“You want to...give her up?” He said, voice ringing with disbelief. “So easily? The great David Strelkov? Ha!” He broke into real laughter.
“What's so fucking funny, jerkoff?”
“It seems what they say about future generations is right: they're never as determined as their forebearers. Never as strong. Your Uncle Ignatiev would've had his way with her and sent my poor girl's dismembered head to me in a box.”
“I'm not my Uncle,” I growled. “You don't know shit about how my family operates. Shut the fuck up.”
“Sorry, I'm not some peasant you can order around, you mongrel Ivan.” He cleared his throat, chuckling at the lame ass insult. “I'll accept your kind offer and agree to the terms you mentioned. I don't know how, but I'll find some way to wipe away the rotten traces of the animal DNA you've left on my little woman...when would you like me to send for her? My men can be there tomorrow. They'll be disarmed on the casino's premises.”
Good, I thought. He let slip that he'd tracked us to Jersey.
“Not so fucking fast. You want her, then you need to come in person. I know you're not man enough to blow your own daughter's brains out. You want her dead, you'll have one of your men do it.”
Another long pause. “What's the difference? If I really want that, you know I'll take care of her as soon as we've left your territory.”
“Because seeing her again will knock some fucking sense into your rotten skull. You won't tell anybody to pull the damned trigger or serve her poison when you've held her in your arms again. And as an insurance policy, if I find out the girl's not breathing after you take her back, your ass is dead.”
“That won't happen.”
“Don't fucking let it, Rossini. Hope you remember how fucking easy it was for me to slip into your office. I held a blade to your throat once and only drew a trickle. Next time, I'll bathe in your fucking blood if you lay a single finger on Anna with your claws out. I'll paint roses in your shitty blood and lay them on her fucking grave. If sending her ass back to you wasn't the only way to keep her safe...”
I let my teeth grind. The script I was following in my head was a fake, and so were all the promises I was making. But the frustration, the hatred, the need to kill that sick sonofabitch was all real, and it came out like nails ripping over a thick chalkboard.#p#分页标题#e#
“I accept. We'll meet in neutral waters, and I'll bring her aboard my yacht.”
“Then I never, ever want to hear from your ass again.”
“Until we butt heads over routes to the Mediterranean, of course.” Rossini breathed deep, smug and self-assured that he'd humiliated my ass.
Keep laughing, chuckle-fuck. It'll be one of your last before tomorrow.
“Of course. Until then.”
The line went dead. I slammed the phone down so hard the whole fucking table shook.
Boris and Nikolai were at my side in a heartbeat. The other two private bulldogs who were there for casino security shuffled near the door, uneasy with the wicked glimpse into the business that really secured their paychecks.
Fuck 'em. They'd do their fucking jobs, nervous or not, and that was all that mattered. Every man on my books was vetted for skills, background, loyalty, and the two boys closest to me had family ties to mine going back generations.
“Well? Is that it, D? Just like that, we're turning her over?” Boris looked at me like I'd lost my fucking mind.
“Business comes first. This shit's what's best for biz and the girl's safety too. Much as I'd like to have her on my cock a whole lot longer, I gotta do what's gonna bring the least pain. Stop looking at me like my brains are rolling out my fucking ears.” I looked at them both, from Boris to Nikolai, staring hard 'til they lowered their eyes. “You two got your orders. Be ready tomorrow. Set the tradeoff for ten o'clock when the bastard's assistant calls.”
Nobody ever fucking challenged me. Not seriously. The instant they did, I'd have them up on their feet, one hand around their throats, rattling their bones the way insubordinate ragdolls deserved.
I started to walk toward the office door, and stopped near the other guards, turning to my men. “One more thing – make sure the security around here's tight. This is gonna be my last night with Anna, and I want to give her something to remember.”
I pinched my jaw tight 'til I was down the hall. Then – and only then – I allowed myself a thin smile.
They'd taken the bait. Everyone had. Now, I just had to keep my girl safe when old man Rossini double-crossed my ass. He'd come for her before the hand off and probably try to kill my ass dead, sure as the fucking sun would come up tomorrow.