41. Dimitri
41
Dimitri
I feel a gentle buzz on my necklace, and a smile spreads across my face before I press back. Gabriella hasn’t left my side, not since I came home from the hospital a couple of days ago. She even went as far as to set up a mini hospital in the bedroom of her beachfront cottage. It’s only when Enzo offered to stay and keep me company and safe, did she finally return to school. She graduates in a couple months, and I refuse to be the reason why she doesn’t.
All in all, I got lucky. The bullet wound to my arm was a little deeper than a scratch and was finally professionally stitched. By some miracle, the stab wound barely missed my vital organs. But the worst injury isn’t visible. My throat and lungs took a beating from severe smoke inhalation, which has forced me to rely on supplemental oxygen for a little while.
“Hey.” Enzo pokes his head out the door. “You up for company?”
I’m sitting outside on the balcony, enjoying the fresh air and sunshine while listening to the crashing waves along the shore below. It's oddly peaceful and brings back memories of my old wish to live on a tranquil island, where I could listen to this sound every day.
“Sure.”
Enzo steps back and Jacob limps past him, using a cane for support. He claims the seat in front of me, and carefully sits down, being mindful of his injured leg. He got off lucky, too. Bullet was a clean shot through-and-through, leaving only soft tissue damage behind. He’s on medical leave from the bureau right now but has plans to head back home to his family tonight.
“I’m glad you could stop by before you leave.”
I haven’t had a chance to really talk to him since I was discharged from the hospital. All I know is that he and Enzo collaborated to cover up Director Ford's murder, pinning everything on Sergei. They crafted a narrative that portrayed the two as having killed each other over a dispute in their partnership, and that the house had caught fire during their altercation.
As for me? I’m dead. To the Bratva and to the government, I drowned when I went over the bridge railing. Enzo came across a John Doe who drowned. He was so unrecognizable from the water exposure that Enzo used him as a substitute for me, making the situation more authentic.
It’s weird…being dead. But also incredibly freeing. I can be whoever I want to be now. I can go wherever I want. And yet, I’m perfectly content to sit right here with no urge to leave.
“Had to see my dead friend one more time.”
“Are you sure you’re okay with all this?”
Jacob shrugs. “Not really. I mean, I'm glad you're okay but this goes against everything I know.”
“I thought so too for a while, but then I met Gabriella and what started out as a mission turned into something more.”
“Love blinds even the best men,” Jacob jokes.
“I won’t deny it.” I sigh and smile softly at the mere thought of Gabriella. “She saved me, you know that? Without her to show me that the world is more than just black and white, that there are shades of gray also, I’m pretty sure I would have lost myself to the Bratva. Maybe not then, but eventually. And the only way out would have been death.”
“I’m happy for you. She’s good for you.” He returns my smile. “Despite who her family is,” he adds at the end.
“Yes, her family takes some getting used to. I’ll admit.”
“But I guess they could be worse,” he contemplates.
I laugh and we fall into a comfortable silence, both of us watching the distant ocean.
“I never said thank you,” Jacob says, breaking the quiet.
“For what?”
“For saving me from the fire. I never said thank you.”
“It’s what friends do,” I say automatically before I bow my head. “If we are still friends, that is.”
“Life for a life, right?”
I can’t help but notice how he doesn’t answer my question. The realization I’ve likely lost a close friend hurts, but I also anticipated it too. Jacob knew Dimitri Clark and then Dimitri Volkov and both are dead now. I’m a stranger and maybe it should stay that way. If that’s what he wants, I’ll honor his wish.
Jacob glances at his watch and then reaches for his cane. I watch him climb to his feet slowly. He turns toward the open sliding door before he pauses and glances back at me. “Hey, can you do me a favor?”
“Of course.”
“Send me a postcard from wherever you end up,” he says. “I like to keep track of my friends.”
"I can do that," I promise with a relieved smile.
“You’re mister popular today,” Enzo says as his way of greeting me an hour later.
“Now what?”
“Alexei’s here.”
I freeze and then take a deep breath. More than anyone, even Jacob, seeing Alexei has me the most anxious.
“He’s not here to kill you, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
It’s not, but it is now.Thanks Enzo.
“Tell him to stop being a little pussy bitch and talk to me,” Alexei calls out loud enough to reach my ears.
Enzo smirks. “I kinda like the guy. Never really got to work with him before.”
“I’m touched,” Alexei says, appearing next to Enzo. “Move aside, you blond hulk. Let me through.”
Enzo grumbles under his breath, something along the lines of ‘ I’m a viking, you dick’ before he leaves us alone. At first, I wasn’t too sure about him, but he sure beats the alternatives. Michael may have rescued me and I’m forever grateful, but it’s not about to make us besties. Meanwhile, his twin, Raphael, is okay. He’s on the quieter side often, but much more reasonable. And just as I thought, Enzo, is loud and obnoxious. He jokes way too much and loves trying to get Gabriella to laugh. If she wasn’t so in love with me, I’d be worried. But she’s assured me he is like her third brother and worships the ground a girl called Evie walks.
Alexei settles into a chair, stretching his long legs out in front of him. He nudges my oxygen tank with his foot, and follows the plastic tube up to my face where it's taped to my nose. I let him take in my haggard appearance, determined not to be the first to speak, and allow him the space he needs to gather his thoughts.
“Well,” he finally starts. “You look like shit.”
I snort lightly and shake my head. “Still better looking than you.”
He laughs.“That’ll never happen.”
Our exchange lifts my anxiety and tension from my shoulders. It feels like old times with him. Like nothing’s changed…but everything has.
“How’s the Bratva?” May as well stop beating around the bush and jump right in.Alexei is the new Pakhan as of yesterday, after he married Sophia, the last surviving Mikailhov. He’s kind of perfect for the role when I think about it. After all, I trained him. He’s young, but he's wise beyond his years and, most important, the men respect him.
“Confused and a little chaotic, but I’m managing.”
“Have you chosen your second yet?” If he hasn’t, I have a few ideas I could share.
“I’m thinking of Romanov.”
I nod, contemplating the man. “Yeah, he’s loyal and smart. Good head on his shoulders.”
“I thought the same thing.”
Talking about an organization I planned on bringing down once has me feeling odd and leaving the tension between us a little awkward.
“Hey, I want you to know that I’m sorry.”
Alexei shrugs and looks off into the distance. Just as before, I let him sort through his raging thoughts.
“Sorry for what?” he asks, turning back to face me. “Sorry for missing my wedding or sorry about lying to me for years?” There’s no animosity in his voice or anger on his face. Just pensive curiosity.
“Both,” I answer right away.
Alexei hums low, glancing at his hands. I wait. He's the one leading this conversation. Not me. "Did you think I was the one who betrayed you to Sergei?"
I meet his questioning eyes and shake my head. "No. I mean, it did cross my mind but then I thought about how our friendship was the one real thing I had in the Bratva and believed you deserved a conversation before jumping to conclusions.”
“Was?”
Leave it to Alexei to catch the smallest detail. “I mean, are we still friends? Can we still be friends?”
Alexei puffs out his chest and leans back in his chair. “Well, I don’t know. You missed my wedding.”
I smirk. “It might have been a little weird, since you know I’m dead and all.”
“Yeah, that’s true, and you know Sophia would have hated to have her thunder stolen on her big day.”
I can only imagine the Bridezilla she would have become.
“I want to thank you for rescuing Ana by the way.”
With a solemn nod, I ask, “How is she?”
“She’s recovering and has a very nice lump sum of cash to do just that for life if she’d like.”
Alexei’s first order of business as Pakhan was to purge the house of everyone involved in the human trafficking operation that Sergei had orchestrated. When I heard the number, I was surprised at how little men he used from the Bratva. Apparently, he contracted out for most of it. Smart man, but I’m willing to bet that idea came from Ford. Fucking Ford. I wish I’d been the one to kill him, but it does seems a little poetic that his partner put him down.
“So what now?” Alexei asks.
He’s not the first to ask, and he’s not the first to hear me say, “I don’t know.”
“I’d offer you to come back, but that bridge sort of burned when Sergei outed you and all,” Alexei says.
“No, it’s your time now," I tell him honestly. "I have a different future ahead now."
“Oh yeah, the babies." Alexei tosses me a smirk. "Nice job snagging Gabriella, by the way. But hey, can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“When did things change for you? When did you decide to be okay with crime?”
I chuckle softly under my breath. “Let me be clear. I’m not okay with crime. I never will be, but I came to understand that crime is necessary. There are some things that the law can not give justice to. Officers and soldiers have their hands tied by bureaucracy, leaving victims helpless and unfulfilled. The underworld follows a different set of rules. The punishment must fit the crime. A life for a life. Eye for an Eye. That sort of thing. But to answer your question, I don’t know when it changed. I guess when I met Gabriella and got to know the girl behind the name, did I realize both sides are needed. Just like you can’t have light without darkness, you also can’t have law and order without crime and chaos.”
Alexei contemplates my words. “I guess that makes sense.”He shuffles his feet and I wait his nervousness out. "What would happened if you'd never met Gabriella?
“I would have continued gathering evidence and make sure that when the FBI did move in on the Bratva, you stayed safe and out of jail. Even if you kicked my ass or killed me for it.”
“Why?”
“Because you grew into a genuine friend. Someone I didn’t want to see be put behind bars.”
“Thanks,” Alexei says with a smile. “Friend.”
I return his gesture, feeling a heavy weight lift off my chest. To know I’m not parting with Alexei on bad terms has me feeling content.
“Can we expect any inquisitions from big brother?”
“No. Enzo took care of any evidence I had gathered.”
“That's good.”
Enzo pops his head through the curtain of the open door. “Hey, Gabriella’s home.”
Alexei stands with an enormous sigh, like he’s too old or sore to get up. “Guess that’s my cue to get out of here.”
Me, on the other hand, struggles to stand. Alexei notices and grips my elbow to help me. Once firmly on my feet, he pulls me in for a hug, and slaps my back twice.
“You won’t be a stranger, right?” Alexei asks. His voice is muffled by my shoulder, but I still catch the trace of worry.
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”