The King - S.R. Jones Page 0,49
life, before he got rich and famous. Do you think they’re here to do some sort of shady job for him?”
“I have no idea. I think your imagination is running away with you, though, for sure.” I’m suddenly scared for Suzy. If Konstantin is a mob boss, he might harm her if he thinks she’s onto him. Suzy is being her usual overly imaginative self, but this time she’s right. And being right could be dangerous.
“Listen,” I tell her. “Don’t say this shit to people. You could get yourself in trouble.”
“Oh, Cassie. So good.” She sighs and pouts. “Always with the goody-two-shoes act, telling bad little me off.”
“No, not this time. This time I’m telling you the truth. I’ve been doing something top secret for Konstantin, and let me tell you one thing I know. He’s a shark. He’s not a nice guy, Suzy. Ruthless, unforgiving. I’ve found out enough about him to know he’s not someone you should talk about at all. He doesn’t take kindly to it. People just find themselves fired if they fuck him off. Be careful.”
“Okay, I will.” She’s serious for once, for a moment.
“And be careful of his friends. Maybe they’re as bad as you seem to think, and if so, that’s not good, right?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I’ve always wanted to walk on the wild side with a bad boy.”
“Be careful what you wish for, Suze.”
She smirks at me and then glances around. “Oh well, better get back to the grindstone.”
She heads out of the shade we’re in right toward the sunny center of the courtyard, heading for the trio. “Suze?” I hiss. “You’re going the wrong way.”
“Going in the back door. Need to see Janet in the microfiche room in the basement.”
Of course she does. Not. Jesus, she’s a nightmare.
I dither for a moment, not sure whether to follow her or go back the right way. In the end, my worry for her makes me follow.
As we near the three men, they lift their heads as one, like some mighty, dangerous beast, and the one with the light eyes and dark hair flares his nostrils as if he’s scenting Suzy’s love of danger on the air. Like a wolf scenting prey.
She slows as we near and swings her hips, looking right at him as she passes by.
He says something in Russian, and the blond one laughs. Suzy flicks them a smile, but it’s unsure and tinged with embarrassment. Are they laughing at her? At us?
I glance at Konstantin, unable to stop myself, and he’s staring at me intently. He’s looking at me as if … as if he’s angry with me somehow. It doesn’t make sense. Why would he be angry?
He says something under his breath, and I catch it on the breeze.
“My sunshine is back.”
CHAPTER TEN
Konstantin
“She’d suck your cock like a vacuum cleaner,” Denis says to Vasily about Cassie’s friend.
“Yeah, she would, but she’s too obvious. Prefer the shy blonde myself. I bet she’s all quiet and timid, and then you’d open her up like a flower and get to see what she’s made of inside.”
“Don’t fucking talk about her that way,” I growl before I can check myself.
Vasily turns to me in surprise, his glassy blue-green eyes cold as the material they resemble. “Sorry, boss. Didn’t realize you were fucking her.”
“I’m not,” I say with a shrug. “She’s important, though, and she is working for us; I mean really working for us.”
I let that sink in. Denis blows out a long breath. “You picked some hot little thing to join the dark side, Kon.”
“Focus on work,” I snap.
Denis sighs, but nods. “So you want us to go see this guy, put the fear of God in him, but don’t actually hurt him, yes?” His voice is low, a deep murmur that I strain to hear. We’re speaking in Russian anyway, no one here will understand us, but it never pays to talk loudly enough for what you’re saying to be picked up by anyone who might be listening. You can’t be too careful.
“Yep, that’s about it. The more of Popov’s loose connections we can put the fear of God into over the next few weeks the better.”
“Is this going to mean a lot of trips to London?” Vasily asks. “Because really, that shits going to get old. Isn’t it easier for you to find someone you trust here?”
He asks a good question because up until now, my dealings here have been mostly legitimate, and it’s meant I’ve needed Vasily and