Luka urged me to sell it. The taxes were outrageous, but fuck him. I could afford it and wasn’t ready to let the house go. Was it guilt? I hadn’t been in the basement since Luka and his girlfriend left.
John pulled into the garage. I grabbed my coat off the floor and flung my door open, climbing out with Oksana’s notebook tucked under my arm. Alek was out of the passenger seat, and the strange expression on his face caught me off guard.
“What?” I asked.
His voice went low. “Vasilije, be careful. She makes me uneasy.”
“You’re worried about the girl?” Was he serious? He was acting weird, and I didn’t like it.
“I should’ve picked an ugly one,” he said.
He was getting on my damn nerves. “Aleksandar. What the fuck are you talking about?”
It was like he was suddenly aware of his surroundings, and his face went blank. “Nothing.”
I moved so I was within striking distance, and squared my shoulders to him in a threatening stance. “You’ve got something to say, so say it.”
He took a step back and put his hands up in a nonthreatening manner. He was reluctant to talk, but far more reluctant to fight. “You . . . always want what other people have.”
My immediate reaction was to curl my hands into fists. I was a big guy, who liked to use my home gym. Alek was taller than I was, but he was soft. He was allergic to all exertion except for fucking. Shit, he got out of breath just going up the stairs. I could drop him with one punch.
But he wasn’t wrong.
I did want what other people had. I wanted the respect our father had handed easily to my brother and not me. The loyalty Luka’s girlfriend had given him. And most of all, I wanted my uncle’s position at the head of the family business.
I peered at Oksana through the tinted window of the car. Yeah, I wanted her, too.
I wanted everything.
Tension released and I uncurled my fists as the backup plan formed. “I’ll text Mira you’re coming, and tell her I’m good for the money. Whatever you want.”
My peace offering should have been more than enough. Alek was getting the better end of this deal, or so I’d heard, since I’d never paid for sex. He could have one or two girls tonight who were pros, rather than the shy Russian girl who might be a terrible lay.
He stared through the window for a long moment, watching her. I lifted my eyebrow into a sharp upside-down V. Did he want me to rescind my offer and end up with no pussy at all?
“Okay,” he said finally.
“Good.” I forced a smile. I treated Alek well, and he had spread the word to the other underlings who worked for the Markovic family. I’d been weakening my uncle’s support system, rotting it from the inside.
Alek’s expression turned serious and he spoke quietly. “You really think tonight was a setup?”
I shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal, although it was. “We’d hit them enough times before. My uncle will see what shakes out tomorrow.” I glanced over at Alek’s car parked beside the Porsche in my garage. “Mira might tell you her girls are clean, but make sure you wrap your shit up tonight, or your dick’s gonna fall off.”
He gave a nervous laugh, and his eyes flicked once again to the girl waiting inside the SUV. “Same to you.”
As Alek dug out his keys and moved to his car, I yanked open the back door and looked at her. “Out.”
She hesitantly climbed out, and studied Alek as she did it. Her expression was emotionless, but I could see the panic in her eyes she was trying to mask. She wasn’t that great of an actress, and watched him go like her last life raft was sailing away.
I told John to drive whichever car he wanted home for the week, and I’d text if I needed him. He took the Lexus.
I gestured to the door leading into the house, and my tone was clipped. “After you.”
She pushed the door open, moving like it led toward her doom. I flipped the hallway light on, disabled the security system, and put my hand on her shoulder, halting her from going any further. She jolted under my touch and turned to face me.
“Hang this up.” I shoved my damp jacket into her arms, took her bag from her, and dumped it onto the floor in the mud room to our right. She wouldn’t be needing clothes, and the ones in her bag were hideous anyway. As she snatched down a hanger and followed my order, her silence bothered me. “Why the fuck are you so quiet? Don’t you want to know what’s going on?”
She slowed her movements, thinking about her answer carefully. “I have an idea of what you want, and it’s probably better if I don’t think about it.”