Bend For Him

by Hamel, B. B.

  Leo nodded and reached for the bag. He lifted it off the floor and pushed it across the table to Vincent. He frowned at it then opened it up. He whistled, showed Dante, then closed it again.

  “That’s an offering,” Leo said. “No strings attached. Make whatever decision you deem the correct one. That’s simply a gesture of good will. We mean business, gentlemen, and we mean to make sure this city grows bigger and more prosperous for everyone.”

  “I like the sound of that,” Dante said. “But you’re still newcomers.”

  “That’s fair. Give us time.”

  Dante looked at Vincent again.

  “We’ll think about it,” Dante said. “Thank you for this gift.”

  “It’s nothing. Thank the Volkovs.” Leo stood. “I won’t take up any more of your time.”

  Vincent nodded. “Very good then.”

  “Wait.” I stared up at Leo then back at Dante and Vincent. “That’s all?”

  Leo’s face darkened. “Let’s go.”

  “I just… I want to say something.” I turned to the two Italian mobsters. “I know the Volkov family. I am the family… and I can tell you that my uncle, my cousins, all the men in that organization are corrupt, foolish, and dangerous. Leo and his people are the future of this city. And if you two want to be a part of that, I’d accept his offer. I’d back his play.”

  Vincent smiled. Dante shook his head.

  “Big words,” Dante said.

  “But true words.” I stood up. “Think about it.”

  “What makes you think we could ever trust you?” Vincent asked. “You turned your back on your family. That’s not exactly something we can ignore.”

  I stared at them then pulled aside the collar of my shirt. I lifted my neck and pointed at the bruises on my throat.

  “That’s why,” I said. “They tried to strangle me to death before I ever considered walking away from them. If you treat me well, there won’t be a problem. But my family thought I was trash, and I’m not going to stick around and take that forever.”

  Vincent sniffed and glanced at Dante. He smiled at me, head cocked.

  “I like you,” Dante said. “You’ve got spirit. I can see why Leo here keeps you around.”

  I held my head high and looked down at the big mobsters. “Make the right choice here,” I said. “My own uncle tried to murder me, all because I had the audacity to get captured by one of his enemies. If you really think loyalty is important, then maybe consider that.”

  Dante nodded his head and I turned away. Leo gave me an odd look as I strode past him and out onto the sidewalk. He followed and fell into step beside me as I walked fast back toward the car.

  My heart was racing. I couldn’t believe I spoke up back there. It took all my confidence, everything deep inside to open my mouth and say all that. I thought they might laugh in my face or maybe stand up and backhand me for speaking out of turn.

  It’s happened before, with my uncle.

  Leo didn’t speak until we reached the car. I thought he might be angry, but instead his face looked thoughtful as I got into the passenger side and he got behind the wheel. He sat there and looked at his hands before starting the engine.

  “What you said back there, that was probably hard for you to do.”

  I sucked in a breath. “Yeah, it was.”

  “But thanks for doing it. I think it helped.”

  “Really? You’re not mad?”

  “Not at all.” He looked at me. “I didn’t think you had it in you, so I thought it’d be better to stay quiet. But look at you now.” A smile crept across his lips.

  I looked down and felt myself blush. “Yeah, look at me now. Standing up to mobsters.”

  “Crazy world.” He pulled out of the spot. “Come on, you want some dinner? I feel like you should celebrate.”

  “Let’s just go back to the hotel room and figure out what we’re going to do next.”

  “No way. You deserve a little something after that.”

  I leaned against the window and watched him. “What do you think I deserve then?”

  “Good meal. Nice wine. Whatever you damn well please, really.”

  “And if what I want is to go back to the room and take a nice, long, hot bubble bath?”

  “Then we’ll stop and get you some nice suds first.”

  I shook my head and laughed. “All right. Fine. Take me somewhere nice and chat me up.”

  “You got it.”

  He turned left and drove for a while as I looked out the window with a smile on my face, unable to help it.

  15

  Leonid

  It took me twenty minutes to leave the city and another twenty to find the bar. It was tucked in a little suburb northwest of the city limits in a strip mall. The outside looked tame and boring with neon beer signs out front. I parked next to a Subaru with car seats in the back and turned to Robin.

  She frowned at me, head tilted. “Where are we right now?”

  “Somewhere you probably shouldn’t be.”

  “That’s ominous.”

  “I know. I’ve gotta admit something to you.”

  “Go ahead.” She bit her lip. “This isn’t going to be bad, is it?”

  “Nah, not bad.” I leaned against the window and looked at her. “I told you the crew doesn’t get together much, right?”

  “Sure.”

  “That’s not totally true. We keep apart as much as we can… but we do have a spot.”

  She arched an eyebrow, a little smile on her lips. “Leo… you kept something from me.”

  “I know, I’m such a bastard, right?”

  She laughed. “Okay, so I guess this is the place then?”

  “That’s right. I doubt Hedeon will be here, but maybe a few of the other guys will be.”

  “Why’s it all the way out here in the middle of nowhere?”

  “Safety. It’s not so far that we can’t make a drive out when we need to. But it’s not so close to the city that it could be found easily. We’re hidden out here.”

  “Makes sense.” She twirled some of her hair around her finger. “So why are you telling me this now?”

  “It was your little speech back in the bakery that made up my mind.”

  “You didn’t trust me before?”

  I leaned toward her, across the center console, and touched her cheek. She stared into my eyes and didn’t pull away.

  “I had to be sure,” I said softly. “If I brought you in, really brought you in, and something went wrong…” I trailed off, shaking my head. “I can’t risk that. I can’t risk all this on that.”

  “I understand. But now it makes me wonder what else you’re holding back.”

  “Nothing important.” I moved my hand to the back of her neck.

  She chewed on her lip. “What are we going to do in there, anyway?”

  “Eat something. Meet a few people. Nothing special.”

  “Okay.” She took a deep breath. “Sure, okay. This isn’t dangerous, right?”

  “It’s not dangerous.”

  “Good.”

  I leaned forward and kissed her. She seemed surprised, but she returned the kiss. I lingered there, tasting her lips, before pulling away. “Just so we’re clear.”

  “I don’t think that clarified anything.”

  I got out of the car and started toward the bar. She got out behind me and caught up. We walked together across the parking lot. The place was called Last Boat although it wasn’t nautical themed at all. I always wondered about that name.

  I held the door for her then followed her inside. It was just after six and the place wasn’t crowded yet. I recognized a couple guys sitting up at the bar. Several tables and booths had couples at them, but nobody I knew.

  The bartender was a guy named Larry Jones. He was older, in his fifties, with broad shoulders and was as hairy as a bear. Tufts of gray chest hair poked out from beneath his Western shirt.

  “Well, look at this,” he practically roared.
/>   “What’s up, Larry?” I said.

  He laughed and walked over. I shook his hand as the two guys I knew got up to join us. I turned to Robin and gestured.

  “This is Robin Volkov,” I said.

  Larry whistled. “Damn. I heard about her. Didn’t think I’d ever see the day though.”

  Owain and Des sauntered over. Owain was tall, muscular, and liked to smile, although I always wondered just how sane he was. Des was a smaller guy, dark hair and eyes, tan skin, laughed loud, but was smarter than the average mafia asshole.

  “Haven’t seen you around in a while,” Owain said.

  “Been busy.”

  Des laughed. “I see that. Busy with her, huh?”

  I gave him a look. “Easy there.”

  He held up his hands. “No offense meant. It’s just the boss mentioned you had a girl tagging along with you, but I didn’t realize she was pretty.”

  “Thanks, I think,” Robin said.

  “They’re assholes,” I said to her. “Don’t mind them.”

  “We’re perfect gentlemen.” Owain’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. He seemed to show just a bit too many teeth. “Don’t you worry about nothing around us.”

  “Let’s sit,” I said.

  Robin took her spot and I sat next to her. Owain sat on my right, Des sat on Robin’s left.

  Larry brought over drinks. Wine for Robin, whiskey for the rest of us.

  “How’d you convince Hedeon to let this girl out here?” Owain asked. “I thought she was some sort of special secret.”

  “She proved herself,” I said. “I trust her.”

  “Must be serious then,” Des said. “If you trust her. Robin, I’ve never seen this guy give a shit about anyone or anything as long as I’ve known him.”

  “Yeah? And how long’s that been?”

  “Eight years?” Des frowned. “I’m not sure, something like that.”

  “Too long,” I said.

  “So he’s a selfish prick then?” she asked.

  Des laughed. “Exactly. Except for when it comes to the crew, at least.”

  “Oh, we’ll do anything for the crew,” Owain said. “But not for anyone else.”

  “It’s really great to see you two, fucking pricks.” I sipped my whiskey as they laughed.

  “Seriously, I talked to Oleg this morning. He told me about your little job.” Owain’s eyebrows waggled. “Sounds like it was fun.”

  “Dangerous, more like. How’s he doing? Last I saw, he was hurt.”

  “He’s fine,” Owain said. “He’s taken worse.”

  “Good.” I held my drink up. “To Oleg recovering.”

  “And to our newest member.” Des grinned and looked at Robin. “When’s she going through initiation?”

  “Never,” I said, and drank.

  The other two laughed. Robin frowned at us.

  “There’s an initiation?”

  I groaned. “Don’t listen to me.”

  “Oh, there sure as fuck is,” Des said. “He didn’t tell you about it?”

  “There are all kinds of rituals,” Owain said.

  “No, there aren’t.” I gave her a look and grimaced. “Hedeon was really into Freemasonry early on and he sort of… borrowed some ideas from them.”

  She looked amused. “So there’s really an initiation ritual?”

  “We don’t do it anymore,” I said. “But back when these two joined up, yeah, Hedeon had a ritual.”

  “Let me tell her about it,” Des said. “Please? I want to see her face.”

  “Fine.” I waved my hand. “But it’s stupid.”

  “So they blindfolded me, right?” Des sipped his whiskey and leaned forward. “I couldn’t see jack shit. They led me into some room. I heard dripping water. Smelled piss or some shit. It was damp and awful. And they led me into the middle, made me kneel down. Read some weird shit about angels and demons and crap. Made me swear something with my hand on a book. Then when that was over, they took off my blindfold, and I was kneeling in the middle of a circle of these huge candles in an old cemetery, in one of those big grave things. It was kind of cool, actually.”

  “Yeah,” Owain said. “But then they beat the fuck out of you.”

  Des laughed and nodded. “Yep. Beat the fuck out of me. Seriously, cracked a rib. Didn’t go easy at all.”

  “I went through it,” Owain said. “Chipped a tooth.” He grinned proudly and pointed at an incisor.

  Robin looked horrified. “That’s… kind of sick.”

  “We don’t do the candle shit anymore,” I said.

  “That’s not the sick part. The beating… it’s barbaric.”

  I stared at her. “We still do that. Everyone gets a beating before they come in.”

  “Why?” She leaned back, eyes wide.

  “It’s a rite of passage,” Des said. “We need to prove that our new members give a shit about us enough to let us break them down. So we beat them within an inch of their lives… and we know they’ll do it to the next guy. And when it’s over, we lift them up and help them, and make them a brother.”

  “That’s absolutely insane,” Robin said. “My family doesn’t do anything like that.”

  “Your family’s soft,” I said. “They’re only interested in money. We’re interested in blood and power.”

  Robin stared at me and I couldn’t quite read her expression.

  “Fuck, it’s not as bad as all that,” Owain said. “I kind of liked it, honestly. Made me feel special while they kicked me in the face. I’m pretty sure Hedeon was the one that knocked my tooth loose. Him or Enrico, I’m not totally sure.”

  Des laughed. “Might’ve been me.”

  “Doubt it. You’re way too weak, you little manling.”

  “Get over here, you big fuck. I’ll arm wrestle you right now. Show you who the manling is.”

  Owain got up with a laugh and sat next to Des. They started to arm wrestle, making absurd faces, and laughing.

  I leaned closer to Robin. “You good?”

  “I’m fine. Just trying to picture how beating the crap out of someone bonds you all together. Doesn’t it just make you resentful?”

  “You’d think, but no. It’s strange… knowing we’ve all gone through it.”

  “Did you go through it?”

  “I did. The original ten kicked the shit out of me. Nearly killed me, too. Hedeon says it’s the worst beating they’ve ever given.”

  “You sound proud of that.”

  “I survived. That’s important. Makes me stronger now. I know I can take a lot of punishment.”

  She let out a breath and sipped her wine. “I don’t know. Sounds a lot like a bunch of macho bullshit.”

  “Maybe, maybe not. But we do it, and it works.”

  “Doesn’t work that well. Someone’s pretty pissed about it.”

  I frowned and tilted my head. “You really think someone turned on us?”

  “I don’t know.” She swirled her wine. “I can’t help but think maybe, yeah. How else did my family know we were going there?”

  “I know you’re right. But the idea of Hedeon getting information from a traitor, or one of the guys turning against us pisses me off. Not something I really want to think about.”

  “I know.” She stared into her glass. “We’re going to have to face it though.”

  I leaned back as Owain cheered and pinned Des’s arm. The smaller man groaned and stood up, shaking his head. He disappeared back into the bathrooms.

  “Sore loser,” Owain said. “Couldn’t handle it. He knows I’m the better man.”

  “You have, like, twenty pounds on him,” I said, shaking my head.

  Owain flexed. “Don’t be jealous.”

  Robin laughed and rolled her eyes.

  I put my hand on her leg. “Come on. Let’s grab some food.”

  “Sure.” She picked up her wine as I stood.

  “I’d ask you to join us, but I’m pretty sure you’ll just arm wrestle our food.”
<
br />   Owain laughed and waved his hand. “Enjoy your meal while you can. Some of the other guys are showing up later.”

  “Good.” I steered Robin away. “We’ll try to find some peace and quiet for a while.”

  I pulled her toward a booth that was recently vacated and sat down. The waitress came over, gave us menus, and disappeared again.

  Robin looked at me for a while without speaking. I stared down at the menu, barely reading, before I looked up.

  “What?”

  “Nothing.”

  “What?”

  She smiled. “You’re showing me your world.”

  “No, I’m not. This is just a little… reward. For a good job.”

  She laughed. “No, you’re showing me your world. You want me to meet your friends.”

  “I wouldn’t exactly call Des and Owain friends, but okay.”

  “It’s fine.” She picked up her menu. “I don’t mind.”

  I smiled a little and shook my head.

  Truth be told, I didn’t know what I was doing. But for some reason, this felt right. Bringing her around, showing her off. Giving her a taste of how I live beyond all the killing and the fear.

  It was stupid, I knew it. It was probably a mistake.

  But I couldn’t help myself.

  She kept sucking me in and wouldn’t let me go, and I knew I had to get more.

  16

  Robin

  The rest of the night was a blur. We ate, had a couple drinks, and I was introduced to gangster after gangster.

  I didn’t know what to expect. Maybe guys like Des and Owain, loud and crazy and wild. But it turned out they were more like my old family than I would’ve guessed. Some were old, some were young, some were loud and brash, some were reserved and kind. They knew each other well, but I got the sense they didn’t see each other all that much.

  Leo seemed happy, and by the end of the night, I realized something.

  We were alone toward the end of the bar. A few guys were arguing loudly about which mafia movie was the best, Godfather or Goodfellas. Leo smiled at me, tilted his head.

  “What?” he asked. “You’re looking at me.”

  “Just thinking.”

  “Go ahead and think out loud.”