that we can’t launder money solely through our casinos. Apparently, we need to add restaurants and other ventures to keep the books from looking too doctored.

“Nice place,” Geliy comments.

“It has good food,” I say without so much as looking at him as I adjust the radio knobs back into their proper positions as he makes a beeline for the entrance.

“So, what have you been up to, Vik?”

“Nothing important.”

“C’mon, it’s been years. Got a girl? Settle down yet?”

“No.”

“Right,” Geliy says. “Forgot you have that weird kink.”

“Kink?” I say with a frown.

“The no touching thing.”

My jaw tightens a little more.

“You know, you should let me hook you up with some girls,” he suggests.

“That’s not?—”

“C’mon, it’s the least I can do.” Apparently, he’s still very much the same man he was before. A douchebag and unable to read a room. “Or if you’d prefer, I can hook you up with this game.”

My brow arches as I sip my water. “Game?”

“This video game I’ve been playing nonstop is just awesome. You run a porn empire. Best fucking thing ever. Makes me wish I had the funds to do it in real life. I could make bank from it.”

My lip curls. What the actual fuck? Who the fuck talks about this shit? But that’s Geliy for you. He makes the stereotypical deadbeat look like Prince Charming.

“Maybe you guys should add that to your lists of businesses. I could totally do it for you.”

My brow climbs higher. “What?”

“I should get a sit down with your boss man. He’s like some big mucky-muck right?”

“Grigory?” I splutter.