Without Remorse

He tucked into his food as he walked down the block to the club, tray of coffees in his other hand. He didn’t have to use a key to get in, the door was unlocked. Alexei had gotten here even earlier than him, like always. And Bo, well, that guy barely ever left. He’d had a couch put in the large back office and Nicholas knew he slept there most nights only after all the Red Bull and coffee couldn’t keep his eyes open any more, the crazy hacker bastard.

Nicholas headed back there, always his first stop of the day. Alexei sat at his desk on one side of the office while Bo worked away at his four screens at the other.

“Morning, motherfuckers,” Nicholas said as he paused by Bo, handing him a coffee which he grabbed without even glancing away from his screens. Bo was a great guy and could even be a good conversationalist… if you could pry him away from his computer, that was.

Alexei at least got up from his desk and walked towards him. “Appreciate it, I’m already on empty.” He held up a cup with Babulya’s bakery symbol on it.

“Why the hell are you up so early today?” Nicholas asked, handing him his coffee.

“Margarita is leading a training session with some of the new backroom girls—”

“And he wanted to get his dick hard and watch,” Bo interjected, his non-stop typing barely interrupting.

Alexei rolled his eyes. “No, but having a Vasiliev present is always a good reminder that they need to pay exacting attention because we expect the very best.”

“So you want to scare the shit out of them,” Bo said.

“I’m not my father,” Alexei sighed.

Nicholas was gonna sit this one out.

“I’m trying to build something unique here. What’s the point of being just another titty bar? Sure, we can offer that, but I also want something for a more upscale, discerning clientele—ones that are willing to pay for it.”

“It’s not me you have to convince,” Nicholas said, not able to stay quiet after all, holding his hands up.

Alexei glowered. His disagreements with his father were legendary. Nicholas didn’t want to imagine what having a father like Dimitri would be like. No thank you. He’d been orphaned as a teenager and that had been tragic, to lose all his attachments and be set adrift in the world like that. But better that than having a father like Dimitri Vasiliev.

But Alexei just shook his head. “Everything I’ve done has only brought more money pouring into the business. Hiring Bo and looking to the digital age for our newest ventures the last few years. Revamping the club and doubling our income.”

“Which has almost paid for the renovations,” Nicholas inserted.

Alexei rolled his eyes again. “He can’t argue with the results is what I’m saying.”

Nicholas just raised an eyebrow but kept silent. He was still pissed at his friend for not being there like he’d said he would be when he’d gotten back with Sloane. He’d never intended on having to take her directly before Papa.

He usually dealt with Alexei and Bo on a daily basis. Just like this. It was easy to pretend Papa had already retired and was living fat and happy off all the money they made him.

But every now and again, Papa Dimitri decided to have an opinion about something. Sometimes these opinions turned out to be genius gut intuitions foreseeing and acting to circumvent problems before they could ever erupt. Other times his tempers were just from bad sushi the night before or a hundred other things that might set him off. Then they could all suffer for the man’s whims.

The anxiety was all in waiting to find out which was which.

And this time… killing Olezka like that, and all but taunting old man Tereshchenko with the style of the kill, if you could call that debauchery style… Well they’d all been on pins and needles waiting for the other shoe to drop.

But it hadn’t. At least not yet. And maybe Dimitri’s brutality had actually worked. Maybe the indecency of the act had achieved it’s intended goal and they’d scared off Tereshchenko for good. One could only pray to the Saints it was the case. God knew Nicholas had enough drama going on with his home life to need any more at work.

The only reason he’d brought Sloane was because things had been calm here for years. There hadn’t been any gang or mafia wars for more territory since the last boss had been cleared out in the mid-ninties. They were the new undisputed bosses not only of their Brighton Beach home base, but now, well, their reach was global.

Nicholas might just be the muscle, but he kept his eyes open. He watched and the reason he was the head of security was the fact that he was no dummy. He and Bo worked closely together at times, not only in the protection of the club, the Vasiliev’s, and the girls, but also insofar as making happen whatever new scheme Papa or Alexei might have next.