Bound to Love

Chapter 10: Junior's Mistake

   The day has finally come for me to prove myself to my father. The cocaine shipment he has coming into the docks today needs to be transferred to our safehouse. He won't be in town until later this evening, and he expects a full report of how things go. I'd be lying if I said I'm totally sober for this occasion. Since the night Nastasia announced herself when the two hookers I brought home were leaving, I've been hitting the booze really hard and experimenting with our product. There was just something in her posture, a finality, and it kind of freaked me out. My father would kill me if he found out I was getting high off of his supply. It's like one of the biggest laws of drug dealing. The demons are getting bad again though, and sex just hasn't been helping anymore. I've noticed too that Nastasia hasn't been behind her normal pillar since that night. Then there was our argument about the other night in her room that I just don't care to elaborate on. It was a couple months ago already, and I haven't touched her since. Why do women insist on dwelling so much?

   My vision is unfocused as Dimitri drives me to the spot in my father's Mercedes. What's usually a pretty smooth ride in this luxury black car has been making me nauseous with every bump we hit. Dominic was supposed to be here with me to make sure things go smoothly, but he's away with my father on business. So Dimitri, my father's second best, is here instead. We both have our Colt 1911 in our hips, and for extra measure there is a Tommy gun in the trunk. The Krause clan has been becoming bold lately. The selling of children has ensued despite Krause assuring us it won't happen again. Now, instead of sending heads in boxes, our men have just been shooting them in the head and tying concrete blocks to their legs, throwing them in the ocean to a watery grave. It's less messy that way. Right now in my state, I doubt I could handle any kind of gray matter without upchucking the little bit of breakfast I've had. I have to slow down on the partying, especially for business. If I fuck this up, I have no idea what my father would do to me. Perhaps he'd send me into the ocean next to his enemies.

   We finally arrive at the docks, and I see the two men who always deliver to us. I'm trying to be as present as possible for this ordeal, but my brain feels fuzzy. Thoughts of Nastasia continue to plague my mind as I try to plan our date, as well as the effects of the drugs, distracting me. I feel like I have to make it up to her for how our surprise dinner went. As we approach the men who have our shipment, I realize too late something is off with them. There are beads of sweat dripping from their foreheads mixed with what looks like tears. Dimitri sees the blood dripping from one of their legs a second before I do and pulls his gun from his hip. It's too late though. In a blink, men in black face masks bum rush us from all directions. One man uses his weapon to hit Dimitri right in his temple, and his body falls to the ground with a loud thud. I hear the sound of gunshots and try to reach the car before a bullet hits me. When I glance behind me, I see the two men in charge of delivering to us fall to the ground, a puddle of their own blood pooling around them.

   I can't really comprehend the scene in front of me, and I can't make out what anyone is shouting. It's in a different language, one I haven't studied, Russian I think. I hear a bullet fly past my head, followed by the rush of wind that comes with such speed. I'm almost to the car when I feel a huge hand wrap around my neck. The grip is so strong, I struggle against it but can't seem to break free. The blood in my body starts to rush to my head due to the lack of oxygen, and my vision starts to go black around the edges. I finally find an opening and shove the guy's finger as far back as it can go, and then some. I break it so that it's parallel to his palm and then thrust my elbow into his groin, hearing his breath shoot out of his body.

   Just when I think I'm in the clear, another three men flank me, holding me down on the ground with my hands behind my back. Dimitri is still knocked unconscious on the ground and the other men are loading our product into their cars that seemed to appear out of nowhere. Right before one of the men hit me across the head, he pulls his mask up and I see his face clear as day. Smiling down at me is Michael, laughing as he brings his gun to my head. It's the last thing I see.