“Sandir?” I turned to look at my best friend too, knowing the sly fox probably had more stashed away than his brother. He didn’t spend much on anything but a decent pair of jeans and boots every now and again, throw in a tattoo when he wanted. Sandir lived a simple life.
“Maybe more. Got the house with Andrey, like he said. I ain’t hurting, mate.”
Greg wouldn’t have that kind of money - he’d been with us half the time. When I nodded over at him, he laughed and held up his hands. “Not me, I’m not sitting on millions. I send some to my sister, got my flat, but I won’t starve anytime soon, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“What about you, Tayte?”
“Got more than enough, plenty savings tucked away,” he said, leaning back on the chair, hands behind his neck. My guys weren’t strapped which helped me to breathe easier, yet it still seemed pitiful compared to what I knew Irina and I both had separately, never mind collectively.
“Yan, what are you thinking?” Irina sat down in the seat next to me, feigning ignorance. She knew exactly what was going on in my head and was playing to the other men around the table.
“You’re not tired of all this shit? Constantly looking over your shoulder, always being the bad guy?” I scanned over each man, ignoring Irina who really wasn’t part of my internal thought process right then. “Threatening and fighting, half a foot away from a jail sentence that wouldn’t let you see the light of day again?”
They all looked at each other with confusion, mostly. “What are you saying?” Sandir asked first. He knew too, he’d always known it would come to this, I’d said it in not so many words to him often and he was smart enough to figure out what the outcome would be once I dissolved the contract.
“Shit. I guess this is my way of telling you all I’m done, and if you guys feel the same way, then I won’t blink for a second over it or lose sleep. Fifteen years has come and gone - you all knew there was no way I was hanging around. I didn’t change that much,” I objected. “My moral compass is pointing in a different direction these days but yeah…” I blew out a breath, slumping back in the chair, pressing yet more papers away from me. “Irina, whatever’s there, you can have it, I want no part of it anymore. Except my club, you don’t get to touch Caulder’s. Lev’s gripped my throat long enough and all this shit on the table is just proof whatever we built together means absolutely toss all. Look what the wanker’s done, he’s fucked us all over.”
Studying my face, Irina said nothing for a long time, nobody did, sensing my anger was at a tipping point. When she spoke, I tried hard to not grit my teeth and tell her to piss off. “Yan, I don’t know anything else. I’ve been a mobster’s daughter and a mobster’s wife, there’s nothing else.”
“Oh, fuck that!” I banged my hand down hard on the table. “Fuck. That. We were both coerced, doesn’t mean we can’t change how we go forward. Jesus, I’d like to live to see my forties and not have to hide away in a fortress with a ton of men behind my back. This was never me. I did it because I had to and I won’t anymore, I don’t need to.”
My mind was absolutely made up, there was no changing it. Getting up from the chair, I left the room and kept on walking right out of the front door. Nobody followed, for which I was grateful, I had no answers to give these men I felt I’d let down and I didn’t want to speak to anyone. Instead, I got in my car and drove to Caulder’s. Bill wouldn’t have opened the doors yet as it was only midday, but there was no problem letting myself in. I could drink in a place devoid of people which was the most appealing thought to cross my mind in four days.
I gave Bill the courtesy of a text before turning up, to let him know I would be inside, I didn’t want to scare the living daylights out of the poor man when he came to open the club. Keying in the passcode for the side door, I wandered into the quiet bar, and helped myself to a drink, then climbed the stairs to the VIP area, smiling, remembering the last time I’d been there.
Two drinks down, Bill showed up, making a racket as he swanned around the bar, flicking up the house lights. “You all right, Boss?” he asked, standing to the entrance to the VIP section, hands clasped in front of him. He looked nervous.
“You enjoy working here, Bill? I mean, for me?”
“Yannick, you know I do. Good wages, good boss.”
“You fuck around with the staff?” I’d never asked him before, though I guessed he dipped his toe now and again. It wasn’t important really, but I wanted to know for some asinine reason. His cheeks pinked, and he shuffled from foot to foot, a tell if I ever saw one. I’d known him a long time, he’d always given himself away easily, which was a beneficial trait for the man I trusted to keep my bar clean, running and profitable. “Knock that shit off, Bill, it’s bad management. They need to respect you.”
“I don’t often, consider me suitably chastised.”
“You’re a skilled manager, Bill. Don’t sully it by cheapening your employees. When are the staff in?”
Glancing at his watch, he peered up at me. “About an hour, they’re punctual mostly.”
“I need someone on VIP, I’m sure the guys are going to be traipsing in before long.”
“Anyone in particular?”
I shook my head.
