Chapter 6
Cara
Dmitri is not himself for the next few days.
I can’t blame him, though. He just found proof that Paolo and his loyalists killed his friend.
He saw him lying dead in a photograph.
That would mess anyone up for a few days.
But I’m not sure that’s the only reason he’s been distant. He’s left me alone at the penthouse with a guard multiple times now, and he always gives me vague answers about what he’s off doing.
I can’t help but wonder if seeing what happened to Mikhail made him change his mind about me helping out. Maybe he’s so worried about me ending up like his friend that he won’t even let me leave the penthouse anymore. It sounds paranoid until I remember what world we live in.
Something is definitely going on with him.
Whatever it is, I need to tell him about the baby soon in case that changes anything for him.
When I hear him finally come back home around three o’clock in the afternoon, I leave my bedroom, breathing in deeply to prepare myself for the conversation, only to freeze at the sight of a few people I don’t know carrying party decorations inside.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
Dmitri gestures to the men, not even looking at me yet. He directs them toward the kitchen, voice crisp, almost too crisp. “Food and drinks go there. Keep it classy. Living room, dining room, kitchen. Nothing in the hallways.”
“Dmitri,” I say, motioning for him to walk over to me. “What’s happening?”
Dmitri grins at me, which throws me off. “I’ve decided to throw a small party for everyone. Your father. His closest men. Some of my guys. Andrei. Luca. Our…friends.”
“Why?” I question him. He doesn’t seem like the party type, and I know that he hates galas now.
Dmitri shrugs. “Ferro hasn’t been seen in the city for days. If we’re going to bleed together, we might as well look each other in the eye first. This could be our last chance to socialize before things…”
“Get really bad,” I say quietly. It’s our last hurrah before we really might start losing people.
Dmitri nods, his expression dimming. “When I started going against the Council, I didn’t expect to have anyone by my side. I’m grateful for those who are risking their lives to stand with me.”
“You’re a good leader,” I tell him as I walk up to him, my hands gliding up his chest as his hired party decorators get to work setting everything up. “You just forget that leadership doesn’t mean carrying everything alone.”
Uncertainty flashes in his eyes. “I don’t always make the best calls.”
“Sometimes, hard calls are still the best ones to make,” I reply. “And you’re one of the few people who can make those calls. People look up to you. They respect you.”
Dmitri smiles and leans down to press his forehead against mine. “I just want you by my side. Stay with me,” he murmurs. “And I’ll keep you safe. I swear it.”
His words make my heart flutter.
“So, when is this little party of yours happening?” I ask him as I curl my arms around his neck.
“At seven o’clock,” Dmitri replies. “There’s a new dress hanging in your closet. You can’t miss it. Wear it tonight.”
I smile and nod, warmth blooming within me. Tonight is going to be a good night. It just might be one of the last good nights that we have in a while.
If Ferro fled the city, I’m sure we’ll spend the next few days or weeks tracking him down. Who knows what buildings will be destroyed or what people will get killed in that period of time?
Dmitri presses a kiss against my lips that leaves me dazed. “I need to take care of a few things before everyone arrives. I’ll see you around seven.”
“Okay,” I agree before watching him slip away, my pulse still pounding.
I don’t know what to expect from tonight, but I have a feeling it’ll be a night that I won’t forget.
By the time 7:30 rolls around, everyone has arrived.
We’ve all been working and fighting together for weeks now, but it’s still odd seeing the Irish, the Bratva, and one outcast Italian drinking and laughing together.
Ferro and his men are our common enemy. More of an enemy than any of us have ever been to each other. Sometimes, it only takes a greater threat to bring enemies together as allies. I just hope that this lasts after Ferro is dead and gone.
“Bella!” Luca calls out to me with a grin on his face. “Look at you.”
“Careful. Dmitri will still kill you even after all you’ve done,” I playfully warn him as he takes in my white dress and places a friendly kiss on my cheek.
Luca chuckles. “You’re his girl, and he’s my friend. I’m happy for both of you.”
“Maybe it’s time for you to find another girl to call bella,” I say, giving him a light nudge.
“One day,” Luca replies, looking hopeful. “But I must take care of Paolo first. He’d never let me be happy like that. Just like his nephew.”
I hate that he has been around such terrible people. He doesn’t deserve that.
“How’s your leg? I heard you took a bullet.”
“Bene, grazie. Just a scratch,” he replies, no doubt playing the wound down.
“Well, I’m glad you’re okay,” I tell him.
“Is this guy bothering you, love?”
I smirk as I hear Andrei’s voice behind us. I turn toward him as he stares down Luca, who rolls his eyes. “I was just telling him that he needs to get a girlfriend. You should probably take the same advice.”
Now, Andrei rolls his eyes. “I just haven’t met the right woman yet. How am I supposed to when I’m being ordered to flirt with taken women?”
“That was one mission,” Luca tells him. “So dramatic for the so-called Sin City Savage.”
Andrei scoffs. “Who’s more dramatic than Italians?”
“Seriously? You’re going to go there?” Luca questions him as they both face each other down, looking like two birds fluffing up their feathers to appear bigger than the other. “How about you Russians?”
“What about us Russians?” Andrei replies as his eyes narrow.
Since Dmitri isn’t around to break these two, it seems like I’m going to have to be the one to do it.
“No fighting at Dmitri’s truce party,” I warn them as I point my finger between them.
Dmitri worked hard to throw together a last-minute party tonight, and no one is going to mess that up.
The two men raise their palms innocently, making me laugh before turning around to take a look at the rest of the party. People are drinking and hanging around the dining room and living room, multiple conversations overlapping to form a constant drone of noise.
When my eyes land on my father, he waves me over.
“I’ll talk to you two later. Behave,” I tell Luca and Andrei before crossing the living room.
Sean smiles at me. “You look beautiful.”
My face warms a little as I look down at the white cocktail dress that Dmitri bought for me. Of course, it’s beautiful. He has great taste. “Thank you. I didn’t have much time to prepare for this party.”
My father chuckles a little. “Yeah, none of us did. Dmitri insisted that we come, though.”
“After all we’ve gone through lately, we should celebrate. We’ve made it this far.”
I’d like to hope that we’re toward the end of this war, but the truth isn’t as pretty and flowery. We have a long way to go, and it won’t be easy to take down Ferro and his men. They’re well-connected, skilled, and ruthless.
They could be anywhere right now.
“I’m glad you’re back with us and safe,” Sean tells me, his face softening. “I really was worried when I found out that you were taken.”
I search his eyes before taking a deep breath before nodding. “I believe you.”
His eyes brighten a little. We still have a long way to go together, but I’m willing to venture down that path with him. Maybe we can make things work between us if he’s willing to truly change.
I already lost my mother. I don’t want to lose my father forever too, even if he can be an asshole most of the time.
“Can I get you a drink?” he asks me as he gestures toward the kitchen island that has been transformed into a bar with an assortment of liquor bottles and mixers.
“I can’t,” I reply, my stomach flipping in nervousness when a look of realization crosses his face. I move closer to him and grab his arm. “You cannot tell anyone. Not even Dmitri. Not until I’m ready.”
“You haven’t told him yet?”
I sigh and shake my head. “It hasn’t been the right time yet. Buildings keep getting blown up!”
Sean nods in understanding. “I won’t say anything.”
My shoulders lower as I relax. “Thank you.”
He gazes at me in silence for a few seconds before speaking. “You really do look beautiful tonight, Cara.”
I’m not used to this much kindness from him. I don’t even know what to say. All I can do is smile at him, and judging by the way he smiles back, he understands how I feel.
“Everyone! Listen up!” Dmitri’s voice rises above all the rest as he stands from the couch, breaking away from a conversation that he had been having with one of the Bratva men. “I’ve got a few things I need to say.”
I watch Dmitri closely as he moves toward the center point of where everyone is gathered, hanging on to his every word.
Dmitri’s eyes sweep over the scattered crowd filling his penthouse.
A small grin crosses his face as he nods.
“It’s good to see you all here. I know we haven’t always been on good terms with each other, but I’m glad we moved past our differences and became united under one goal: destroying Ferro and his men. ”
Shouts and cheers of agreement echo throughout the large space.
“I don’t know when the next strike will come,” he says, eyes sweeping the room. “But I know this: we end it. Together. We’re stronger. Smarter. Hungrier. And when we find Ferro, there won’t be enough left of him to bury.”
I smile as more people cheer. He’s in his element right now.
“I’m grateful for the alliance that we have with the Irish,” Dmitri says as he turns toward my father and me. He nods to Sean. “And I’d like to honor that today.”
My father nods back.
I shoot them both a confused look when Dmitri holds his hand out to me. Nervous fluttering fills my stomach as I walk over to Dmitri and take his hand, my face heating up from all the eyes on me right now.
Dmitri pulls me close until we’re facing each other. “Cara, you are the most unexpected surprise of my life. An Irish spy in my office.”
My cheeks burn hotter as I hear chuckles around us.
“But you’re also the best thing to ever happen to me,” Dmitri says as his voice softens, his gaze holding mine.
“I was living the life they chose for me… and calling it mine. When you came along, you showed me that I could have more. You showed me that I could have exactly what I’ve always wanted. You.”
Emotion tugs on my heart, making my eyes threaten to water.
Dmitri kisses my knuckles before lowering himself down to one knee in front of me, making me gasp in surprise. Holy shit. Is he…
“Being without you for those weeks showed me that I don’t want to live this life if I’m not next to you. You’re the reason I keep fighting. I love you more than you will ever know, and I want you by my side forever.”
Tears well up in my eyes as I watch him pull out a ring box from his suit jacket and flip open the top, revealing a sparkly solitaire diamond inside with a sleek silver band. The most beautiful ring I’ve ever laid eyes on.
“Will you marry me, milaya?” Dmitri asks me, his eyes full of love and hope.
There’s the man I fell in love with. The man who carried me out of that basement and told me he loved me. The man who would die for me, kill for me, and fight for me.
“Yes,” I tell him as I smile, one tear falling from my eye and running down my cheek.
Applause and whoops sound around us as Dmitri slides the ring onto my finger, even managing to do so with my hands shaking so much. He rises to his feet and cups my face, his lips crashing against mine.
“No more secrets,” Dmitri murmurs against my ear after he kisses me.
My stomach drops.
“Pass around the champagne!” Sean calls out.
I draw back from Dmitri. “My father knew about this?”
Dmitri smiles and strokes my cheek. “Before I realized that you went missing, I went to your father and told him that I wanted to marry you. I didn’t care that we were rivals. I didn’t care that it would piss everyone else off. I just wanted you to be mine.”
I can’t even find any words to say. All I can do is kiss him again as flutes of champagne are passed around the room. Only when one is placed in my hand do I remember once more that Dmitri still doesn’t know that I’m pregnant.
Guilt churns in my stomach as Dmitri lifts his glass in the air with everyone else.
“To Cara and Dmitri,” Sean says.
Everyone toasts before sipping on their drinks.
I watch Dmitri drink nearly half of his, while I lift the flute, let the rim touch my lips, and swallow nothing.
I want to tell him the truth so badly, but this is not the right time in front of all these people! I should’ve already told him, but now I can’t help but wonder if he would still want to marry me if he found out the truth.
Would a child change his mind? Or the fact that I’ve kept something so huge from him again?
Dmitri looks over at me, and I make myself smile because this is supposed to be a happy moment for both of us. And I am happy. I’m so glad to be engaged to him.
I just wish that things were simpler.
Now, I don’t have to worry about my boyfriend dying in the midst of this war with Ferro. I have to worry about my fiancé dying. My entire future.
I retreat to where I feel safest and wrap my arms around Dmitri, careful not to spill the champagne. I press my face into his chest as he holds me close, hoping that I never lose him in any way.