48. Dimitri
48
DIMITRI
THE PAST
M y heart stops beating. Every thought in my head screeches to a halt.
I become nothing but fear and adrenaline.
The man has a gun pressed to Briar's temple. I can’t make out his face, but I can see Briar. Her eyes are locked on mine. They’re devoid of any emotion.
My men raise their weapons, but I lift my hand, telling them not to shoot.
“Who the fuck are you?” I call out.
He has a hood thrown over his head, so I can’t make out any of his features. All I can tell is that he’s a tall, well-built man.
“Take a wild guess,” he says. “I know you like to think you have everyone all figured out.”
"Get your hands off her," I say. "She has nothing to do with this."
“You’re right,” he says. “But she’s the only way I can get you to listen.”
"What do you want?" I say through gritted teeth.
He tsks. “So impatient.”
"You're one of them, aren't you?" I ask. "The ' Ndrangheta . You tagged along with your lackeys to make sure they got the job done."
“I see you’ve been doing your homework,” he replies.
I've spent a lot of time and money researching the ' Ndrangheta . I studied their inner circle and figured out who all the key players were. I learned their true identities. I know their habits. I know who they do business with. I know what they look like and sound like.
But when I stand in front of this guy, I get nothing.
I'm blanking.
I can't put a name or face to him.
I take a few steps toward him, trying to study his features. But I can’t see a thing.
"Don't walk any closer," he says.
"Who are you?" I ask.
“A messenger,” he says. “Tonight, I’m here to give you a warning. But next time, I won’t be so kind.”
There’s something about his voice. He speaks like he’s someone important, but I have no clue who he really is.
If he didn’t have a gun pressed to Briar’s temple, I would have told him exactly where he could stick his message.
“She means a lot to you, doesn’t she?” he says, caressing Briar’s cheek with the gun. “The proposal was lovely, with the fireflies and the picnic in the mountains.”
I clench my fists by my sides.
He's been watching me. He knows things about me that I haven't told anyone, not even my closest men.
A surge of anger rises inside me. I’ve been so wrapped up with Briar that I forgot about the rules. I heard about love making fools out of men before, but I never thought I'd be afflicted by it.
"Surprised?" he asks. The smile in his voice grates on my nerves. "I've been watching your every move, Dimitri. In fact, that's what I'm here to talk about. You've been sticking your nose in places it doesn’t belong. Perhaps you forgot who you’re dealing with. So I’m here to remind you to mind your own fucking business.”
"Or what?" I snap.
I hear the sharp, metallic click of the gun’s safety being turned off.
"Or I destroy everything you care about," he says.
He pulls the trigger.
My heart drops all the way to the ground. I hear Briar scream into the night. It feels like the bullet ripped through my own heart.
"What the fuck did you?—"
Briar lifts her head. She's alive. She's breathing heavily, but she's unharmed. And right now, that's all that matters.
“Fine, okay,” I say, lifting my hands in surrender. “I’ll mind my own business.”
“That wasn’t so hard now, was it?” the man says. “I knew you’d come to your senses.”
“Let her go,” I say. And then I add, “Please.”
"One more thing," he says. "Let the enforcers go."
I glance over at Pavel and nod at him. He frees the four shooters. They’re unarmed and outnumbered. They won't try anything now unless they have a death wish.
I keep my eyes on the cloaked figure behind Briar.
“If you ever forget what I just told you, I will come for you,” he says.
He pushes Briar toward me and takes a step back. The shadows swallow him whole.
I want to shoot at him blindly until his body is riddled with bullet holes. But I know he still has his gun trained on Briar.
When he completely disappears out of view, I turn my attention to Briar.
She's curled into a ball on the ground. I rush toward her.
"Princess, are you hurt?" I ask, holding her arms and tugging her toward me. She doesn't lift her head.
"I can't hear a thing," she says. “The ringing won’t stop.”
"It will pass," I tell her.
"I told you," she cries. "I told you to stay away, but you just had to go and try to prove a point.”
She starts crying now—broken sobs that shatter what's left of my heart. It makes me see red. Someone has to pay for this.
"The infrared goggles," I say, turning to Pavel.
A few seconds later, I'm wearing the infrared goggles that lets me see people in the dark. I scan the area for the man in the black coat, but he’s nowhere to be seen. But I do spot his four minions running away from the warehouse. They were set free only a few moments ago, and they didn’t make it far. Their heat signatures stand out in hues of orange and red against a dark background.
"Dimitri, please—“ Briar says.
I shoot them down. Each one of them.
When I’m out of bullets, I walk toward them. I take Briar with me because I don’t want to leave her side.
I search the dead men’s pockets, trying to find any clues that could lead me to my brother.
Briar remains as still as a statue.
When I stand, she takes a step away. Her eyes are focused on my hands. I glance down and see that they're dripping with blood.
"This is what happens when someone fucks with me," I tell her. "This is what happens when they lay their hands on what belongs to me. And the man who held the gun to your head? I will hunt him down too."
Her eyes are round with fear. "I never asked for that. I never asked for any of this."
I walk toward her. When I'm about to wrap my arms around her, she shrinks in fear. It makes me pause. She's never been like this around me.
She’s never been afraid of me.
"You have nothing to be scared of, solnishko ," I say quietly.
She can barely look me in the eye.
"I don't even recognize you anymore," she says, wrapping her arms around herself.
She sucks in a breath when my men start taking the bodies away. They'll be incinerated by the time the sun rises. But before that, their bodies will be examined to see if we find any new clues about the ‘ Ndrangheta .
I've hated the Italian crime family ever since they abducted my brother. But I loathe them more than ever now.
I won’t rest until I do everything in my power to bring them down.
They might have won the battle today, but I plan on waging a war against them.
"Pakhan, can I speak with you for a minute?" Pavel asks.
I glance at him. "What is it?"
His eyes flicker to Briar.
"In private," he says in Russian.
I don't want to leave Briar alone tonight. I won't let her out of my sight until I know she's safe and sound at home.
"Whatever it is, you can say it now," I reply in Russian.
He purses his lips, looking uneasy.
"We just received a report from our Europe subdivision," he says. "We were going through the ‘ Ndrangheta ’s properties, including their safe houses and yachts."
"And?"
"And we found GPS footage of Rurik," he says. “He’s being held captive in one of the yachts."
Finally. Some good news. We found my brother.
"Where is he?” I ask.
"Livorno, Italy," he says.
"Keep eyes on the yacht," I say. "We'll go to Italy right away."
"How soon?" Pavel asks.
I glance at Briar. Teardrops cling to her eyelashes. Her face is splotchy from the way she's been crying all night.
Leaving America will mean leaving Briar behind, but I need to do this for my brother.
"We leave tonight," I tell Pavel.
He nods. “I'll get the private jet ready.”
I escort Briar back to my car. As we walk in silence, all of the events of the night flash before my eyes—the shooting, the cloaked man holding a gun to Briar's head, the apple pie, how big her smile was at the diner. And how fast it was wiped away.
When I first met her, I was a selfish motherfucker.
All I wanted was to take, take, take.
I wanted to own her in every way. I wanted her to be my woman for life. I wanted her in my home, in my bed, in my life.
But now, I'm considering things I never did before.
I wonder if she would be happier if I weren’t in her life. I wonder if she would have been better off if she’d never met me in the first place. The very thought of a life without Briar feels like ripping my heart out of my chest.
I want to be selfish, territorial, possessive. That's something I'm used to.
What I'm not used to is this ache in my chest telling me that if I really love her, I shouldn’t be afraid to let her go.
When she gets inside the car, I move to buckle her in as always. Her eyes widen when I reach for her. She's looking at my hands. There's still blood on them.
I shouldn't be sullying her skin with blood. I drop my hands.
"I failed you today," I say. "I'm sorry."
She looks up at me.
"That man shouldn't have been able to put his hands on you."
"What about driving to the warehouse?"
"What about it?"
"You don't regret that?"
I look at her face. Everything shifted between us today. We're no longer looking at this relationship through rose-colored glasses. For the first time, we're seeing it for what it really is.
It's like the fireflies we saw last week. They shine bright in the night, but the glow is gone once the sun rises.
"I wish I could tell you what you want to hear, but that would be a lie," I say.
She searches my face. Disappointment clouds her eyes.
"Would you rather I lie to you?"
"No, I would rather prefer it if you respected my opinion."
"Of course I respect your opinion."
"I asked you, no, begged you not to follow the men to that warehouse," she says. "You didn't even consider listening to me. Even when I asked you not to shoot those men, you chose not to hear me. When you do stuff like that, it makes me feel like I was wrong about you, Dimitri. And I really, really wanted to be right about you."
Maybe we were both just deluding ourselves into thinking that this could actually work.
I start the car and pull out of the warehouse. The sky turns from black to indigo blue. The sun will be up soon.
Briar looks out the window, watching the trees and the small town go by.
"How are your ears?"
"Fine."
"You're angry with me."
"Very," she replies.
"I don't know how that man was able to get to you, Briar," I say. "I locked the car after me. He shouldn't have been able to open the doors.”
"He had a copy of your car keys," she says. "That's how he got in."
Briar's statement only proves that the man had been watching me for a long time. And I wasn't even aware of it.
People have tried to warn me about the ' Ndrangheta . Their name is whispered in secret. They have a dark reputation that precedes them.
I've been keeping tabs on them, but I haven't done anything yet. The fact that they knew I was watching them is more than alarming.A sane man would stay away, but a little danger never scared me.
"Did you see his face?" I ask.
She shakes her head. “It was too dark. And his face was covered with that hood.”
"Is there anything else you noticed about him?" I ask.
"When he pulled me out of the car, he told me that he wouldn't hurt me," she says. "I was in shock, but I didn't really think that he was going to kill me."
"Anything else?" I ask.
“He had a distinct smell, like freshly plucked mint,” she says. “Who was he, Dimitri?”
"I’ve been asking myself the same question," I say.
We sit in silence for the rest of the drive. In the span of just a few hours, everything changed between us.
I clear my throat. “There’s something I need to tell you. I’ll be traveling to Europe tonight."
"How long will you be there?" she asks.
"I don't know," I say. "Could be a few weeks or a few months."
"It's about the Italian mafia family, isn't it?" she asks, turning toward me.
"It's about my family," I say. "I need to be there for my brother."
Her eyes well with tears.
"I'd ask you to come with me, but I know what your answer will be," I say.
"I can't leave my sister behind," she says.
She turns away from me once more, staring up at the fading stars in the sky. The sky has turned from a midnight blue to a deep purple. I glance down at her hands. I don't know if she realizes it, but they’ve been trembling all night.
I want to promise her that it’ll never happen again, but the only way I can ensure that is by keeping her under lock and key. And I can’t do that to her. I can’t be responsible for making the light dim from her eyes.
And even if she were to agree to stay indoors for the rest of her life, even the walls of our home aren’t safe.
My enemies are as ruthless as I am. When they attack, they aim at where a man is the most vulnerable. And if they find out I have a soft spot for Briar, they’ll make her a target.
For the first time in years, I think about the night my sisters were taken. Our home was built like a fortress, but my father’s enemies broke inside anyway. My sisters were stolen and made to go through unspeakable horrors before they were murdered.
"Dimitri." Briar snaps me from my thoughts.
I look over at her to see that there’s a look of concern on her face.
"You look pale," she says. "Are you okay?"
I shake my head. I pull up by the side of the road because I can't see through the tears in my eyes.
"Why'd you stop?" she asks, glancing at the sky. "I have to be home soon."
I can't stop thinking about my sisters.
I can’t stop thinking about that night.
I keep trying to put a Band-Aid over the wound of that memory, but it never heals. It just festers.
I never told a single soul this, but the men who hurt my sisters took a video of the whole thing. They recorded every second of their torture. And even though it's been decades since the incident, the video is still burned into the back of my mind.
And right now, it's all I see.
I blacken the lives of the people in my life.
"This will be the last night we will ever see each other," I tell Briar, looking her in the eye.
"What?" She blinks.
"I'm going to Europe," I say. "You won't see me for months, and I don't know when I'll return."
"Are you...are you breaking up with me?" she asks.
When I go to Italy, I plan on bringing down one of the most powerful crime families the world has ever seen. And because of the power they hold, they'll try to find out everything they can about me. And I can't let them learn about how important Briar is to me. I can't put her in harm's way ever again.
The only solution I have is to break her heart.
Even if it means shattering my soul in the process.