been down in the basement for several days with minimal nourishment.
That wouldn’t have surprised me, I decided. It seemed very likely that Gage was treating him as a prisoner of war. A weakened killer was much better than a killer who was still on top of his game, I figured, making the situation with Dimitri a little easier to handle.
“Don’t you think he would have already killed you?” I asked him.
“No. He wants to torture me until I talk.”
“Well, as long as you don’t talk, we’re both prisoners here, Dimitri, so I need you to talk. I need to return to work and my life at home,” I told him, trying to appeal to his emotions.
He let his head fall forward again and laughed. “You’re never going to be free,” he said. “He’s not going to let you go.”
“What makes you say that, Dimitri?” I crossed my legs and shifted my weight in the chair.
“He doesn’t let anyone go. I’ve been watching Gage for years now. No one leaves him. Once you’re in, you’re in for life,” he croaked.
“I don’t know about that,” I told him. I wanted to believe Gage when he said he would let me go after all of this. Knowing the nature of his relationship with the Russian, I didn’t have high hopes for Dimitri, but I had to try to ignore that to convince him to talk.
“You’ll learn,” he said, leaning his head back and closing his eyes.
“Gage told me about who you are,” I mentioned, trying to provoke him to talk more.
“What did he tell you?” He tilted his head back down to face me, opening his blue eyes and giving me a chilling look.
“He told me you tried to kill him.”
A slow, crooked smile spread across Dimitri’s face. “I did. That rat bastard. He undercut my boss on a trade, and it cost us a customer. So I came around to pay him a visit. I camped out across the street, but when Gage and his biker thugs left the clubhouse, two of his men broke down the door where I was and jumped me. It was two on one, and it was a surprise attack. He knows he can’t take me one-on-one.”
“Says the guy who was camped out in a room across the street with a sniper rifle pointed as supposedly unsuspecting bikers who were leaving their clubhouse to go for a ride,” I added for him, helping him create some perspective.
“Hell, it didn’t even have to be with a sniper rifle,” he added. “He knows he can’t take me in hand-to-hand combat.”
“Uh-huh. That’s why you had to distance yourself with a rifle like that. But what if I told you he had you defeated the moment you showed up to ambush the ride?”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“I mean he knew you were going to do it, so he staged the ride to draw you out and set you up.”
“There’s no way he can be that smart,” Dimitri argued.
“Seems to me you two underestimate each other a lot. If he was able to find out that you were planning on taking him down, don’t you think he’s capable of finding out where Ivan is without you?” I asked him.
“I’d like to see that,” he replied with a laugh.
“He’s got people on it right now,” I lied. “And if they find him without your help, you don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of getting out of here alive. They won’t even beat you. He told me they’ll just come down here and shoot you. Then, they’ll remove your body, and who knows what will happen to you then?”
“Bullshit. How do you know?” He was growing agitated, pulling on his straps and wiggling in the chair trying to work himself loose.
“He told me, just a little while ago, when he told me why you were here,” I told him, keeping my tone even, trying to sound like it didn’t matter to me one way or the other what happened to him.
“You’ve got to help me get out of here,” Dimitri said anew, no longer worn out and tired, like he’d seemed when I came in at first. Now he seemed wide awake,
That wouldn’t have surprised me, I decided. It seemed very likely that Gage was treating him as a prisoner of war. A weakened killer was much better than a killer who was still on top of his game, I figured, making the situation with Dimitri a little easier to handle.
“Don’t you think he would have already killed you?” I asked him.
“No. He wants to torture me until I talk.”
“Well, as long as you don’t talk, we’re both prisoners here, Dimitri, so I need you to talk. I need to return to work and my life at home,” I told him, trying to appeal to his emotions.
He let his head fall forward again and laughed. “You’re never going to be free,” he said. “He’s not going to let you go.”
“What makes you say that, Dimitri?” I crossed my legs and shifted my weight in the chair.
“He doesn’t let anyone go. I’ve been watching Gage for years now. No one leaves him. Once you’re in, you’re in for life,” he croaked.
“I don’t know about that,” I told him. I wanted to believe Gage when he said he would let me go after all of this. Knowing the nature of his relationship with the Russian, I didn’t have high hopes for Dimitri, but I had to try to ignore that to convince him to talk.
“You’ll learn,” he said, leaning his head back and closing his eyes.
“Gage told me about who you are,” I mentioned, trying to provoke him to talk more.
“What did he tell you?” He tilted his head back down to face me, opening his blue eyes and giving me a chilling look.
“He told me you tried to kill him.”
A slow, crooked smile spread across Dimitri’s face. “I did. That rat bastard. He undercut my boss on a trade, and it cost us a customer. So I came around to pay him a visit. I camped out across the street, but when Gage and his biker thugs left the clubhouse, two of his men broke down the door where I was and jumped me. It was two on one, and it was a surprise attack. He knows he can’t take me one-on-one.”
“Says the guy who was camped out in a room across the street with a sniper rifle pointed as supposedly unsuspecting bikers who were leaving their clubhouse to go for a ride,” I added for him, helping him create some perspective.
“Hell, it didn’t even have to be with a sniper rifle,” he added. “He knows he can’t take me in hand-to-hand combat.”
“Uh-huh. That’s why you had to distance yourself with a rifle like that. But what if I told you he had you defeated the moment you showed up to ambush the ride?”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“I mean he knew you were going to do it, so he staged the ride to draw you out and set you up.”
“There’s no way he can be that smart,” Dimitri argued.
“Seems to me you two underestimate each other a lot. If he was able to find out that you were planning on taking him down, don’t you think he’s capable of finding out where Ivan is without you?” I asked him.
“I’d like to see that,” he replied with a laugh.
“He’s got people on it right now,” I lied. “And if they find him without your help, you don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of getting out of here alive. They won’t even beat you. He told me they’ll just come down here and shoot you. Then, they’ll remove your body, and who knows what will happen to you then?”
“Bullshit. How do you know?” He was growing agitated, pulling on his straps and wiggling in the chair trying to work himself loose.
“He told me, just a little while ago, when he told me why you were here,” I told him, keeping my tone even, trying to sound like it didn’t matter to me one way or the other what happened to him.
“You’ve got to help me get out of here,” Dimitri said anew, no longer worn out and tired, like he’d seemed when I came in at first. Now he seemed wide awake,
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