Červenà

Chapter
Eleven


I LOST track of how long I sat there. Eventually, Gabriel came in with a customer, and I jumped to my feet.

“I’m sorry, Joel. Should I leave?” Gabriel looked up at me while his client shuffled awkwardly, glancing at the door.

“Of course not. I’ll get out of your way.” I gave the other man a brief nod and exited, closing the door behind me.

Rather than return to the bar, I made my way to my office and locked myself in. Switching on the computer, I spent some time checking over my bank accounts and working out how much money I had readily available. I had nowhere near as much as I was being asked for, but I could probably find it by borrowing against either the club or the condos. Angry and frustrated, I turned off the computer and slammed my fist onto the desk. Karel was still causing me problems from beyond the grave. Fury filled me as I considered handing over my hard-earned money to people he owed, after everything he’d already taken from me.

I opened the drawer where I’d tossed the police officer’s business card, and for a moment I almost picked up the phone and called him. But what could I tell him? All I had was a description of the messenger. I didn’t know who he was working for, where they came from, or anything else. They could be watching Sasha even now, waiting to see what I would do. Maybe the police could protect him and maybe they couldn’t. I rose from the desk and unlocked the door. There seemed to be no option for me other than to pay up.

After entering the club, I hovered in a corner and watched Sasha work. His slender body moved gracefully, stepping around Kris to grab a spare shaker, stooping to take fresh juice from the refrigerator. He flitted from one customer to another, leaning across the bar to take their orders and making the cocktails with flair and a smile on his face. My pulse quickened as he lifted both arms above his head to vigorously shake whatever he was mixing. His T-shirt rode up, exposing a narrow strip of pale flesh above the waistband of his black jeans. For a moment I wondered if they’d leave him alone if we broke up—if I made it known I didn’t care about him after all. Maybe then he’d be safe, but I couldn’t hurt him like that, with my rejection. I’d be hurting myself too, and it had been so long since I’d felt what I felt now—alive. I dismissed the idea in seconds and walked slowly to the bar.

I didn’t intend to tell Sasha what was going on. I didn’t want him to worry, and I didn’t want to run the risk of anyone else finding out. The position I was in seemed impossible. I’d seen movies with similar situations in them, and the outcome was often dire when the victim tried to deal with things the right way. This wasn’t a movie, but the situation was the same. If I didn’t pay, Sasha would be hurt, no matter how much I tried to prevent it. Karel’s demise left me in no doubt about that.

“Sasha!” I caught his attention when he paused between customers, and he leaned across the bar, smiling.

“Hey. These party cocktails are going great. We’re almost out of raspberry vodka. It might just last the night.”

“That’s good. I’ll make sure to add some to the next order.”

“Are you all right, Joel?” Sasha’s smile slipped and his brows drew together.

“Yes, just tired. I have a bit of a headache. I’m gonna go home. I’ll speak to Kris and have him lock up.”

“Oh. Okay.” His face fell and I reached for his hand.

“I’ll call you tomorrow.” Leaning forward, I placed a quick kiss on his lips and moved away to talk to Kris. Within five minutes I’d left the club and found a cab to take me home.

I stayed up most of the night and eventually collapsed into bed at six in the morning. After sleeping for a couple of hours, I took a long hot shower and drank some strong coffee. I wanted to talk to someone—anyone—about the situation I was in, but I had no one I could confide in about this. Rosalyn and Steve would only worry and tell me to call the police. Sasha would be scared for both me and himself if he knew what was going on. There was no need for me to involve him as long as I did what was asked of me and kept him safe. I had no one else I could call a friend; not since Karel died, and he’d been dead to me much longer than a week. All I could do was deal with it alone and hope I was doing the right thing.

Sunday was one of the longest days of my life. I called Sasha and told him my headache had developed into a migraine and that I needed to be left alone. I did in fact have a headache—a mild throbbing in my temples—so it wasn’t a complete lie. Sasha’s disappointment at not spending the day with me was evident in his voice, but I wouldn’t have been able to pretend like everything was fine and be with him the way I usually was. He’d guess something was going on.

My phone rang in the evening, and I almost dropped it in my haste to answer. I’d been expecting this—I just hadn’t known when.

“Mr. Jones?” It wasn’t the same voice as the messenger’s.

“Yes.”

“You received a visit yesterday from one of my employees.”

I gritted my teeth. So this was “the boss.” The man who wanted to destroy my life because of Karel’s debts. Who’d no doubt ordered Karel’s death. “Yes,” I repeated.

“I appreciate there is little you can do on a Sunday. You will receive another call on Tuesday morning, to advise you where to transfer the money.”

“Is there no other way this can be settled?” I asked. “Karel Doubrava has had nothing to do with me for some months.”

“This is a lie, Mr. Jones. You were business partners until a month ago. Friends too. You do understand the seriousness of the situation you find yourself in? I do not play games, Mr. Jones. Unlike Doubrava.”

“I understand.” I sighed heavily.

“My employee mentioned your little friend Sasha. Do I need to repeat what he told you?”

“No.” My hands shook and sweated, and I almost dropped the phone. Gripping it tighter, I pressed it to my ear.

“Excellent. Then I will say good-bye. Until Tuesday.”

The line went dead and I tossed the phone onto the couch, shuddering. I didn’t scare easily, but I was out of my depth, drawn into a world I’d only heard about in stories or on the news. For the first time in a very long time, I opened a bottle and poured a generous measure of whiskey. When it was gone, I poured another. I didn’t stop until the bottle was empty and I was unable to see where it fell when I knocked it to the floor.




“YOU FUCKING idiot, Joel.” I rolled off the couch onto my knees, grimacing at the foul taste in my mouth and the pain in my head. My clothes were creased from sleeping in them after I’d passed out, and my neck ached from whichever awkward position I’d rested in. I hauled myself up and staggered to the bathroom to empty the alcohol from my bladder and scrub away the taste with as much toothpaste as I could get on the brush. I showered, put on a T-shirt and sweatpants, and made the strongest coffee I could bear. While it brewed, I took a couple of aspirin and drank a pint of water. An hour later I felt vaguely human again, and starving hungry, although the knot of anxiety in my stomach made it impossible for me to eat more than a single slice of toast.

Checking the time, I picked up my phone and called the bank to make an appointment. I had excellent history with the National Bank, which held both my personal and business accounts, and I had no doubt they’d give me a loan. The money would probably be released to me within twenty-four hours, but I didn’t think I’d be able to borrow the full amount required. Besides, putting myself in that amount of debt would be risky and would take years to recover from. But what choice did I have? Would “the boss” accept less than what he’d demanded?

I fretted about it until I walked into the meeting on the top floor of the bank building, a little before two o’clock. A secretary brought me coffee and advised me the assistant manager would be with me shortly. I sat and fidgeted, sipping the bitter coffee and wondering once again if I was making a mistake. Surely the police had ways of dealing with situations like this? They’d be able to find “the boss” and protect Sasha and me—wouldn’t they? But how many employees did the man have? Wouldn’t I always be looking over my shoulder? Worrying for Sasha and for my own employees?

I slumped back in the seat with a heavy sigh as I accepted the only way I could feel safe again was to pay the debt, somehow.

I walked away an hour later with the promise of a transfer of eight million korunas to Červenà’s new account. I’d explained that following my separation from my business partner and his subsequent death I wanted to undertake a thorough refurbishment of the club, including redecoration, furnishings, new equipment and so on. I’d drawn up a rough schedule of this before attending the meeting and hadn’t really expected it to pass inspection. I’d actually asked for twelve million, but this had been considered to be too great an amount. The loan was agreed at eight, based on my years of trading with the bank and their consideration of the fact I ran two successful businesses and had a reasonable amount of savings. With the money I had saved, I could pay eleven million and hope “the boss” would accept that, at least in the interim.

I left the bank with a heavy heart and walked home. The loan was going to hang over me for a long time, and the fact that I had to hand that money over to some thug whom Karel had gambled with made me sick. Again I went over the choices I had, but I came to the conclusion there was nothing I could do other than what I was already doing. No matter how many times I thought about going to the police instead, my imagination always conjured up something going wrong—like Sasha ending up the same way Karel had.

I spent most of my evening at the club holed up in my office. I didn’t want to face everyone and constantly have to look as pleasant and relaxed as I usually did. I almost left without Sasha at the end of the night, but I’d barely spoken to him throughout the evening as it was, and I knew he’d be worried and upset. Besides, I’d prefer to have him where I could see him until this was all over. I took him back to my apartment after we’d locked up, but I was unable to hide the way I was feeling.

“Joel, what’s going on?” He’d been silent in the cab, but he asked the question as soon as the apartment door was locked behind us.

“Nothing you need to worry about. Just some shit Karel left behind, that’s all.” I went to my drinks cabinet and grabbed an unopened bottle of whiskey, then changed my mind and put it back. Sasha stared at me in consternation.

“It must be pretty bad for you to come home and drink in the middle of the night.”

“Sasha….” I considered telling him the whole story, but I didn’t want him to be scared about what might happen. But I’d have to tell him something to explain my mood.

“Is this about something else? You’ve been distant the last few days. Do you want to break up with me?”

“No. No!” I turned to him and pulled him close, linking my hands together behind his back as he rested against me. “I told you I love you and I meant it. I don’t think I ever felt this strongly about anyone. It’s not that, I promise.”

He relaxed in my arms and brushed his lips against my collarbone. “Then what? Why won’t you tell me? If we’re together then we’re supposed to support each other. Maybe I can help.”

He was right. I’d never had someone to rely on or turn to in times of trouble. Phillippe hadn’t been that kind of person. I was unused to sharing my fears, but keeping things from Sasha was both unfair and selfish. “You can’t. But I’ll tell you the basics, so long as you promise me you will not breathe a word of this to anyone else—not Kris, or Tomáš, or any of the other guys.”

“Of course.”

“This is important, Sasha.”

He pulled against my hold and took a step back, meeting my stare. “I promise I will not tell anyone.”

“Okay. It’s about what happened to Karel. You remember that tall man who came into the club on Saturday night? He spoke to me at the bar and I went to talk to him.”

“Yes. He gave me the creeps, the way he looked at me.”

I cringed inwardly. “He works for the man who had Karel killed.”

“Shit!” Sasha’s eyes widened. “What did he want? Are you in danger?”

“No, I don’t think so. Karel died owing him money and he wants it from me.”

“But it’s nothing to do with you.”

“No, it’s not, but in his mind it is. Karel and I were friends and business partners. Karel has no family so the debt falls to me.”

“You should tell him to fuck off,” Sasha said doubtfully.

“Tried that.” I paused and in the few seconds that passed before Sasha prompted me to go on, I decided the only thing I could do was tell him the whole story. At least then he’d be vigilant even if he was scared and worried too. “He threatened us. If I don’t pay up, one of his men might… would probably come after you. Because he knows we’re together and that would hurt me more than anything else.”

Sasha’s pale face lost the little color it had and he pressed close to me again. “What are you going to do? Can the police help?”

“I haven’t told the police. I don’t know who this man is, or how many people he has working for him. All I have is a description of the man who came into the club. They want the money paying electronically into a bank account, so I don’t even get to meet them. I don’t see what the police can do. They can’t watch us every minute, and they won’t have anything to go on to find this guy. Paying what he’s asking for is the only way I’ll know you’ll be safe.”

“How much?” Sasha whispered.

“It doesn’t matter.” I hugged him tight and breathed in the scent of his skin.

“How much?”

“They want fifteen million.”

Sasha hissed one of his favorite curses in Russian. Then he drew away from me. “It’s too much. After everything Karel did already, it’s too much. You can’t give him the money, Joel. I’ll leave. Then he won’t be able to use me to threaten you.”

“You can’t leave!” I cried, horrified. “I love you. I’m not letting this come between us.”

“It’s the only way. I love you, too, but… fifteen million, Joel. I’m not worth it.”

I thrust him from me and gripped his shoulders hard enough to make him wince. I gave him a little shake before I released the pressure. “You are worth it. Don’t you ever think that. I’m not losing you over money. No way. Besides….” I took a breath. “You think those men will just go away if you disappear? They’ll find something else to blackmail me over.”

“I still think you should call the police. They’re used to dealing with this kind of thing. I know you think they won’t be able to find these guys, but they’ll have ways of doing it we haven’t even thought of.”

“No, Sasha. I’m not taking that risk. And you won’t tell anyone.”

“I said I wouldn’t, didn’t I?” He pulled away, his face angry. “But I think you’re crazy to try to deal with this on your own. You’re not a superhero, Joel.”

“No, I’m just me. An ordinary man with two businesses I worked hard for and a man I love very much. I’m just doing the best I can to hold on to that.”




TUESDAY CAME around all too soon. I woke with Sasha curled against my side, his head on my shoulder and one arm tight around my chest. Carefully, I disentangled myself and he rolled away from me with a sigh, wrapping his arm around a pillow instead. I slid from the bed and made use of the bathroom, then made myself coffee and stared at my phone, willing it to ring so I could get this over with. I asked myself whether I should tell them I was only transferring eleven million, or let them find out when they checked the account.

I switched on my laptop and checked my own account, but the loan hadn’t been deposited as yet. That probably wouldn’t happen until later in the day. As I waited, the hands on the clock crawled around so slowly I wondered if it had stopped. But eventually eleven o’clock came and seconds later my phone rang. I hadn’t known what time they’d call, but they’d said morning.

I snatched up the phone. “Yes?”

“Good morning, Mr. Jones. Are you ready to make the transfer?” It was “the boss.”

“I’m waiting for a deposit to be made into my account. It’ll be today.”

“Very well. Write down these details.”

I took down the account details he recited, wondering where the account originated. It was probably overseas. Again it occurred to me that I shouldn’t do this. Why should I give him such a huge amount of my money for debts Karel had run up? Maybe Sasha was right. Maybe I should call the police. But once again I remembered what the messenger had told me. They wouldn’t hesitate to come after Sasha if they discovered I’d reported them.

“You remember the amount?” The voice in my ear startled me.

“Yes. I can only get my hands on eleven, even by borrowing.”

“Now, I’m sure that’s not true. A successful man like you with two businesses.”

“I have virtually no savings. I had to use them to fix the problems Karel Doubrava created. I borrowed what I could.”

“We’ll call it a down payment. Make sure it’s in my account by the close of business today.”

The line went dead before I could respond. I put the phone down and clenched my fists, wanting to punch something. I should have known he wouldn’t accept a lesser amount and now I’d still be looking over my shoulder.

“Was that them?” Sasha appeared in the doorway, wearing a pair of my boxer shorts, his hair rumpled from sleep.

“Yes.”

“I wish you wouldn’t do this. There has to be another way.”

“I’ve tried to think of one but there isn’t. Either way they’ll hurt me through you, if I don’t pay or if I call the police. I don’t know how many of them there are.”

“I’m sorry.”

“So am I. I’m sorry I ever trusted Karel. I should have stuck with the condos and been happy with that.”

“But you love the club.”

“Yes, but I’d give it up if I had to. It’s just a business, Sasha. The most important thing about it is the guys I have working for me. If I’d never gone into it….” I stopped myself. It was stupid thinking of what-ifs. If I’d never gone into business with Karel, I wouldn’t have found a beautiful homeless boy looking for food in the backyard either.

Sasha went to take a shower. He couldn’t face food any more than I could, but we drank one coffee after another while I checked my bank account every fifteen minutes, progressively growing more tense until eventually just after one o’clock, the money was there. I made the transfer immediately and closed the laptop with a thud.

“It’s done. I just hope they’ll give me more time.”

“What do you mean?”

“I could only send them eleven million. When he called before, I told him that, and he said he’d consider it a deposit.”

“Are we safe?” Sasha’s brows drew together and I shrugged.

“I don’t know. Maybe not until I pay the rest. I don’t want you to go anywhere on your own, okay? I want you with me every night, and we’ll travel to the club together.” I reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze, forcing a smile. “I don’t mean that to sound as if I only want you here so I can keep an eye on you. I want you with me every minute, Sasha. When this is over, I’d really like it if you’d move in with me properly.”

Maybe it wasn’t the right time to talk about moving our relationship forward, but I felt I needed something positive to think about, and when Sasha’s face lit up, it was clear he did too.

“You really want me to live with you?”

“Yes, I do. I know it’s only been a month, but I’m certain of what I want. I want you in my life, permanently.”

“I want that too.” He moved closer and leaned against me. “I can hardly believe how much things have changed for me. I hoped, from the first day you gave me a job, but I didn’t really think you’d ever look at me the way you’re looking at me now.”

“Makes two of us.” I pressed a firm kiss onto his lips and held him tight. Now I just had to hope everything would be all right.