Page 41 of Vile Bastards
Bohnes is waiting at the door when I pull up, back leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. He gestures for me to pull into the warehouse, and I do, turning the engine off and climbing out as he closes and locks the heavy metal doors behind me.
Scarlett is sitting there picking through a bowl of leftover Halloween candy. She ignores me as I walk in, and I can’t blame her. I’m essentially shoving her away when all I want to do is fuck her, kiss her, hold her.
I pause beside the small table where Alexei Grove is seated, dressed in a black hoodie and sweatpants that say McQueen in white letters. Easily, it’s a sixteen-hundred-dollar outfit. Of course it is: it’s Alexander McQueen. The Balenciaga sneakers that he’s wearing? Another thousand dollars.
The prince of the Borisov group turns his face up to look at me, and I can see it in his contemptuous frown. Despite his distaste for modern-day aristocracy, he’s mastered it, and he’s used to being on top. Even here, in this hovel, he looks like the heir to a family throne.
“Mr. Kelly.” Alexei’s voice is smooth and edgy, but not entirely unpleasant. “I owe you a thank you that I haven’t yet been able to deliver. For saving my life, I’m indebted to you in turn.”
I nod and pull out a chair, taking a seat next to the boy who was once my social superior and now lives in hiding in a house with a dirt floor. Just goes to show that social trappings are mostly bullshit, doesn’t it?
I do like the clothes though. I wonder where they’re coming from? Clearly, Alexei has no money and now, he also has no car.
“I’m sorry about the Miura,” I offer, and everyone in that room takes a moment of silence for the drowned Lambo. “Once you get your estate back, you can buy yourself a new one.”
“Is that how rich people think?” Widow muses, taking a seat on my left. He makes me nervous in a way I can’t explain. Maybe it’s because he punched me and told me that he’d kill me if I didn’t leave Scarlett alone? It bothers me that it might appear I’m giving into his request. In reality, I came to this decision on my own for Scarlett’s sake. I’m not afraid of him though, just wary. Probably a healthy attitude to hold onto. “Is everything fucking fungible to you?”
“That’s a big word for a street rat. Do you understand what it means?”
“It means something that can easily be substituted for something else. Like, say, your face. I could put my fist through it, and you’d just buy a new one.” Widow leans back in his seat and exhales. “Whatever you do, it’d be an improvement.”
“Can we skip the small talk and cut right to the chase?” Scarlett asks as Bohnes takes a seat between her and Alexei. I’d assumed he might sit between Widow and Scarlett?
My eyes shift over to Alexei, and I wonder if I’m missing something here.
“Didn’t you know?” Bohnes offers up, leaping on the moment of confusion like the filthy predator he is. I’m frowning before he even finishes driving the verbal blade into my chest. “Scarlett and Alexei consummated his fuckboy status. Isn’t that grand?”
I suddenly regret carrying the guy on my back.
You were doing the opposite of what Aspen would do. That’s important. That’s vital.
“When.” I demand it; I don’t ask it.
“Juuuuust before we abandoned Widow and jumped into the McKenzie River, right Alexei?” Scarlett enjoys throwing that information in my face, and she does it all without looking up, her attention focused on the bite-sized pieces of candy that she’s playing with. Alexei watches her unwrap one, slip it onto her tongue, and chew. He winces when she licks her fingers. He shudders at the cluster of wrappers lying on the table in front of her. He also gazes at her with a newfound sense of duty that I despise.
How dare he? My fingers twitch in my lap, but I refuse to let my displeasure show.
“I don’t discuss my intimate matters with others.” Alexei looks over at me, his eyes the color of weathered sea glass. I’d make a terrible fucking writer; I can’t think of a single other green that would appropriately encompass the pale but saturated kiss of mint that makes up that man’s irises. “But now that I’ve decided to pursue her, you should pay special attention to the moves you make, Aspen Kelly.”
“Are you threatening me? Broke and useless as you are? If it weren’t for you, Scarlett—”
“If it weren’t for your filthy family, none of us would be in this situation.” Alexei’s gaze challenges me, and I see that he’s toying with that metal thimble of his. I don’t want to find out what’s in that goddamn nail.
