“Perhaps. I’m a busy man these days.”
She chuckles. “So I’ve heard.” I follow her up the stairs until we get to a door. She pulls keys out of her pocket to unlock it. “How does it feel to be the new Pakhan? Was it everything you ever dreamed, Tosha?”
She opens the door and the familiar scent of cigars greets me. Old and new, it hangs in the air here. Probably embedded in the wood.
There’s a big two-way mirror in place of one wall with the entire club in full view. I pause to look down at it all. Everything’s moving like a machine of flesh and commerce.
“It’s everything and more,” I say dryly. “I have never shied from duty.”
“How true,” she says. I turn just as she lights up another cigar and sits down at her desk. “I suppose you’re here to tell me who I will now be reporting to now that our friend has gone off to visit Mother Russia.”
I know word travels fast, but I’m always a little astonished every time someone hits me with information when it reaches them. “Orest Koslov,” I tell her. “You’ve met him a few times.”
She nods slowly. “I know the last name well. His father was one of your soldiers, no?”
“He was. Died a few years ago.”
“Right, right. His wife caught him cheating.” She took a puff from her cigar and chuckled a wheezing laugh. “I have often saidthat the company you boys keep is sometimes more dangerous than you are. So, Orest was one of Lev’s soldiers?”
“He was. I’m making him a brigadier, so he’ll be taking over Lev’s territories.”
“Lovely,” she says with the cigar between her teeth. “Give me a call when you send him over and I’ll be sure to show him a good time.”
“Good,” I say.
She puffs, looking me over silently. “Speaking of which, you haven’t been here in a while, Tosha. There was a time when you and little Mischa couldn’t stay away from this place.”
“We were just boys then,” I say. “All hormones and no sense.”
“I’ve found that rarely changes with time. It just slows down. Have you slowed down on us already?”
I shrug. “Perhaps. Or maybe my appetite has changed.”
“All the more reason you should pay a visit to the playroom. I’ve just finished a renovation. Even a few new attractions. I’m sure we can find something to fill the appetite of a Pakhan.”
It’s tempting. Especially when Magda starts talking about new ‘attractions’. The old woman had a vivid imagination and plenty of vision. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t tempted.
“Another time,” I say to her.
“Ack,” she says. “Well, we will be here when you are ready.” She opens one of her drawers and pulls out a key, then walks over to the wall safe on the wall behind her and opens it. “Back to business, yes?”
She turns back around with several stacks of cash. Payment for the month. I watch as she packs it all away in a gym bag, mentally counting the bands of money as she moves.
“It’s all there,” she says as she zips up the bag.
“Thank you.” I take the bag and hoist it over one shoulder.
“This weekend, I’m hosting a little party. Just something to formally introduce some of the more interesting things in the playroom to my customers. You’re welcome to come, if you’re up to it.”
“Thank you for the invitation,” I tell her. “I’ll consider it.”
And with that said, my business with Magda is done. On my way back to the car, I do, actually, consider it. It’s been so long since I’ve indulged in my most primal desires. I’ve felt a little off kilter. Maybe I will take her up on the offer.
My phone rings the moment I get in the car. It’s Mikki.
“Yes?”
“Where are you right now?”
