Chapter 24
Dmitri
With Annika and Artur dealt with, Cara and I refocus on wedding planning.
Our wedding day will be here before we know it.
“What about this?” Cara asks, settled in my lap with her back against my chest, the tablet balanced in her hands.
I look over her shoulder to see a picture of a wedding reception in a large ballroom with dim lighting, white-clothed tables with floral arrangements, and a huge open space for the dance floor in front of a stage.
“I like that,” I tell her as I loosely wrap my arms around her midsection. “I like that it’s moody. A little dark.”
“Doesn’t mean you get to be handsy,” Cara teases, as she flashes me a coy look over her shoulder.
“You sure about that?” I reply as I kiss the back of her shoulder.
Cara laughs and shakes her head at me. “You’ll have to wait until after the reception.”
I let out a lighthearted groan. “You’re killing me, milaya. How am I going to resist you all day?”
“Pure willpower.”
Smirking, I tell her, “You’re putting a lot of faith in me.”
Her eyes meet mine again. “Always.”
I lean forward and press a soft kiss against her lips, my grip on her tightening. It feels good to hold her like this. Like I don’t have to worry about her being snatched away from me at any second.
It could still happen, someone could still try, but with Ferro’s men and the Suyunovs gone, the list of people reckless enough to come for us should be shorter.
Hopefully.
“I’m sorry we can’t do anything outdoors,” I say as she swipes through some more photos on the tablet.
Cara shrugs. “It’s fine. I’d rather not spend my wedding night wondering who’s lining up a shot.”
Maybe one day we won’t ever have to worry about something like that, but we don’t have that privilege right now. All we can do is ensure that our wedding day is as safe and secure as possible so that we can actually enjoy it.
“I like the venue that we chose for the reception, though,” I tell her, my fingertips grazing her stomach.
Cara smiles and places her hand over mine, guiding it a little higher up. “Did you know our baby is about the size of a lime right now?”
I chuckle against her shoulder. “Really? A lime?”
“Maybe I should put that in terms you understand. He or she is about as big as a hand grenade,” Cara says.
I give her a playful squeeze, coaxing a laugh from her. “Do you think I’m some war-hungry barbarian?”
Cara reaches back to thread her fingers through my hair. “Sounds kind of hot, honestly.”
I leave a lingering kiss against her neck, feeling her shudder in response. “I wouldn’t mind less bloodshed.”
“Never thought I’d hear you say that,” Cara replies. “Getting burned out?”
“It would be nice to keep all my remaining men breathing,” I say. “And I’d like to leave the house without wondering if I’ll come back.”
“I’d like to stop worrying about that too,” Cara murmurs as she rubs my arm. “I just want to plan this wedding and then actually get to experience it.”
“We will,” I promise her. I don’t care what it takes. I’ll make it happen. “And it’ll be everything that you’ve dreamed of.”
Cara flashes me a warm smile. “You sound more like a prince now than a barbarian.”
Laughter rumbles in my chest as she melts into me. “I’ll be whatever you want me to be and whatever you need.”
Cara leans the side of her head against mine. “You’ve changed everything for me, Dmitri. I can’t begin to thank you enough for that.”
I shake my head a little. “You’ve changed me more. You made me realize that I could have more for my life. That I could have you.”
“You have me forever,” Cara says before lifting her hand up, admiring her engagement ring that fits perfectly on her finger. “I love this ring so much.”
“I did good?” I ask, smiling at the way the solitaire catches the light.
“Amazing,” Cara says, inspecting it closely. “It’s perfect.”
“I wanted something unique. Something that felt like you,” I tell her, remembering all the hours I spent at various jewelry stores trying to find the perfect ring.
There was a point when I started losing hope in finding it, but when I spotted it tucked beyond the glass of a display case, it called out to me. I’m glad that I listened.
Cara goes rigid, her eyes unfocusing for half a second.
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” I ask her as I lean to the side, trying to see her face. “Cara?” I say, tension winding around my heart.
Cara snaps out of her trance and pulls away from me. Then, she’s rushing around the penthouse, like the thought might evaporate if she doesn’t catch it.
“What are you doing? You’re making me nervous, milaya,” I say as I get off the couch, watching her rifle around in drawers and zip from place to place.
“Pen. Paper. Why don’t we have either?” Cara asks as she throws her hand up in frustration.
“My office,” I say as I point toward the door.
Cara hurries inside and emerges with a blank sheet of paper and a black pen. She kneels in front of the coffee table and starts sketching. “I just remembered something from when I was down in the basement.”
I move closer to the edge of the couch, trying to get a better look at what she’s drawing. “What?”
“There was a moment the blindfold slipped, just enough. I saw a ring when one of them grabbed my face,” Cara explains to me, her eyes locking onto the piece of paper in front of her.
“I can’t believe I forgot about it. It just seemed like such an unimportant detail at the time, but I’m wondering if the ring was unique. ”
I wait until she’s done drawing before sliding the sheet of paper over to my side of the coffee table to get a better look.
She’s drawn an oval seal with a winged sword in the center.
Something tugs on the back of my mind as I stare at the symbol, my brain working overtime to figure out why this design looks familiar. The sketch is a little rough, so I just have to imagine this symbol in a cleaner, sharper state and on a ring of all things.
“What color was the ring?” I ask her as I pick up the paper, inspecting every detail.
“I think it was a dark blue . Navy blue or black,” Cara replies as her eyes sharpen in thought.
The hazy image in my head becomes clearer, and realization knocks the air out of my lungs.
“I know that mark,” I tell her, tapping the page. “That’s an old Bratva family symbol.”
Cara touches her fingers to her lips in shock. “Are you saying a Bratva man was down there… hurting me?”
Rage has me ready to explode at the mere thought, but I think she’s right. And it’s worse than what she thinks.
“I think it was someone from the Council. They all have rings with old family crests to represent their position,” I tell her, seeing the color drain from her face.
Cara lowers her hand, concern flooding her features. “They knew that the Suyunovs were involved.”
“And they still pushed me to marry Annika while you were being held hostage,” I grit out, pulling back the curtain on all the betrayal and corruption that has been hiding under my damn nose all this time.
I knew that they didn’t support my union with Cara and the Irish, but I didn’t think their hatred went as far as to torture her.
“Don’t they hold the most power?” Cara asks me, her voice growing quiet. “What if they’re all in on this? What else could they do to us?”
I get to my feet, my vision nearly hazy because I’m so fucking furious. “They’re not going to do a damn thing because I’m going to remove them. If one of them was there, the others knew.”
Cara rises from the floor and walks around the coffee table over to me, her hand clamping down on my arm. “But they have supporters. What if going after them makes us more enemies? What if they win?”
“They won’t,” I say sharply. “I’m not the only person who doesn’t like the men on the Council. It’s about time those old bastards were ousted. Vegas is overdue for new leadership.”
I’ve followed the Council all my life, just like my father, obeying their orders and letting their needs and desires steer my actions and decisions. Just like so many others. Where does that get us?
Still trapped under their thumb as they reap the rewards and praise for our hard work.
“You have to think this through, Dmitri,” Cara says as she rests her hands on my shoulders, grounding me as I threaten to float away and get lost in my plotting. “Are you really going to take them all out?”
A smirk plays out on my lips as I grab the sides of her face and lean close to her. “Not by myself. I have the support of the Irish and a good bit of the local Bratva.”
“I would say you have me, but this probably isn’t a fight that I need to be involved in,” Cara says as a bittersweet expression appears on her face.
She’s right. This is a fight I have to handle.
“You and the baby are my main motivation,” I tell her as I nudge a few loose strands of hair away from her face. “It’s safer for you to stay out of this part. It could get messy.”
“Messier than what we’ve already been through? That’s hard to imagine,” Cara says with a light scoff of disbelief.
We’ve experienced a lot of bloodshed lately, and I’m about to add more once I’m done with the Council.
They thought they could push me around and bark orders at me and that I would obey, but they were wrong.
“I don’t know how deep their involvement is in this.
They’ve been outspoken about their disapproval of us since the beginning,” I tell Cara as I take her hands.
“They could’ve encouraged your kidnapping.
Hell, they could’ve been a direct part of it.
I doubt they just asked some questions and went about their day. ”
“I wish I could recall which one hurt me that day.” Cara sighs in disappointment.
“It doesn’t matter. The Council is finished,” I state in an unwavering voice. “If one of them knew, they all chose silence. They’d never allow our marriage to happen anyway. They need to be handled before they try to kill us first.”
Cara breathes in sharply before exhaling slower as she grapples with her worries. “I’m sure my father and his men would help you.”
I give her a small smile and shake my head. “Your father is still recovering. I’m not going to endanger him or his men over this part. I have a group of people in mind who could help me.”
I never thought I’d find myself keeping Sean’s safety and wellbeing in mind, but as time has gone on, it’s become clear to me that my allies may not always be who I expected.
I could also say the same thing for my enemies.
Cara looks curious, but she just nods. “Don’t do anything too dangerous. The wedding is soon, and I want someone waiting for me at the end of the aisle.”
“I’d never let anyone else be there but me,” I promise her, sealing my words with a claiming kiss.
The Council fucked up.
They’re supposed to be the Bratva’s source of justice and authority, but they’ve been nothing but corrupt for a while now.
And their time as Bratva leaders is over.