CHAPTER TWELVE
DMITRY
Smiling at myself, I bounce on my toes down the stairs and catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror that hangs in the lounge.
My hair is a mess of dark strands; I rake my fingers through it trying to hide how much I’d sinned last night, when I’d fucked my girl like there was no tomorrow in a tangled mess of sheets, sweat, tears, and love.
When I reach the bottom, I can see my grandpa sitting on the sofa with a phone in his hand. He looks at me with a grin on his face and flashes the old handset.
“This is an encrypted device,” he says and gestures for me to join him.
I sit down and listen as he talks.
“I’ll ring Miroslav and tell him I need to call in another favor.” He scrolls through the contact list.
My knees bounce around nervously.
“Are you sure? I don’t want you to be sucked back into that life—that world, with the Ropes.”
The concern I feel after what went down in the warehouse is all too raw, all too real. I’d never forgive myself if my grandpa got pulled back into the dangerous world of a brotherhood that he left to keep his family safe.
“It’s okay, Dima. Miroslav was my best friend, my brother, in my Ropes days.
We both swore an oath to each other. We agreed, no matter what happens in life, we’ll always be there for one another, and we’ll always protect our pride.
We’re bonded like lions; we’ll always be brothers.
We’re soul bonded. He knows what family means to me.
He was there when I lost Anna. He knew what it did to me.
He understood part of me died the day she departed her earthly body, but I also gained the most precious person in my life, Dima.
I gained my grandson—I gained you.” His voice breaks a little and he coughs to disguise his emotions.
“I appreciate you doing this for me, grandpa. I know I don’t say it enough, and I know you already know, but I do love you.” It’s a moment of matched vulnerability.
“I love you too, son. This is for me as much as it is for you. Now that the truth is out, now you know everything, I know it’s the right time to do this.
I’ve always wanted to shield you from the darkness in this world, but the day I found you with your grandmother’s body .
.. that was the day I knew you’d embraced it.
It’s in your blood my boy, it’s in your roots.
It’s part of who you are. And if we can get justice for Anna together, then we do this together.
It won’t be easy. Volk won’t take it lying down but we’ll come up with a plan.
We’ll resolve this, together.” He smiles and nods. “Grab the whiskey,” he says.
I stand and go into the kitchen, open the liquor cabinet and grab a bottle of bourbon and two crystal glasses. I return with them and place them down on the coffee table in front of the sofa.
“I’ll make this call, then you can do the honors.” He nods, flicks his finger across the screen and taps call.
My grandpa talks to the man on the other end of the phone. It’s brief but the outcome appears to be exactly what I hope for it to be.
“I can meet you today with my grandson, Dima.” Grandpa hums and answers. “Bull Tavern, three o'clock. See you both there.”
He sets the phone down on the sofa and nods to the whiskey bottle. “Dima.” He smiles.
I reach for the bottle, twist the lid and pour the golden liquid into each glass. I put the bottle down and balance the lid atop, I know we’ll likely have more than one glass.
I hand my grandpa his drink and pick up mine.
He raises his glass in the air and then glides it smoothly toward my glass. “Here’s to getting justice for Anna, for your mother, Dima,” he says and clinks his glass off mine.
“For Anna, my mother.” I repeat his words and a warm rush of blood floods through my body.
My darkness will only be satiated when I finally take revenge on the man who forced me into existence, who marked Anna for death, and left my grandpa to mourn his daughter.
I’ll tattoo another bird onto my skin when I force my mother’s rapist, my genetic devil, to take his final breath. Then another bird when I force Natalia’s tormentor, my other genetic demon Nikolai, to take his. I’ll send them both to Hell to suffer among the monsters.
I’ll soon have to tattoo my entire body in ink, because the evil I’ll commit to punish them both will sink into my flesh, my blood, my psyche, my soul. It is who I am. My darkness is the reason I’ve survived this long.
I know when I too, leave my mortal meat sack, I’ll meet them again, because I know I’m destined for the same fate.
But this time there’ll be no escape from the pain I’ll inflict upon them because death is no longer an option.
I’ll torture them for an eternity until Hell itself implodes from my darkness.
Fuck, I’ll make Satan feel like an imposter.
Three o’clock is here and I enter the Bull Tavern, Natalia holds my hand and we walk a couple of footsteps behind my grandpa. I notice two men sitting at a table against the wall at the back of the room. The older man nods in our direction and we move toward them; we each take a seat opposite.
“Thanks for meeting with us. You remember my grandson, Dmitry and his girl, Natalia,” my grandpa says and shakes the older man’s hand.
“I do. It was a little intense but reminded me of who I am,” the old man replies. “I’m Miroslav, you can call me Miro. This is my grandson, Artem. You young men are the new generation,” he says and nods to the twenty-something-year-old guy sitting beside him.
“Nice to meet you all. My grandpa has told me all about you, Mr. Karatov.” Artem says with a smile and reaches his hand out to my grandpa.
“Please, call me, Lev,” my grandpa replies and meets his handshake.
“Natalia,” Miro says and nods to Natalia.
She looks to me for reassurance before smiling back sweetly at the two men.
“I wanted to meet in person to ask you about the man Anna called Volk. I figured out who he is a long time ago, but to keep my family safe I never acted, but now is the right time. Dima needs this, I need this,” my grandpa says and rests his elbows on the table.
A barman comes over and I can tell this is not the normal policy for this place but the respect they have for Miro is clear. “Would you gentleman like anything to drink, and the lady?” He asks while standing tall and maintaining his distance not to encroach on our space.
“Water for me,” Miro replies and maintains eye contact with the barman.
“I’ll have a water too, please,” Artem says.
“We’ll have a pitcher of water and five glasses, thank you,” my grandpa says.
“That was the sensible answer.” Miro laughs.
I wait for the barman to walk away before asking the question that’s been burning me inside. “Would you be able to find his son, Nikolai Zorin?”
“Yes, we need you to find Volk, Mikhail Zorin and his son Nikolai,” Grandpa says and places a hand flat on the table.
“I want you to find Nikolai first,” I say knowing he’s still a threat to my girl’s safety.
The barman interrupts the conversation and sets down a tray with a pitcher of water and five glasses. “Here you go, let me know if you need anything else, Sir.”
“Thanks, we appreciate you, Daniel,” Miro says.
My grandpa nods and the barman walks away.
“Why do you want to go after the vol-cho-nok when you can go after the Volk?” Grandpa asks.
“The pup is easier to catch—the wolf will always search for his pup, and then I can deal with them both. He threatened Natalia, I need to end his life. Neither of them deserves to walk this earth unscathed. My only regret is allowing myself to get injured and letting them leave the warehouse alive,” I say as calmly as I can, but I know the tension in my voice gives away my frustration.
“And I want my brother’s body back, Grandpa. We can’t leave Pawel in their hands.”
“I think I know where his body may be,” Natalia says with a wobble in her throat.
“We can’t risk going into the wolf’s den for a second time,” I say.
Miro pours himself a glass of water. “You can’t, but we can,” he says.
“I appreciate you, old friend.” My grandpa looks into his eyes, raises his glass and smiles.
“Anna was our family too,” Miro says. “We all lost a daughter, Lev. The pain in our hearts has never healed. Had I known sooner who was responsible, I’d have made sure he was dealt with a long time ago.”
“I had my reasons. You understand the need to protect my family. To keep my grandsons safe. I couldn’t get pulled back into our world. I’d already lost Anna. Dima is the only piece of her I have left.” Grandpa explains.
“I know you have your reasons, Lev. You don’t have to explain them to me. Sometimes it takes a while before the right time comes around. And now Dima is grown, it seems you choosing to wait was divine. God always has a plan,” Miro says.
“God always has a plan,” Artem repeats.
I can’t help myself and I laugh.
“Dima, be respectful to our friends. They’re taking a huge risk helping us. Luring bratva is not an easy task, and certainly not one an ordinary man can carry out.” My grandpa reprimands me.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t laughing at our friends,” I say to my grandpa and then turn back to face Miro and Artem. “My apologies.”
“It’s a difficult situation, Dmitry,” Miro says with a soft understanding.
“I was amused at the idea of this being God’s plan. God has a dark sense of humor, and so do I.” A smile teases at my lips because I’m certain God is just as crazy as I am.
I feel like an asshole, but Miro, Artem and my grandpa look at one another and laugh.
Natalia offers a silent smile. I can see she’s uneasy in the company of multiple men.
“It’s okay my Little Sparrow,” I whisper and rest a hand on her thigh and let it slide down her silky tights until it lands on her knee. I hold it firm, but gentle and her hand rests on top of mine, we soon clasp one another and our fingers interlock.
“We’ll find Nikolai.” Artem assures me.
“You’re also a Rope?” I ask, curiosity gets the better of me.
“Next generation. You’re always welcome to join us,” he replies.
“I’ll consider it.”
“Dima, you need to finish reading my journal before you consider anything. Committing to the life of a Rope isn’t a decision to be made easily and the responsibility isn’t light.
It’s dark. It’s the monsters who lurk unnoticed and escape the law.
It’s taking justice into your own hands.
It’s living with actions that can’t be undone.
It’s a life unknown, a life where you only exist in the shadows, a life where secrets are buried so deep, no one knows your true identity.
Every member has a code name. The weight of it all is heavy on a man’s shoulders, on his heart.
It takes its toll on the gray matter inside your head.
Your spirit, your soul, and you’re left to question every essence of what it is to be human,” Grandpa says, a muscle thrums across his jaw and his eyes reflect the horrors he’s seen.
The horrors that he’s had to push to the back of his mind and archive them under do not restore.
The conversation switches back and forth from Ropes days as my grandpa and Miroslav reminisce and back to the reason we’re meeting.
We devise a plan to take Volk’s most precious asset from him and force him to return Pawel’s body. My brother deserves to be laid to rest, and my grandpa, Natalia and I need real closure. I want to say goodbye to the man who saved my life—to say goodbye to my big brother.
“I’ll be in touch when we have him. We’ll use one of our buildings so that the cleanup will be easy.
Nothing will be left behind, and we know Volk won’t come alone.
Don’t worry about it. We’ve dealt with brotherhoods before.
It’s not the first and it won’t be the last.” Miroslav stands up from his seat. “It’s been a pleasure, Lev.”
My grandpa stands and shakes his hand. “I appreciate you, brother.”
“We’ll be in touch,” Miro says directing his words at me.
I stand and shake Miro’s hand. “See you soon, and thank you, again, sincerely. I appreciate you and your work,” I reply and swallow down a hard lump in my throat.
Fuck. Is this really happening? Am I finally going to be able to get justice for my teenage mother, revenge for Natalia, and to lay my brother to rest?
I try not to think too hard. I don’t want to be disappointed if the plan fails and they fail to secure Nikolai.
“You two hungry?” Grandpa asks and sits back down at the table.
“Sure,” I reply. “Are you hungry Little Sparrow?” I ask my girl.
“A little,” she replies standing by my side and looking up at me.
I pull out her chair and she sits back down.
“Thank you, Dima. You’re such a gentleman. You know no other man has ever pulled out my chair before.” A smile flashes across her face.
“This is the bare minimum my sweet girl. You deserve the world and if I can give it to you, believe me when I say I will.” I kiss her cheek and lift the chair so she’s sitting at a comfortable distance from the table.
Time passes and we talk, we eat, we laugh, we almost cry, but most importantly the three of us spend time together and bond. Our trauma, our morality, our sense of justice, and our love unite us.