Sonata (Butcher and Violinist 2)

“I’m a little jealous,” Giorgio said. “You’ve never taken me to make perfume.”

I leaned his way. “Get on with it.”

“Kazimir is here.”

I fisted my hands. “Define here.”

“A block away.”

Too damn close to Eden.

Giorgio added, “Could be a coincidence.”

“Why could it be?” It was hard to keep the edge out of my tone.

“Kazimir is in a bath house a block away. You know how the Russians are. They love to be sweaty with other men. Grunt and—”

“He’s there now?”

“Yes. We have men on him. I’ll keep you updated on—”

“We’re going over there.”

Giorgio frowned. “Wait, what?”

I walked back to the women. “Eden and Penelope, I’ll be right back. I have to check on something.”

Eden’s voice came out soft. “Okay. Be careful.”

I spoke back in French. “I always will, my love.”

I headed away.

“So…” Giorgio hurried ahead of me. “Where are we going exactly?”

“To the bath house.”

Giorgio held the door open. “Because?”

“I want to talk to Kazimir.” I walked through the door. “Which way is it?”

“Right.” Giorgio tried to keep up with me as I stormed off, ready to break the Lion’s neck. Some of my men remained at the shop. Others came along with Giorgio’s people.

You come to my city, and don’t give me the common respect of letting me know. Then you coincidentally hang around where I’m at with Eden. I’m done playing games.

Cats were like that. Furry serial killers that liked to play with their food, instead of just eating it. That was similar to Kazimir. The Lion loved to play games before his kill. Maybe he enjoyed extending the moment. Either way, I would not play any games with him.

For over a decade, the name Kazimir and Lion has been whispered in the back streets of Paris and Tehran. Los Angeles and London. Cairo and Beirut. Governments labeled him as a terrorist due to his commitment to murdering high officials, his destruction of masses of land, and the bombing to many buildings across the world.

Take your ass back to Moscow, Lion.

We all made it to the bath house in less than twenty minutes.

Russians loved to do business in these places. Whenever I dealt with them on good terms, that was where we would met. My first meeting in a bath house had been overwhelming. Russians took it too seriously. There was a whole culture and ritual to it. It was no spa experience.

Still, a high price tag came with most bathhouses.

And the one Kazimir had chosen, lived up to the hype.

Giorgio and I walked in. Most of my guards remained outside. I hadn’t brought my gun, so they knew I wouldn’t go too far.

Or would I?

The exterior of the bathhouse looked like an old French inn. Nothing like the bath houses I’d seen in my past. Ancient stones outlined a huge black doorway.

“Hello.” A small man handed us a menu. He had a thick Russian accent. “The entrance fee is ten thousand dollars. We have dry saunas, wet saunas, dunking pools, an in-house restaurant, and if you’re looking for further relaxation, we can book you a massage at an extra charge. There is a VIP menu for some of the masseuses, if you’re interested in alternative forms of release.”

The door opened behind Giorgio and me. Rafael stepped inside with Louis.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“We weren’t far away.” Rafael scowled at the bathhouse host. “Plus, Giorgio texted me.”

I looked at Giorgio. “When the hell did you do that?”

“When we were walking. You didn’t notice because you were stomping off the whole time.”

Rafael chuckled. “I love when Jean-Pierre stomps with aggression.”

The bathhouse’s attendant cleared his throat. “As I was saying gentlemen, the—”

Rafael glared. “He doesn’t know who we are?”

“No. He didn’t get the memo.” I walked past him and the desk.

“Hey!” the man yelled.

I stopped and looked at him.

“Excuse me, sirs but…” The man paused, when Louis stepped in front of him.

“We will just be touring your facilities for now.” Louis opened his jacket and revealed his gun. “My cousins are not sure if this is the place they’re interested in or not. That shouldn’t cost anything right?”

The man gazed at the gun. “Of course not. The tour is. . .free.”

“Wow.” Louis grinned. “You would do that for us?”

The man swallowed.

Louis gestured to his men filling the place. “We won’t need a guide, but you should wait here with my friends.”

“Okay.” The man walked over to where Louis pointed. “I can just wait here. It should be no trouble.”

“See.” Louis winked. “I like this place already. Good customer service.”

I headed back to the bathhouse. “Come on.”

Giorgio rushed ahead and hit my left. “I figured we needed back up. A few extra guns.”

I gritted my teeth. “Rafael and Louis are not extra guns. They’re nuclear weapons.”

Rafael grumbled behind me. “I heard that.”

“Good,” I said. “Make sure you behave. You know how the Russians are with their bathhouses. They’re like the Japanese with—”