It would kill the vibe of the party to show these flesh-peddlers the consequences of their business.
I’m surveying the crowd when I feel a tug at my arm as Sergei leans in to whisper to me. “Keep your manners in check tonight, Andrei, a few of the guests here haven’t forgotten your reputation for, eh, ‘bravado.’ ”
I arch my eyebrow at him, unfazed by the thinly-veiled threat. “You’d like that? I figured my bravado is why you keep hiring me for these things.”
Sergei gives me a look, moving his lips as though swishing spit around in his foul mouth, and he’s about to reply when he’s cut off by another guest.
“Mister Slokavich!” comes a booming voice a small crowd of large men not far from where Sergei and I have entered. Sergei’s face brightens up as he lays eyes on its source: a tall man in a relatively tasteful suit, relative to the rest of the people here, sporting a clean-cut beard and slicked black hair. Boris Mikhailov. My target.
“Boris, look at you, you bastard, it’s been years!”
Sergei swiftly moves to meet him, greedily hugging him as anyone would embrace one of the richest men in the room.
“Aaah, you’ve lost weight, what are you, working out now?” Sergei’s awkward compliments don’t seem to bother Boris, who laughs it off easily. He’s a shrewd talker.
“Well, a thriving business means more free time for that kind of thing, doesn’t it? See, you’re just too busy a man for all that,” he jokes as he gives Sergei’s pot belly a pat. The two of them laugh and greet each other properly, but I notice Boris’s wolfish eyes glancing up at me periodically.
“And this man must have all the free time in the world,” he says suddenly, gesturing toward me and beckoning me forward, “look at those muscles! Sergei, is this your prized Shadow?”
“Mine and mine alone,” Sergei laughs, a hint of unease in his voice as I step forward with a smile.
“Is that indeed so?” Boris says, his question at Sergei but his eyes steadily on me. “Well, they do say such wolves tend to stray from their pack, don’t they?”
There’s a pause between us, and I know the phrase was a threat: my reputation for taking contracts outside the Bratva can’t go secret forever, not in an environment like this. Nevertheless I only give a boyish grin. “Can’t bring the pack the best prey without straying far, comrade.”
Boris’s face splits into a grin, and he points at me with a raise of his eyebrows to Sergei. “Look at this one, he’s sharper than the rest of the muscle here, he is! Come, enough catching up, we have some important people to meet, and the wine is already flowing free.”
The next hour or so passes with idle banter and light business talk. More relevant to me, Boris and Sergei seem inseparable. This lets me keep an easy eye on Boris, but I can’t kill a man of his stature in front of Sergei without sealing my death sentence at a place like this.
So I keep the wine flowing, insisting that every passing server let us sample his wares. I’ve become rather good at pretending to drink, so as Boris and Sergei continue to indulge themselves, my head stays clear.
Eventually, we find ourselves wandering onto a balcony overlooking the property, Sergei and Boris laughing at one of the latter’s jokes.
“Sergei, my man, I can’t tell you how disappointed I am we haven’t worked together more,” Boris says, wiping a tear from his eye. “Reminds me of old times when you and my father practically set up that operation in Hungary.
“Better times, my friend, better times,” Sergei agrees, shaking his head.
“Ah,” Boris suddenly says, his eyes falling on one of the serving women tending to another couple of men on the large balcony, “speaking of the Hungarian trade, you have yet to see some of my finest work. Ada! Get your luscious ass over here!”
The young woman who turns at Boris’s command is beautiful, her long blonde hair spilling over one of her shoulders, and there’s an unmistakable fear in her eyes as she makes her way over to Boris. “Yes, sir?”
“Sergei, this is Ada, one of my finest acquisitions, my jewel of the Carpathian basin,” Boris introduces the woman, and I feel disgust boiling in my heart. Perhaps I was wrong about the nature of some of the women in attendance.
“Oh, indeed?” Sergei looks Ada up and down and licks his lips, obvious hunger in his eyes. “I suppose she has a wealthy client already, does she not?”
“She’s been on standby to tend to the guest’s needs tonight,” Boris replies, a devil’s smile on his face. “I could tell you of how well she’s been trained, but maybe it would be better for you to see for yourself, no?”