His to Steal

Ch. 1: Choke

WARNING: This story contains content that depicts violence and contains mentions of drugs and sexual harassment, profanity, and strong language that may be upsetting for some readers. Reader discretion is advised.

Nicolai

Fuck this shit.

"What was that, Nicolai?"

Goddamnit, did I say that out loud? "Nothing, Juri. "

"That's what I thought, malo sranje," Juri grumbles. "Are you there yet?"

I roll my eyes. I don't care that he's my cousin. Let Juri call me a little shit one more time, and he's going to get a fist to the face.

I whip my Harley into a dimly lit alley beside a strip club Juri's sent me to for my next job. As I shut off the engine, a wealthy-looking man in a fancy suit stumbles out of a non-descript doorway and pushes past me, disappearing into the glow of the Upper West Side.

"I just pulled up. Why the fuck are you sending me to a seedy strip club on a Saturday night?" I ask, taking my helmet off and leaning to lock it onto the back of the bike. A thick envelope brimming with hundred-dollar bills from a drug deal I ran earlier feels stiff in my jacket pocket.

Juri knows I hate doing jobs on this side of Manhattan, so I swear he makes me do them just to spite me. He's only six months older than me, but he never lets me forget he's running the show.

And I don't have much of a choice but to put up with it.

I wasn't exactly born with a silver spoon in my mouth, and while my mom tried her best, I've come to accept that I was destined for a life of crime.

It's not like I can just walk away.

"This is a classy place, rođaka. Not like the strip clubs you've probably gone and gotten your dick wet in before," my cousin says, and I can practically see his sneer through the phone.

"I've gone to plenty of cla—" I shake my head; I'm not going to argue with this fucker today. "Never mind."

As I tread around to the street front, I realize he's right. The building in front of me is nondescript, but it isn't seedy. It's in a nice part of town, and if I didn't know better what was happening behind that dark-tinted glass, I'd think it was an event hall where weddings or bar mitzvahs or some shit took place.

"Thanks, asshole. Anyway, as I was saying, this is a classy place. This guy owns like six of them in the city. If we can get in there and claim some of his customers as ours, it could be life-changing for business. And he's part of The Ring. A big part."

My ears perk up. The Ring? The Ring is the most powerful crime network in New York City.

"Why are we fucking around with The Ring, Juri? Isn't that dangerous when they're our ri—"

"You let me and Boss worry about that, yeah? Your job is to case the joint, stay under the radar, and don't act like an ass and get yourself kicked out. If you do, Boss will hear about it. Got it?" Juri snaps.

"Yeah, whatever. Got it," I say, tapping the end button on my phone. Immediately it buzzes with an incoming text from Juri.

Juri: I wasn't done, dickhead. Don't waste time fucking around with any of the women. I don't give a shit how hot they are.

Curling my lip, I shove my phone into my pocket without answering. I had no plans to "fuck around" with anyone, but now, I might just do it because he told me not to.