Darkness and Danger

"You're fired! You can't work here anymore." Denis said. 

I was back at the club thinking I could work my shift there. But the owner wasn't budging. After all the hours I had given to work at the club, the least he could do was give me my job back. 

"But why? If this is because I left early yesterday–"

"Left early? You left early too?!" He exclaimed and then sighed. "Look, people will not come back here anymore after what happened to that man because of you. They're scared and they want you fired. The customer is always right."

I almost strangled him there and then. Who was he to fire me over a small misunderstanding? As long as I could help it, Milo wasn't coming back to that club. 

"I have endured groping, sexually degrading words, and insults to work here but the moment I make a small mistake you decide to fire me. You're a sick bastard!" I yelled. "I don't deserve this."

Denis shook his head and pointed a finger in my direction. Before he got too close, Boris appeared beside me and glared at him. Denis put down his hand. He looked ready to shit his pants.

"I want to hire you again, Emilie. You're our hottest bartender and most customers come because of you. You have curves in all the right places and you're pretty. Plus, you're a redhead. But you're not worth the trouble."

"How do you expect to work with a huge bodyguard near you all the time? He's bigger than the two of us combined and he has a gun! You're dealing with the mafia. You will wind up dead and I'm not digging a grave to lay next to you."

Denis didn't wait for an explanation. He turned around and left. 

As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. No one wanted a bartender with a bodyguard and that's what Boris was. He tailed me everywhere I went and he was a very huge man with tattoos and a gun. 

Boris didn't speak. Normally, he didn't voice his opinions. 

"I want to talk to Milo."

"He's busy–"

"I don't care. You will take me there or I will refuse to go back to the penthouse. If you try to force me, I will scream and say you're harassing me. Have fun explaining to Milo what happened."

He groaned and rolled his eyes. It was the first time I had gotten a reaction out of him. Normally, he didn't acknowledge my presence. 

"Fine, but I'm saying you insisted on going."

I nodded my head and we left the bar. A few minutes later, we were driving to the most deserted parts of Moscow. 

For a moment, I thought Boris wanted to kill me. I thought Milo had realized I was more trouble than I was worth and decided to get rid of me. 

But then we stopped by a warehouse. Boris stepped out and opened the car door for me. Once I was out of the car, he gestured for me to go in first.

I stopped when I heard the sound of a man screaming. He was clearly in pain. I stopped, wondering if it was a good idea for me to go in. What if I walked into a situation that would get me killed? 

"Walk. You wanted to see Milo. He's in there."

I conjured bravery and walked forward. By the time I got to the entrance, I couldn't hear any screams. 

Inside the warehouse, Milo was standing in front of someone slumped on a chair. I couldn't see the person since Milo's body was covering him. 

With his back to me, all I could see was that he had on a suit. His suit jacket was gone and the sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to his elbows. His hair looked disheveled and there was blood on his feet. 

Oh God.

"Boss? She insisted on coming to see you." Boris said. When Milo turned around, I fought the urge to turn around and run away. 

There were droplets of blood on his face and blood spatter on his once spotless white shirt. The man slumped on the chair was covered in blood and bruised and he seemed passed out or…dead.

My heart was racing so fast it could have competed in the marathon. My hands wouldn't stop shaking. I knew Milo was a murderer but seeing him in action was worse. I wanted to throw up.

His eyes were full of clouded darkness. Looking at him, you could see there was no soul behind those stormy gray eyes. He was just a shell of a man who lacked any real feelings. 

I was going to die. The longer I remained by his side the more chances there were that I would wind up in a ditch or a shallow grave like the man slumped in the chair bleeding. He didn't even look like he was breathing.

"I told you to keep her in the penthouse," he said to Boris like I wasn't there–like they weren't talking about me. 

"She refused. She wanted to go back to work and live in her apartment." Boris said. I heard his voice quiver in fear as he spoke. 

The whole room was tense as he walked towards me. Everyone was scared of him–scared that he would kill any one of them in an instant. He was so unpredictable that no one anticipated what he would do next. 

I tried to walk backwards but my feet remained rooted to the ground. He paralyzed me with his dark gaze and intentional movements. No matter how hard I tried to relax and will myself to run as fast as I could from that man, my body had a mind of its own. 

Milo grabbed my hand with his bloody one and smiled. I had never seen such an evil smile in my entire life. 

"Why don't you be a good little girl and go back to the penthouse? You're not allowed to work. You'll live where I tell you to live and you'll wear what I want you to wear."

"I'm a person with opinions and feelings!" I shouted against my better judgment. 

Milo grabbed my neck with his free hand and leaned in to whisper to my ear, "Who told you that you're a person? You're my property, devochka, my toy. I can do whatever I want. Don't make me brand you just to prove it to you."

"But–"

"Do you know what I do to people who stand in the way of me and my property?"

I shook my head, refusing to answer. Everybody knew the answer to that question.

"I gut them like a fish. You're not a human being. You're my object. Your body is mine, your mind is mine, your soul is mine. Hell, even your life is mine and I can end it when I decide to. Go back to the penthouse and behave like a good little slave."

Milo was a fucking monster!