by Ivy Clyde
“Danny was nearly raped last night,” said Alexei. “Had I been a minute late, Boris would have committed the act. It appeared to be a correctional rape being performed for the benefit of the other recruits watching the scene but I don’t believe that was his true motive.”
A wild laugh escaped me. The thought of anyone attempting to rape one of my recruits was so absurd, I wondered whether my cousin was throwing a joke at me.
“Wait, wait,” I said, putting up a hand. “Repeat that for me again. I must have misheard you.”
“Boris was about to shove his cock up Danny’s ass,” said Alexei in a flat voice. “Did I make myself clear?”
“When?” I asked in a barely restrained voice.
“Last night when I went to get Danny, I found him being assaulted by Boris in one of the hallways,” said Alexei. “Danny was bleeding and on the verge of collapsing from his head being smashed against the wall too many times. I cleaned up two wounds on his scalp last night.”
“What?” It was getting harder for me to reign in the black rage burning through my veins.
“I think Danny refused to follow him. Boris wanted him under his control before you claimed him for yourself,” said Alexei in an eerily calm voice but his glittering amber eyes were burning with a cold rage. “To establish his dominance, he attacked Danny without warning. That’s what the witnesses confessed to me. Rape is a tool of war, effective in controlling subordinates—”
“But we’re not at war,” I spat. “And Boris isn’t a fucking army general to be doing this shit.”
“No,” agreed Alexei. “Boris didn’t just attempt to rape Danny, he also called you a fag prince.”
“That’s all?”
“And a closeted homo. He might have called you more names but these are the ones I personally heard him speak.”
A sudden silence fell over the apartment. Even Ginger had gone quiet, seemingly able to detect the shift in our moods. River was staring at me with a strange look in his eyes.
Alexei held my gaze, silently challenging me.
“That son of a bitch!” I roared, swiping an arm over the table so hard, the bowls, dishes, and cups before me were thrown to the floor with a crashing sound.
Ginger growled and darted into the bedroom while River gasped from his sudden move. Alexei didn’t even flinch.
“That worthless cunt!” I barked, jumping to my feet so abruptly, the chair toppled backward and hit the floor with a deafening crash. River let out a small squeak. “Get him in, get him here,” I shouted at Alexei. “I don’t care how far he’s run by now, but I want him dragged before me today!”
“Don’t worry, Vicky,” said Alexei, flicking a speck from the cuff of his sleeve. “Boris is still in New York City.”
“I saw this coming months ago,” I said, pounding the table with my fists. “He is always disobedient and disregarding hierarchy, causing nothing but trouble.” Breathing hard, I thought of my next move. “If any of his men cause trouble, beat the shit out of them. If any of them fight back, kill them.”
“You have a good reason to do this?” asked Alexei. “Uncle would want to know why you’d do this to a man who’s always bringing us profit.”
“He doesn’t bring us profit, his men do,” I said. “Replacing him with a better manager would bring in more profit. Besides, he’s insulted me in front of those new recruits. Insulting me is like insulting Dad. Such behavior shouldn’t be encouraged. What do you think about that, Cuz? Good enough reasons for my father?”
“I believe so,” said Alexei. “Boris has turned into a menace rather than an ally. He needs to be eliminated.”
River quietly moved closer to us and straightened my chair. He didn’t have a playful smile for me this time. Grabbing some towels, he began cleaning up the mess I’d made with an anxious look on his face.
“Get going, then,” I said, turning my attention back on Alexei. “Drag him here as soon as possible.”
“Yes,” said Alexei, getting to his feet. Straightening his jacket, he wound his way around the smashed pieces of china to reach the door.
“You shouldn’t get so angry,” said River in a low voice. He was still on the floor, collecting the pieces of broken glass. “I don’t like seeing you so agitated. It scares m—” A shallow gasp escaped him as he stared at his finger with a pained expression.
Bending down beside him, I caught sight of the blood dripping down his finger.
“That hurt,” he said, eyeing the offending piece of glass that cut him.
“Want me to kiss it better?”
River gave a small nod.
Taking his hand in mine, I licked at the blood. He shivered as I pressed my lips to the cut. “Does kissing make it better?”
“Yeah,” he whispered.
River’s blood on my tongue tasted kind of special, as special as his perfume or sweat or his cum. Wrapping my lips around the finger, I gently sucked on it. The coppery tang strangely reminded me of the scent of bullets.
“Does it still hurt?” I asked, looking into his clear violet eyes.
“No.” Leaning forward, he captured my lips in a kiss. It was a sweet one as he pressed his mouth to mine and gently licked my lips until I opened up for him. When he parted, River’s expression was sober.
“Victor?”
“Yeah?”
“What will you do to him?”
I didn’t have to ask who he meant.
“Will he end up in some landfill or on the shores of the Hudson?”
I smiled, knowing River wasn’t too far from guessing the end waiting for Boris Pavlov.
“He’ll be begging me to kill him by the time we’re done with him,” I said.
“Good,” he said with a nod as he went back to picking up the pieces of smashed china. “I hate that man.”
I was well aware of that fact.
River used to work under Boris until six months back when I stole him for myself.
I was visiting one of Boris’s porn studios for an inspection when River crossed my path. It was lust-at-first-sight the moment my eyes fell on the most beautiful man I’d ever seen. After a week of spending my nights with River, I was convinced I needed to own him. He had to be mine.
River was Boris’s most valuable asset. People paid hundreds of dollars to buy his exclusive and limited-edition videos. Others paid weekly subscriptions to watch his clips on the porn portals managed by Boris’s team.
At first, Boris thought I had business plans for River but the man was pissed when he realized he wouldn’t be receiving anything for parting with his prized asset. No. He just had to hand River to me for free.
This was the reason Boris lashed out at Danny, the young rookie I’d taken an interest in during the meeting a few days ago. He wanted to spoil him. The man knew the risk of laying his hand on what was mine, but he did so anyway just to spite me for stealing River.
“I will make him regret he was ever born,” I swore to both myself and River.
14
Victor
It was late afternoon when Alexei called me on my phone.
“I have him,” said Alexei as soon as I picked up the call.
“Great, Cuz,” I said, unable to contain my excitement for the punishments to come. “Bring him in right away.”
Moving toward one of the desktops in my workstation, I gazed at the security feed coming in from the cameras stationed in the lobby downstairs. Boris walked behind Alexei, looking quite put together. The man still thought I wanted to talk business with him. Craig and Jackson, my favorite thugs, followed them both into the elevator.
River looked up from the chaise lounge as I walked into the sitting area of the suite. His inquisitive eyes silently questioned me.
“Boris is here,” I said.
“Come on, baby,” he cooed at once, looking down at Ginger who was spread out at his feet. “Let’s get you inside the bedroom while daddy deals with the bad man.” Grabbing the glittering collar around Ginger’s neck, River co
axed the large wolf-dog to move.
“Want a drink, babe?” I asked when River came back to the room.
“I want to be sober for this,” said River, loosening the tie around his pink satin robe, giving me a glimpse of the lacy red panties he wore underneath. He usually didn’t dress this way during the day, but it looked like he’d decided to gear up in his pornstar/slut persona.
Walking up to the fridge, he brought out a crystal dish filled with chocolate-covered strawberries. “How about I feast on these?” he said, holding up the plate.
“Perfect,” I said as he positioned himself back on the chaise lounge. He looked like a Grecian statue paying homage to male sensuality and lust.
The sound of movement outside the main doors of the suite alerted me of a new presence. I sat down on the couch and waited. Next moment, the door opened and Alexei walked inside. Boris came in after him, followed by Craig and Jackson.
“Have a seat,” I said, looking at Boris. “Boys, show him where to sit,” I said, glancing at my favorite thugs.
One of the hulks placed a chair close to me while the other pushed Boris into it. The roughness was enough for Boris to understand the situation.
He was trapped.
“Do you know why you’re here?” I asked as Alexei sat down beside me.
“No, Master Sokolov,” said Boris, staring at me with those impenetrable black shades.
“You caused quite a stir in the recruit lodgings last night,” I said. Leaning forward, I asked, “Didn’t you?”
“I—” He swallowed.
“You tried to rape one of my recruits,” I said, fixing my cold gaze on him.
He shook his head hard. “I didn’t want to but Danny was being disrespectful to me—”
“You’ve been disrespectful to me and my father,” I said through clenched teeth. “Should I bend you over the table and fuck you too?”
“We could record it,” said a sweet voice from across the room. Jackson chuckled loudly while Craig openly stared at River stretched out on the chaise lounge. The big oaf seemed to have a thing for him.
“I’d never be disrespectable to Master Ivan and—” Boris began but I cut in.
“I heard you called me a fag prince and a closeted homo.”
Boris went quiet but it was hard to read his expression because of those damned black shades.
“Master Sokolov, I—”
“When have I ever been closeted?” I asked, voicing the comment that irritated me most.
Boris didn’t even have the time to duck when I suddenly rose from my seat and hit him in the face with the vase sitting on the coffee table. The porcelain object smashed into pieces and for the second time, I made a mess on the floor that day.
“I’m sorry, babe,” I said, glancing over at River as Boris’s sobs filled the suite. The man fell off the stool and dropped onto the floor in a crumpled heap.
“It’s fine, darling,” said River, waving a strawberry at me, brushing it off like the specks of blood on the pristine white marble didn’t bother him one bit. “Just get him out of here before Ginger comes out and starts licking the blood off the floor. I don’t want her getting sick.”
“I thought he could take more,” I said in an almost thoughtful tone. Gesturing toward Craig and Jackson, I pointed at Boris. “You heard him. Take the fucker out of here.”
“To the docks, boss?” asked Craig in a gruff voice.
The man was slow but was great at this sort of job.
“Yes, take him to the slaughterhouse by the bay,” I confirmed.
“Yes, Boss,” said Craig and moved forward to grab Boris’s legs. He lifted Boris’s unconscious body like it weighed nothing. The skin dealer’s black shades slipped off his nose and fell onto the floor. Craig stepped on them on his way out and crushed the abominable thing under the soles of his shoes.
“I’ll give them an hour to prepare Boris and then we’ll have some fun,” I said, leaning against the couch.
“We?” asked Alexei. He’d sat through the whole thing so quietly, I almost forgot he was here.
“I’m bringing Danny with me,” I said.
“Are you sure he’ll like that?” asked River. Straightening up, he walked toward me and sat down on a couch opposite me. “Boris hurt him and Danny’s still shaken up about it. He might even want to pretend none of this happened to him. The sight of Boris could stir something unpleasant in him.”
“He’s in the Sokolov gang now,” I said. “There’s no place for such weakness.”
Alexei’s lips thinned at that comment. A sliver of regret washed over me for a moment and I wished I hadn’t said that in front of my cousin.
“Leave Danny out of this,” said Alexei in a grim tone. “He’s not the kind of kid who’d enjoy torturing his victims.”
I felt my eyes widening at that. He’d never spoken up for someone like this before. In fact, he never cared for anyone.
“How do you know what kind of a person he is?” I asked, meeting his cold, hard gaze. “Didn’t you see how he tackled the two men who came after him the other day?”
“He could’ve hurt them worse but he didn’t,” said Alexei. “He just wanted to disable them and warn the others. Vicky...leave him out of this.”
“Danny will learn to deal with it all,” I said as a strange emotion flared up inside me. It gave me a sudden urge to punch Alexei in the face. “He will be participating in Boris’s punishment today.”
“Don’t do this to him,” said Alexei through gritted teeth.
“Why does it matter to you what I do with him?” I asked, clenching my fists. “He’s mine. I will break him down and fix him up again so he’s never scared of violence. He’s going to be by my side, Cuz, and he is going to watch everything I do to my enemies. I won’t have him hiding and looking away.”
River was staring at Alexei with a strange expression, one I could only guess as mild fascination. My cousin surprised me too but I hated his concern for Danny. This was the first time he was interfering with something that wasn’t related to the gang’s business.
Alexei wasn’t into men like me. He’d seen me play around with gorgeous men all my life but he never showed any interest in them. He watched me fool around with River all the time but never reacted this way.
River was way more attractive and charming than doe-eyed Danny, but Alexei barely glanced his way. So, why Danny? I questioned myself as if this was a great mystery I was compelled to solve. Sure, there was something about the shy, dorky young man that attracted me to him but it wasn’t enough to turn a straight guy gay overnight.
“I can’t wait to meet Danny,” said River with a dreamy look in his eyes. “I want to see the man who’s attracted both your attention. Maybe, I’ll give him a treat too.”
I chuckled as Alexei stood up from the couch.
“Where are you going?” I asked as he walked toward the door.
“I can’t stand you right now.” With that, he walked out of the suite and slammed the door shut.
“What the fuck’s wrong with him?” I murmured, staring at the door.
“Alexei likes him too,” said River with a giggle. “I wish you’d introduced him to me too so I’d know whose side to take in this matter.”
I reached out and slapped his thigh. “You’re mine. You’ll always take my side.”
Coming closer, he sat on my lap. He kissed my lips sweetly before fisting my shirt. “I want to meet Danny,” he whined.
“You will,” I said. “I have to go see him now, so behave.” Gesturing toward the floor, I added, “Be careful of the shards. I don’t want you to get hurt again. Call for some help if you need to.”
“I can handle it,” he said, sliding off my lap. “I’ll be fine.”
Getting to my feet, I headed into my office. This was the only place in the entire penthouse suite that was off-limits to River. Reaching one of the wooden cabinets in the corner, I opened the first drawer.
A pair of leather gloves and the short le
ngth of a folded knife greeted me.
Taking the knife out, I flicked it open. Light from the overhead fixtures glinted against the cold hard steel. The urge to coat it in crimson was overwhelming as I folded the knife back into its hilt.
Placing the knife and gloves inside my jacket pocket, I walked out into the living room area. River was fully immersed in cleaning up the mess on the floor with a pair of ugly yellow gloves. I made a mental note to buy him something prettier before walking out of the door.
Stepping outside, I walked down the corridor to reach Danny’s suite.
I knocked on his door.
It was a few seconds before I heard the sound of running feet on the other side. Next moment, I heard a ‘click’ and the door opened.
Danny had locked himself inside despite knowing how secure this place was. Was he still scared of someone breaking in and assaulting him like last night?
I vowed to drive the fear out of his mind tonight. He would never be afraid of that piece of shit again.
“Master Sokolov,” he greeted me at once. His chocolate-brown eyes widened as he stared up at me with slightly parted lips. He was wearing the same old shirt from yesterday and the strands of his golden-blond hair were such a mess, I yearned to run my fingers through them to straighten them for him.
Seeing any other man in such a messy state would have irritated me, but I found it easy to make an allowance for him. Danny was plucked from the recruits’ lodging last night without warning. He’d stayed shut in the suite all today, following my orders and working.
“Good evening, Master Sokolov,” he said, looking up at me nervously as I surveyed him silently. “Are you here to talk about the files?”
“Not really.”
I moved forward and he shifted away from the door at the right moment. Walking into the suite, I made my way toward the workstation in the far corner.
The strong scent of coffee lingered in the air. I spotted a large mug of coffee and a half-eaten sandwich on the desk. It looked like Danny was in the middle of a snack. The closest desktop was on, displaying several open documents on the screen.
I glanced over at Danny who kept his distance from me. It irked me to see him acting so skittish around me. He didn’t have to fear me.