Chapter 37 Dimitri
DIMITRI
The first thing I notice when I step back into the office is it's quieter now. No voices raised. No objects flying. But the quiet doesn't feel peaceful. It feels like the moment right before lightning strikes.
Theo sits in the same chair he occupied before, a glass of whiskey in hand. He doesn't look up when I enter. He's staring at the television, though it's gone black.
Ares is pacing. Back and forth, back and forth, the way he used to when our father would call us all into this office for some new task.
The shards of the speaker lie scattered across the desk and floor. Nobody has bothered to clean them up yet. The staff were probably scared to enter.
I come in and sit down in the chair next to Theo.
No one speaks.
I sit there for a few seconds, trying to gather my thoughts. Trying to figure out where to start.
Theo looks at me.
"You good?" he asks.
I lean back in my chair. "Define good."
Ares lets out a huff and takes a seat at the desk opposite us.
"He watched us bury our father," Ares says, rage lining his words. "He stood there. He put a hand on my shoulder, told me he was sorry. That son of a bitch shook all of our hands."
"And we thought George Zervas was the motherfucker to watch," Theo says and sips his whiskey.
"I just don't understand it. What? Twenty-five fucking years Stavros knew our father. They may have not been on the same page all the time, but Dad treated him fair. Never would I have thought he was capable of this."
"Speaking of," Theo says and leans forward, "Ares, how's Katerina?"
Ares stands and walks over to the window, his back to us, shoulders rigid beneath his tailored suit.
"She's upset. She wants to head over to his house right now and kill him," he says, shaking his head. "I'm about to let her."
Ares turns around and looks at us, his jaw flexes, fists ball at his sides.
"He wrote that note then. 'Sons will follow the father.' He wanted to break us. Not just kill him, but ruin every fucking thing we've built."
"And from Cosmo's phone, his sole focus has been to wipe us off the face of this earth," I say, feeling the rage starting to rise in me.
"He wants Greece," Theo says and stands up and moves behind his chair. "Being number two wasn't good enough. Our grandfather told our father expanding into Chicago was overreaching and with that he wouldn't be able to trust anyone. It took some time, but he was right."
We all stay quiet, each remembering our own version of the story. Of our father's great heroic journey to unify the Greeks in Chicago and broker a deal with the Bonventis.
"Well, makes no difference," I say. "We need to go and kill him. His son, Niko, too. We can't leave him around to seek vengeance like we're doing."
"Yeah, well this isn't like taking down Rodrigo in Milan or the Vega family in Barcelona," Theo says, setting down his glass.
"Stavros Petrou has been preparing for this for years.
He's the second most powerful don in Greece.
His compound is a fortress. Always surrounded by at least a dozen armed guards. "
"I don't give a fuck if he lives inside the most secure building in the world," Ares says, eyes burning with rage.
"I'll cut through every last one of his men to reach him.
I will fucking call in every favor we have.
Bring families in from outside. I'll have the Kill brothers, our Irish friends, come and help.
They swore loyalty. They've been allies for quite some time. "
"Still. We need a plan," Theo insists. "Not blind rage. Or he might succeed in his little threat if we let our anger dictate what comes next. We need patience."
"Fuck that. How much patience did our father have when Stavros put a bullet in his head?" Ares's voice rises.
"What about the other families?" I ask. "If we move against him—"
"Fuck the other families," Ares cuts me off. "He killed our father and faced no backlash."
"That's precisely my point," Theo says, his strategic mind already turning. "He worked that angle for years. Paid off the right people. Created the perfect conditions to avoid retaliation. Look at the shitstorm the Athenian Warriors caused us. We don't have that luxury. We want him dead now."
"I don't give a fuck about any of that," Ares says. "I care about ending him."
"Well, you should," Theo says, moving around his chair to the edge of Ares's desk. "Because if we do this wrong, we don't just lose men. We don't just lose territory. We lose everything our father built. You think our allies won't smell blood if we come at Stavros like amateurs?"
Ares's lip curls. "Fuck our allies. They weren't the ones kneeling next to his body. I don't care if I have to burn down all of Greece. I will kill him."
I rub my face, feeling the stubble beneath my palms. The image of Athena, her body bruised by Stavros's men, him putting his hands on her, flashes in my mind. This isn't just about my father anymore. It's about all of us.
This motherfucker has become too cocky and power hungry that he forgot who he's dealing with.
"We should call Calli," I say abruptly. "Tell her what's happening."
My brothers turn to me.
"Maybe have her come back here, where we can protect her," I continue. "Now that we've taken Athena back, Stavros might accelerate whatever plans he has. Maybe he knows we're onto him."
Ares and Theo look at one another.
"You call her after we're done here," Ares says to me. "You're right. She needs to know and should be back here with us."
I nod, "Okay."
"Look. Brothers. Whatever we do," Theo says and sits back down, rubbing his face, "it's going to take time to do it right.
Weeks, maybe months of planning. We can't do that, not with him.
And look, this is the most powerful person we've ever gone up against, even if he is number two in territory.
There's a higher chance than ever in our fucking lives that one of us may not make it out.
Anyone else, I'd lock and load right now and put a bullet in him, but this hit, it's everything on the line.
If we're stupid, the Kastaris name is lost forever. "
"Goddammit," Ares says and hits his desk. "Always the calm calculated one, Theo."
I nod as Theo looks at me. "You're right."
Ares leans back in his chair. "I'm too upset to think clearly. A good leader leads, and I'm just wanting to bark orders and cause a riot. It's not smart."
"Exactly," Theo says. "I promise both of you. We'll figure this out. Figure out a way to end Stavros and all be alive. It'll be tricky, but we're Kastaris men after all."
I shake my head and stand up. "You always did like to think you were the rational one," I say with a slight smile.
"We'll reconvene tomorrow," Theo continues. "Fresh eyes."
I stand ready to leave, because I want to get back to Athena.
"Before we part ways," Theo says. "Let's have a drink," he continues, already reaching for the decanter.
I nod, watching as amber liquid fills two crystal glasses before Theo refills his own glass.
"Here," he says, handing it to me. "Ares," he says, reaching over the desk to give it to him.
Theo sits and swirls his whiskey, then looks up at me. "Alright, all rage aside, what about her?"
I take a slow sip, feeling the burn slide down my throat. I know this moment was coming. My brothers have watched me move through life taking what I want without attachment. Women, jobs, kills, consequences never mattered.
"You serious about her?" Theo asks. "We all risked our necks back at the quarry, but was it really for her, or the information she helped you find?"
"You mean to say is this another one of his distractions?" Ares interjects.
In the past, I would have brushed off the question. Would have told them to mind their own fucking business or deflected with some crude joke. But tonight, the answer comes with surprising ease.
"I love her," I say plainly. "As a matter of fact," I say, shaking my head and taking another sip, "I loved her way before today."
Ares makes a skeptical sound, somewhere between a scoff and a grunt.
I look him dead in the eyes. "I'm telling you, brother, it's not about convenience. She risked her life for me. She's…" I search for the right words, feeling almost embarrassed by the emotion behind them. "She's it."
The room falls silent. Theo studies my face.
"You know," Theo says, leaning back in his chair, "our mother wasn't born into our world, either. Dad brought her in. A lot of people thought she wouldn't survive it."
My jaw flexes at the mention of our mother.
"And Dad being the youngest, he was never meant to become don, but when he did," Theo continues, "she not only thrived but made Dad better. I think we can all agree to that."
Ares goes quiet, his shoulders dropping slightly.
I think about what Theo's getting at, what he's really saying. Our mother was an outsider who softened our father's edges without blunting them. She gave him something to fight for beyond territory and respect. I'd never considered the parallel before, but now I can't unsee it.
"I know it's fast," I admit, staring into my glass. "Crazy, even. But what did you expect from me? I've never done anything slow, or," I shrug, "the right way, if there is one in something like this."
Theo laughs. "No, you never have."
Ares hasn't said much, just looking down at his whiskey.
"Ares, come on man. I'm not a fan of who her father was, but he seemed to only have been her father by laws of nature, not because he raised her or earned it.
And if she did save your brother's life, and was key in delivering to us who it was that went after Dad, planned to go after us, she's worth a chance at the very least," Theo says.
Ares looks up at me. "Okay. If you trust her, that's all that matters."
Coming from Ares, it's practically a blessing.
Theo lifts his glass. "To whatever this is. May it not get you killed."
I raise my glass in return. Ares doesn't join the toast, but he gives me a hard nod, his version of acceptance.
"You know," I say, downing my drink, "seeing each of you with a wife and family, it's got me thinking.
I never wanted it until you two had it. Your women complement you.
Help you. Give you someone to speak to at night, right your ship when rage pulls it too much in one direction.
I want that. Fuck, if there's anyone in the room that needs help controlling things, it's me. "
"It's hard," Ares says. "Every decision you make, every thought, somehow your mind finds a way to attach them to it. So you move in the world thinking about outcomes not for you or your brothers, but for them, too."
Theo nods. "Shit, very insightful, Ares," he says, laughing.
"What if your mind is already doing that?" I ask, looking at them. "Considering them at every turn. Wanting not so much what's best for you, but for them, too."
Ares and Theo look at one another and then back at me. "If that's true. If you're really thinking like that," Theo shakes his head, "then you're already too far gone,” he says with a smirk. “When Stassi left, you all saw what it did to me. Don't wait. Don't risk it. Seize the fucking moment."
"If and when you're ready," Ares says.
I think about their words for a moment and then get up.
"I should get back," I say, standing. My body aches in a dozen places from everything, but the pain feels distant now.
Theo follows me to the door, and Ares says he's going to stay for a bit.
Before stepping out, Ares calls out to me.
"Hey, Dimitri, Don't forget to call Calli."
"I won't," I say.
I shut the door, and Theo stops me in the hall.
"Hey, listen. Moving forward, and between you and me, Ares thinks Dad's death was his fault, so he's not going to be rational about things.
I need you to help make him see things if he pushes back with me," he says and grabs my shoulder.
"I'm serious about not all of us making it if we're stupid with Stavros. He's dangerous."
"Yeah, you know I'll do anything to help. It is kind of weird you asking me to not go and kill someone though," I say, and Theo laughs.
"We're all going to have to do things we normally wouldn't if we want to take down Stavros. Anyway, go get some sleep," he says, then narrows his eyes. "And tell her, welcome to the family."
I nod, and he walks off. I turn and go in the opposite direction.
I think of Athena waiting in our room, The only thing keeping me from falling into the abyss is her, the woman I'm going back to, the one I'd burn the world for if I had to.
But first, I need to grab something.