Russian Roulette (Russkaya Mafiya) (32 page)

My phone beeps loudly with an alert in the quiet room and everyone in the meeting turns to me.
Shit!
I forgot to turn it on silent. I always do that and hate when this happens! Todd, the asshole manager, grunts and stares at me, irritated.

“Umm, sorry,” I stammer.
Fuck!

He shakes his head and turns back to resume talking. I roll my eyes defiantly; that idiot just makes me want to throat punch him, he’s such a jerk. I’d bet your sweet ass his phone isn’t on silent either.

Might as well check it out since everyone knows it went off anyhow. I swipe my finger across the screen and a new message pops up from an unknown number. I click on the message to download the attachment.

A few beats later after it finishes loading I’m staring at an image of Viktor and that snotty bitch from the other night.

Kendall’s dressed to the nines. All slutted up in a snake skin print dress that dips so low down her chest her breasts would be showing in a strong gust of wind. She probably weighs an extra ten pounds with her obnoxious jewelry. Her painted on face is bright with laughter, and Viktor’s smirking. They’re seated in what appears to be a fancy restaurant and Kendall’s arm is stretched across the table, resting on his wrist.

My anger swells up into my throat. I study Kendall’s features closely, I’m glad to see her nose still looks bruised.
Ugh! Stupid bitch!
I know Viktor’s not mine, but he’s here for me almost every shift! Does this mean he sees her during the day? Then shows up here in the evening? I tell him nothing fancy, so he takes her to a nice place instead. Viktor has nerve to spew that shit about caring for me and then take Kendall to lunch.

He can go fuck a duck. I’m not meeting his ass for dinner. Fuck that shit. I look at the number again. I don’t recognize it; I’m going to text it back.

Me:
Who is this?

Unknown:
No one

Me:
Why did you send this?

Unknown:
You should know the Devil you spend time with

Me:
Devil?

Me:
Why is he a Devil?

Me:
Hello?

I get no response and I feel my throat wanting to close up on me as if I’ve just been stung by a thousand bees. I stand abruptly in the middle of the meeting, “Fuck this.” I choke the words out loudly and walk out.

Todd stands there with his mouth open, gaping at me. I don’t care, won’t be the first time I walked out of a place and probably won’t be the last. I’m sick of these Russians.

I hurry to my car in the employee parking area. Slamming the door and revving the engine, I peel out through the gravel parking lot, spewing rocks all over Viktor’s car that the guard uses and grinning manically as it happens.

Good, fuck that dude. I start to pass the liquor barn and flip a U-turn to go through the drive-thru. It dings loudly when I pull up to the window.

“Can I help you, ma’am?” I start to reply
vodka
and gag on my words.

No vodka and no Russians.

“Tequila. Give me a pint of José Silver, a pint of cheap rum and a two liter of Coke.”

The dorky kid sniffs and nods. “Sure, just a sec.” I wait impatiently, drumming my fingers on the steering wheel. “That’ll be twenty-four dollars and fifty-one cents please.”

I hand the guy twenty-five dollars. “Keep the change.” I gesture to him, indifferent. He beams, showing off his acne-decorated cheeks and hands me my paper bag full of liquid pain killers.

I pull up in the parking lot and pour about a quarter of the Coke out my window onto the ground, then dump the pint of rum in it. Screwing the lid on tightly, I turn it upside down carefully, then back upright and rest the bottle between my legs for when I’m ready. I twist open the cap on the tequila and place it next to me in the cup holder, perfect for easy access.

Rolling my window back up, I take a large swig of tequila, swiftly chasing the tequila shot with my soda/rum mixture. It burns my throat and chest, but I delight in the feeling, knowing it will steal away my thoughts from me soon.

Hammering down on the gas, I head to my apartment. My poor Camaro’s taking a beating today but I don’t want to have a repeat of when I crashed my car. It’s amazing that I’m even allowed to drive.

If it wasn’t for Tate’s lawyers I would have spent time in jail, paid a hefty fee and lost my license. I almost killed them. Tate got me off with a lot of cash. It’s just something else to beat myself up about while I drink myself into a stupor.

I take another large gulp of my rum, swerving as I hold the big bottle. Pulling swiftly into my parking spot I’m surprised when hear a screech of tires. Glancing in the rear view mirror, I see Spartak’s black car parked behind me, effectively blocking me in.

He jumps out in haste as soon as he slams the car in park, rushing to my window. Spartak beats angrily on the glass with his fist, glaring at me. I unlock the door and stagger out leisurely.

Spartak bellows, “Have you lost your mind?! Viktor will KILL me if something happens to you! What was that back there?” He’s too close so I shove against him to back off some.

“Yeah right! Viktor doesn’t give a shit!” I shout back at Spar and round the car to get my purse and bottles.

“You’ve completely lost it, woman, he follows you around like a love sick fool. You’re the only person he cares for besides his family, the only one he’s even remotely nice to.”

“Is that so? Then why would he be seeing
her
?” I ask, the liquor starting to thrum through me.

He peers at me, bewildered, as if he doesn’t have a clue what I’m talking about. “Pshh, whatever, it’s not even worth it.” I shoo him with my hand. Snatching up my things angrily, I take a swig of tequila and head to my apartment. Spartak stands next to my car, staring at me, worried.

I make it into my apartment, slam the door and lock the crappy locks. Screw them all, I’m going to forget about all men, about all of my problems.

I chug my soda mixture and love the dizziness that starts to show up to overtake my mind.

Viktor

My phone vibrates and I check it immediately. Deep inside I hope it’s Elaina. She’s the only one I ever want it to be.

Spartak:
I don’t know what happened, Boss. She’s drinking and upset. She almost wrecked driving crazy. I’m at her apartment but locked out.

My heart speeds erratically as I read the message. What on earth happened? Elaina was just fine. God, I hope she’s okay. I can’t listen to this twat for a second longer, my princess needs me.

Clearing my throat loudly, I lean forward. “Please excuse me, Kendall, an emergency has come up. Sergei will finish out lunch with you, I am truly sorry.” She shoots me a look mixed between worry and pouty.

“Oh no, okay, Viktor, I understand. Go, baby, and we can finish up another time. You will be missed badly,” she replies in her whiny voice. God, Kendall disgusts me. She’s so pretentious; I could never care for her no matter how much her father wants me to.

“Thank you for understanding,” I answer and nod at Sergei. I’m just not interested in being here. I speedily make my way to the valet and give him my ticket. I slip him a hundred.

“Quickly, please.”

He nods. “My pleasure, sir.”

The valet rushes off and a few seconds later my Mercedes approaches. I get in swiftly and lay on the gas. She screeches on the smooth surface and I’m off like a rocket. I turn up the radar detector volume and get to Elaina’s hole-in-the-wall as quickly as I can.

As I park next to Elaina’s car and my sedan, I see Spar standing outside. He’s leaning against her wall next to the door looking pale. Music is pouring out from her place.

I hustle out, slamming my door. “What’s that?” I gesture to Elaina’s door.

“I think it’s called ‘
Superman’
by an artist called Eminem. She’s had it on repeat, so I Googled it.”

“No, not the song, idiot, what’s going on with her? What’s the mess?”

“I don’t know, sir. When she arrived she was drinking and talking about you not caring for her. I knocked after she went in, but she won’t answer.”

He looks distraught. It appears he has also come to care for her, probably from me having him always watching her. I’m glad; it means he will protect her better. On the downside, if he gets too close to her, I will have him put down.

I look up at the sky, exasperated. “Of course I care for Elaina, have you tried the door?”

“Yes, Boss, it’s locked.”

I nod and pound on her door a few times. I get no answer so I remove my jacket, hand it to Spartak and roll up my sleeves. I pull my pants legs up slightly and kick forcefully next to the locks.

The door splinters next to the lock, from the crappy quality. I kick once more and the door goes flying open. The music loudly thrums around me as I scan the living area.
God, I can only imagine what she’s thinking while listening to this song, over and over.

I find her in the kitchen, sitting at her table. She has her arms resting on the plastic surface with her head in her hands, gripping her hair tightly. Her shoulders shake; she appears so fragile, almost broken.

“Have you gone mad?” I boom.

She’s surrounded by an empty rum bottle, a large soda and a tequila bottle that’s about a quarter gone. Elaina freezes in her trembling and slowly glances up at me as if she doesn’t believe she heard my voice.

“Well?” I bellow and gesture around me at her trashed apartment.

She glares crossly at me, spearing me with her gaze. Her face is swollen and she has hot tears running down her cheeks.

“What do you care, Viktor? Go back to your priorities,” Elaina responds heatedly.

She’s not fragile after all, broken maybe, but she’s definitely ready for a fight.

“You are my priority, Printsyessa”

“LIAR!” she screams and throws the empty rum bottle at me. I duck to the side. She would have clipped me with the bottle had I not moved so quickly. This is new; I’ve seen her upset, but she’s ready to castrate me.

“I do not lie! Stop this nonsense and talk to me!”

Elaina jumps up quickly, roars and charges at me. She goes ballistic, beating on my chest, and I let her. “Ugh! I hate you!” she screams.

Rearing back she punches me violently in my chin. My temper ignites and I slap her. Not hard but enough to get her attention. I clench my hands into fists, trying to reel in my anger. The last thing I want to do is cause her any harm, but I won’t stand for her hitting me like that.

“You hit me as a man, Printsyessa
,
I will hit you back! Now pull yourself together, Elaina! Enough of this. You want to talk, then tell me what this craziness is about and I will fix it.”

She drops her hands and buries her face into my chest, sobbing. She’s had way too much to drink and it’s amplifying her anger.

“Please, lovely, tell me what is hurting you?” I ask, burying my nose into her hair.

The music stops and I glance over to see Spartak. He looks at me anxiously and leaves, closing the broken front door behind him.

“PaZHAALoosta, moy lyooBOF, gavaREETS, (Please, my love, speak)” I murmur in Russian.

She gasps, choking out, “You were with her and I just couldn’t take it anymore. All men do is hurt me, and I just couldn’t take it.”

“With who?” I clasp her chin gently, tilting her face up to mine.

“The bitch from last week who I hit.”

“Ahh, Kendall. I was at lunch trying to apologize. Her father is a powerful man and I was trying to keep peace, that’s all. You thought I was seeing her?”

“Yea-yes, I mean the picture looked like it was more.”

“Picture? You got a picture? Show me.”

Elaina pulls her phone from her back pocket and hands it to me. I turn on the screen and the first thing that appears is a photo of me about an hour ago. Elaina’s right, it does look like an intimate date between lovers.

“No, no, no, you are wrong. It really isn’t how it looks. I am so sorry. I was telling her about my brother’s friend coming to her defense and she was laughing. Kendall’s fake, she is absolutely nothing to me. Elaina, if there is anyone, it is only you. I swear it.” After this conversation is over, I’m finding out who the hell took that photograph.

She leans back, looking at me for the first time like I’m not some evil creature set out to destroy her.

“You really care about me?”

“Of course I do, I’ve only been telling you this for months. However, I’m curious as to what you meant by men hurting you. Please elaborate.”

Elaina’s expression shutters and she shakes her head. “It’s nothing. I was just upset. God, I can’t believe I punched you. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not a big deal; after seeing the picture I can understand why you were so angry.” She nods, chewing on her lip.

Murmuring close to her ear, I ask, “Is it sick of me to think you look absolutely beautiful right now?”

She shakes her head and looks at the ground. I tip her face back up toward mine. After that fight, I’m spinning with need.

Bending slightly, I grab the outsides of her thighs, picking her up, and I wrap her strong legs around me. Elaina peers at me, taken aback for a moment before she leans in and kisses me passionately.

Eagerly I return her kiss, as I carry her to the couch. After stooping down and laying her gently on the squeaky furniture, I rest on top of her, trying not to squish her, and kiss her fervently.

I weave my hand in her silky blonde locks, clutching them tightly and pull her head back, exposing her neck. I lick and kiss, sucking, nibbling on her throat, getting lost a little more with each one.

Elaina squirms underneath and I thrust my hardness against her. Each little movement sends a powerful stroke of pleasure surging through my anatomy. It envelops me with need, causing my body to vibrate with hunger.