“Easy,” Dmitry said. He lifted his right hand and put a gun on the desk. “I know how to take care of myself. So let’s just be men and talk.”
“I’d rather fight.”
“Understandable,” Dmitry said. “This isn’t your gig. So why are you here?”
“You took something that’s not yours. That little girl doesn’t belong to you.”
“She’s taken care of, along with her mother.”
“So let me try your game,” I said. “What do you want from me to get them?”
Dmitry nodded. “That’s a tough decision. I was just going to kill them.”
“Why?”
“I have no fucking use for them now.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
Dmitry grinned.
He leaned back in his chair.
I made my move.
I grabbed the gun and pointed it at him. “Where are they?”
“Don’t do this, Tripp. I want to like you.”
“Fuck you. I have no loyalty to anyone. To anything.”
“Except that little tight slit between Winter’s legs, right?”
I pulled the trigger.
My eyes went wide…
Click.
I dropped the gun and Dmitry stood up. “And I thought we could trust each other.”
The door to the office busted open and I turned just in time to have three huge guys charge in after me. My instinct was to fight, so I started throwing punches. I had no chance - and I fucking knew it - but if I didn’t fight, then what was the point of living?
32.
(Winter)
I opened the door and Stoney threw his arms around me.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “Oh, fuck, Winter. I’m just so fucking sorry for everything. For Rocky. For Endo. For everything. What a goddamn mess.”
He squeezed me tight. I felt nothing. Stoney and I never had a thing for each other. Well, maybe he eyed me after Rocky’s death, but no more. I was Tripp’s. No matter what it took.
“Is Tripp okay?”
“No,” Stoney said. “I’m just so sorry.”
I broke away from Stoney’s hug, but he kept his hands on my shoulders. He looked ready to cry.
“Stoney, what is it?”
“Everything…”
“You don’t have to be upset. It’s not like you caused any of this.”
33.
(Tripp)
I took one more punch and they let me go. It felt like someone had thrown a cinderblock into my gut. I collapsed to the ground and put my hands to the floor. Outside the door people were cheering.
“That’s enough,” Dmitry said. “You three leave now. Go run security.”
The door opened and shut.
I climbed to my feet and wiped blood off my mouth. I looked at Dmitry. He was standing there, a smug look on his face.
“That’s how you do it?” I asked.
“I take care of things. It’s not always about being fair, Tripp. It’s about winning. My father taught me that as a young kid. So, can we start over? Find some trust?”
“No,” I said. “I have no interest in trusting you. Or helping you. I’m here for Autumn. Give me the kid and I’ll leave.”
“You have no muscle here,” Dmitry said. He stepped from around the desk. “Come on, let’s walk. You need to keep moving. It’ll help blood flow and chase away the pain.”
I had no idea if that was true or not.
Dmitry opened the door and we walked out together. We went to the railing just as the first fight was about to begin. It was two scrawny guys in the middle of a square. One had his fists up. The other hand his hands down, loose, dancing around.
“This is the warmup,” Dmitry said. “We let these fools knock each other around a little. Gets the crowd excited.”
“Why the low class shit?” I asked.
“It makes money.”
“Can’t be much though.”
Dmitry looked at me. “Brings in the exact clientele I need for my real business.”
Real business.
I looked back down at the floor and realized what that was. In the corners of the warehouse were a few more tables. Sex, drugs, and fighting. That’s what Skull X did. Seeing women sitting behind the tables, in nothing but bikinis, waiting to be paid for.
“Christ,” I whispered.
“I know what your boss does,” Dmitry said. “I have my own way. We control everything. And we have a good working relationship.”
“If you want it to be kept that way, then give me Autumn. You realize who she is, right?”
Dmitry nodded. “That I do.”
“And you realize that Endo is dead?”
“I heard. What a tragedy. That’s why I put the call in.”
“For what?”
Dmitry pushed from the railing. He faced me. “To have them killed. I don’t need them anymore, Tripp. With Endo gone, they’re worthless to me.”
I stepped at Dmitry. He put a hand out and stopped me.
Below us, the crowd cheered. I looked over the railing and saw the guy who had been dangling his arms like an ass on the ground, out cold. The other guy stood over him, shaking, in shock that he had won the fight.
“They’re not worthless to me,” I said. “I’m not leaving here without what I came for.”
“What about what you didn’t realize you’ve lost?”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“I bet you wish you were down there,” Dmitry said. “You want to fight. I can feel it pouring from you.”