22. The Best of Friends
Chapter twenty-two
The Best of Friends
Lei
Tension hung in the air like a storm cloud, ready to break at any moment. I could feel the weight of every gaze, every unspoken word, and every barely suppressed impulse to let violence take over.
But Moni had somehow gotten control of those fucking idiots.
It was strange how they easily listened to her—these men who had grown up in the same sort of chaos and violence that I had.
Men who respected power, feared nothing, and answered to no one.
Yet here they were, standing down, because she told them to.
I watched as she held their attention with just a few sharp words, her voice steady, her gaze unyielding.
There was no hesitation in her.
No doubt.
And they recognized it.
They knew better than to push Moni and it was almost as if they feared disappointing her.
These were men who had seen and done terrible things, who commanded respect through fear and strength.
And yet, when Monique spoke, they listened.
Good.
It filled me with a sense of pride I hadn't expected.
More and more I was seeing how Moni wasn’t just any woman; she was a force of nature, capable of holding her own in my world of shadows and danger.
She may end up being a better Mountain Mistress than my mother.
And while, I still wanted to kill Marcelo—rip his fucking innards out of his body and feed it to Banks—she had everything calm and under control.
So I had to push down my violence and have her back.
Good job.
Dima watched me and jotted down another note.
What the fuck are you writing about?
I took a deep breath, forcing myself to relax my clenched fists and stepped forward, pulling Monique closer to my side. The words were sharp in my mouth, but I kept my tone steady. “Dima, let me introduce you to Monique. She is my official Mountain Mistress.”
Monique stiffened slightly beside me, but I kept my arm around her waist, hopefully grounding her in the moment.
This wasn’t just for show; it was the truth. She needed to understand the weight of that title, the responsibility that came with it.
But I also needed her to know that I was here, by her side, protecting her in my world of death and power plays.
Dima’s eyes flicked to Monique and for a moment, I could see the gears turning in his mind, assessing her, calculating. Then, as if flipping a switch, his face softened into that charming, almost disarming smile of his that used to make even my mother giddy.
“Monique.” He lifted his pen from the notebook. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
He didn’t extend his hand to shake hers, but the gesture was there in his posture, in the way he subtly leaned forward.
Dima had a thing about boundaries, especially when it came to someone new.
Which made me wonder why he’d brought the reporter.
I raised my eyebrows. “And this is a great opportunity to tell me why she is here.”
The warm expression left his face. “She?”
“The reporter.”
Dima loudly cleared his throat, telling me in his way to proceed with caution.
Why? Is she really that important to you?
Next, he turned to the reporter. “This is Rose.”
Then. . .his voice took on a different, almost odd tone that I’d never heard from him. “I am madly in love with her.”
What?
Rose blinked.
Chen glanced at me.
I thought back to Chen showing me Rose’s little interview on the, Good Morning Paradise City, show over a month ago.
Rose was a wild card and in our world, wild cards could bring everything crashing down.
I assessed her. “You’re a Pulitzer Prize winner. Right?”
She gave me a warm smile. “I am.”
“You got it due to doing some big article on bad guys.”
“A group of corrupt NY politicians.” Rose remained composed. Her face was a mask of calm elegance.
“That’s right.” I bobbed my head. “You took down the bad guys.”
Frowning, Dima put up the notebook.
I put my view back on Rose. “I loved your interview on Good Morning Paradise City . I believe you said that you were coming down here to understand the violence and crime that plagues Paradise City. Did I get that right?”
Marcelo and Banks watched her, clearly not exactly won over by the reporter either.
Meanwhile, Dima deepened his frown.
“You did get that right.” Rose blinked again. “Well. . .a lot has happened since then.”
Monique spoke, “Nice to meet you, Rose.”
She gave Monique and me a small, polite smile. “Nice to meet you too. I’ve heard a little about you all.”
"You heard about me?” I forced myself to keep a smile. “I would hate for Diamond Syndicate news to make it to the papers. That would be very dangerous.”
Rose flinched.
Dima scowled. “It would be more dangerous to threaten her .”
Interesting. He’s willing to protect her from me. Hmmm.
Rose fixed her expression. “I’m off duty.”
“But you are still a reporter hoping to dismantle the evil elements in Paradise City?”
Rose stood her ground. “Thankfully for the Diamond Syndicate, there are much more evil elements than you all in Paradise City.”
“Thankfully.” I found her intriguing so far.
To stand next to Dima, she must have been beyond fascinating and willing to deal with all of his odd quirks.
While I liked that for him, I wasn’t going to easily trust her just yet.
Whether he understood how much I cared for him or not. . .I would not let just anyone have his heart.
I’ll have to make sure Chen gets a team of people to check her out. Last I knew, he was supposed to kill her.
Earlier, I’d watched Rose closely, noting the way she seemed to be taking everything in—the dynamics between us, the unspoken rules, the tension that crackled in the air like static.
Something about her made me uneasy. She was too calm, too composed.
Was she playing a part?
Or truly trying to understand our world for the greater good of being with Dima?
Hmmm .
Dima recovered the moment for all of us. “Well. . .I have a question. . .about a week or so ago, Lei drove back to Paradise City with a woman on the back of his motorcycle. Were you that woman?”
Moni looked at me. “What?”
Rose whispered, “Dima.”
“Oh. That wasn’t you?” Dima took out a different notebook. This one wasn’t yellow, it was white.
Meanwhile, I glanced at Duck. “What is he talking about?”
Duck shrugged. “I gave someone a ride on your bike. Her tire was flat. I thought it would turn into something, but I forgot to get her number.”
Dima flipped through the notebook and put several lines through some old notes.
And Moni continued to watch me.
I kept my voice low. “It wasn’t me.”
“My apologies. Wrong information.” Dima put that notebook away and pulled out the yellow one again. “Anyway, I’ve been looking forward to this introduction.”
Moni turned back to him. “Me too. When I was Friend of the Four Aces , I had chosen you as my advisor.”
That caused a clear stir among everyone. Shock hit Dima’s face. Marcelo smirked. Banks looked like he was holding in laughter.
I wish he didn’t know that. Now he’ll be hyper focused on being her advisor.
On my side, Chen appeared ready to explode and Duck shook his head.
Dima wrote in his notebook, surely jotting that information down. “How interesting. I hope that I still could advise you in some way—”
“Not happening.” I scowled.
Moni ignored me. “I am looking forward to that.”
Banks and Marcelo exchanged glances.
I didn’t know what they thought would benefit them with Dima and Moni uniting but I would put that all to an end.
Dima continued, “Monique, you’re stepping into a role of great importance in the East. But I have watched you on TV and have been. . .blown away. No doubt you’ll handle any challenge with the strength and grace that I’ve already seen.”
Moni blushed. “Thank you, Dimitri.”
“And call me, Dima. We are family now.”
“Awesome.”
Dima gestured to Rose. “And you and Rose will be best friends, telling each other everything and supporting each other as you both get adjusted to the Diamond Syndicate and Paradise City.”
Rose nudged him with her elbow.
But Dima didn’t get the hint. “My hope is that Lei and I manage to impregnant you both at the same time so that our kids will grow up together, maybe marry, but both will definitely rule at the same time—”
“Dima that is enough.” Rose scowled at him.
Dima looked at her. “Why is it enough?”
I could tell Rose was trying her best to keep their conversation just between them.
She whispered, “It’s just too much, Dima.”
“It’s what I want and I get what I want.”
Rose let out an exasperated breath.
That made me smile and against my will I found a little bit of kinship with her.
Meanwhile, the cat at Dima’s feet gave a soft meow and I realized that it had a predatory focus on two crows perched several feet away from us.
For some reason, my heart ached when I looked at those crows.
Dima cleared his throat. “Anyway, Monique—”
“You can call me, Moni.”
“Aww.” Dima nodded. “Moni.”
She smiled.
“I must unfortunately make you just the tiniest bit mad. . .Moni. However, I hope that we can still be friends and I remain your advisor.”
“No one said that you were her advisor.” I looked at him. “And what are you talking about?”
“Mad?” She tilted her head. “Why?”
Dima answered, “Law 480 was raised and due to that, it must still be addressed. Today. Right now even. And yes. . .at this cookout where there are mermaids.”
I stifled a groan.
“I see a carousel too.” Dima checked that area. “It’s taken a lot of my energy to not go over there. Can everyone ride it? Adults? Tall ones?”
I sneered. “We’re not dealing with Law 480.”
“We must. The law is law. No exceptions.” Dima raised one finger. “However, I promise to make sure that the Four Aces and Rowe Street Mob maintain gentlemanly behavior in your garden, advisee.”
Not giving up, Moni countered, “Since I’m supposedly the victim, can I protest this in any way?”
“That would make my life easier, but no.” Dima shook his head. “This complaint must remain between the Diamond Syndicate and I don’t see Rowe Street Mob letting this go no matter how much you have them in line.”
I could tell Banks and Marcelo wanted to smile, but they kept their expressions stern.
“That’s fine.” I kissed Moni on the cheek, for two reasons.
First, I desperately needed to touch her more.
Second, I kissed her because I knew it would piss off Banks and Marcelo. When I moved away from her cheek, their glares in my direction proved me right.
I looked at Dima. “Fine. We can have this pathetic little show for Banks and little Marcy today—”
“Careful,” Marcelo growled. “ You don’t get to call me that.”
Dima looked from me to him. “Did you just say. . . Marcy? ”
Duck snickered on my side.
Marcelo growled again, “Forget you heard that, Dima.”
“Okay.” Dima opened his notebook and lifted his pen.
Marcelo raised his voice. “You write that nickname down and we’re going to have a bigger problem than the Four Aces violating Law 480.”
Dima seemed like he was willing to risk it. I swore he came very close to putting that pen on the paper.
Rose whispered, “Dima. . .”
Loudly sighing, Dima closed his notebook. “But that is so important.”
Marcelo glared at him. “It is not.”
“I just. . .” Dima longingly gazed at his notebook. “I just have so many questions.”
“Ask them while you all walk over to the table.” I let go of Moni’s waist and gestured for the men at the massive crate on the helipad to be ready to open it. With all this bullshit happening, I still hadn’t revealed my gifts.
“You can all leave for now. Give me twenty minutes.” I waved everyone else away. “Moni and I are still not finished welcoming her sisters to Lotus Blossom. I have some presents I want to give them.”
Banks sucked his teeth. “You won’t be able to bribe my cousins.”
Moni stepped forward. “Banks, how about you take this time to check on your special sauces.”
“Nothing wrong with my sauces,” Banks said, yet he still headed away. “But I saw your chef struggling with his sauces and what he was working with ain’t shit. When I put my ribs on the grill, the motherfucker is going to end up contemplating suicide.”
Moni smirked. “Whatever, Banks.”
“Alright, Moni,” he called back. “I’m just trying to tell you something. You’ll need a new chef because by morning, this motherfucker will be hanging from a tree.”
Marcelo, Gunner, and Einstein followed him. The rest of the armed Rowe Street Mob guys they had brought left also.
But Dima, Rose, and that cat remained.
Moni gave me a sad smile. “I’ll go get my sisters, so we can finally get off this helipad.”
I nodded.
Dima gestured to Rose. “You should go with Moni. This will give you two a good opportunity to get closer. Maybe, even provide self-disclosure to rush along the intimacy that only two best friends can share—”
“Dima.” Rose widened her eyes. “I said that’s enough.”
Moni chuckled. “You could come along, Rose. It’s cool.”
Dima winked. “See. She wants to be your best friend.”
“Dima.”
“He’s right.” Moni nodded. “I do want to be your friend.”
Rose moved her view to Moni and gave her a silly smile. “Oh. . .well, thank you.”
Moni gestured. “Come on. We can plan our pregnancies on the walk to my sisters.”
Rose laughed and I had to admit that it was good one. A kind one. The sort of laugh I would want a friend of Moni’s to have.
The only problem was. . .I had to make sure that I could trust her.
Rose gave the leash back to Dima, right as the cat appeared to try and leap for the crows.
The women left.
Chen stepped forward and stayed on my side.
Dima got proper control of the cat, looked down and wagged his finger. “I told you to leave them alone, Barbara. They are our little guardians.”
I leaned forward. “Who are your little guardians?”
“Those two crows. They always show up on my balcony or if I’m walking her in the park.”
Chen widened his eyes. “You walk a cat in the park?”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
I quirked my brows. “How do you know those are the same two crows?”
“Why wouldn’t they be?”
I didn’t know how to answer him. “Well. . .I think I see the crows all the time too.”
Dima nodded like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Of course you do.”
I wanted to talk about that further, but. . .I didn’t have the right words. It was just feelings and complex emotions that I did not want to confess. So instead, I focused on the main problem. “You know Banks is trying to cause trouble with the Four Aces. Right?”
Dima winked. “Of course I do.”
“Then, why are you giving it any energy?”
Dima pointed to the cat. “Her name is Barbara Whiskers.”
I frowned. “We’re talking about Rowe Street Mob, not the cat.”
“Viktor helped name her.”
That made me freeze.
My father had killed Viktor in Dima’s pursuit of finding out the truth and. . .I knew that Viktor’s death had torn a massive hole into Dima’s heart—one that he might never truly recover from.
Damn it, father.
Dima didn’t look my way. “When I go to Viktor’s grave, I bring Barbara with me and. . .”
I gazed at the two crows.
They chose that moment to fly away. As they took flight, those jet-black wings beat gracefully against the sky and part of me wanted to soar with them.
Dima lowered his voice. “I tell Viktor about my day and Barbara sniffs around his grave like she can hear him laughing or. . .talking back to me.”
My heart ached some more.
Dima lifted his view to me, and there was this deep sadness in his eyes along with pure rage—a rage I knew that he had difficulty keeping in. “Today, I watched Viktor’s killer have a cup of tea on my television screen.”
I put my gaze back on the sky but no longer saw those crows. “I am handling it.”
“When?”
“The battle with my father is tomorrow.”
“His death is overdue.”
“It is.”
“Additional people died in Glory. You think I didn’t know?”
“I figured you would find out.”
“ You should have told me.”
“I was busy—”
“Falling in love—”
“Figuring my shit out—”
“And did you figure it out, Lei?”
“I believe so.”
“I gave you full reign to handle your father. You said, ‘the East handles business of the East.’”
I pursed my lips.
A deadly edge coated his next words. “Then, fucking handle it.”
“Tomorrow night, my father will be dead.”
“And if he isn’t?”
I looked at him. “Then, I will be the dead one.”
Dima’s angry expression cracked. “I don’t like those odds. I’ve lost enough people that I love. You cannot die.”
“The odds of my dying is low but if I do, then Marcelo, Kashmere and all of the might of the Syndicate can unite and kill him.”
Dima didn’t even blink. “I do not want you to die.”
“But if I do die, then it is your turn to try to kill him and. . .” Sighing, I looked forward watching Moni, Rose, and her sisters heading back over to us. “And. . .then make sure my Mountain Mistress and her sisters are protected. Truly be her advisor and watch out for them.”
I thought Dima would protest.
Instead, he wore this sad expression, took out his notebook and jotted down several notes.