Chapter Eight - Dimitri

It was an impulse decision to stamp the lit end of my cigar into her arm, and now that she’s fainted in my arms, there’s a burdened part of me that feels apologetic about it. Slumped in my arms, I stare down at the dried blood under her nose.

What the fuck is she doing? Ever since Ava Knight has come into my life, she’s thrown me off in ways I didn’t expect. Dragging her towards the door of the suite, the guard looks down at me stumped by what he’s looking at.

“Don’t just fucking stand there, go get the doctor!” I bark, not planning on breaking a sweat. By now she has to know who I am. I told her my first name, but Ava’s smarter than I’ve wanted her to be already. “You are inconvenient. Sexy, but inconvenient,” I murmur under my breath, staring at the holes I left in her arm. It’s nothing. I’ve done worse on many more occasions.

Dragging Ava back inside, I lay her on the bed, waiting for the doctor to come, dipping into the bathroom to clean up the blood around her nose. As I gently wipe it off, I can’t stop taking in her stunning features. Her skin is a beautiful shade of olive, a direct contrast to my alabaster tones, and flawless. Her berry lips are slightly parted and if I stare at them any longer, I’m going to want to do things I regret. A knock at the door stops the dirty fantasy in its tracks as the doctor enters with her bag and a stethoscope around her neck.

“Is this her?” she asks, sliding her hands into blue plastic gloves.

“Yeah, it’s her. What’s wrong with her?” I ask gruffly as my associate steps back outside the door.

“I don’t know yet. When I take a closer look, I’ll be able to find out. Excuse me.” Possessively, I stand over Ava, realizing I’m hindering the doctor from doing her job. Stepping back, my jaw clenches, confusion clouding my judgment. I shouldn’t care about her. All I should care about is taking Raven’s Peak from her, but somehow, I don’t want her dead body on my hands. That’s not how I want to take the property from her. I want her to hand it to me herself.

“Sorry,” I mutter, eyeing the doctor briefly. “Make sure she’s okay.”

The doctor disregards my request, but I know for a fact she’s very good. She’s been able to fix bullet wounds in less than an hour and has traveled with my men when we’ve needed her on missions, and what’s even better is she’s never opened her mouth. Besides if she did, I would kill her and her family, which tends to stop any of my staff from talking or leaving. The way of the Bratva is similar to most mobs, there’s only a couple of ways out—jail or in a body bag. We are no exception.

After watching Ava come back to life, I listen carefully to the doctor asking her questions. “Have you fainted before?”

“No,” she explains groggily in a state of bafflement. “I’ve been pretty stressed with my work at the diner, but nothing out of the ordinary.

“I’m going to take some tests, and check what’s going on with you. They may take a couple of hours to conduct. Okay?”

“Sure. It’s not like I have a choice,” she remarks bitterly, placing the doctor in an awkward position as I tap my steepled fingers together, studying the young woman and wondering what it’s going to take to relieve her of Raven’s Peak. What principles have her holding out?

“No, you don’t,” I jump in, making it clear she’s right. Her eyes narrow in my direction, adding the element of surprise. Not only is she stubborn, but she’s also angry and not afraid to fight back. This is new for me. Most fear me, and I’ve seen the emotion in her eyes, but she’s not budging.

I wait, watching as the doctor makes her drink a solution and takes her blood. After a few hours the results come back, and I find myself perched on the edge of my seat wanting to know the diagnosis just as much as Ava does.

“Well, after the tests I can see you have hypoglycemia, and you’re severely dehydrated. Not to mention malnourished. I have a list of vitamins that I suggest you take.”

“Okay. Thank you,” she replies humbly as I flash her a look of annoyance. This could have been prevented much like this entire circumstance.

“Have you eaten since being here?” The doctor looks from me to Ava, a wave of guilt running through me.

“No. I haven’t been fed.”

Numbly, I stare at the doctor who stares at me. “What? See to it with the chef. Whatever she needs. Keep her safe,” I add, wishing I didn’t add the rest, but the words tumbled out before I could catch them. I take note of the bandage the doctor placed on Ava’s arm from the burns I inflicted. She’ll recover.

My eyes linger on her face, analyzing her weakened state, the concern I’m feeling is jarring for a hard man like me, but maybe, just maybe, it’s a good thing she’s weak. This is the perfect time to capitalize and get her to sign over Raven’s Peak to me. I almost don’t want to provide her with care, but suddenly I’m not feeling cruel enough to do it.

“Okay. I’ll organize the meals with the chef. I’m done here,” the doctor indicates, packing up her things.

“Good.”

It's you that’s weakened Dimitri. If this were a man, you would break both his kneecaps so you could have him sign over the rights. Ava’s cocoa-colored eyes narrow in suspicion, she’s not as stupid as I’d like her to be. Her eyes are flickering in and out of consciousness, and she’s low on energy. And I can she’s making eyes at the good doctor, pleading and begging for an escape, but she’ll find no such thing.

It’s not going to do you any good, Ms. Knight. The doctor works for me. Ushering in a vicious smirk, I wait for the doctor to leave. With the drip in her arm, Ava lays on the bed, considering me for a second while I stand, unmoving and taking a hard look at her bandaged arm.

As she watches me looking at it, she draws it in protectively, turning her head. I move towards her just as the strangled words come out of her mouth. “Why are you doing this?” Her voice crackles in pain, but as I shove my hands in my pockets, I explain the truth.

“This isn’t personal towards you, Ms. Knight. Unfortunately, you happen to be standing in the way of what I want and need.”

Tears well in her eyes, her breaking point close. Ah. Her brave face mask is dropping. “It doesn’t make sense why you’re willing to go to such lengths for a piece of land.”

Scoffing, I shake my head, gathering a deep breath. There’s no harm in sharing my story with her. At this point, I think I can. “Growing up I was nothing. Unwanted and unloved, and my father was a disappointment to the Bratva.” I let her digest this news first.

Her eyes shutter in mild surprise, but quickly the light in them dies. “You’re Bratva?”

Arching an eyebrow, I fist my hands in my pockets, resisting the urge to stroke her hair.

“Come on Ms. Knight. You strike me as being a very smart young lady. You must have known what I am,” I remark simply.

She turns her body from me, not wanting me to see the tears that have slipped down her face. Discreetly she wipes them away. “I thought you were something, but I didn’t know exactly. You’re a mobster,” she jerks out, and the way she says it invokes a warm chuckle from me.

“Yes and no. This isn’t like movies or anything. I am a businessman first and foremost. Again, this is business, but in many ways quite personal to me because as the Bratva are a brotherhood and my father failed, then surely I was destined to fall into his footsteps.”

“Why would you be? You’re not him.”

Nodding my head in agreement, I scoff. “Yes, but that’s not how the Bratva works. Prove yourself first and then some form of redemption might come your way.”

“Oh. Right.” Glumly Ava stays on her side, but I pause, collecting my thoughts. “I clawed my way to the top, Ava. Every step. Every decision. Every sacrifice. I’ve earned my place with every piece of dirt underneath my nails, and I won’t stop until I have it all.”

“Looks like you already have it, and what—you’re going to leave me with nothing? This is my family’s land. Not yours. And just like you’re fighting, so am I.”

Smirking, I nod again. “Your point is valid. But this is the way of the Bratva. It seems like we have more in common than we both might think.”

Ava wriggles arousing me, the outline of her voluptuous figure under the sheets enticing me. “Except the part of taking what’s not yours.”

“Then how should it be arranged?” I ask, humoring her.

“It’s just me now. I have to work at a fucking shitty dinner with an asshole boss, and my father worked his whole life having nothing to show for it. He was a lawyer like I want to be. But that’s not for me. I don’t want to end up like him.”

“And how did he end up?” Intrigued by her story and her passion, even though I already know her background, I listen intently, the subtle grip she has on me slowly increasing.

“He ended up with nothing. Just a stockpile of cases marred by bureaucracy and not being able to help the people he wanted to serve.”

“And let me guess, you’re different?”

Ava lifts her head, the fire blazing in her eyes. “Yes. I’m different. I’m not the same lawyer as him. I play to win,” she grits out, impressing me.

“Oh, we are alike, Ava. Maybe it’s fated we met,” I drawl out, stepping closer to her.

“Maybe.” Her temperature runs cold. “And since this is business. That’s what we should make it. I know how this works. We work out a deal that’s mutually beneficial for the land. It’s my land, and I rightfully own it. What are you going to do? Kill me for it?”

Taunting me with her words, I twist my mouth in consideration, my eyes boring into hers. “If I was going to kill you, I would have done it already, Ms. Knight. No. Tell me what your terms are, and I’m willing to hear you out.”

There’s no point being more callous than I need to be. “I know the land has lithium on it, and you already have plans for it. Admittedly, I don’t have the manpower or the resources to do anything on it, and the money you offered me, won’t help me do that either. But you know that, don’t you?”

Stunned by how smart she is, I hide my admiration responding flatly, “I’m aware of what the land has the capability to do with its natural resources.”

“It’s more than you’re saying. I can tell. I want land rights, and you can only carry out your operations on Raven’s Peak if I receive a percentage of the profits. I’m counteroffering your flimsy proposal for a long-term mutually beneficial contract. Understand?”

Grinning, I’m willing to concede, and quite frankly she’s making my dick hard with her intelligence. “Ms. Knight, you are a dark horse and that’s one of the reasons I like you. I’m not so unreasonable I can’t bend in this instance. I, too, have a long-term vision I can share with you for the property, and I guarantee it will be satisfactory for both of us. I want the land for the purpose of what it can bring to the Bratva and myself, so therefore I’m willing to agree to your terms.”

“Good. And don’t try anything because I know the law,” she warns, but her thinly veiled threat I liken to shooing away a mosquito. It’s quite cute.

“As you should, you’re studying it.” Chuckling, she regards me with contempt, but the tightly coiled tension that existed earlier between us has dissolved given I’ve agreed she can keep the title. What do I need with it? She’s getting what she wants and so am I.

“In the contract, you won’t be able to fall short on your promise. And you can’t kill me.”

“I will make good on all my promises. And the Bratva doesn’t kill people for no reason. Trust me,” I declare. “And if we are going to work together, then we need to start over. Renew the trust, wouldn’t you say?” I coax as Ava visibly relaxes.

“Yes. I agree. We should.” Her words are careful, almost as if she doesn’t quite believe me, but now that I know where we stand and I’m going to get what I want, I don’t care. Besides, if she wants to back out, she won’t be able too. I’ll be more inclined to execute my plan of torture.

“You need your strength, Ms. Knight. Especially as we cut through the finer details of the contractual arrangements,” I tease with a self-assured smirk. “I wouldn’t want you to miss any important details within it.”

She cuts her eyes on me. “I’m not going to miss anything,” she quips, stirring a long-held longing for a challenging woman from deep within me. Right on cue, a quick knock at the door presents itself, and I step away briefly, opening it and wheeling the food in.

“I trust that you won’t. Please eat, and if you need anything else, I’ll see that you get it.” The agreeable version of me glitches through, and judging from the startled expression clouding Ava’s face, she’s as stumped by my demeanor as I was about giving a damn about her well-being earlier.

She sits up, the color slowly returning to her face, and I can tell she’s hungry. The ice inside my veins is thawing because this version of the deal could give me the opportunity to capitalize on more than just Raven’s Peak.

“Thanks,” she responds begrudgingly, picking up her fork as I back off.

“I’m going to let you eat in peace and get some rest. Meanwhile, I’ll come back with a prospectus on what my plans are for Raven’s Peak.” Pausing, I nod once. “Congratulations, Ava, you can kiss poverty goodbye forever.”

Her wary glance in my direction thwarts any idea that she’s going to be easy to win over, but that only piques my curiosity more. It’s better this way, and Ms. Knight has earned my respect.