Page 50 of Scarred King
“It’s like this.” I sit up straight, excited to share my insights with him. “You're distributing an expensive drug, right?” I don’t wait for his reply. “Not crap like heroin or those pills.” He nods. “It’s a drug for rich people, who can afford this kind of addiction.”
“How old will I be when you get to the point?” He is impatient again, but I ignore him.
“Your area is an upscale one. Near the universities and business centers. Small but high quality.” He nods again and wrinkles his forehead. I have his full attention. “The areas that disgusting Italian is trying to switch with you are big, but they’re not located in the upscale parts of the city. You might even say that the population there is economically weak.” I stop to make sure that he understands where I’m going. When his veins swell up again, I realize that I’ve explained myself properly. “He’s trying unsuccessfully to sell rich man’s drugs to the poor and now he wants to set you up.”
“Son of a bitch.” He clenches his fists and stands up, gesturing the Italian back to our table. The Italian smiles enthusiastically and hurries towards us.
“Keep calm,” I request quietly. “Just say that you’re not interested and be done with it.”
“Of course,” he winks at me and the Italian sits down beside him. Ralph twists his upper body and punches the Italian in the face. I scream loudly as the Italian grabs hold of his bleeding nose and starts cursing in Italian.
“You sick son of a bitch.” Ralph raises his fist again and the Italian cringes and brings his arms up to protect his face. “You think I'm stupid? You try to sell me your stinking areas?”
“What are you talking about?” the Italian asks defensively. “Don’t listen to your bitch, yeah?” He sends a chilling look in my direction. “We wanted to give you…”
“Shut your stinking mouth.” Ralph cuts him off. “If you ever come to me again with an offer like that, I won't be punching you.” He falls silent and draws a spring knife from his sock. “I’ll cut off the part that makes you come here.”
“You’re sick,” the Italian blurts, moving away. “And you’re gonna pay for this, yeah?” He covers his nose with his hand. “And so will you,” he says to me. He looks crazed as he moves farther away and disappears into a side room.
“You handled that so well. Elegantly.” I say sarcastically and try to calm my racing heart.
“You…” Ralph spins around to me with an intense look on his face. “You really are something special.” He places his hands on my neck and pulls me toward him, his head gets closer to mine and I gulp nervously. His lips flutter over mine and then his head turns to the side and he kisses me gently on my cheek and moves away. I exhale in relief as my heart is threatening to jump out of my chest.
“Come.” He throws some bills down on the table and pulls me towards the stage.
“We’re leaving?” I ask hopefully, but instead of turning right, towards the exit, he turns left towards the connecting door to the bar. “Why are we going there?” I wail behind him and pray for this night to end. The bouncer opens the door for us, and when it closes behind me, I am in my workplace. The girl's familiar faces are sitting around the tables, Charlie is behind the bar and Scarface’s scruffy hair indicates that he is in his regular sitting spot. Ralph pulls me towards the round table, and sits down, I sit next to him, and when I raise my head, I meet the surprised gaze in front of me.
“You moved your date here?” Scarface sounds amused and I sigh in relief. I can’t take another temper tantrum.
“I want to leave now.” I stand up and Scarface examines my dress with great interest. Ralph tugs at me and I sit down again.
“Our date is not over yet.” He drapes his arm around the seat behind me and the scars on the face of the man opposite me stretch as he makes a face. “You should know what's going on now so we can be prepared,” Ralph says to Scarface and takes a cigarette out of the box on the table. “Do you mind?” he asks me with a smile, and I shrug. He lights the cigarette and starts telling him about the Italian’s offer. While he talks, the man who makes my heart miss a beat opens up a map on his cellphone and chuckles.
“This asshole tried to give you the junkies’ areas.” He rubs his chin slowly and curses. He caught on as quickly as I did. That’s impressive.
“Yes,” Ralph answers and blows the thick smoke towards him. “And if Elena wasn't with me, I probably would’ve got caught in his trap.”
Scarface glances at me quickly and now he looks disturbed. “Carry on,” he orders sharply.
Ralph tells him that I asked to look at the map, repeats the questions I asked and adds that I explained why those areas were problematic.
“And Giovanni heard all this?” Now Scarface looks troubled.
“No.” Ralph waves his hand dismissively. “But when he came back I had to make it clear to him, in a way we’re both familiar with, that he made a mistake.”
“You're an idiot.” Scarface clenches his fists.
Ralph ignores him and stands up. “Come upstairs with me,” he asks me, and I freeze on the spot. “I want everyone to hear what I have to say,” he shouts, and Charlie turns down the music. The place falls silent, and all eyes are on Ralph. I feel that something really bad is about to happen and I nervously tighten my hair back. “I'm offering Elena 3,000 dollars to come upstairs with me for one hour.” He puts his hand in his pocket, brings out a wad of cash, waves it in the air and puts it down on the table in front of me. I shut my eyes tight and open them again. I stare at the pile of money and the only thing that goes through my mind is that this is the exact amount I need for my first payment. His declaration shocks me, and the agitated look on Scarface’s face makes me dizzy.
“Maybe if you added another zero,” I manage to mutter.
“You're refusing me?” he asks, amazed and I cringe, praying that I'm dreaming and that this has nothing to do with me.
“Elena, come here,” Scarface growls at me and his order is like a lifeline. I don’t even stand up; I just throw myself toward the seat next to him. All images disappear, and now he is my man.
“I’ll take your offer!” I hear one of the girls calling.
“Shut up.” Ralph says angrily and sits down. He looks at me curiously from across the table, as if I am the biggest mystery of his life. The music is playing again in the background and my body is all sore from stress. I look at the pile of money again and feel nauseous. I can’t believe that I considered for a second how I could use it.