Page 15 of Ruthless Sinner

I dip my head and walk into the club. I get a glass of water at the bar and sit in the booth Harper and I chose last night. It has a good view of the whole room and the multi levels.

I sit there, sipping on water, and scan the place for an hour before I decide to leave.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I'm leaving empty-handed, but at least I tried.

Now I just have to put the same effort into trying to forget him.

ChapterSix

Dante

I make an effort to tamp down my inner turmoil as I make my way up the polished wooden stairs leading to the office I share with Virgo.

I wasn’t supposed to be at the club again tonight, but I needed the distraction.

Patience isn’t one of my virtues, so there’s nothing I despise more than wasting time. Today was one of those fruitless days that led me nowhere.

I spent it trying to gather more information on why Jason set me up, but I got nothing. The shitty thing about that is I knew I wouldn’t.

It was just chance that Virgo found what he did.

When I get closer to the top, the club music pours out along with a chorus of excited chatter.

A glance out the glass window confirms that the club is once again packed tonight. A sign that at least my career is booming. It makes up for the other shit going on in my life.

Club X was the newest and most profitable business venture for Virgo and me. We were already making a nightly fortune from the other two clubs when we bought this place, which at the time was under foreclosure.

Our lives in the Bratva are non-negotiable. The Bratva is for life, and right now, Virgo and I hold the same elite position of Sovientrik in our respective Brotherhoods. So, we’re both second-in-command to our Pakhans.

The position is highly coveted by many and to hold it at such a young age is impressive. It’s something neither of us take for granted, but our continued success with our clubs has been reassuring that we made the right choice in deviating from what our families expected us to be.

Virgo’s family runs an oil company, while mine manufactures steel. Both businesses earn billions.

Levitsky Corp was set up in Russia by my great-great-grandfather over a hundred years ago. We were one of the first manufacturers to open in the US, but my father made us world class. Because he wanted me to share in our rich legacy, I worked with him for many years before I decided I wanted to create my own empire, which I did.

I don’t regret my choice, but I regret not being around ten months ago when an explosion at one of our smaller plants took my father’s life.

In times of great grief, people always think of what-ifs, would-haves, and should-haves. I’ve been no different.

As I used to be one of the technicians at the plant, I’ve spent hours wondering if things would have been different had I been there that day.

Had I not been in prison and still worked with my father, maybe I could have saved him.

Then again, we wouldn’t have even been in this country. Every year at that time, we go to Russia for my mother and sister’s birthday memorials.

Had I been here, that’s where we would have been, so I know Father wouldn’t have gone anywhere near work.

I reach the top of the stairs, and the ghost of last night lures me to stare at the balcony where I stood watching Serenity Bell dancing for me.

Part of me wishes that was all I did—just watch.

People say look but don’t touch for a reason.

Although I didn’t exactly touch her, I got close. Too close for a man who was supposed to only be admiring from afar. Being closer allowed me to see just how beautiful she is. Even fear looked pretty on her.

It’s hard to believe such an angelic being came from a loathsome creature like Jason Bell.

I wonder if she knows what kind of man her father truly is.