Chapter Nineteen
Sofiya
It takes me a moment to realize that Alek is being completely serious.
When I realize he is, I can’t help myself: I break down laughing.
Alek shares a frown with Alekos before turning back to me. “Is there a problem?”
“Yes,” I say, calming my laughter down. “Why would I marry you? I want to be with my husband.”
“The husband who reportedly beats you? Treats you as if you’re not even human?”
I can’t stop myself from flinching slightly.
Alek isn’t wrong. Dimitri has treated me badly sometimes.
But there’s one thing in my gut I know beyond a doubt: I don’t want to be without him.
He has cemented himself into me and that’s just that.
I know Dimitri is capable of love. Kindness. He has shown me.
I believe that he and I can grow into something that is unique for us. A marriage that includes some pain but also a lot of pleasure. I’ll never fully be his equal but I’m ok with that. I need his dominance and control more than I always like to admit.
And seeing Dimitri lying on the ground of our house, unsure of his fate, has made me more worried about him than I ever thought possible. He’s my husband for better or for worse. Yes, he broke me down to get to this point.
But I know we can rise together. If he’s alive.
“Dimitri has done some bad things,” I say with a look at Alekos. “I don’t always agree with it. But… I know I love him,” Maybe it’s pathetic of me but it’s the truth. I know it deep in my gut. I never want to be without Dimitri. It’s time to accept that.
Alek scoffs. “You love him?”
“He is my husband. Is that so hard to believe? And I don’t want another one. So no, I will not marry you, Alek. I don’t want you.”
“Even though I could give you your freedom?”
“You kidnapped me to get me here. You’re no better than he is. No mafia man can give me my freedom. I think you’re all incapable of it. But I don’t want my freedom any longer. I just want my husband. Is he dead?”
“No. I didn’t kill Dimitri. I want him to suffer, knowing I stole you from him. But fine. You don’t want to take me up on my deal? All right then. Alekos, go put her in one of the guest rooms. She’ll stay there until I’ve dealt with Dimitri.”
Alekos picks me up and I scream and kick but it’s useless. After getting dragged to a bedroom, he tosses me inside and slams the door shut, locking it. I try the doorknob anyway but it’s pointless. I’m stuck.
My only hope is that Dimitri is alive and he’ll come for me.
When he orchestrated my first kidnapping, he made himself the savior but it was all a lie. Now, however, is his chance to prove himself. That he truly can be the man deserving of my love.
If he can find me that is.
Dimitri
I wake up with a groan, my head pounding. When I touch the back of it, my fingers come away red with blood. Fucking great. Someone hit me in the head…
Which means someone is in this house. Sofiya. She could be in danger.
I rush to the bedroom but I don’t find her. My head is swaying from dizziness but I push past it. Finding Sofiya is more important.
I notice the bookshelf is open, revealing Katya’s door. I push her door open, not caring if she’s all right with me coming in or not. I breathe a sigh of relief when I see that she’s here. “Are you ok?”
She frowns. “Why wouldn’t I be ok?”
“Did you hear anything? Sofiya?”
“Sofiya? Is she ok?”
“She’s not here. She was supposed to stay in our room. You didn’t hear her leave?”
“You have soundproofing all on this room. I can’t hear anything.”
Shit. I know that but I had to ask. I run from Katya’s room and check the entire house but Sofiya isn’t anywhere.
“Dimitri?” Katya’s voice startles me.
I’m in the foyer now. When I turn around, I see my sister behind me. My sister who struggles to leave her bedroom but now, she has.
“What’s going on?” she asks.
“Sofiya is missing. Someone attacked me and took her. Go back to your room. Stay hidden. Just in case anyone comes back. I’ll have some of my men come guard the house. I have to go find her.”
“Ok. But Dimitri, you don’t even have a shirt on. Get dressed. Get ready. Whoever took Sofiya is dangerous. They hurt you. You’re bleeding. You need to be careful.”
“You’re right. I will.” I stare at my sister, feeling so much pride for her. She has grown into a woman but one who’s still afraid of the world. “I love you, you know?”
Her smile is soft. “I know. You’ve always protected me. Now go. Protect your wife. I’ll go back to my room. I’ll stay safe.”
I give Katya a hug and she clings back to me. No matter what happens, at least I’ll know Katya will be safe. Physically anyway. Emotionally though… that’s a story for another day.
I change into clothes and ignore the pain in my head before heading over to Ivan’s house. I doubt he’s the one who attacked me – I’m fairly positive I know who it is – but I’ll need Ivan’s help and things between us are tense right now.
After pounding on his door, he finally answers. “Dimitri? What are you doing here?”
“Is Sofiya here?”
“No.”
“You’re not just saying that to keep her from me?”
“You can check my entire house.” He opens the door wider for me and I rush inside. A look around the house reveals that Sofiya isn’t here.
“What is going on?” Ivan asks.
“Sofiya is missing. Someone took her. Alek, probably. When he made a show of coming to my house, that was a threat. He has her. I know it. I need your help, Ivan. In getting her back.”
“I’ll help. Of course. She’s my daughter. But I have one condition.”
“What?”
“You will never hurt her again. Be a good husband to my daughter. Please.”
“That’s what I’m trying to be. Now, let’s go.”
Ivan accepts my words as he knows he’s not going to get anything more. “I’ll call some of my men. Have them look for Alek. If he has Sofiya, we’ll find him and kill him.”
“I’m going out. I know some of Alek’s locations. He might have her at one of them.”
I check Alek’s nightclub and all the restaurants he owns and can’t find Sofiya at any of them. That’s when I get a call… from Alek himself.
“Hi, Dimitri,” he says after I answer.
“Where is Sofiya? I know you have her.”
“I do. I’m going to drive you insane trying to find her. This is what you get for trying to kill me. Have fun.” He hangs up.
“Fuck!” I scream, smacking my hands into the steering wheel. Where could she be? Alek has other locations, I know of it. His own house, perhaps. The problem is: I don’t know where he lives.
I call one of my hacker guys and tell him to find Alek Morozov’s house. If Alek wanted to hurt me, he’d bring Sofiya to his own home. Take her away from me.
With Sofiya being gone, I realize I’ve gone about our marriage in all the wrong ways. I was so desperate to make her mine that I didn’t realize what she truly needed. She likes the darkness like I do but she needs more kindness. Compassion.
When I find her, I’ll make sure to give that to her. I’ll make sure to be the husband that she can be proud of instead of her always having to be the one to make me proud.
I broke my wife down until she was a shell and it wasn’t what I wanted. What I want is Sofiya by my side, living our life together, content and happy. Pain and pleasure will play a part in it. It always will.
But we can have even more. I believe it.
I just have to find her first.
It takes a few hours – I continue to drive around the city in that time – when my hacker guy calls me back and tells me he managed to find the address for Alek’s house. If Sofiya is there, I will save her.
I call Ivan with the news and rush to the house. It’s a large, lavish place. Elegant and nice to look at. Why couldn’t Alek have a gaudy ugly house? It would be more fitting for him.
I don’t bother wasting my time. I take out my gun and shoot the doorknob and kick the door in. That’s when I come face to face with…
Alekos. Not Alek himself.
Alekos has his gun drawn and he fires it at me.
I dive outside and manage to avoid getting hit.
But Alekos is relentless. He comes running outside, firing his gun at me.
I have no choice but to hide behind my car.
The moment he runs out of bullets, I fire my gun at him and hit him in the leg, knocking him to the ground.
Then I land another hit to his arm, forcing him to drop his gun.
Taking deep breaths, I walk over to him and stare him down. “You thought you could hurt me? Steal more money from me? I never should have worked with you in the fucking first place.”
That’s when I shoot him in the head.
Without a glance back, I head inside Alek’s house.
I find Alek in the living room… with Sofiya right in front of him, his gun to her head. “I will kill her, Dimitri.”
“Is that why you took her? To hurt me?”
“Of course. You don’t get to win. You’ve been hounding me for months. You’re going to know what it’s like to hurt.”
“Don’t,” I shout. “Kill me instead.”
Sofiya gasps. “Dimitri.”
“Alek, kill me instead. Leave her out of this. She has no part in it. She didn’t try to kill you like I have. Just leave her alone. End my life.”
“But if I kill you, your men will come down on me. I’ll be in a war I don’t want.”
“You started a new war,” I growl, “when you stole my wife and you know it. You want this, Alek.”
“No. I just want you to stop trying to kill me. This is why I did this.”
“I offered you a deal and you didn’t fucking take it. This is on your hands.” I set my gun to the ground. “So kill me. You know you want to. It will make way for you to take power. Just spare my wife. That’s all I ask.”
“Dimitri,” Sofiya whispers, tears forming in her eyes.
I’ve been a selfish bastard when it comes to Sofiya. I’ll always probably be. But right in this moment, I have the choice to be selfless and I’m choosing to be. I’m choosing Sofiya over my own wants and desires.
Because I know I love her.
It’s not just obsession. It’s not just desperation to make her mine.
She is my wife and I love her and she is mine and all those things are true.
Which is why I’m willing to die to save her life.
I get down on my knees. “Kill me, Alek. Just spare her life.”
Alek looks me over like I’m crazy before he shoves Sofiya to the side and places his gun to my head. “This isn’t what I wanted, Dimitri. I wanted to have fun but you’re making it too easy.” He grunts and lowers his gun. “Get out. Get out of my house.”
“You’re letting me live?” I ask.
“I want to have fun and this” – he motions at me on my knees – “isn’t fun.
So leave. Take your wife with you. She loves you, you know.
I offered her the chance to be with me and she declined.
She only wants you. Though, why, I have no fucking clue.
So leave. But we’ll meet again. I’m not done with you yet. ”
Slowly, I stand up. The urge to fight Alek is strong but I have to get Sofiya to safety. So I grab Sofiya to me and we back away from Alek. She clings to me with all her might.
Alek doesn’t come after us.
I get Sofiya back to our house. The moment we’re in the foyer, she grabs my face and kisses me deeply.
“What was that for?” I ask.
“You saved my life. You were willing to die for me. I never thought I would see that side of you.”
“I was willing to die for you. I’m always willing. I want things to change, Sofiya. I still want to claim you, over and over and over again. But I want you to stand at my side more. I want you to enjoy your garden. I want you to voice your opinions. I want all of you.”
“Dimitri,” she whispers. “I want all of that too. I love you.”
Her admission makes my heart skip a fucking beat.
But I know it’s right. “I love you too. I know we have a lot of things to work through. And I have to say that… I am sorry for how I manipulated you in Greece. I never should have done it. Almost losing you for real woke me up. I’ll never do something like that again. ”
“I don’t mind some of the darkness,” she admits. “It excites me. But all I ask is that you also show me kindness and love. That’s it.”
“I can do that. Right now, all I want is to hold you and nothing more.”
Not sex. Not passion. Just pure love.
I wrap my arms around her and she holds me close and we stay like that for a very long time.