Arranged Mafia Daddy

Chapter 15Viktor

15

Viktor

J ohnny is late, but he arrives, nonetheless. His tardiness annoys me more than anything. How many times does someone have to be told to arrive on time before they get their act together? Don’t I pay enough here?

I stay at the roulette table with Sage, having a smoke and a drink with her as he’s intercepted by my guards at the door. By the time he realizes he’s in danger, he’s already out of the public eyes and in a soundproof room in the basement.

“It’s about that time,” I say, standing up from my stool with a sigh. Age hasn’t made my knees any better. They still ache when I sit too long.

I envy the way Sage jumps up after me, her drink sloshing in her glass and her eyes wide with anticipation. “They already got him, right?”

I nod. “He should be downstairs. Are you ready for another interrogation?”

“Are you kidding? Two in one day? It’s like Christmas morning,” she says, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

“You’ll be less emotionally attached to this one, at least. That’s why I let you have the gun,” I say as I take her hand. I’ve gotten into the habit of holding hands with her wherever we go. Previously, I thought it to be a little too cute, but I’ve changed my mind. Sage’s hand belongs in mine.

“You should let me rig the table at some point,” she replies, flashing a winning smile. “You might enjoy the thrill of losing for once.”

“I enjoy playing. I always win.”

“There’s only so many times that can happen,” she replies as we walk toward the elevator.

“Not in my world, Sage. Not in my world.”

The mood changes the second we step into the elevator. It’s not meant to be used by anyone but official Bratva personnel, so it’s not luxurious like the rest of the casino. The walls are thin sheet metal, and there’s a singular tube light on the ceiling that flickers when I thumb the button for the basement floor.

The air is stale here, growing colder as we descend. I feel the sweat in Sage’s palm cool down and turn to a clamminess that reminds me of winter rain. She gets cold easily. She’s already shivering as the doors roll open on the basement floor.

One of my guards is waiting outside of a room with an iron door. It looks more like a prison now than a casino, but that’s because we often have hold people until they’re able to pay. It’s like bonding out of jail. Sometimes, people don’t have the money they gamble with, and they have to call family members to get them out.

It’s not my fault these people fall into this mess. They’re addicted to easy money, women of the night, and drugs. Unfortunately, that comes at a cost. I’m pretty sure the average lifespan of any one of these gambling addicts is half what a regular person’s would be.

Sad, but it’s not my problem. It’s the reason I’m rich.

“Alright,” I say to Sage as we walk up to the iron door. I reach into my jacket and pull out the revolver again, popping open the chamber again and dumping the bullets out into my hand. “Time for a little Russian roulette, since you enjoy the game so much.”

“More gambling,” she says, trying to sound dry and sarcastic, but I catch a hint of fear there. The air between us is tense, and I know she’s worried about pulling the trigger on a potentially innocent man.

“We’ll question him first,” I say, sliding a single bullet into one of the six slots. “Depending on how he answers, we might end up taking a shot at him.” I hold the gun out to Sage. “Unless you want to put it to my head instead and pull the trigger on me right now.”

She takes the gun, pointing it at me and frowning. “What makes you think I won’t after what you’ve done to me?”

My guard tenses, his hand hovering over the gun on his waist, but I dismiss him with a wave. “I’m a gambling man, but I always win. You won’t kill me.”

She rolls her eyes. “This could be the one time you’re wrong.”

“But it isn’t,” I reply with the utmost confidence. “Your hand is too steady. If you were going to shoot me, I think you’d be shaking a little.”

She squints at me, but lowers the gun. “I hate you right now.”

I chuckle. “I know, but you can express yourself in the bedroom later. Right now, we have business to attend to.”

I nod at my guard, and he opens the iron door to Johnny’s cell. He’s there on the floor, tied to a drain cover with orange nylon cords. His hands and feet are bound, but he can still wiggle a bit, as he does when I walk in with Sage.

“I’m sorry for being late,” he blurts, his green eyes jumping between Sage and me. “My car was having troubles. Really, you can check it. The engine light is still on.”

“We’re not interested in hearing about your car troubles, Johnny,” I grumble. “I want to know where you got the information about my wedding.”

He frowns, and then realization mixed with dread floods his face. He opens his mouth, but he’s unable to speak.

I nod to Sage. “She’ll shoot your ass if you don’t start talking right now. Who told you about the wedding?”

He swallows hard. “I needed money for rent. My girlfriend left me, and she took all my shit, man. She drained my bank account, and I haven’t gotten the money back.”

“Cut the sob story,” I growl, jumping toward him with a balled fist. “You told Mr. Thompson about the wedding, right? When was that?”

“He showed up to my apartment early this morning, when I was getting home from my shift,” Johnny blurts. “Talking crazy, but he offered me money. It was weird, because someone at the casino was talking about the wedding to me, but I don’t know why. That’s how I knew about it in the first place.”

“That’s not a coincidence,” I snap. “Are you stupid? Do you realize you could’ve gotten a lot of people killed? Someone used you to transfer the information to Mr. Thompson. Maybe they hoped he would burst in, guns blazing, but he’s too much of a coward to do that.”

“Thank god,” Johnny says with a sigh. “I wasn’t trying to get anyone hurt, I swear.”

“But who told you about the location?” I ask, beginning to lose patience with him. “Who told you about the wedding in the first place? Someone from the casino?”

He nods frantically. “Oh, yes. A guy in a blue suit.”

“Very descriptive,” I say dryly. “Give me a name.”

“He didn’t give me one. I promise he didn’t. He just came up to the blackjack table, played a few hands, talked about the wedding, and left. He was really specific about the date and location, which is why I remembered it well enough to tell Mr. Thompson. He kept repeating it over and over again, like it was really important.”

I knew Johnny was a bit simple, but this goes beyond what I was expecting from him. Despite having dealt thousands of decks in his time working at the casino, it’s clear he isn’t playing with a full one.

“You need to give me a better description, Johnny. I need every detail,” I say, looking back at Sage. “Or my lovely wife here is going to blow your brains out.”

Sage frowns, holding the gun awkwardly by her side.

Johnny looks at her, then at me, wearing a similar frown as Sage. It’s clear neither of them really wants to be involved I this interrogation at this point, but it’s too late to back out now. I need to know about the man in the blue suit, and Sage needs to learn how to pull a goddamn trigger.

Johnny looks to Sage again as he speaks. “Blue suit… Um, probably blonde hair. He had a tie on. I think it was also blue.”

“You have such a way with words,” I say sarcastically.

“That’s all I really know.”

“Great,” I say, looking back at Sage. “Go ahead and shoot him. Get up here and aim for his head. It’s quicker that way.”

Sage shuffles up to me as Johnny starts begging for his life. His words aren’t terribly convincing, though, and I suspect he doesn’t really think Sage is going to shoot him.

“One in six chance,” I whisper to Sage. “Just aim and pull the trigger.”

She looks at the gun in her hand like it’s made of snakes and spiders. “Is this another one of your rigged games?”

“You saw me put the bullet in. There’s only one. Give it a spin if you’re unsure,” I reply.

She holds the gun up, squinting her eyes as she aims for Johnny’s head. He’s screaming now, but it’s not going to do him any good. Sage wants to prove that she can do it, and part of her actually believes that she won’t hit the lucky round.

One in six chance.

After everything I’ve done, does she really think this game isn’t also rigged?