Page 81 of Paved in Venom

Chapter 13

Danil

I force myself to endure another hour of this shit before I finally glance over to Lev and raise a brow at him. He quickly gives me a nod, letting me know he’s more than ready to leave. Simona’s been still in my lap except for her fingers hidden beneath the table. She’s been playing something on my thigh over and over again, slowly adding onto it. At first it was twenty-three notes long, but she’s up to fifty-two now. My girl’s been busy. I knew the first second I saw her that there was a brilliant mind behind those gorgeous blue eyes. She never ceases to amaze me.

“Time to go, sladkaya,” I tell her, kissing her cheek and helping her to stand before I do the same.

“Don’t forget to let me know about the next fight,” David tells Lev.

“It won’t be long,” Lev says with a small laugh. “I usually go a couple of times a week.”

Oleg takes his hand off one of the women he’s been groping all night and gives me a wave. I know what he’s going to say before he’s even opened his stupid little mouth.

“I’ll call you soon, Danil.”

Simona squeezes my hand, reminding me that I can’t kill him just yet, so I give him a nod instead, not trusting myself to actually speak. We make our way through the packed club, and I feel a surge of pride for my brother. He’s worked his ass off to make this a success, and he’s done an amazing job. What the Barinov brothers don’t realize is that they’ve actually already signed the club over to us. Oleg will sign any damn thing I give him. The stupid fucker doesn’t even take the time to read the documents. He just signs his name and smiles at me like he’s the god of his kingdom and I’m his best pal who’s come along for the ride. It’s fucking pathetic, but it works in our favor because last night he signed the club over to us, relinquishing all rights to it, including all the money that’s coming in. He sold it to us for one dollar, which I quickly and discreetly transferred to his bank account, making it official. I smile every time I think about it.

“What are you smiling about?” Simona asks, looking up at me on our way past the bar that Mila’s still working her ass off behind.

I tell her, and she laughs and tightens the arm that’s wrapped around my waist. “He’s going to cry when you tell him.”

“Maybe I’ll spare him that tidbit, let the man die in peace.”

“He walks around like he’s king of the fucking world. When he walked up with those two women, it took everything I had to keep a straight face.”

“He’s been like that since the first night we met him.”

“I can see why you don’t want to take his calls.”

I laugh and kiss her head while we wait for Vitaly to walk over so we can tell him we’re leaving. He’s talking to a group of men, but as soon as he sees us, he starts to make his way over.

“You guys leaving?” he asks.

“Yeah, I’ve had about all I can take, but the place looks good, brother. They fucking love it here, and they’re already making plans to come back.”

He grins at me and smacks my shoulder. “It did turn out pretty fucking good,” he says with a laugh.

Simona gives him a quick hug. “Supper was delicious, Vitaly, and I don’t know much about strip clubs, but I can tell this is going to be a huge success.”

He smiles and kisses the top of her head. “Thanks, Simona. I sent you a message earlier, by the way. Check your phone when you can.”

I can tell she’s not sure what he means, but before she can ask him, he’s saying bye to Lev and then walking back into the crowd. Pulling her close to me, we weave our way through the men and women, and when I catch sight of Galina, she immediately looks to Simona and then drops her gaze. Good. As far as I’m concerned she better not ever dare to raise her eyes to Simona. I won’t tolerate her speaking to her like that again. She’s lucky I didn’t immediately fire her ass.

We step outside, and I’m not surprised to see that there’s still a line to get in. This place will be packed until closing. The men we have on duty are making sure to frisk everyone who comes in, and Lev and I give them a nod when we pass by.

“I can’t believe they’re going to be coming to my fights,” Lev says when we get into the SUV.

“Sorry, brother,” I tell him. I know how much the fighting means to him. It’s his escape from all this, and now every time he fights, they’ll be there, tainting his fucking happy place.

“And they’ll be making money off me, which is even worse.”

“You could always lose,” I tell him.

He shoots me a look that makes me smile. “That’ll be the fucking day.”

Simona gets in the back, motioning for me to ride up front with Lev. I kiss her hand before getting in. She’s so fucking beautiful, and she’s put up with so much for us. I know it’s not easy for her to continue to be around these men, but she does it anyway, and more than that, she does it willingly and with a good attitude. She’s not bitching or trying to make us feel bad. She genuinely wants to help us find Alina, and she’s willing to make sacrifices to see it happen. The woman is fucking amazing, and I know how damn lucky I am to have her.

Her face lights up when she checks her phone and sees what Vitaly’s texted her. She holds it up, but I already know what it is. He’s sent her a text, including her in a big group chat that we’re all in. She’s now officially a part of the Melnikov family group chat, and she can’t stop smiling.

---