Page 49 of Property of Chux

He’s got that look about him—calm, unreadable, like he already knows how this ends. I’ve dealt with dangerous men my whole life, but this one? This one’s a whole different breed.

I sit, Mellow settling in at my right like the solid second he is. The weight of the room shifts immediately, everyone aware of the lines being drawn, the stakes on the table.

The Russians file out, except for Dimitri, his top guy—a man with a scar running from his temple to his jaw—and two of Konstantin’s bodyguards who remain posted near the door, watching everything.

The air is thick with expectation.

Konstantin leans forward slightly, his fingers tapping against the table. “Let’s get to it.”

I light a cigar, inhaling deep, letting the smoke curl through my lungs before I exhale slowly, watching the men in front of me through the haze. I know what’s coming before he even says it.

“I want you to consider allowing Dimitri access to the port,” Konstantin says, his voice even, but there’s weight behind it. A request that isn’t really a request.

I flick the ash from my cigar, my gaze drifting to Dimitri, who hasn’t moved, hasn’t said a damn thing yet. Just watching. Calculating.

Konstantin gives me a look, the kind that sayslet’s get this over with.

I take another drag, letting the silence stretch. The old man might be in a hurry, but I’m not rushing shit. Because once I say yes, everything changes.

The silence is thick, the air heavy with unspoken threats. I take another slow drag from my cigar, exhaling the smoke lazily before I finally speak.

“No.”

Dimitri cocks his head slightly, his expression unreadable. “No?”

I flick the ash into the tray in front of me. “You heard me.”

The tension shifts instantly. Mellow stiffens at my right, his fingers twitching slightly toward the blade he always keeps tucked at his hip. Konstantin’s bodyguards don’t move, but their eyes darken.

Dimitri doesn’t like being told no.

I knew this before walking into this. Always know your opponent.

His lips press together in something that looks like amusement, but I see the flicker of something far moredangerous behind his eyes. Then, just as calm as you please, he pulls a gun and aims it directly at Konstantin’s head.

Mellow moves instantly, but I hold up a hand, stopping him.

Dimitri’s finger rests on the trigger, his gaze flicking to mine. “I don’t like obstacles, Chux. You sure you want to make this a problem?”

I lean forward, my voice even. “Ally is safe. She’smine.And as an ol’ lady in the Kings, if you fire that shot, you have war. Not because Konstantin matters to me. He matters to her. I won’t let my woman shed a single tear because you got an issue you can’t fix. You crossed me moving shit in my territory with not so much as a fuckin’ phone call. You do this, you got war. Not just with me, but with every chapter. Every. Single. One.” I let that sink in before adding, “Do you really want to die over this?”

Dimitri stares at me for a long beat, then?—

He laughs.

A slow, sinister chuckle that turns into a full-bodied laugh, shaking his shoulders. He tilts his head, his smirk widening. “War?” He exhales through his nose, shaking his head. “You think you can threaten me, boy?”

But then?—

A shot rings out.

Dimitri jerks violently, a look of shock crossing his face before he slumps forward onto the table. Blood pools instantly, seeping into the wood.

I don’t even flinch.

His own bodyguard, the man with the scar from temple to jaw, lowers his gun. The silence that follows is deafening. Konstantin, covered in splattered blood, looks absolutely petrified like he needs to change his pants. His mouth slightly open, his eyes wide. I sit back, studying the body for a moment before shifting my gaze to the man who just took out one of the most feared Russians in the country.

I give him a nod.

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