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“Arseny must prove himself to you. Elena has already proved herself worthy to me,” Kervyn holsters his gun. “Arseny, come home for now. Let’s get you cleaned up.”
Arseny kisses my head again, and Luka steps forward to help him get to the car. He looks back at me as he climbs in the front with a groan before he waves goodbye.
I raise my hand to wave goodbye before I look down at Darius. “I’ll call The Goose to clean up this mess. We’ll link it to a gang shooting. That way, we can still bury him.” I look at Sevan. “Are you okay?”
“I can’t believe he betrayed us,” he says. “It’s so disappointing. I always looked up to him.”
“I know, honey,” I say, wrapping my arm around his shoulders. “Let’s go home.”
Chapter 27 - Arseny
This is more Kervyn’s scene than mine, going to a gentlemen’s club on a Saturday afternoon for a business meeting. I half wish he were here doing the negotiating for me. But I need to do this. This is what I’ve been working toward for a month. I’m nicely healed up and presentable, and Elena has coached me on her father as best she can.
I pull up to the club and take a deep breath when suddenly my door opens. I look up to see a valet. “Good afternoon, sir. May I park your car for you?”
“Yes,” I say, climbing out and adjusting my suit. I take out fifty dollars and tip the man. “Not one scratch on her.”
“Of course, sir, we’ll take good care of her.” I walk toward the door when I hear someone calling me.
“Milov. I didn’t think you’d show up,” Emery Sokolov walks toward me, getting up from his seat on the porch.
“Mr. Sokolov,” I greet him with a nod of my head. We turn and walk inside the giant clubhouse, and a doorman offers to take our coats. I slide out of mine and hand it over, taking the ticket he gives me back for collection. Sokolov does the same, leading me to the matre’d, who smiles.
“Mr. Sokolov, it is a pleasure to host both you and your guest,” he says. “I believe you’ve booked our private meeting room. It is a nice day out, so we opened the concertina doors to let the fresh air in.”
“Thank you, Wilson. That’s perfect.”
“If you go to your left, you can select which cigars you want to be delivered to you during your meeting,” he motions to the door on the left, and Sokolov leads me there.
I look around, somewhat in awe. Danil would love this. I wouldn’t put it past him to come out here. I should ask him.
“Do you know what you like, or may I select something for you?” Sokolov asks.
I look at him. “I trust you to select something good.”
“A wise man,” he turns to a man in a butler's attire standing in the corner of the room. “We’ll take two Linea de Oro Hidalgos from the Romeo y Julieta line. My account, Pearson.”
“Yes, sir.”
I follow Sokolov to the exit door, where another butler waits for us. “This way, sir.”
They lead us to what I assume is our private meeting room, but it would put even Kervyn’s fancy library office to absolute shame.
Walnut bookshelves line one side of the wall, filled with leather-clad books with gold titles. A wooden ladder is attached to one end of the bookcase to reach the top shelves. A huge globe circled in gold sits on one side of the room, with a map of America on one wall and a map of Las Vegas beside it.
The concertina doors to the right are pulled open with a beautiful view of the lush gardens maintained by the club.
Sokolov moves to sit in a chair, and I sit opposite him while the butler stands to his side. “The usual, sir?”
“Times two.” He holds up two fingers. “One for my friend as well. My account.”
“I can afford to buy my own drink,” I say calmly.
“I invited you to meet me here. I provide the hooch, the tobacco, and the food. Now, you may state your case. Tell me why I should let someone who kidnapped my daughter be with her?” He pauses as Pearson enters the room and brings us our cigars. He clips and lights them for us and then steps out of the room.
I smoke my cigar for a bit, enjoying the taste it leaves in my mouth. “Elena is the love of my life,” I say. “I didn’t know that when I kidnapped her. When I took her, I was angry that your family had purchased all the butchers and forced the owners out. It seemed like a slap in my face, even though I justified it as an insult to my family.” I take another long drag and blow a smoke ring. “She’s feisty. That’s what I first fell in love with. She’s smart and well-read, funny and can cook, and cheats at poker, I swear.”
“Something her brothers taught her, no doubt,” Emery says. “Go on.”
