Chapter 55

Drago

I ran upstairs and took a quick shower and changed, but the whole time I was trying to figure what to do with the ultimatum my father threw in my lap. I was obviously not going to kill Drago, but I had to make sure my father didn’t fucking kidnap Hannah or her sister. Knowing my father could have accessed my phone and bugged it or put a tracker in it, I pulled out a burner phone from my drawer. I got it months ago, thinking I would need a back-up at some point if I was going to be working with my father. Ironic turn of events.
I texted Drago and told him it was me and we needed to change our meet-up location. He replied about five minutes later, from a new number, with an address. I grabbed my keys, figuring if my father asked where I was going, I’d say I was going to look for Drago, which was technically true.
When I went downstairs, the house appeared empty, so I left quickly in case my father was lurking somewhere.
After checking my car for tracking devices, I drove to the address Drago sent me—some strip club off the highway. Why the fuck were we meeting here?
I saw Drago’s car parked far away from the other vehicles in a darker part of the parking lot to the left of the club. The rest of the parking lot was incredibly well-lit, particularly for a strip club. I pulled in next to his Mercedes and got out.
Drago was leaning against the hood of his car, smoking a cigarette and looking far more relaxed than I felt. He looked over to me and flicked his cigarette away, smoke coming out of his mouth making him look like the dragon his name resembled. Upon a closer look, his shoulders looked tense and his expression was closed and tight. His gray eyes looked like two chips of granite. No, Drago was not as relaxed as he’d initially appeared.
“What the fuck happened?” he demanded.
“My father confronted me about a traitor in the organization. He identified you by name as the main problem and wants me to get rid of you. To give me a greater incentive, he mentioned abducting Hannah and her sister and sending them to some fucking whorehouse in Thailand.”
Drago frowned. “Hannah’s your girl?”
“Yes,” I answered, shaking my head that he didn’t remember even though she was there when Katya was nearly kidnapped. Apparently, he only had eyes for Katya. “I’ve got twelve hours to take you out.”
Drago snorted and shot me a dubious look at the idea of me being able to capture and assassinate him. He wasn’t necessarily wrong. He’s a trained killer and high-level operative in a criminal organization. Although I fight regularly and have some training as well, I was also only a high school senior. The odds are pretty clear. I punched him on the shoulder anyway. “Shut the fuck up.”
Drago innocently shrugged his shoulders. “I didn’t say anything.”
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, what are we doing? You mentioned in your other text that Roman has the Rossi girl. So, we can move forward to take him out?”
Drago nodded his head. “Yeah, but he’s not going to be easy to get to now. He knows people are trying to take him out. Your father is like a cockroach, Nikolai; he always survives,” Drago uttered bitterly. “I have some men who are ready to move on him at my command. Was he home when you left?”
I shook my head. “I didn’t see him when I took off, but I wasn’t exactly looking for him either. Do you think he knows I’m working with you?”
Drago took out another cigarette and lit it. He took a deep drag and continued to ponder my question. “Probably. He loves to fuck with people’s minds, and none more than those close to him. He probably suspected and used this as a way to expose you, one way or another. If you’re loyal, you kill me, or at least you try.” He shot me another mocking look. “If you don’t, or I respond in a way that demonstrates your lack of loyalty, then he knows for sure you are not to be trusted.” He looked at me pointedly. “You also become his next target.”
I sighed. “Okay, so what are we doing to handle him?”
“Your father is wily, but I’ve worked with him for seven years and know his habits, where he will hide.”
Before we could continue, we both became distracted by an argument at the door of the club. It looked like some kid was arguing with the bouncer. The bouncer quickly tired of the argument and grabbed the kid by the shirt, shoving him against the side of the building closest to us. They probably didn’t notice us because we were in the dark, but we were only ten feet away.
“Take your rich, over-privileged, under-aged ass away from this club and do not fucking come back,” the bouncer shouted in the kid’s face, his fist drawn back, anticipating any excuse to punch the shit out of this punk.
“Fine! Let me fucking go,” the kid yelled, sounding embarrassed and trying to save his pride. The bouncer moved slightly to his right and I caught the face of the kid, smirking when I saw who it was. Fucking Jeff Connors.
The bouncer then threw the kid down on the ground and he landed about five feet away from where Drago and I were now standing. From this distance, I could see the fading bruises I had left on his face and felt a surge of satisfaction. In fact, it was taking all my willpower not to go over there and finish what the bouncer had started.
Connors picked himself up and marched past me and Drago, then turned to take a closer look at me. He gasped in a combination of fear and surprise. Then his face lit up with a shit-eating smirk. “Does Hannah know this is where you hang out? That you fuck strippers on the side?”
For a guy still wearing my bruises, he was awfully bold. I popped off the side of the car and started marching toward him. As if just realizing that I wasn’t in a cage, or behind a Plexiglas wall, Connors jumped and ran as fast as possible to where I assume his car was parked.
“You better keep fucking running, Connors. Don’t forget, if you so much as speak to Hannah, I will break every bone in your fucking body!” I threatened to his retreating back. I wanted to chase him and beat him down, but I had other things to worry about at the moment.
Fuck. I needed this shit like a hole in the head.
I looked back at Drago and saw him chuckling as he took a drag off his cigarette. “What?” I said pugnaciously.
“If ever there was a reminder that you were still in high school. Jesus Christ, Nikolai. That little fuck is going to tattle on you back at school to your girlfriend?” I was tempted to make a comment about his interest in Katya, but didn’t feel like getting more sidetracked.
“Shut the fuck up, Drago. Let’s get back to figuring out what to do about my fucking father.” I played it off like I was aggravated with his teasing, but I was more aggravated when I thought about how I was going to explain this to Hannah. And she was obviously going to find out. I was going to fucking kill Connors.
Drago flicked away his cigarette, looking serious again. “I know a place your dad likes to go, a girl he likes to fuck, sometimes he goes there to lay low. Since she’s one of many girls he visits, I don’t think he realizes we know about her, but we do. One of our guys likes to fuck her, too.” Drago smirked at that last line. “He can ask her to text him when your dad shows up and take him out.”
“What if he doesn’t go to her?”
“We’ve got people all over the place who are happy to sell him out. We’ll find him,” Drago assured me, but I knew I wouldn’t feel comfortable until my dad was found and eliminated. I was still in shock at how quickly things had changed. I hadn’t liked my dad for a long time, and I didn’t feel guilty assisting in his execution, particularly in light of the things he said about Hannah and her sister, but fuck, it was still surreal.
As if Drago understood the direction of my thoughts, he put his hand on my shoulder. His stern face showing as much compassion as a person as hardened as he was could show. “I know this isn’t easy, Nikolai. I know you are struggling, but I also know that you understand it’s necessary.”
I nodded my head wordlessly. He was right.
“Keep me notified,” I said tonelessly as I turned to get in my car.
I never did find out why the fuck we met at a strip club.