42. Dimitri
42
DIMITRI
I watch her through the camera feed in my office.
She learned my secret in the worst way possible. And now, I get to watch as my entire world crumbles.
I can see it in her eyes. There's no love left in them. There's nothing but distrust and desperation. And that fire. It burns hotter than ever.
"Should I send some guards over?" Pavel asks. "You don't have to deal with it if you don't want to."
"No, I want to watch what she does next," I say.
A few of my men are inside my office with me.
We were staying up late going through all the information we have about Malorie Thorne. I wasn’t alone when the motion detector I installed in Chloe’s room went off.
I witnessed the entire exchange between the sisters.
"You're making a mistake," Grigori, my Starshina , says.
I usually listen to him, but I'm too emotionally charged tonight.
"Love is not a game," he says. "There are no winners and losers. Just be warned—if you play stupid games, you'll win stupid prizes."
"It's a test," I say. "I want to see how deep her love runs."
I'm not a fool. I always knew that if it ever came down to it, Briar would always choose her sisters over me. But I'm curious to see how quick she'll be to judge me. I want to see how fast her love can turn into hate.
"Dimitri, come outside," Grigori says, walking toward the balcony. "I want to have a word with you in private."
I look at the camera feed. I don't want to miss a single second of it.
“It’s all recorded. You can watch it later,” he says.
Out of respect for the older man, I stand and follow him. He closes the balcony doors behind us.
The balcony has a direct view of the ocean. He stares out at the waves for a long moment.
I drum my fingers against my thighs, getting impatient.
"You lost your father when you were only a boy." He grips the balustrade and keeps his eyes on the vast ocean.
"I was hardly a boy."
"You were barely fourteen," he says. "You were forced to become a man too soon."
"I couldn't have done it without your guidance." I look over at Grigori.
He was my father's best friend. I've known him since I was a young boy, so he's always been like a second father to me.
"I want you to know that I'm proud of the man you've become, Dimitri," he says. "I tried to teach you everything that I know, but some lessons in life can only be learned through experience. And that includes matters of the heart."
"I'm not going to hurt the girl, if that's what you're thinking,” I say.
"It's not the girl I'm worried about," he says. "You've always had self-destructive tendencies. I'm afraid that you're going to end up hurting yourself."
I don’t agree with him.
If anything, I end up hurting the people I care about. It’s my curse.
"This is the first time you’ve fallen in love," he continues. "It's the first time you’ve let yourself be vulnerable with someone. And this might not be obvious to you, but it's obvious to everyone around you."
"What is?" I ask.
"That you're giving up too easily," he says. "You're adding gasoline to the flames, trying to set fire to it yourself before it burns down on its own."
"If the relationship is going to burn down eventually, I might as well hasten the process," I say.
"Explain yourself to her." Grigori looks at me. "She might not forgive you for it, but it's important that she understands where you're coming from."
"It's not something she'll ever understand," I say. "She's not from this world. She doesn't see things the same way we do."
"Maybe that's not such a bad thing," he says. "Not everyone in your life has to see things exactly how you do."
I want to explain to him why I can't have love in my life.
I was just deluding myself into thinking it would all work out. But I can't have it all. I don't deserve to.
"I appreciate your counsel, Starshina ," I say.
“I don’t know why I even bother.” He sighs. “You’re just going to do whatever the fuck you want, aren’t you?”
We stare at the ocean in silence. I wonder when life got so complicated. Only a few days ago, I felt like the luckiest man on earth. But then, almost overnight, everything changed.
" L’isola della morte ," I say.
"What?" Grigori says.
"The island of death," I say. "It's where we crash-landed. Bad luck has been following us since."
“And you believe it’s because of the island?”
“All I know is that everything went to shit after.”
"If you believe in old curses, you must also believe in destiny," Grigori says. "And you must believe that when two people are meant for each other, they'll find their way back to each other. Nothing can keep them apart."
Emotion rises up my throat.
It's not that I don't care about her. It's the opposite, in fact. I care too much.
And because of that, I have to let her go.
"You advised against bringing Chloe and her child here," I say. "I should have listened to you."
"Yes," he says. "You should have."
"I just wanted to make Max sweat a little," I say. "It was never my intention to hurt his woman or child.”
"There are many ways to seek revenge," he says. "But the second you involve family in it, it turns into an unforgivable offense."
"Yes, but Max was the one who took my brother first,” I say. "If it weren't for his family heritage, he would never have dared to touch Rurik. He thinks himself invincible. I wanted to teach him a lesson."
"By doing the same thing to him that he did to you?" Grigori raises an eyebrow.
"It's hardly the same," I say. "I didn't lay a finger on his woman."
"He doesn't know that, though," Grigori says.
I grin. "I know. I hope his hair is falling out with worry.”
Grigori sighs.
"What?" I say.
"You're young, Dimitri," my Starshina says. "And like I said, there are some things you can only learn with age. Like how grudges only end up hurting you more than the other person. They poison your heart and fester in your mind, taking over you until you end up becoming the one who suffers most. It's unnecessary."
"It's not about holding grudges," I say. "It's about making things right. Someone has to stand up to the ' Ndrangheta . They let all that power get to their heads, and someone has to keep them in line."
" Hmm ," he says.
"What?" I turn toward him.
A small smile plays on his lips. His eyes crinkle at the edges, like he just thought of something amusing.
"Nothing," he says.
"Just tell me," I say.
His smile widens. "You're envious.”
“Of what exactly?” I ask.
“You’re envious of Max Montgomery."
“How on earth did you come to that conclusion?” As I say the words out loud, the answer comes to me.
"Because he's had everything handed to him all his life," he says. "And that wasn't always the case for you. You had to fight tooth and nail to be in your current position. You hadto get your hands dirty. Everything you built is from your own blood, sweat, and tears. Even if he hadn't abducted Rurik, you still would haveresented him."
"Abducting my brother didn't win him any favors," I mumble.
"So what will you do now?"
"About what?"
He remains quiet.
I sigh. This is the least interesting option, but I can't put my men's lives in danger just because my feelings were hurt.
“It feels like it’s too late to undo what I did,” I say.
"The thing about mistakes is that it's never too late to do the right thing."
I exhale. "I was hoping you wouldn't say that."
"You know what you have to do."
With that, he pats my back and walks back inside. I look up at the moon.
Everything in my world keeps changing.
I came to America to avenge the wrongs done to my brother. I ended up meeting an angel and falling head over heels in love with her. And now, things are more chaotic than ever.
A few months ago, I would have chosen violence over peace.
But everything is different now.
I'm going to be a father in a few months. And I'll be damned if I let my son or daughter inherit my sins.
I head back inside my office. All of my men turn to look at me.
I stare at the computer screen. It shows Chloe staring up at the ceiling as her little boy sleeps beside her. Briar isn't with them anymore.
"She went back to the guesthouse," Pavel informs me. "She took a notebook with her."
I look at Briar’s sister. Like Grigori, Chloe tried to reason with me about why I was making a mistake during her first few days on the island. I wasn’t interested in anything she had to say before. But now, I’m learning an important lesson—some things in life are more important than my ego.
"Is the private jet ready?" I ask Pavel.
"Yes," he says. "Where are we going?"
I catch Grigori's eye.
"To right some wrongs," I say.
I leave the office and head down the corridor. It's the same corridor Briar walked through about half an hour ago. Moonlight filters in through the windows, casting shadows everywhere. I stop in front of the closed door.
And then I open it.
Chloe sits up, staring at me. There's no indication on her face that she was just talking to her little sister.
“What a delightful surprise,” she says. “I haven’t seen you in a while, Dimitri.”
“Cut the crap, Chloe,” I say. “I know.”
Her eyes are pure innocence. “Know what?”
“I know Briar was here.”
She sighs then, dropping all pretense.
To her credit, she’s not frightened in the least. I’ve kept her in this room for weeks, but she’s not afraid of me in any way.
"You're ruining your relationship, you know," she says.
I exhale. " That's what you want to say to me?"
"What else should I say?" she asks.
"Someone else in your position would be begging for freedom," I say.
"Please," she says. "I always knew it was only a matter of time before you came to your senses. It just took you a while because you're a man."
"I don't know if you're brave or just plain foolish." I shake my head.
"Neither," she says. "I just see straight through you. You're all 'woe is me' right now, but you'll realize soon that you're making a mistake with Briar.”
I stare at her.
For a second, I consider asking her if she’s in cahoots with Grigori. They keep saying the same things to me.
"I already messed up with Briar,” I say. “It’s too late now.”
“Oh, trust me,” she says. “It’s never too late.”
"She'll never want me back now. She'll never see me the same way again."
"That's what you wanted, wasn't it?" she asks.
When I raise an eyebrow, she shrugs.
"I read her diary," Chloe confesses. "I think I know why you guys broke up the first time."
"She wrote about it?" I ask.
"She wrote about every single minute she spent with you," Chloe says. "And let me tell you one thing. You keep messing things up because deep down, for some reason, you believe you don't deserve to have her in your life."
I don't want to listen to another second of this.
It's one thing to hear it from someone who's like a father figure to me, but it's another thing entirely to hear it from my enemy's woman.
"I'm letting you go," I say, unlocking the door of her makeshift cell. "You'll be taken to Milan, Italy, and Max will be informed to pick you up there.”
There's zero relief or gratitude on her face.She looks at me like she’s been expecting this all along.
"I'm not just saying this because I care about my sister and you,” Chloe says. "I just don't want you guys to make the same mistake I did. Just be honest with her, and I know she'll have it in her to forgive you."
"You can't be serious." I shake my head.
"What?"
“ This is your response to finally being granted your freedom?”
“Again, what do you want me to say?” she asks.
"Not this," I say.
“Here’s the thing, Dimitri,” she says. “I always knew that you weren't going to hurt me. The kidnapping part took me by surprise, but I knew you wouldn't starve me or physically hurt me or anything like that."
Her eyes drift over my shoulder.
I turn my head and see that Pavel stands a few feet away, waiting for us to finish with this conversation.
"What about Briar?" Chloe asks, taking her sleeping child into her arms and walking out of the cell.
"What about her?" I ask.
"Will she be coming with me?" Chloe asks.
I grit my teeth.
I really don't want to deal with this right now.
"Pavel, please escort Chloe to the private jet," I say.
Chloe's eyes harden. "My sister is not some possession for you to do with as you please."
"She's the mother of my child. And until she gives birth to my heir, she'll stay with me," I say.
"You're making a mistake." Chloe shakes her head. "I hope you see the truth before it's too late."
My men step in, taking Chloe away. Once she's downstairs, she'll be blindfolded and kept that way for the rest of the trip.
I head back to my office.
Most of my men have left, but Grigori is still there. I head to the decanter and pour myself a generous serving of vodka. I relish the smooth burn as it goes down my throat.
"You did the right thing," he says.
"It really doesn't feel like it,” I reply.