Zeus
It’s been a few days since Midas told us what our dads were talking about. I didn’t want to say anything to the guys, but I think I know who Dimitri is. If I am right, then we have something to worry about.
Dimitri Kozlov is a notorious Bratva pakhan. He started as a lackey for the former pakhan and quickly climbed up through the ranks. Then one day, the pakhan was murdered and Dimitri took over. It is believed that Dimitri had killed him, but there was never any evidence to point to him.
The man is ruthless. His main concern in life is himself. He craved money, power, and fame. When life became too “boring” for him in Russia, he moved to the U.S. I don’t know where he went when he came here, but it’s starting to sound like it was here.
I highly doubt that he is in Fallingbrook, but Richmond would be a city that he would crave to conquer. With Dante as the leader of the Italian mafia in the city, I can see the appeal for Dimitri. He has always hated the Italians with a fierceness. No one knows why, but the stories of him going after any notable Italian family are legendary. He doesn’t care if you are a part of the mafia or not. As long as you are Italian, you are a dead man in his eyes.
If this is the same Dimitri that our dads were talking about, they have associated us with something that could end up getting us all killed.
I looked down at my phone for what felt like the millionth time in the last few days. I have wanted to call Dante. To ask him. To warn him. But something has always stopped me.
I wouldn’t consider us friends anymore, but he and I have had a mutually beneficial relationship over the last couple of years. We have silently been working together to try and get my dad and the others thrown in jail. Nothing has come from it yet, but we have stopped more than a few shady things from happening.
But keeping this a secret from Midas and Odin has been a challenge for me. I might have been able to convince Odin that this was a good thing, but I know Midas would have looked at this as the ultimate betrayal to him. The hatred between Midas and Dante goes down to the core of the two of them, and neither is willing to put their egos aside to end the feud.
I have tried to talk to Dante about what happened. Asked him why the sudden hatred towards us, but he always shoots me down and refuses to tell me anything. His only words are “Your fathers will pay for what they did to me, even if that means I need to get to them through you”.
Asking my dad what happened would end up with a bullet between my eyes, so there is no point going down that path.
Fuck it. I hit dial on Dante’s name and waited for his answer. Each ring sent panic through my body for no logical reason. I have spoken to Dante many times over the years, but this time I am afraid to learn what he knows.
“.” His cool, indifferent tone came through the line.
“I might have some information for you.” I can practically hear the smile forming on his lips at that sentence. “But I need some in return.”
Dante lets out a sigh of disappointment but ultimately agrees.
“Midas overheard something, and I need to know what it means. Our fathers are in contact with a man named Dimitri. Do you know who that might be?”
Dante pulls the phone away from his face before letting out a scream and cursing in Italian. I can hear other voices speaking to him in the background, all in Italian, but I don’t recognize any of them.
“You need to get on that bike of yours and get your ass over here now.” Before I can respond, Dante hangs up the phone.
Great, now I need to ride out to Richmond without being spotted by the guys. I have no clue where they are right now, but getting out of town unseen is almost next to impossible.
One of the new things that Zane had implemented at the last meeting was that club members are now doing patrols around the town. Zane wants to know every time someone comes in or out of town. He claims it is to keep us safe, but we all know he just wants complete control. He likes to think that he really is a king and that we are all his subjects. If you ask me, the man is drunk on power, and someone needs to dethrone him as soon as possible.
Everyone has a specific time and day that they are expected to be out. If you don’t comply, the penalty is death. No one was willing to go against him, fearing for their lives, and quickly agreed. Including the three of us. As much as we would like to think our dads wouldn’t kill us, I know they would. My dad has held me at gunpoint more than once when he didn’t like what I had to say. I wouldn’t put it past them to kill me.
Trying to remember who is out of patrol today is proving trickier than I thought. When I can’t remember who it is, I give up and decide to wing it.
I roll out of bed and throw on a pair of jeans, a blue T-shirt, and my leather jacket. I look at my cut that is hanging in my closet and just want to rip it out and burn it. I always thought joining the club was what I wanted. It was the ultimate goal in my life. Like all the pain I went through was for something.
Now, it is hollow. The pain meant nothing. The club is a lie.
On my way out the door, I grab an old baseball cap and sunglasses. I don’t bother with the bike. Everyone knows what it looks like. Instead, taking the car there is a less likely chance of someone spotting me in it. I place the baseball cap and sunglasses on and hop in. Here’s praying I am not spotted.
I made it out of town unseen, and it took no time to get to Dante’s home. Driving through Richmond isn’t something I am used to. I used to know these streets like the back of my hand, but now they were all so unfamiliar.
I may or may not have gotten lost more than once on my way to Dante’s place, but I eventually found it. The rich fucker lived on the outskirts of town on a massive property that you wouldn’t know was there unless you were told. The road to his home was shaded by thick trees on both sides until you reached the howling wolf gates.
I look out the window at a touchpad. Not knowing what the code is to get in, I start to take out my phone to text Dante when the gates start to swing open for me. I toss my phone back down on the seat next to me and pull up the rest of the mile-long driveway.
The trees thinned out until there was nothing but open land around on both sides. I pull up to the wolf water fountain and park on the side of it. The massive U-shaped mansion still looks the same as it did when I was a kid. A castle built in the middle of the California forest.
I climb out of the car and start up the steps to his front door. I knock once before the door opens wide. One of the men who came with Dante the night Serena was chased through the woods stands in front of me with his arms crossed over his broad chest. His muscles are flexing, trying to make the already large dude look larger.
We both stare at each other down, not even blinking until he lifts the corner of his mouth. He turns and starts walking through the vast hallways. I quickly catch up to him as he leads us into what I can only assume is Dante’s office.
Dante is perched behind a massive desk with two men standing at his sides. No one says anything as Muscle Head escorts me over to a chair in front of Dante’s large desk. Once I am seated, he walks around and joins the other two goons behind Dante.
The one in the middle looks slightly familiar. I had seen him around here when we were kids. His dark brown hair is swept back, perfectly styled to look effortless. His forest green eyes are focused on me, assessing me. Clearly not impressed with what he sees. I think I’ll call him Bastard.
Muscle Head, as he shall now be known, stands on the right of the first guy. And Beach Bum, the third dude, stands to his right.
“Tell me everything.” Dante’s voice commands.
“Our fathers are working for a man named Dimitri, and he has shown an interest in Serena. He wants them to get information on her.” I take a deep breath, needing to steady myself before saying the final words. “It seems like he wants them to take her for him. Whoever this Dimitri is, he has an interest in Serena.”
Dante shares a look with Bastard, silently communicating. Annoyance rears its ugly head that they are saying something without actually saying it. They know something and I need to know to.
“You need to get her far away from here. You know what he is like.” Bastard finally says to Dante.
“I can’t just send her away. I will deal with him myself.” Dante replies.
“Send her home with us. We live on the other side of the country and can keep her safe until this is all dealt with.” Muscle Head chimes in. He is imploring Dante to listen to him.
“Like fucking hell that is happening.” I can’t stop the anger from leaving me.
Why the hell would this guy even suggest that she leave? Does he think any of us would let her leave with three men that she doesn’t know? Who the fuck does he think is?
I take a step forward, ready to knock this guy out, until Dante raises his hand to me. A frustrated growl escapes in response. Dante has ten seconds to fix this shit before I start swinging.
The four of them start talking in Italian, clearly wanting a private conversation. I cross my arms over my chest as I wait for the bickering to end. After a few minutes, I start getting pissed. Like really pissed off.
“Serena isn’t going anywhere. Just tell me what I need to know so I can kill the bastard and keep her safe.” I huff out through gritted teeth.
Stupid Muscle Head for even suggesting we send her away.
“The Dimitri you are speaking of is Dimitri Kozlov,” Bastard says.
A sudden sinking feeling takes over as my worst fear is realized. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. This is the last thing I wanted. I could kill my dad for being so much of a moron that he would get into business with that man. Like I knew he wasn’t the brightest bulb, but this was an all-new low.
“How the fuck did he even know about Serena,” I ask, confused how this guy has Serena on his radar. The fact that he asked for her personally just makes me even more nervous.
If rumors are to be believed- and in this case, I do- Dimitri gets contracts from his clients telling him exactly what they want. He then sends out people to find that. He never receives names, only preferences. So for him to ask for her by name is a major red flag.
“The club. The night you bastardi interrupted, Dimitri was at the bar. He started a conversation with her. I intervened and put an end to it as soon as I noticed, but I assume that it was enough to intrigue him.” Dante runs a hand through his black hair. I can see the anxiety it gives him to know that Serena has another target on her back, and that he wasn’t able to stop it from happening.
“Why the fuck is he even in Richmond?”
“We don’t know. He has made a few appearances here and there but has kept his nose as clean as he can. We do suspect he is behind all the disappearances that have been happening lately. He just never had any solid proof.” Dante sounds defeated.
I understand that. Dante was only fifteen when he took over, and the weight of the world was dropped on him in the process. When we were kids, he used to talk about all the things he would do when he was older and in charge. But the most important one to him was keeping everyone safe.
“And what about our dads?”
“I didn’t know about that. You know I have had my suspicions about them, but never had any proof of anything.”
Something clicks in my head. The girls at the club. The new drugs are being delivered by those Russian men. The random increase in money to our dads’ pockets.
Where are the girls coming through the club, the ones he kidnapped from Richmond? “Do you have any pictures of the girls that have been kidnapped?”
Dante nods his head. He opens a drawer and tosses a large manila envelope on top. I grab it and start sorting through the pictures. Each girl seems to get younger and younger as I flip through them all. The last girl picture makes me want to scream. She can’t be older than twelve years old.
I pull out a picture of a blonde girl roughly the same age as I am. “I recognize her. She was one of the girls who was brought into the clubhouse. The poor girl was fucked up on Z.”
“Z?” Beach bum asks.
“Some drug that Zane demanded we started pushing. It’s nothing good. Makes you lose all sense and become like a zombie. People will do anything you tell them to if they are high on it.”
The three of them start discussing in Italian again. Fuckers. They could at least have the decency to speak in English, so I knew what was going on. But no.
“Marco, I need you to look into any known associates of Dimitri’s. Especially anyone in the state. Maybe he has someone else helping him with all this.” Marco nods his head. “Knowing Zane and the others are involved in this is a big step forward, but it’s clear to me that there is someone else big in play here. I don’t want any more surprises.”
“Thank you for this,” I say as I hand Dante back the pictures.
Now that I know some of the girls who have been taken, I will keep my eyes out for them in the club. Maybe I can sneak them out and bring them back to Dante.
I never thought I would offer Dante more help than I already do. But knowing these girls were kidnapped, drugged, and what they will be forced into doesn’t sit right with me. If I can do anything to help, I will.
Dante nods his head, but doesn’t say anything else. To lost in his mind over the information I spilled today. Can’t blame the guy. I have known about it for a few days, and I still can’t wrap my head around everything. But now knowing who Dimitri is, it changes everything.
If things were bad before, they just got a whole lot worse.
I rise from my chair, not bothering with a goodbye before walking out of Dante’s office. I still know this house like the back of my hand, so I know where to go to leave. As I reach for the door, Bastard starts yelling my name down the hall.
“Look. My offer still stands. Serena can come back with us. She will be safe there. She is a sweet girl and doesn’t deserve to be wrapped in all this. Mia famiglia would protect her like one of our own.” The sincerity in his voice tells me he isn’t lying, but I can’t let my girl leave.
I don’t bother responding. I said she wasn’t leaving earlier, and that won’t ever change.