22. A Half-Assed Interrogation
22
A Half-Assed Interrogation
Lilith
That no-good motherfucker.
When Antonio woke me in the predawn hours to let me know he had some European business to attend to, it never occurred to me he might mean European business he had to attend to in Europe.
So, when I say that I was slightly annoyed to find him gone, I mean nuclear-level pissed off.
Okay, maybe, just maybe, he did explain this to me, and in my sleep-deprived stupor, I missed it. But still, what kind of man woos the woman he loves and then jets off to another country the following morning?
It’s not until I’m sitting down for brunch with a few of the crew when it comes up that this may have been a last-minute trip set into motion by an unauthorized conversation.
“What do you mean he was in the basement?” I snap, my palms pressing into the table as I attempt to center myself.
Matt raises his brows at me, pressing his lips together as if he’s just now realizing the error of his statement. Then he shrugs and responds, “I don’t have any actual information on that, Lils. But he came out of the basement in a mood and went out the door muttering that he had some shit to take care of.”
“Oh, did he now?”
Matt continues to stare at me, likely knowing there’s nothing he can say right now that’s going to make me less pissed off.
He’s saved from having to reply when Antoinette walks into the room. She takes one look at me, glances at Matt, then back to me and asks, “What’s going on?”
I force myself to sit, ignoring my urge to throw something across the room. “Apparently, your good-for-nothing father decided to take a little trip to the basement and then afterward decided to jet off without any explanation.”
She gives me the same grimace that Matt had and then turns to Matt and asks, “Anyone go down there and find out what happened?”
Matt shakes his head, his hands coming up in front of him defensively. “Hell no. You told us to keep our asses out of the basement, so we keep our asses out of the basement.”
I sit there for a few moments fuming, and then I look to Antoinette, who’s still watching me. She nods and says, “Well, let’s go then.”
I’m on my feet before she stops speaking, and when Matt starts to rise, Antoinette turns to him and says, “Not you.”
He glares at her, and when he goes to speak, she puts a hand up, stopping him. “I know what you’re going to say, but it has to be just us in the room.” They stare at each other for a few long moments, and then Matt finally nods. She adds, “Pass it on to everyone else, but only if it comes up.”
Antoinette heads to the door, and I’m right behind her. We make our way through the kitchen and into the hallway that leads to the basement. She reaches for the keypad, and I place my hand on her forearm, stopping her. “Are you sure you want to go down there?”
She lifts a shoulder dismissively and replies, “Can’t really put it off forever.”
“Yes, you can,” I respond firmly. “You never have to lay eyes on that man again if you don’t want to. You know I’ll handle it.”
She searches my gaze, a small smile curving her mouth. “I think I’m good. I’ve prepared myself for the fact that he will have zero remorse. He may even gloat.”
I snort as she puts in the code, and the door opens. We slowly make our way downstairs. “Well then, this should be fun.”
“Right?” she says with a laugh. “It’s been a while since we got to make the unapologetic apologize.”
“Do you think he’ll break?”
Antoinette shakes her head. “Not a chance.”
We make our way through the maze of rooms in the basement, eventually entering the one where Dmitri is being held. At first, he doesn’t move, eventually lifting his head when we’re standing in front of him. He glances at me, and then his eyes move to Antoinette, lighting up immediately. She raises a brow at him and says, “You look like shit.”
The motherfucker grins at her. “Well, I’ve been better. But I’ve also been far worse.”
“Are you saying that you’ve been on the cusp of torture and death many times in your life?” she asks dryly, her focus on her fingernails as if she’s bored.
His grin widens, and he nods. “Many.”
He glances at me, then back at Antoinette, and asks, “But never by anyone quite as attractive as you two.”
Antoinette crosses her arms over her chest and rolls her eyes. My lip curls, and I snort. “Oh, for fuck’s sake. Stop that.” He turns his focus back to me, his eyes glinting with humor and I stare back, dread snaking through my guts along with a sense of familiarity as I look into his eyes. And then I whisper, “Are you a junior, Dmitri?”
The humor immediately falls from his face, and his lips twist in annoyance. “I don’t know about junior, but maybe third or fourth. We lost count after a while.”
“But are you the only one looking for retribution?”
“I’m not looking for retribution.”
“Then what are you looking for?”
His eyes move back to Antoinette, and the naked longing I see there is genuine. “Just her.”
“I’m not up for grabs,” she replies blandly.
“You were. Even if only for a moment.”
Antoinette glares at him, her fists falling to her sides. “You want to hit him?” I ask encouragingly.
She takes half a step toward him and then stops. “There really isn’t any point.”
“Isn’t there always a point?”
He glances between us again and says, “Well, you can hit me if you want, but it’s not necessary.”
“What do you mean it’s not necessary?”
“I’ll tell you the same thing I told the guy who was down here earlier. I’ve got nothing to hide at this point. I know my life is forfeit regardless, and I don’t owe any allegiance to anybody.”
“Not even to the people who put you up to this?”
“Least of all to those fuckers,” he sneers. Then he looks back at Antoinette and adds, “Don’t confuse that statement with the misplaced idea that I have even a shred of decency in me. They may have gotten the ball rolling on all of this, but at the end of the day, I took you because I wanted you. I’m only sorry I didn’t do it sooner.”
Antoinette ignores his statement, though I’m sure, on some level, it must bother her. But then she asks, “And who are they ?”
He stares at her for a moment and then turns his gaze back to me as he replies, “My mother, for starters. It seems a few of us have a crazy mother problem.”
I tilt my head at him and retort, “Very funny.”
He smiles, seeming rather satisfied with his joke. But then he sighs and says, “My mother’s entire life has revolved around the idea of hurting you in the worst ways possible.”
“Me?” I point to myself and then to Antoinette as I say, “Then why try to hurt her?”
“She knows the only way to hurt you is through your two surviving children.”
“Then why not Agatha?”
Dmitri laughs hollowly. “Do you know we tried? But I swear to Christ, that bitch is never alone.”
Antoinette smiles faintly, a small laugh escaping before she manages to school her features. “Sounds like Aggie.”
Dmitri sighs deeply and shakes his head. “We were hoping to throw you off with the Darius disguise, but then all you fuckers showed up looking like Darius and fucked that up big time.”
“Yeah, Camilla is going to want to talk about that.”
“Ah, the Chameleon,” he replies slowly. “Well, I don’t know how much I have to tell her, but I’ll happily share.”
I frown, not trusting a word this fucker says. “And we’re just supposed to believe you?”
“Believe whatever the fuck you want. It’s all the same to me.”
We stare at each other, his cool gaze unflinching, and then I ask, “So what’s your mother’s problem?”
“You. Everything about you.”
“Do I even know her?”
“Does it even matter?”
“For fuck’s sake, stop answering a question with a question,” Antoinette snarls, her fingers suddenly digging into the wound on his neck. “I know there’s no point in hitting you, but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be fun.”
She releases him, and his grin is back almost instantly. He raises a brow at her as if he’s daring her to take another hit. I smack Antoinette on the arm, and when she glances at me, I say, “Can we just get to the point here?”
Nodding, Antoinette asks, “Is your mother like a scorned lover or some shit?”
“Something like that,” he mutters. “Though I can’t imagine why, given the fact she should have been happy to have old man Petrov’s attention elsewhere. He was far from charming on a good day.”
“Petrov,” I murmur quietly. My blood runs cold, and my guts churn at the mention of a man who terrorized me when I was barely into womanhood. “That’s putting it lightly. He was a cruel, vindictive bastard on a good day. Heaven forbid you caught him on a bad one.”
“Exactly,” Dmitri exclaims. “I tried to tell her she should just get on with her life and be happy he’s forgotten her, but she was so fucking bitter to have him obsessed with someone other than her, she couldn’t see it for the blessing it was.”
“She some kind of masochist?”
Dmitri frowns. “You know, I’ve never really thought about it for obvious reasons, but she’s definitely some type of sadist.”
“What makes you say that?”
He peers up at me, his expression blank. “For the way she treated you.”
My heart stutters in my chest, a sudden lump in my throat choking me. I attempt to reply and fail. He continues to look at me passively, his expression completely devoid of emotion, as he adds, “You may not remember, considering how ill you were during your stay with us. Ill from abuse and then ill from the child.”
I manage to swallow the lump in my throat and choke out, “She was part of it?”
Dmitri nods, his eyes now staring vacantly somewhere behind me. “In some ways, she was the mastermind. I overheard her talking to someone about a plan to overthrow my father, and then, not even a week later, you showed up. It took me a bit to understand what was happening, and by the time I did, it was too late for me to do anything. My mother used to intentionally wind my father up and then put you in his path, knowing you’d take the brunt of whatever punishment she earned for herself—“
“If she helped engineer it,” Antoinette interrupts. “Then why be mad when it worked?”
“Because it worked a bit too well. My father became obsessed with Lilith and refused to send her back. My mother got shoved on the back burner and eventually was shipped off entirely. She left me behind with instructions to get rid of the problem, though I’m relatively certain she meant permanently, and most certainly, she didn’t mean for me to get myself caught and be banished with her.”
I frown, my words barely a whisper. “She wanted you to kill me?”
“Oh, yes,” he says frankly. “But if you leave an amateur with such a serious task, you get what you get.”
Antoinette steps closer, her hands stuffed into her pockets. “What did you do?”
“Obviously, I saved you instead,” he responds quietly. “Got my ass beat for it, too. Fuck, I basically got disowned for it, but I never regretted it—not for one minute.”
“How did you save her?” Antoinette asks, her expression pinched.
His gaze shifts to hers as he replies, “I caught a strange man poking around, and rather than turn him in, I listened to him. Then I helped him take her.”
“Mickey,” I whisper. “Mickey came for me.”
Dmitri nods, smiling faintly. “He’s one tough fucker. Honestly, he could’ve gutted me in a heartbeat, but he chose not to. Still not sure why.”
“How old were you?”
“I don’t know,” he answers softly. “Maybe eight.”
My laugh comes out bitter. “Mickey doesn’t gut children.”
“Well, that’s a novelty,” he retorts. “I think if she had not needed me for her own survival, she’d have gutted me in a heartbeat. She was furious when I showed up with a note to stay gone, or he’d either cut us off or kill us.”
Antoinette’s expression is grim, and I’m certain her thought process is running along the same lines as mine. Horror. A tinge of sadness. Rage.
“What did you tell Antonio?”
“Ah,” he answers. “Just what I’ve told you. They’re the masterminds. I’m supposed to be the puppet. And my mother has been in cahoots with your father and his father for years.”
My eyes widen, my jaw clenching painfully at the mention of Antonio’s father. It seems, once again, we should have done a more thorough job of ridding the world of evil fucking assholes. As if he’s reading my mind, Dmitri says, “Very few people outgrow their love for deception. Even fewer outgrow their evil nature. The only real expiration date for hateful greed is death.”
“Do you know where they are?” Antoinette asks.
Dmitri nods and responds, “For the most part. Or at least, I know the most likely places.”
Antoinette looks at the ceiling, muttering to herself. Then she turns her focus back to him and says, “I guess you’ll have to show us, then.”
I immediately shake my head. “Now, that’s a mistake.”
“What other choice do we have?”
My mouth snaps shut, having no other alternative, given the fact Antonio is hours ahead of us. But then I add, “The guys will never go for it.”
Her laugh is bitter, and she answers, “I wasn’t asking for fucking permission.”
Dmitri is still sitting there, watching us with a neutral expression. “Well, I can certainly tag along. That is probably the quickest way for you to locate them.”
“Are you going to give us a hard time?”
He smiles again, chuckling. “Well, I don’t really know.”
She looks at me, her eyes questioning, and I shrug. “I guess we don’t really have a choice.”
Antoinette moves to stand directly in front of him, and she leans over, staring him in the face, as she asks, “I don’t necessarily believe anything you say, so is there any way for us to go about this without having to look over our shoulder all the time?”
The grin fades from his lips, his eyes turning icy as he responds, “Obviously, taking you was wrong. And me being completely unapologetic for it is probably even worse. But while you’re condemning me for my actions, just remember that your fate would have been far worse in the hands of anyone else.”
Antoinette straightens, obviously processing his words. As much as I would like him to elaborate on whatever it is he’s fucking talking about, I don’t want him to say any more than she wants him to. Before I can say anything anyway, she turns, heading for the door. “I’ll get Aggie. You can figure out how to best restrain that fucker.”
“Oh, I’m pretty sure Agatha went with the other guy,” Dmitri responds nonchalantly.
Antoinette turns back to him just as I ask, “What do you mean she went with the other guy?”
He raises his brows at me and responds, “She showed up when he was having a little chat with me. And when he left, she went with him.”
“That little fucking bitch.”
Antoinette snarls. “When I get my fucking hands on her.”
Dmitri laughs and shakes his head. “I get the impression she gets that a lot.”
Antoinette and I both turn and glare at him, but once again, he’s entirely unbothered and just shrugs. Then Antoinette turns to me and asks, “What do you want to do?”
I sigh, not wanting to take this guy out of the basement but also knowing that the quickest and most efficient way to deal with a largely unknown problem is to continue the questioning en route. I pull my phone from my back pocket bringing up my contacts and tapping on Mickey’s name. No sooner have I put the phone to my ear than he answers, knowing I’m only calling for one reason.
“It’s fuck-around time.”