Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 85224 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85224 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
The brunette turns to her friend. “See, I told you, a sadist.”
“No.” The blonde shakes her head. “I don’t believe it. She doesn’t have a mark on her.”
“What does it matter?” the third girl asks. “Why do you want to know what he did to her?”
“Because,” the brunette explains, “Alexei Nikolaev is a recluse. He never leaves his house. Never comes to functions. He doesn’t own slaves, and he has never even been to an auction. Yet, he came here tonight. It is a huge thing. There are always rumors, but to see him in person… even Arman was surprised. He didn’t want him in here with her due to his reputation, but nobody says no to him.”
“What sort of reputation?” one of the other robots asks the same question that’s in my own head.
“He is a Vor,” the brunette whispers. “Red Mafia.”
“He’s not just a Vor,” the blonde sneers. “He is the councilor to Viktor Sokolov. The boss. Alexei Nikolaev has a reputation of being ruthless to anyone who crosses him.”
The Russian Mafia?
“I think he has business dealings with Arman,” the brunette rambles on. “Something fell through and Mr. Nikolaev is not happy about it. Arman is trying to mend fences. But one of the other girls said she overheard Alexei asking about his slave at dinner.”
They all look to me again, even though I’m nothing more than a silent participant in this conversation. I don’t have an answer for them. I don’t know what he wants. But I hope I never see him again.
The door opens, and this time, it’s Arman. He’s drunk and his eyes are lasered in on me. Which is never a good combination as far as I’m concerned. He stumbles over to me and grabs me by the hair.
“What did he do with you?” he demands. “Are you ruined?”
I don’t answer. I never answer him.
He shakes my head back and forth, yanking some of my hair out in the process. “Don’t play stupid with me, girl!”
* * *
And then to my relief, he lets go of my hair and moves around behind me. Then he promptly shoves his fat disgusting fingers right up inside of me.
“I knew it,” he laughs mockingly. “The man is all show. You are still perfectly intact. You aren’t ruined, little dog. So perhaps I will keep you around a while longer, yes?”
I turn away from his taunting words. The reminder that I will never be free of my cage. I wish for blackness. And it comes in the form of his fist in my face.
3
Alexei
“How are things with Katya?” Viktor asks.
I observe him from my space across the table. The restaurant has been cleared out to accommodate him. To most, I’m sure he is as fearsome as the rumors would have you believe. The Pakhan of the Vory v Zakone. But to me, he is simply my friend. Someone I respect and admire and who has given me a place in this life when others would not.
He values me. And he is risking his life by traveling this far with me. But even though my position within the organization is officially as his councilor, I am also his most valuable asset. My job cannot be done by any other within the Vory. My ability to manage the gambling operations and fatten Viktor’s wallet substantially is a skill set belonging only to me. There are hackers who pride themselves on their work. Who boast publicly under pseudonyms and taunt the authorities. I am not one of them. I simply fly under the radar as I have always done. As I learned to do at a young age.
My skills are unique. Forged over a lifetime of dedication and hard work. It is not talent. It is not luck. It is nothing less than perseverance that makes me the best at what I do.
For this reason, Viktor holds me in high regard. But I’d also like to believe he considers me a friend. And perhaps, as his role has evolved over the years, even a son.
I do not like lying to him. But when it comes to Katya, I must. Viktor would not stand for such a betrayal. If the truth were ever uncovered, he would surely have her slaughtered. She has made a mockery of me. And in the Vory world, there is only one punishment for such a crime.
As little as I care for her, I still cannot in good conscience sentence her to death. Viktor is old school in some ways, and modern in others. He does not follow the original Vory tradition of forsaking all family. To him, a family outside of the Vory is as important as the brothers themselves. A happy home makes for a loyal Vor, he likes to say. The organization is very old, but it has evolved to the times. Now it is common practice to marry suitable prospects within our own culture, or for the sake of alliances. For a man with my rank, Katya is the most obvious choice. The one who Viktor and her father Anatoly insisted upon. So this ruse continues. He wants my reassurances. And I will give them, for now.