“We have been doing business for five years, Alessio. Might not have come face to face a lot, but I’d say we could be family. Same blood. Same thread.”
Wrong. So fucking wrong.
This man was not family. He was a traitor.
And traitors like him always fell easily into our trap. It was almost laughable.
Abram snapped his fingers, and his man walked forward, dropping a duffel bag at his feet.
“I got you some samples, like you asked,” he boasted. His shoulders were all high and his chest all puffed up. “Best fucking shit, I tell you.”
I arched an eyebrow at him. “Show us then.”
Finally, at the sound of my voice, his attention was drawn to me. His hazy eyes seemed to take longer to understand, but when his foggy mind finally registered what was happening—or who exactly was sitting opposite to him—his mouth fell open in shock.
Abram’s eyes widened, and he froze in place. Recognition shone in his gaze. His reaction made this situation ten times better and funnier. My lips twitched, and I knew I was smirking. It was hard not to.
His lips moved and he wordlessly mouthed a word. Konstantin.
Bingo, motherfucker.
Abram looked between Alessio and me, confused and now on full alert. He was high as a kite, and he was fighting his brain to stay focused. He finally saw the threat.
But then again, he was a fool.
He knew me as Konstantin, as Valentin’s heir. He thought I was on Solonik’s side, and being a close associate of Konstantin and one of his friends, he also knew what the plan was.
To infiltrate the Ivanshov and fake my loyalty to them.
In that moment, Abram seemed to think this was it. He thought Konstantin was playing the game per Valentin’s orders. That I was fooling Alessio by making him think I was on his side.
When he returned my dark smile, he seemed to think that we were on the same side.
I sent him a quick, small nod, confirming his silent assumption. I let him think we were playing a game together. Same blood. Same thread. I made him see what I wanted him to see. The perfect ruse.
He relaxed once again.
Little did he know…I was the real Viktor in this moment.
Not Konstantin. Not a traitor.
“Show us what you got,” I said again when I felt this was settled and he had fallen perfectly into this bloody web. There was no escape now.
Abram shook the web of confusion away and finally obliged. He leaned down and opening the bag. He pulled out a small black packet and then removed two white pills from it.
“These are called Tlazolteotl. Aphrodisiac drugs. They heighten your senses and sensations. We have been testing them for months, making sure they were perfect and stronger than before. We think it’s ready to sell now. You are the first one to get these, Alessio,” he assured us, looking to please the King.
Lies.
Solonik got his hands on these first.
Alessio hummed in response, trying to look interested. “What else?”
“Weed. Cocaine. The usual, but they are the best we have. I got my people from across the border. We’ve been…buying and selling. An exchange, you know. This shit is the finest Mexico has. Trust me, the market will love these. We can sell at high price.”
This was the business of the black market. Buying and selling. Until it got into the hands of the most powerful men.
Before the discussion could continue, I heard more voices. Females. The door opened ,and two girls entered the room, just like the one before. They were all smiles, sexy and ready to seduce.
Abram beamed and then sat up straighter in his chair. I internally rolled my eyes.
“I thought I could get us some entertainment. To keep the night interesting.” Alessio chuckled.
Abram looked the girls up and down, taking in the lack of clothing and obviously thinking with his dick. “I have to say, you really know how to welcome your guests.”
Alessio smirked knowingly. “Oh, trust me. I know.”
Only Nikolay and I could catch the double meaning.
Music filled the room, and the girls started to dance.
One moved toward Alessio first, her fingers teasing the edge of her dress as she started to slowly pull it up. The glare he sent her way had her scurrying off toward me. But I raised a hand to stop her too. Poor thing looked confused.
Neither Alessio nor I were interested. Nikolay looked bored as fuck, so I could tell these girls were doing nothing to his dick either. He leaned against the wall and looked ready to get this show started.
Soon.
I gestured to Abram and then winked at the blonde girl. “He is all yours,” I whispered.
She nodded, finally understanding our meaning. They were here to entertain the guest, not us. We weren’t interested.
I glanced at Alessio and noticed him staring at Abram. His eyes stayed on the target and not once hovered over the half-naked girls. He was a married man and damn faithful to his Angel. No other women did it for him.