Chapter 10 Dimitri
DIMITRI
Irecognize the play immediately. Viktor wants to get Alina alone, away from the estate, where he can control the narrative. Or worse, where he can make her disappear entirely. The request sounds reasonable on the surface, designed to make me look like the monster he's painted me as if I refuse.
But I've been playing this game long enough to recognize what he’s trying to do.
I study him across the foyer, taking in the calculated concern on his face, the way his men have positioned themselves near the exits. He came here prepared for violence, but he's hoping he won't need it. Hoping I'll simply hand Alina over like a fool.
Not going to happen.
"Alina can return to your house," I say, my voice carrying through the tense silence. "But not alone."
Viktor's expression doesn't change, but I see his jaw tighten. "I'm her father. She doesn't need a guard to visit her own family."
"She needs protection." I keep my tone reasonable, diplomatic. "Someone just massacred people at her wedding. Until we know who and why, she doesn't go anywhere without security."
"My men can protect her."
"Your men failed to protect her at the church." The words are harsh, but true. I see several of Viktor's soldiers shift uncomfortably. "My man, Alexei, will accompany her. He'll wait while she collects her belongings and says goodbye to her family. Three hours. Then she returns here."
The silence that follows is thick with tension.
Viktor's calculating, trying to find an angle, a way to refuse without revealing his true intentions.
But I've boxed him in. If he refuses to let Alexei accompany Alina, he's admitting he wants her isolated and vulnerable.
If he agrees, he loses control of the situation.
Finally, he forces a smile. "Of course. I understand your concern for my daughter's safety. Three hours should be sufficient."
I don't trust that smile for a second.
I turn to Alina, who's been watching this exchange with wide green eyes. She looks torn, caught between two worlds, two men, two impossible choices. Something in my chest tightens at the sight of her confusion.
"Alexei will be with you the entire time," I tell her. "He'll stay close, but he won't interfere with your family time."
She nods slowly, and I see relief mixed with apprehension in her face. She wants to see her sister, her mother. I understand that. But she's also smart enough to sense the danger in this situation.
"I'll get my things," she says quietly, then turns and heads back upstairs.
The moment she's gone, the atmosphere in the foyer shifts. Viktor's mask drops slightly, and I see the cold calculation underneath.
"You're making a mistake, Dimitri," he says, his voice low enough that only I can hear. "Keeping my daughter here against her will."
"She just told you she's staying willingly."
"She's traumatized. Confused. She doesn't know what she wants."
I step closer, closing the distance between us until we're nearly face to face. "She knows exactly what she wants. And what she doesn't want is to be sold off like property to secure your alliances."
Something flickers in Viktor's eyes. Anger, maybe. Or recognition that I see through his games.
"Careful, Dimitri," he says softly. "You're making enemies you can't afford."
"I've had enemies my entire life. One more won't make a difference."
We stare at each other, and I'm reminded of why I've never trusted Viktor Popov. He's ambitious, ruthless, and willing to sacrifice anything for power. Including his own daughter.
Alexei appears at my side, and I'm grateful for his presence. He's been with me long enough to read situations like this, to know when violence is about to erupt.
"Ready when you are, Pakhan," he says quietly.
I nod, then turn back to Viktor. "Three hours. Not a minute more. If she's not back by then, I'm coming to get her."
"Is that a threat?"
"It's a promise."
Alina returns carrying a small purse, her face pale but composed. She's changed into a simple dress, something modest and appropriate for visiting family. She looks young, vulnerable, and every protective instinct I have screams at me not to let her go.
But I have to. Refusing will only make things worse.
"Alexei, stay with her. Don't let her out of your sight. If anything feels wrong, if anyone tries to separate you from her, you get her out of there immediately."
"Understood." Alexei's face is grim. He knows the stakes as well as I do.
I turn to Alina, and the urge to pull her aside, to kiss her, to make her promise she'll come back, is almost overwhelming. Instead, I gesture toward the door.
"A moment," I say to Viktor, then take Alina's arm and guide her a few steps away from the crowd.
Her green eyes search my face, looking for something. Reassurance, maybe. Or permission to leave.
"I need to give you something," I say quietly, reaching into my pocket. I pull out a small pendant on a delicate silver chain. It looks like a simple piece of jewelry, elegant but understated. "Put this on."
She takes it, examining the pendant with confusion. "It's beautiful, but—"
"It's a panic button." I keep my voice low, aware of all the eyes watching us. "If anything goes wrong, if you feel threatened or unsafe, you press the center stone. My men will come immediately."
Her fingers close around the pendant, and I see understanding dawn in her eyes. "You think my father will try something."
"I think your father wants you alone for a reason." I reach up and fasten the chain around her neck, my fingers brushing against her skin. She shivers at the contact, and I feel an answering heat in my own body. "Be careful, Alina. Your father is not the man you think he is."
"I know." Her voice is barely a whisper. "I saw it in his eyes. The way he looked at me. It wasn't relief that I'm alive. It was anger that I'm here with you."
Smart girl. She's learning to read the undercurrents, to see past the masks people wear.
"Three hours," I remind her. "That's all. Then you come back here, where you're safe."
She nods, her hand coming up to touch the pendant at her throat. "What if I don't want to come back?"
The question hits me like a physical blow. I study her face, looking for the truth behind the words. Is she testing me? Or is she genuinely considering staying with her family?
"Then I'll come get you anyway," I say honestly. "Because whether you believe it or not, you're safer here than anywhere else in this city right now."
Something shifts in her expression. Not quite trust, but maybe the beginning of understanding.
"Okay," she says softly. "Three hours."
I want to say more. Want to tell her that the thought of her leaving, even for three hours, makes my chest tight with something I don't want to name. Want to pull her against me and kiss her until she forgets about her family, about leaving, about everything except the heat between us.
But Viktor is watching, and my men are watching, and this moment is already too intimate for the audience we have.
"Go," I say, stepping back. "Alexei will keep you safe."
She nods and turns away, walking toward her father with her shoulders straight and her head high. I watch her go, memorizing the way she moves, the fall of her red hair down her back, the curve of her neck where the pendant rests.
Viktor places a possessive hand on her shoulder, and I have to clench my fists to keep from crossing the foyer and ripping his hand away. She's not his anymore. She's mine. Or she will be, once we're married.
If she comes back.
The thought sends ice through my veins.
Alexei follows them out, his hand near his weapon, his eyes scanning constantly for threats. I trust him with my life. I have to trust him with hers.
The foyer empties as Viktor's men file out, returning to their vehicles. My own guards maintain their positions, watching until the last of the Popov soldiers is gone. Then the front door closes, and the house falls silent.
I move to the window, watching as Alina climbs into one of the black SUVs. Viktor gets in beside her, and even from this distance, I can see him talking to her, his hands gesturing. Trying to convince her of something. Trying to control the narrative.
The convoy pulls away, Alexei's vehicle following close behind. I watch until they disappear through the gates, until I can't see them anymore.
And that's when the warning hits me. A trickle at first, then a flood.
Something is wrong. I can feel it in my bones, in the way Viktor's jaw tightened when I insisted on Alexei accompanying them. In the cold calculation I saw in his eyes when he looked at his daughter. In the way his men positioned themselves, like they were preparing for something.
I pull out my phone and call Alexei.
He answers on the first ring. "We just left the estate. Everything's fine so far."
"Stay alert," I tell him. "Don't let them separate you from her. Not for any reason."
"Understood."
I end the call and stand at the window, staring out at the empty driveway. Three hours suddenly feels like an eternity.
My phone buzzes with incoming reports. Updates on the church investigation. Messages from other Bratva families. Business that needs my attention. But I can't focus on any of it. All I can think about is Alina, driving away with a man who might be planning to kill her.
Or worse, planning to make her disappear entirely.
I should have said no. Should have refused Viktor's request outright, consequences be damned. Should have kept her here where I could protect her, where I could see her, where I could know she was safe.
But I gave her a choice, let her make her own decision. And now she's gone, and all I can do is wait.
And watch.
And pray that the pendant around her neck stays silent.