The Killer's Poison (on Hiatus)

Chapter Six

     "Relax, I just fucking got here," Malachi muttered, loosening his tie and sitting down on his designated seat at our office.

      "Where's Lia?" I asked.

      "Late as usual," Ivan sighed, looking at his watch.

      "Watch your tone, Ivan, you made me cancel a hair appointment," Eliana said as a way of greeting. She walked in, poured herself champagne, and drank the whole thing in one go.

      "Your hair looks as plastic as it always does, nothing needs changing," Amir said.

      "Who even asked you, Amir? And why are you here? You still have a cast on your leg,"

      "Apparently, I was needed,"

     "Where's your new recruit?" Ivan asked me.

     "I asked her to take care of something," I answered, not sure why I was covering for her. Mireya was fucking late, again.

     "Well tell her to hurry up, my wife is waiting for me,"

     The door creaked open and Mireya walked in, holding files on top of files. "So, I got a text from your assistant to bring this here? And sorry it took a while, I got lost,"

      She put all of the files on the table and looked around with a big smile on her face. Was that smile ever not on her face?

     "Hello, everyone, I'm Mireya," she greeted. "I've met them," she said, gesturing to Eliana, Amir, and me. "But you two are new faces,"

     "Sit down," Ivan ordered.

     Mireya's smile was replaced with a frown and she sat down beside me, looking at Ivan with something I couldn't place. Maybe it was hatred, and for some reason, I was pleased with that.

     Coincidentally enough, she was sitting beside Malachi and he leaned in to whisper something to her which made her smile. That bothered me like an itch and I didn't understand why.

     "Malachi shut your mouth," I glowered and he scowled at me, leaning back in his seat. Mireya looked at me with a questioning gaze. Both reactions I ignored.

     "The reason why I called for this meeting is that the cousins are going to be there,"

     "Ugh," Eliana rolled her eyes. "Why are they following us?"

     "Something's up," Malachi said. "You know who the cousins are, right?" He asked Mireya.

     "No, she doesn't-"

     "I do, actually." She corrected, interrupting me. "Nora, Beau, and Matteo Volkov. You've had a lifelong feud with them, and you've been trying to kill their father for the last ten years but you haven't been able to do it because it could cause a potential underground war," she explained, surprising everyone in the room.

     "Damn, how did you know all that?" Malachi asked.

    "It was in the study binder he gave me," she answered, pointing at me.

    "That's really impressive," Eliana grinned. I looked at Amir and he was already smirking at my reaction.

    Damn the bastard.

     "Do you have any plans after the party, Mireya?" He asked and I knew from the look on his stupid face that he was doing it to piss me off.

     "Oh, I don't think so," she answered, oblivious.

    "Good, because I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner with me,"

    I clenched my fists on my lap, in an attempt to control my sudden frustration. Mireya was at a loss for words.

    "Now is not the time or place for that," Ivan said, frowning. "There needs to be a plan for their presence,"

     "What plan do you want? They'll just pester us and annoy us, they're not actually gonna do anything," Eliana argued. "They're too chicken to start shit,"

    "They could do something, they still belittle us to this day," I said.

    "I agree with Kaian," Ivan said.

    "When do you not agree with Kaian?" Eliana asked, rhetorically.

    "You know something they could do?" Mal asked, standing up to get a drink from the cart next to the door.

    We waited for him to say what he needed to, and when he poured himself his drink, he said, "they can kiss my ass,"

    Eliana rolled her eyes, Ivan sighed and Amir just shook his head. Mireya snorted and I couldn't help but scowl at her.

     "What?" She asked. "All of you were waiting for him to speak as if he was gonna spill some unshared wisdom and then he drops that bomb, it was funny," she explained.

     "Mireya, was it?" Ivan asked, seriously acknowledging her for the first time this entire meeting.

     "Yup, that's my name," she answered.

     "What experience do you have in the mafia?" he asked.

     "To be honest? I have none," she told him, confidently. "Except when I stole your brother's car,"

     Ivan's jaw clenched and his gaze turned to me. "That's why you hired her?" He asked me and I nodded. He turned his attention back to Mireya and everyone watched this interaction silently. "Do you know how to use a firearm?" he asked.

     "Nope,"

     "Knives?"

     She shook her head.

     "Then what do you know?" I could tell Ivan was losing his patience.

     "I know how to steal, I know how to act as though I know how to use the stuff you just mentioned. I know that your greatest weakness in this entire world is your wife, Nyah Frey Volkov, and your daughter Avani Volkov. I also know that in your father's game of poker, you are his ace of spades, Kaian is the ace of diamonds, Malachi is the ace of clubs and Eliana is his ace of hearts." She said, not breaking eye contact with my older brother. "Bricrui Volkov's favorite way of winning poker is the four of a kind. Each ace represents his four kids,"

     Ivan blinked, sat back in his chair, and looked at her. "Let me ask you this, then, Mireya," he said. "How far are you willing to go to keep your position?"

     "How far?" she repeated, considering the question. "If you're asking me this because you're afraid I won't have the guts to kill somebody, you're very wrong about me. I've never killed anyone before, it's true, but I can go very far and I'm willing to go very far."

     "Prove it," he said.

     "Ivan," I warned.

     But he ignored me. "When we get to the party, you are to pick a target," he said. "And within this month, I want you to kill that person,"