My Greatest Enemy

The club is loud and vibrant, the wild rhythm of the music pulsing in my chest. I swallow hard as I keep moving, smoothing my shoulder-length red hair back. I scan the crowd with my green eyes, but I know exactly where I’m headed. The man I’m looking for is sitting in the most secluded corner of the club. I walk toward him with confidence.

The man is lounging on a leather couch, his hands resting along the backrest. His tattooed chest is visible through his half-unbuttoned shirt. He holds a whiskey in his right hand, with a girl pressed against him on either side. Their dresses barely cover anything, and it’s obvious they’re completely taken with the massive man.

As I stop in front of him, he looks up. His dark eyes flash questioningly, the pulsing club lights reflecting off his light-brown hair. His gaze travels over me. I’m not short by any means, but under the man’s stare, I suddenly feel small.

I hold out my hand firmly.

“Mr. Aleksei Savin, I’m Lieutenant Lucas Meyer. Could I speak with you somewhere private?”

The two girls pressed against the man’s body wrinkle their noses mockingly, their heavily made-up eyes narrowing. Savin doesn’t move. He just stares at me as if examining me. His dark gaze slowly travels over me. The air suddenly feels heavier, and my pulse quickens.

Savin places his whiskey on the glass table in front of him, so slowly that I feel like knocking everything over. With a single wave of his tattooed hand, he dismisses the girls, who immediately leave. As if they were trained for it. The master gives an order, they obey.

“Lieutenant Meyer,” he repeats my name. His Russian accent wraps my name in a hint of threat.

I’d love nothing more than to punch that arrogant face of his.

Savin leans forward.

“You have five minutes before I lose interest, маленький лейтенант.”

Little lieutenant, huh? He has no idea who he’s messing with.

I completely ignore the mocking threat hidden in his voice and step closer.

“I said somewhere private, Mr. Savin. Unless you want your private life dragged into the open. I came here as a lieutenant. That means our little conversation is going to get rather personal. Capiche?”

Aleksei’s jaw tightens. His dark eyes narrow, and he looks me over again. This time, threateningly. As if he’s planning how to kill me. But he’d have to get up pretty early for that.

He slowly rises to his feet. His massive, two-meter-tall frame towers over me as he straightens, emphasizing the width of his shoulders and chest. As if that alone will make me drop to my knees and beg for forgiveness.

Every movement Aleksei makes is controlled and cold.

“Either you’re stupid, or you’re very brave, Lieutenant Meyer,” he says coldly.

He takes a step toward me, but I pull out my weapon. Without a hint of fear, I aim it at his chest, my eyes boring into his with cold determination.

“I said somewhere private. And I fucking hate repeating myself, Savin.”

Aleksei holds my gaze, then steps back and points toward a distant corner of the club. His men watch from the darkness, tense and waiting for a fight.

“This way. But you’d better understand something. I hate being threatened,” he says firmly. His voice is deep.

I roll my eyes.

“And I hate it when someone doesn’t understand what I’m saying,” I mutter.

Aleksei stops. He turns back, his gaze boring into mine.

“What? Do you want to negotiate in the hallway, Mr. Savin?” I ask, slightly irritated.

The man’s expression darkens, but he takes a deep breath, his hands clenching into fists, and continues walking instead.

We enter a dark, soundproof room with a threatening atmosphere. I stop and wait for him to sit behind his desk.

I take one of the chairs opposite the desk as well, crossing my legs.

“You know, Mr. Savin, between the two of us, you’re the one in the deepest shit.”

I lean forward and place a photo in front of him. It shows him with a young woman. She’s twenty-one, with long red hair. She’s wearing a light blue T-shirt and a pair of jeans.

“Do you know this woman?” I ask firmly. My voice is hard enough to make it clear to Aleksei that I’m damn well not joking.

The man’s gaze drops to the photograph. A vein twitches in his face, but by the time he looks back at me, his expression is serious and rigid.

“No.”

“That’s a pretty big problem, because you were the last person she was seen with.”

The man stands and walks toward the door.

“Okay, you’ve officially lost my interest. Leave, маленький лейтенант, or I’ll call security.”

I stand too, but only to close the door. I lock it.

“No. Sit back down. You’re going to listen. I’m getting fucking angry, Mr. Savin.”

Aleksei slams me against the door. My back hits the wooden surface hard, one of his hands gripping my throat. I don’t panic. I strike him hard in the side. Maybe it’s the pain, but more likely the shock, that makes him let go. The moment I’m free, I sweep his legs out from under him, sending him crashing to the floor. I stand over him and pull out my weapon.

“So, let’s start over,” I say breathlessly. “Do you know the woman in the photograph, Mr. Savin?”

Aleksei meets my gaze seriously. He looks at the weapon first, then at me, and lies back down on the floor. He puts both hands behind his head and bends one knee.

“It’s fucking hard to negotiate lying down, маленький лейтенант. But if that’s how you want it.”

“You were the one who resisted, Mr. Savin.”

“At this point, the formalities are unnecessary. And to answer your question, yes, I know her.”

“How?”

“I don’t think my private life is any of your business, маленький лейтенант.”

“I have a name, you know.”

“If you put the gun away, you’ll have a name.”

I take a deep breath. I look into the man’s eyes, weighing my options.

“Look, we can stay like this for hours. I don’t mind,” Aleksei says with a sigh. “I was going to sleep anyway.”

“Don’t you dare fall asleep while I’m trying to talk to you.”

“I wouldn’t call this a conversation. More like a ridiculous situation.”

I lower the weapon and step back.

Aleksei gets to his feet, dusts himself off, and looks at me.

“Can I open my door now?” he asks mockingly.

“What if I say no?” I shoot back, equally sarcastic.

The man’s face tightens. He walks to the door and turns the key. Then he sits back down behind his desk. He points at the photograph.

“So, why are you interested in the girl?”

I don’t answer immediately. I bite my lip, weighing how much I can tell him.

“Because she’s my sister,” I say bluntly. “And you were the last person she was seen with. So we have two ways to go from here. Either you tell me what you know, or I’ll tear your life apart.”

The man slowly rises, his eyes glinting dangerously. He leans forward, bracing himself against the desk. His hair falls into his face.

“Go ahead, маленький лейтенант. You won’t find anything anyway,” he whispers, his deep voice colder than the tundra of Russia.

“We’ll see, Aleksei. I’m not a lieutenant for nothing.”

“If you really were one, you wouldn’t be investigating your own sister’s case, smartass,” he shoots back.

“Unless I’m the one running the Riverside Detective Agency and I work on whatever the hell I want.”

“So that’s what this is about, huh? You’re flaunting your power to force a confession out of me?”

“I’m not flaunting anything. If anything, that’s more your style. Just because you’re Russian doesn’t make you stronger.”

Aleksei’s hands curl into fists. I glance at them.

“I see you have anger management issues,” I remark coolly as I head toward the door.

“You’re playing a fucking dangerous game, маленький лейтенант. If you knew who I was, you wouldn’t dare speak to me like that. I could make you disappear at any time,” his voice reaches me.

I stop and turn to face him.

“And yet you haven’t done anything,” I shrug. “I’m leaving now. I have to dig up everything I can about your life. One way or another, you’re going to talk, Aleksei Savin.”

The door slams shut behind me as I leave the room. Aleksei’s Russian curse is still audible even from the hallway.

I drive home angrily. Aleksei is making my job absolutely no easier. If anything, he’s making everything much harder.

I bite my lip, tears stinging my eyes. Something isn’t right. Aleksei could have something to do with what happened to Jenna. I have to find something, or I’m going to lose my mind.

I get home. I go straight into the living room and stop in front of my whiteboard. I search for connections, but so far, it seems Aleksei is the only person who met Jenna. I can’t see any other connection.

I toss my jacket onto the couch. My living room looks like a war zone, but that’s the least of my concerns. I throw my shirt after the jacket, then pull out the whiskey.

I lean against the edge of the table, staring intently at the board as I drink the whiskey, as if staring at it could somehow change anything. The alcohol hits me quickly, but I still don’t take my eyes off the photographs.

The doorbell rings.

With a quiet curse, I walk to the door and open it.

Aleksei is standing outside my door, lazily leaning against the wall, holding up my badge between two fingers. Damn it. I didn’t even notice I’d dropped it.

“You left this with me, маленький лейтенант,” he says quietly.

His eyes travel over me, his expression unreadable. I take another swig from the whiskey bottle. I’m already too drunk to think straight.

“What are you staring at, Savin? Like what you see?”

Aleksei looks me in the eyes.

“You’re drunk.”

“That’s your problem.”

I snatch my badge from his hand.

“Thanks. You can leave now.”

I take another drink of whiskey and slam the door in his face. Or at least I try to. Aleksei simply reaches out a hand and stops it. Without waiting for permission, he steps into my house as if he owns the place.

“I don’t remember inviting you in,” I remark sarcastically.

“I don’t remember asking for your permission,” he replies just as sarcastically, looking around the house.

“Either you leave now, or I’ll arrest you for trespassing!”

“You couldn’t arrest anyone but yourself, маленький лейтенант. You’re way too drunk.”

“I’m still saying that’s your problem.”

“Why the hell would I care what you do?”

“Then what the fuck are you still doing here?”

Aleksei finally looks at me. Straight into my eyes. His expression is tense.

“I brought your badge back so you wouldn’t have to explain tomorrow why you left it in a mafioso’s office.”

“Dude, I’m still my own boss!” I shout, spreading my arms. “I do whatever the hell I want.”

“If people like you are protecting the law, I’d rather run,” he replies with a grimace.

“Sorry, but I really don’t give a fuck about your opinion. And now get out.”

Aleksei takes a deep breath, his muscles tensing, but he heads toward the door. I watch him go while sipping my whiskey. He stops in the doorway and turns toward me.

“You’re more annoying when you’re drunk,” he remarks quietly.

I let out a mocking laugh.

“And who cares? My house, my rules.”

Aleksei doesn’t answer. He leaves my house, quietly closing the door behind him.

I finish the rest of my whiskey, sweep the clothes off the couch, and collapse onto it. From the couch, I stare at the board.

I’m fucking exhausted.

I close my eyes and bury my face in the pillow. I think I’ll sleep for a few hours.