Dmitry stopped walking and watched her pout her way down the street.
“Royal. Royal come back,” he called after her.
“No!”
“How about now?” he asked, smiling.
“How about now what?”
Royal stopped walking and whipped around. Her heart stopped. Dmitry was on one knee under a street light. His grin was even more devious that ever. He had a look of utter accomplishment on his face.
As she walked closer to him, he took off his gray wool skull cap, revealing his blonde curly locks. He looked up at her, still nearly as tall on one knee as she was standing. His eyes sparkled.
“Hi,” he said softly. His dimples created creases in his jaw line.
“Hi,” Royal whispered with her hands over her mouth in disbelief. “You really got my goat this time. Didn’t you.”
“Goats, horses, cows. This is why I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Dmitry cleared his throat. “Some people do this after dinner in crowded restaurants. I prefer privacy. We are here in the city that I was born, the city that created what I am, whether it’s good or bad.” He looked around and sighed. “So much has happened in the last few weeks, things that have come to fruition that have completed my legacy. It is time for me to move on with my life. I have worked hard enough, and I want to start this new life with you – the woman that I love, and a woman that is pure but is not all ignorant of the world. No man can ask for more.”
Tears ran down Royal’s cheeks. No longer cold or afraid, she clung to her coat shaking not from coldness but from shock. She stood in front of him on the sidewalk in the snow looking down at her knight in shining armor.
“Will you be my wife?” Dmitry asked, pulling a small box from his coat and opening it to show a very large solitaire diamond ring. Its simplistic beauty and grandiose size caught her attention instantly, but it was Dmitry’s question that captured her. When she did not answer, Dmitry continued. He felt his strength weaning. He wasn’t expecting her to say no. He began to stutter. “I… I know that you don’t know what I do, what I’ve done, who I am. If you give me time, I will show you the man that I can be...”
“Yes,” Royal said, sticking her left hand out. “Yes, I will marry you.”
“Are you sure, because you took minute,” he joked.
“Yes,” Royal screamed and a laughed. “Yes.” She smiled bright as he slid the ring on her finger and picked her up. The luminous d-grade diamond sparkled in the moonlight on her long slender finger.
“Come here,” he said, holding her close. They hugged tightly. “You have made me very happy. Now I will have beautiful wife who has promised to give me lots of children and no more lip.”
“I love you,” she said with her hands around his neck.
“You do?”
“Yes,” she looked into his eyes. “I’ll always love you.”
“I love you too,” he said kissing her lips. He scooped her up in his arms and laughed and smiled at her. His deep voice lit up the night. “We’re getting married!”
“Yeah!” Royal screamed. She looked at her ring again. “I’ve gotta get a dress,” she said, shaking her head.
Chapter 22
There was severe winter storm circling Memphis. In celebration of the weather, Ivan sat on his rooftop in a lawn chair as the wind and snow beat down on the riverside. With only a black wool sweater and a pair of jeans on, he sat with a silver flask of vodka in the silence of his thoughts, gazing at the blackness of the Mississippi under the heavy winter night skies. Instead of sitting towards the middle of the building, he positioned his flimsy chair on the very edge of the rooftop with his feet propping him safely up on the flat surface. If he dared slip, he would fall to his death, but Ivan did not care. He liked the edge and all that it represented.
He looked down at the quick fall of the snow to the ground below, where cars lined the front of his condo nearly four stories down. His men were inside preparing for a war,and he was outside preparing for his brother’s judgment day.
Guns had been shipped and stolen from many miles away in anticipation of what was to come. Many would still not do business with them until Dmitry was dead, but they sent complimentary weapons in hopes that Ivan would be able to do the job. Most doubted he could. Few believed that he would get out of this alive. He took in a deep breath and smiled. The thought of drawing first blood made his heart skip a beat. The gleeful feeling of crushing Dmitry under his boot was a far better rush than any drug could provide. It wouldn’t be long. A week at most. Now that he had his plan in action, he just had to make special plans for Royal.
A mocha-colored black man walked out on the rooftop and interrupted Ivan’s silence. He was bald, talland clean cut with very dark, prominent features. His large frame was covered by gray turtleneck and dark jeans. With him, he carried two large guns in the holsters under his arms. He coughed a little, hitting his chest as he did so.
“Люди готовы для вас,” the man said in a deep bari-tone, offering Ivan his coat. His deep voice rattled the quiet snow.
“Препятствуйте им ждать, брат,” Ivan scoffed. He offered his brother-in-arms a drink, but as usual the holy man would not touch it.
Dorian was an old friend who had flown in from Mos-cow specifically for Ivan’s coo. Before he left, he had confirmed for Ivan that Dmitry was back in their homeland, then he had quickly come to Memphis to set up shop.
Dorian was an expatriate of neighboring Sochi, Georgia with a healthy appetite for building dirty bombs. His father had been from Africa and his mother a quiet Muslim woman and native of Sochi. Dorian had been a rebel during many of the conflicts in Georgia and had since his teenage years, very much like the Medlov boys, been involved in organized crime.
Ironically enough, Ivan met Dorian through Dmitry, but not in an amicable way. Over a decade before, Dmitry sent Ivan to kill Dorian, but when Ivan arrived in the city of Tbilisi, Dorian paid him well to allow him to keep his life. The secret was maintained for a couple of years. And Ivan thought it was all water under the bridge when they left permanently to work for the Vory in the states. However, their scandal was still uncovered.
Dmitry later found out that Dorian was not dead and discovered the $3.5 million American dollars that Ivan was paid only after Dmitry came in contact with the man in New York by chance. Small world.
In retaliation of Ivan’s willful defiance, there was a bloody fall out between the brothers that landed Ivan in the hospital with his neck cut open and his wife dead. Dorian was smart enough to sneak out of the city and hide away in Thailand until it all blew over. Now, he was back to ensure that Ivan’s final stand against his brother had a fighting chance.
“You still prefer to speak Russian brother?” Ivan asked, leaning into the edge a little with his feet.
“I prefer no one language over another,” Dorian ans-wered,looking at Ivan play with death under the slick snow.
“I’ve been forced to speak the language of the natives for so long until I sometimes forget who I am and where I come from. Dmitry wanted to come to the states, but not me,” he said with a sigh. “I would like very much to go back to Russia when all of this is over.”
“For good?”
“I don’t know about all of that, but for a while, dah.” He pushed the seat back and stood up. “It’s long way down, eh,” he said, looking over the edge of the building one last time.
“Yes. So you should not tempt God by pretending that it’s not,” Dorian said,walking towards the door. “As I said before, the men are waiting on you.”
“And as I said before, let them wait,” Ivan said, taking another swig of his vodka.
∞♥∞
The limo pulled in front of Dmitry’s home at exactly 6:00 p.m. Royal had fallen asleep on Dmitry’s arm with her feet stretched across his lap. They were finally alone after many long hours of low chatter on the plane ride. When the driver opened the door, Dmitry rubbed R
oyal’s arm and woke her up. She grabbed her purse and followed Dmitry to the porch, where the bodyguard sat with his dog. Nightfall had set in and the large compound was quiet and still.
“Hey poochie,” Royal said, gesturing at the dog, who came over quickly and kissed her hand.
“He’s supposed to be a guard dog?” Dmitry asked,shaking his head. “Are you sure that he even bites?”
“Yes, boss. He bites,” the man said with a faint grin.
“Good,” Dmitry opened the door for Royal.
While Moscow had been beautiful and different, Royal could not explain the joy of walking back into their home. The familiar smell of vanilla and jasmine filled the airy atrium. She looked around in awe and hugged herself quietly. Kicking off her shoes, she headed up the staircase.
“Where are you going,” Dmitry asked,looking through the mail on the table.
“To take a bath,” she screamed down as she ran up the stairs.
“You’re like fish,” he said under his breath. “Always in water.”
The driver walked behind Dmitry and placed their lug-gage by the door, tipped his hat and left quietly.
Frustrated with the bulk mail he had been receiving lately, he shuffled through the pile and found a blue envelope with no return address. He picked it up and flipped it around, then slid his long finger between the paper to break the fold. There was a small white note inside the suspicious envelope that simply read in blue pen, “Call me as soon as you read this.”
Dmitry took a deep breath and looked up the stairwell. Royal had retreated to her bathroom, where she would surely be for hours. He tore up the small piece of paper and stuffed it deep into his pocket, then made his way to his study, where he closed the door and went to his desk.
The fire crackled in the darkness, illuminating the large room.
He sat down and sighed, then dialed the number slowly. The phone rang twice then picked up immediately.
“Hello.” The southern male voice sounded eager.
“How long has your note been sitting on my table?”
“One day,” the voice confirmed.
“What is the problem?”
“Your brother is planning to wage a war on you. Two of your council members are in cahoots with him.”
“Which ones?”
“Max and Nicolai.”
“Impossible.”
“Wanna hear the tapes? They met at Ginger’s Pub out in Arlington maybe a day after you were gone.”
There was silence on the phone.
“Leave Max and Nicolai to me,” Dmitry said finally.
“And your brother?”
Dmitry leaned his large arms over on the table and crossed his hands. “Use the information that I’ve given you, but trust me…you won’t need it until after.”
“About that,” the voice sighed.
“Yes?”
“He’s trying to connect you with over ten whore houses here, one of which is selling off teenagers. We don’thave proof right now. Can’t ever catch anyone in the act, but he said that he’d come in and give testimony against you and proof this week.”
“Teenagers?”
“Yep.”
“My brother has something else up his sleeve. He would never cooperate truly with the police anymore than I would.”
“Well, he’s your brother. So, I hope you know him well enough to know what he’s up to. You could just put this all on him and have him sent up to prison for a while.”
“No. We settle this among the Vory not among you.”
“Anyway you want it, chief. We just got word that you’ve arrived back in Memphis. Cops will be there soonwith a no-knock. You better get your house in order.”
“Fine. I’ll call my lawyer.” Dmitry rolled his eyes in aggravation.
“Everything’s circumstantial right now. You won’t even be held for even 24 hours. We don’t have shit really. The houses are yours on paper, but there is no direct connect between you and the girls.”
“How could there be? I’m not the one whoring them out; Ivan is. Have they been taken from the house?”
“The few that we could find. They’d been moved and not one of them is talking.”
“I’ll find out where.”
“You don’t have time. ETA is less than ten minutes.”
“Ten?”
“Yeah, so you best be on your way. Make your calls quick.”
Dmitry hung up the phone and reached into his pocket for the waded up paper with the number on it. Quickly, he threw it into the fire.
He had to make several calls before the police arrived. One to Anatoly to gather the council. One to Cory to watch over Royal. One to the head of his henchmen team. One to his lawyer. He wasn’t sure that he had enough to time. He picked up the phone and sighed. He had to try.
Chapter 23
When the police arrived to Dmitry’s estate in their heavily equipped SUVs and unmarked squad cars with their blue lights flashing, the gate was open for them so that they wouldn’t break it down. Regardless of the chaos that he caused, he despised unrest around him.
The police quickly rushed in and pulled around the long drive, parking in front of the large mansion in an over exaggerated convoy.
In anticipation, Dmitry had conveniently opened the front door of his home, turned on all of his exterior lights and was having a cigar out on the front porch with hismen when they pulled up.
To the officers’ chagrin, the element of surprise had been ruined. Almost as if Dmitry had been tipped off. All of his guards had discarded their guns and stood outside in the front smoking cigarettes, eagerly waiting to be hauled downtownfor a quick visit, according to their boss. They complied obediently, having been trained long ago how to deal with the shields.
Dmitry hadswitched cell phones and dumped his com-puter files. Everyone had been notified including his attorney.
He was ready for them.
As they came up the porch steps with guns drawn, he raised his hands and looked confused.
“What is this?” he asked as they turned him around against the front door and put the cuffs on him. His rights were read to him. Politely, he did not interrupt. There was no resistance. All the planning and gun power was for nothing.
A man of very muscular build and bo-legs in all-black tactical gear and his face covered in a black mask walked up to Dmitry and noted his cocky smirk.
“Happy New Year,” the man said sarcastically.
“Just get this over with,” Dmitry said, looking down and eyeing the man. “You all don’t have anything on me. I’ll be home before morning.”
“Did you get the girl?” The masked man turned and asked another officer not far from him.
“I didn’t know she was on the list.”
The man smiled. “Oh, she’s on the list.”
Dmitry was suddenly enraged. There was no need to arrest Royal. She didn’t know anything. She was supposed to come down from her bathand find them all gone. He would then return later and inform her of the awful mix up.
But that was the masked man’s intention. He knew that Royal was unaware,but he wanted her to know. He wanted to talk to her, to get in her head, to turn her from her sanctimonious lover one truth at a time.
The resistance started immediately. Dmitry jerked and pulled one officer down trying to get into the house to warn Royal, but the masked-man clashed against Dmitry’s giant frame. Their bodies collided and made a loud thunder. Other officers quickly piled on top of him. He still pum-meled through like a linebacker on a scrimmage line. The last tackle took him down at the threshold of his doorway.
He hit the ground hard. The thud rocked the marble floor. With men on top of him and blood in his mouth, they struggled to get him up off the floor. He spit blood and shook off his dizziness. He was still fighting. The large group of men dragged him out to one of the squad cars, pushed him in and hit the roof of the car, signaling to drive him off.
∞♥∞
Relaxed and in a tranquil
daze, Royal soaked in the wa-ter with her hair up in a bun and the candles lit around her with the music blasting on her IPod.
Her eyes were closed but every once in while, she would lift her hand out of the warm water and look at her engagement ring sparkling in the darkness.
She had never loved diamonds as much as she loved them now. Maybe it was because she had a whole chest of them given as gifts from Dmitry on nearly every occasion. Diamond rings, diamond earrings, diamond watches, diamond necklaces, diamond hair pins. Diamonds. Di-amonds. Diamonds.
She hummed a soothing tune under her breath. Life is great, she thought to herself.
At first Royal thought that it was all too good to be true, but it had turned out to be her big break. She had the dream job, the dream fiancé and the dream home. She opened her eyes and grinned at the thought. She had it all.
She was just about to close her eyes again when she noticed a light shining from under the door. Why did Dmitry have a flashlight? She sat up in the tub as the door knob turned slowly.
“Dmitry?” she called out, looking across the bathroom for her towel. Her heart skipped a beat. She could feel the constriction in her chest. Something was not right.
The door flung open and four men barged in the bath-room with their guns pointed in full black tactical gear with their lights on their guns blinding her in a standard two-by-two cover formation. She screamed when she saw them, trying to both cover her body and prepare to be shot.
Launching a bar of soap, she hit one man in the head. Her shrieking cry and vulnerable state made another man almost lower his gun. Almost. He quickly refocused the infrared beam on her wet bosom. She was like a deer in headlights. Tears ran down her face as she screamed for Dmitry, but he never came.
“Someone call the cops!” she screamed, only covered by the bubbles in the water. Her lips quivered.
“FBI, Ma’am,” one man said, walking towards the bench where her towel had been placed. He grabbed it and threw it over to her.
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