by Nicole Fox
However, as soon as I mentioned the idea to Tatiana, she began signing so quickly I couldn’t keep up, telling me she wanted unicorn cupcakes and streamers and music so loud it would rattle the walls.
So, we have all of that. And more.
Dmitry has a miniature horse brought in and fills the entire dance studio with balloons from floor to ceiling that Tati runs through for half an hour, the widest smile on her face.
At the end of the day, we’re sitting around the table eating cake for dinner, and I can picture this long-term.
I’m still counting down the days until the end of our agreement, but I’m not counting down the days until I leave.
I don’t want to leave.
I love Tati and Dmitry … Dmitry is complicated. He’s the father of my child and a man I have electric chemistry with. He’s violent and bloody, but I’ve seen him be gentle. I’ve seen him open his heart and be vulnerable, and I think I could bring out even more of that side of him.
I think, with time, we could become a family.
Can we watch a movie? Tati asks.
Dmitry looks to me, eyebrows raised. What do you think?
Only if it has a princess in it.
Dmitry laughs and Tati shakes her hands in celebration. She’s still cheering when the doorbell rings.
Dmitry stiffens but doesn’t move to answer it. The maid will get it and there are guards posted all over the property to ensure no one unauthorized gets inside. We’re safe.
When one of his guards walks into the dining room, Dmitry is on his feet in an instant.
“It’s the police.”
“What do they want?” Dmitry asks.
The guard shakes his head. “They wouldn’t say.”
Tati turns to me. What is going on?
Let’s go to your room to rest a bit before the movie, I urge her, standing up.
She tries to resist, but Dmitry repeats the order, and she follows me up to her room. I tuck her into her bed with a promise to be back soon, and the nanny assures me she’ll keep Tati upstairs until we know what is going on.
By the time I get back downstairs, Dmitry is talking with the police in the sitting room.
“What does the bombing have to do with me?” Dmitry asks.
When I walk in the room, he gestures for me to sit next to him on the couch, and I do, tucking in close to his side.
“It was a bombing and a shooting,” the officer says. He has a thick mustache that looks like it belongs in a porno, but his brow is furrowed and serious. “It was an attack, and one of the people shot was a young woman I believe you are both acquainted with.”
My heart leaps into my throat. “Who?”
He looks down at a notepad in his lap. “Sadie Hatch.”
I gasp and Dmitry immediately wraps his arm around me, though I have a feeling it’s meant more to restrain me than comfort me.
“You do know her, then?” he asks, looking from me to Dmitry and back again.
“Yes. She’s a good friend,” I say, voice breaking. “Is she alive?”
The officer doesn’t answer, instead continuing with his line of questioning, and a pit forms in my stomach. “Everyone else at the scene belonged to the Italian Mafia. Except for Sadie. We didn’t understand her connection to the scene, so we searched her phone settings and found that she had come here within the last several weeks.”
“She did,” Dmitry admits. “She actually sent the police here as well. I’m sure you have a record of that.”
“The kidnapping claim,” the officer says, reading once again from his notepad. “She believed Miss Palillo was being held against her will, but we investigated and discovered that was not the case.” He turned to me. “Unless things have changed since our officers were last here?”
I shook my head. “No, I’m here because I want to be. Now, is my friend dead or alive?”
The officer’s lips press together in a thin line, his mustache hiding any sign of his mouth at all, and he sighs. “She’s alive and being treated at a local hospital. She’s expected to recover.”
I nearly sob in relief, and Dmitry hugs me closer to his side. “Sadie’s charge was found to have no merit, so why are you here again? What does any of this have to do with us?”
The officer turns his attention to Dmitry, eyes narrowed to slits. “Well, it’s no secret you have … issues with the Italian Mafia.”
Dmitry shakes his head. “I don’t know what you mean.”
The officer rolls his eyes and continues. “Sadie also had the address of a local pub owned by the Italian Mafia in her phone. Our suspicion is that her visits to this house were noted by the Italians, and she was approached to work as a spy. That would explain her presence at two known Mafia hangouts, and why she was present during the attack.”
“That sounds like top-notch police work, officer. I commend you,” Dmitry drawls. “I’m still not sure why you’re here to see me, though.”
His tone is casual, light, almost. At first, I thought it was just a façade to get through the interview, but now it seems genuine.
He doesn’t care about Sadie at all.
He doesn’t care that my best friend was shot.
And he doesn’t seem to care that—as far as I can tell—he or one of his men is responsible for it.
I shift away from his touch, and he glances over at me for only a second before returning his attention to the officer.
“We’re wondering if either of you knows anything about the attack,” the officer says. “Considering your connections, both personal and business, with those attacked.”
Dmitry hums in thought. “No, I’m afraid not. We’ve been celebrating our daughter’s seventh birthday today, so if you have no further questions, we’d like to get back to it.”
The officer stares at Dmitry long enough that even I become uncomfortable, though Dmitry just returns a disconnected smile.
Finally, the officer presses his palms to his knees and stands up. “No, that’s all. I’m sure you won’t mind if I stay in touch, though.”
“Please do,” I say quickly. “Whoever did this should be brought to justice.”
Dmitry closes the door behind the officer and then lingers in the entryway, not looking at me or making any move to apologize or comfort me. He just stands there.
“Don’t you have anything to say?” I finally ask. “My best friend was just shot.”
“Some best friend,” he says with a shrug. “She sent the police after you.”
“Because she thought I’d been kidnapped,” I spit. “Which I was.”
Dmitry’s eyes flare to life—the first sign of any emotion I’ve seen from him. “Hardly. You came here willingly.”
“Under threat,” I correct. “She sensed that and wanted to help me. I lied to her, and now she’s recovering in a hospital. Some fucking thanks that is.”
“At least she’s alive,” he says. “It’s more than she deserves for feeding the Italians information about me and my Bratva. Men died because of her.”
“Clearly you feel that way, since you had to have approved the shooting. Nothing happens without you know about it. Isn’t that right, boss?”
Dmitry runs a hand through his hair and shakes his head. “I gave the go-ahead for my men to kill everyone inside that building because everyone inside was working for my enemies—your friend included. But if you’re accusing me of knowingly having your friend shot, you’re wrong. I did not do that. Though, if I had a good reason, I would have.”
I let out a scream of frustration and spin away from him, pacing towards the fireplace. “I need to get out of here,” I say, spinning in a circle, looking for shoes and keys and my purse, though I know they’re all upstairs. I walk past Dmitry towards the stairs. “I need to see Sadie.”
Dmitry grabs my arm and pulls me towards him. His hand is gentle, though his grip is firm. “No.”
“No?” I glare at him. “You’re forbidding me from leaving?”
He nods. “I am. I
’m sorry, but you can’t go.”
I rip my arm out of his grip and stumble backwards. My foot catches the bottom step, and I fall back on the stairs. Dmitry moves like he wants to help me up, and I wave him away. “Are you going to have me shot if I leave? I shouldn’t even ask. I know you would.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Dmitry growls. He narrows his eyes on me, cold and dark, and a chill runs down my spine. “It doesn’t matter what you think of me. Your friend was working for the Italians; how do I know you weren’t helping her? How do I know you didn’t come into my house with the purpose of betraying me to my enemies and getting me killed?”
I’m angry—beyond angry—but his words still hurt. To think he doesn’t trust me, that everything we’ve been through in the last few months was for nothing … something in my chest cracks.
“You don’t care about me or Tati,” he continues. “You’re a liar. I’ve changed my mind. You need to go. Don’t even think about going near the hospital to visit Sadie—I’ve got guards on her who’ll report back to me and I’ll make your father pay. But anywhere else you want to go, I don’t care. Go. Now. I can’t have you in my house anymore.”
A second ago, I wanted nothing but to leave, but now his command hits me like a brick. I fall back, my spine hitting the steps hard, and stare up at him, mouth open.
“You want me to leave?”
“Now,” he reiterates.
I don’t have the words to ask what this means. For me. For us. For our deal.
Will he kill my father now that I’m no longer living in his house? Will he punish my family? Will I even be able to return home or will he track me down and have me killed? What about our child?
I don’t want to think Dmitry could be capable of something like that, but I truly don’t know him anymore. Not the way I thought I did.
Suddenly, Dmitry’s attention snaps up to the top of the stairs, and his face goes pale with horror. I turn and see Tati standing there, tears rolling down her cheeks.
Don’t make her leave, she signs. Please.
Clearly, she read his lips.
“Tati,” Dmitry whispers. He rushes past me to grab Tati.
Please, she signs again, looking down at me, her big innocent eyes cutting me straight to my core.
Dmitry takes a deep breath and looks down at me. His expression is livid, lip pulled back. All of the emotion and concern he had for Tati only seconds before is gone.
“You can stay,” he relents. “But stay away from me. Far away.”
Before I can say anything or argue, he carries Tati upstairs and disappears, leaving me alone on the stairs.
20
Dmitry
I hear Courtney leave for class in the morning, but I don’t leave my room to say anything to her.
I’m not sure what to say.
The day before was … a lot.
Information was coming at me quickly, and I didn’t know what to think. Who to trust.
I’m still not sure.
Did Courtney manipulate me? It’s possible. I knew from the moment I met her that she was a smart woman. This could have been her plan from the start—revenge for the years her father was forced to pay me for protection. Revenge for me hitting him.
I don’t know whether she’s the vengeful type or not.
Though, I do know she wouldn’t knowingly put her friend in danger.
Courtney wouldn’t send Sadie to the Italians if she thought there was any danger of her being hurt, and since she knows me and my men, she knows there is always a chance of being hurt.
No, Courtney would have found some way to work directly with the Italians. She wouldn’t have brought her friend into it.
Which begs the question: why was Sadie there at all?
I told Courtney I would have shot Sadie if I had any reason to believe she was conspiring against me, and I’m not sure if that’s true.
Knowing what would happen to my relationship with Courtney if I killed one of her best friends, I don’t think I could have pulled the trigger. Especially since everyone else in the house—that I saw—was a known Mafia member. Seeing a cowering woman amongst the group would have given me pause.
I think I would have saved her. After all, I’m not in the habit of killing women. I don’t even kill men unless there’s a good reason.
So why didn’t Rurik?
Why didn’t he even mention that she was there?
There were four of us there shooting that day, but Rurik was the only one on the second floor, so that’s certainly where Sadie had to have been found.
Another question that needs to be answered: who else survived? If Rurik failed to kill Sadie, how many other men did he leave alive? Anyone who will testify against us? Anyone who could put me or my men in prison?
I have to speak with him.
But before I do, I can’t walk away without making things right. Or, at least, as right as they can be.
I call the hospital and cover Sadie’s medical bills. I also increase her care to full-time private nursing.
None of it’s for Sadie, though.
It’s for Courtney.
She’s been through enough pain in her life that she doesn’t need to lose her best friend, too. Even if her best friend is too nosy for her own damn good.
When I’m done with my good deeds for the year, I grab my keys and arrange a meeting with Rurik. Just a simple text: Meet at my office. Now.
I’m down the stairs and halfway to the front door when I hear small footsteps behind me. When I turn around, I’m hit with forty pounds of sobbing seven-year-old.
“What is it?” I say, pulling away and signing the question to her. What’s wrong?
Don’t go. Tati wraps her arms around my legs and squeezes tightly again.
I pry her off me and kneel down so we’re face-to-face. I’m just going out to take care of some work.
What if you don’t come back? she asks.
Of course I’ll come back. I’ll always come back. I swallow, realizing that her parents didn’t come back. As long as I’m able to, I’ll come home to you.
Stay, she signs again. Call Courtney and tell her to come home and then both of you stay here with me. Please don’t kick her out.
Her sobs overpower her, and she falls forward against my chest. I pat her back as the emotions work themselves out. When she’s ready, she pulls back and lets me explain.
Courtney isn’t going anywhere. Not yet, anyway. Not for a few more months. She’ll be home after her classes for the day, and I’ll be back before dinner. I promise.
Tati looks unconvinced, but she gives me a weak smile as her nanny takes her back upstairs. As soon as she’s gone, I take a deep breath, pull my phone from my pocket, and read the newest message.
Rurik is already at the office waiting for me.
Rurik is reclined in the seat across from my desk, looking more relaxed than he has any right to be.
“I asked you here because we need to talk,” I say coolly.
He raises a brow in understanding but says nothing. I swallow back my frustration, hoping to keep this conversation civil.
For anyone else under my command, this kind of mess-up would warrant immediate punishment, but Rurik has always been loyal. He’s one of my most trusted lieutenants, and I want to give him the opportunity to explain himself.
“It’s about the raid at the Italians’ meeting the other day. The bombing.”
He nods. “I remember.”
“The police came to my house last night.”
At least he has the good sense to look surprised. “Did they connect you to it?”
“They connected me to one of the victims. A young woman was there.”
Rurik blinks, and I know immediately he knows who I’m talking about.
“She was shot but survived,” I say, pausing to let the gravity of it sink in. “She’s in the hospital right now.”
“How did they connect her to you?” he asks. “Were you fucking her, too?”
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He didn’t say Courtney’s name, but I know that’s who he’s thinking of. And the very idea that he would mention her name so flippantly, with so little respect, is enough to make me stand up and begin to pace.
I have to work off my energy. I can’t sit still.
“She’s Courtney’s friend.”
He shrugs. “So, you’re telling me your slave’s friend is working for the Italians?”
Is Courtney my slave? Is that how I should refer to her?
Technically, I suppose. Though things feel far beyond that now.
“I’m telling you that you shot a defenseless woman and let her live,” I growl.
Rurik stands up as well, leaning across my desk in what can only be described as a hostile posture. “Are you angry that I shot your girlfriend’s friend or that I let her live?”
I pull my arm back and swing, throwing my entire body behind the punch.
My fist connects with Rurik’s jaw. He isn’t expecting it. He spins back and trips over his chair, falling across the floor.
In the next second, my guards are in the room, lined up around the edges, eyes and weapons trained on Rurik.
They’re loyal to me, not him. Even if he’s their friend, they will do as I command.
“What in the fuck, Dmitry?” he shouts, grabbing his jaw while he works it back and forth.
“Talk to me with respect,” I spit. “I’m angry because my top lieutenant shot a woman without mentioning it to me. And I’m angry because his shot is apparently shit. You let the girl live, and now I have no idea whether she will turn against me. She’ already accused me of kidnapping Courtney. Now I have to consider what I’m going to do if she wants to implicate me in this attack, too.”
“I was told to kill everyone in the building,” he said. “That’s why I didn’t mention the girl was there. I’m sorry I missed, but it sounds like you wish I hadn’t shot her in the first place.”
“She was a defenseless woman. What was the point?”
Rurik stands up and takes a step away. He looks around at the guards along the edge of the room and then levels a glare at me, eyebrow raised.