AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“That’s too much,” Alla says, annoyed instead of gratified.
“That’s how good the food is.”
“Americans love to tip,” Adrik says, smoothing over my unwanted generosity.
“They love to show off,” Alla retorts, unsmoothed.
“Yeah.” I shrug. “That’s about right.”
Alla doesn’t want my charity, but Misha has holes in her shoes. Sometimes there’s no right thing to do, just the lesser of two wrongs.
“What should we call it?”Adrik asks.
“Molniya.That’s why I shaped it that way—it’s lightning in a pill.”
“Which version is this?”
“I dunno—6.0, maybe.”
I hold up the little yellow bolt to pop in his mouth.
“How do I know you’re getting the doses right?”
I scowl at him. “I don’t remember you picking me up at the dock at MIT. I’m estimating.”
Adrik laughs. “Fair enough. I have one more question, though—what if it makes the customers a little too content? What if they don’t want to pay for lap dances? The strippers won’t sell it if it doesn’t help them make money.”
I pretend to pout. “You don’t have faith in me.”
“This is business, not religion.”
“What about a little wager, then?”
Adrik sits up straighter on the bed, a wolf catching scent of its favorite prey. He loves a good bet.
“What kind of wager?”
“How much cash do you have on you?”
He pulls a wad of bills out of his pocket, some rubles, but mostly American Benjamins, the currency no Russian will refuse.
“A lot,” he says.
“I’m going to charge you a thousand dollars a song,” I tell him. “You try and keep as much as you can.”
He smiles. “And what do I get if I can resist you?”
“I’ll wear my helmet every time I ride my bike.”
“Like a good girl.”
“Like the best good girl,” I say, trailing my finger down his chest.
“And ifyouwin?”
“I want a new gun. An expensive one.”
“A John Wick gun?” he teases me.
