SWNOVELS The Devil’s Reward: Chapter 35
I’m done being nice.
“It seems, Dmitri,” Pavel says in a cool voice as he stares at me from his chair on the other side of my desk, “that your mole tried to kill those in his MC. And the MC is very upset about it. I know this because two of them went to one of your businesses and confronted one of your men. To me, that says you don’t have control. Especially since they know about that business enough to go there, knowing one of your men would be there.” His eyes are cold, like he’s looking to see me trip. Practically begging me to give him a reason to have me removed and shoved right back down the ranks with the lowly soldiers.
I hold my anger back, but my fingers itch to reach for my gun and end this inquisition once and for all. Instead, I look at him, face carefully void of any emotion and say, “They know of that location because that is where one of their women worked before she took off. That location is no longer in use. My man was there to tie up loose ends.”
“You keep your men at locations that are no longer in use? To tie up loose ends?” Pavel repeats. He gives a humorless chuckle. “You must think me a fool, Dmitri. You really think that I don’t know how you run things? I know fully well that you aren’t done with that business. You’re still peddling your wares through it, just at a much lower scale, so that everyone thinks that business has gone legit. And now, you seem to have either a rogue mole, or an overzealous one. The cops are all over those scenes, and he has pissed off his own MC. So there are going to be questions. Questions that we don’t want or need.”
It seems that Pavel’s rat has given him all kinds of information. The sooner I find the rat and put him out of commission, the sooner I can work on getting rid of Pavel. That will be the real feather in my cap. But until then, it looks like I have to play nice.
“You think to come here and tell me how to run my businesses, Pavel?” I ask evenly. “As for the mole, he’s my concern, not yours.”
Pavel’s eyes flash with anger, but he doesn’t move. “You think you are in charge here, Dmitri?” he asks carefully. “Do not forget who put you in that seat, and who can take you out of it.” He stands, his threat delivered as he straightens his blazer. “Get this under control. Now.” Then he turns and leaves, shutting the door behind him.
I look over at my man in the corner of the room. “Find Isidor,” I order. He nods and heads out the door without a word. I grab my phone.
Dmitri: Call me immediately.
I wait, knowing that he will not dare to disrespect me for too long. Within minutes he calls.
“Yes, boss?” he asks.
“I don’t think you understood me,” I say calmly. “Would you like to explain to me why you brought so much attention to us? I told you to bring Ms. Armstrong to me and get rid of Ms. Mills. And yet, here I am, hearing that you nearly killed them, and brought attention to yourself from not only your club, but the police.”
“They have no idea it was me,” he rushes to assure me.
“And yet two of your own men came to the garage and spoke to my man,” I snarl at him, my temper fraying. “Asking if I gave the order. Then they received a call from someone who found tracks back to your clubhouse.”
“No that’s not possible,” he protests, but I can sense his nerves. “I was careful, covered my tracks.”
“Apparently not well enough. And now I must fix your mistakes.” I don’t bother with anything else. I hang up and slam the phone down on my desk.
My mole is worth nothing now. Isidor’s mission will now be to get rid of him, and tie up the loose ends. Then I’m going to get rid of this MC once and for all. The time for niceties is over.
I’m ready for war.