22. Dimitri

22

DIMITRI

“Zara, let me call a doctor,” I plead, sitting beside her on the couch.

“Stop fussing.” She sighs, taking a sip of water. “I’m fine.”

I frown, pressing the back of my hand to her forehead.

She doesn’t have a fever, but this constant nausea is starting to worry me.

She’s been feeling sick for a few days now and initially, I put it down to all the stress with Giovanni. It’s a natural reaction to what she’s been through over the past few months so it’s no wonder she’s feeling a little run down.

But when I got home this evening to find her once again on the sofa with a sick bowl, looking clammy and gray, I began to wonder if it’s not something else.

“Please let me call you a doctor.”

“Dimitri, I’m fine.” She presses her hands to my chest. “You don’t need to worry.”

The way she’s refusing to meet my eyes has me doing the exact opposite of that.

“You’re not fine. You’ve been sick for days.”

“It’s just a bug, it’ll pass on its own.”

I let out a long breath as I narrow my eyes at her.

Something’s wrong, but I don’t want to push Zara. It’s becoming clear that it’s important for her to feel in control of herself, of her body , and if she assures me that she doesn’t need a doctor, then I need to respect her wishes, as much as it kills me to do so.

I hate that Zara’s feeling like this all because of some guy who refuses to take no for an answer. I wish she would take a few more sick days, but she’s worried about falling behind, so we compromised with her working from her laptop on the couch for the past few days.

“If I can’t call a doctor, at least let me run you a bath.” I tuck her hair behind her ear.

She sighs, her eyes fluttering closed as she leans into my touch. “A bath sounds amazing.”

“I’ll be right back.” I press a soft kiss to her forehead before getting to my feet.

I head upstairs to her room and get to work prepping the bath, turning on all the jacuzzi jets and adding plenty of calming essential oils and salts. I light a few candles on the edge of the bath and turn off the lights to add to the ambiance.

When it’s ready, I go back downstairs and cross the living area to where Zara is lounging on the couch, her laptop perched on her lap.

I reach over and shut the lid.

“Excuse me, I was working?—”

I pick up the laptop and toss it aside before wrapping my arms around Zara and lifting her off the couch.

“What are you doing?” she squeals, clinging to my shirt.

“Carrying you upstairs.”

“Dimitri, I can walk! ”

“You can, but that doesn’t mean I’ll let you. You’re sick, let me take care of you, sladkaya zhizn’ .” I nuzzle her neck, inhaling the sweet smell of her hair.

“You’re impossible.” She sighs as she moves her hands to my neck, her fingers softly caressing the nape.

“I think you meant to say impossibly handsome.” I smirk as she rolls her eyes at me.

There’s my Zara .

I carry her upstairs to her bathroom where I gently set her down on the cold tiles. She reaches for her shirt, but I grab her wrist, halting her movements.

“Let me.” I reach for the hem of her T-shirt. “Arms up.”

Zara does as I say, and I carefully lift the shirt up over her head, taking a moment to admire her full breasts.

“You don’t need to do this…” She wraps her arms around herself.

Her green eyes are filled with worry as she looks up at me under her lashes.

I gently cup her cheek, rubbing my thumb back and forth over the soft skin.

“Relax, sladkaya . Let me take care of you.”

She nods, her throat bobbing.

I sink to my knees, my fingers dipping into the waistband of her pajama pants as I start to pull them down her thighs.

Her hands move to my shoulders to keep her steady as I gently hold her ankle, lifting her leg out of the pants before moving to the next one until she’s completely naked.

“Dimitri.”

I glance up to see her hands gently rubbing her stomach as her eyes fill with tears.

“What is it, sladkaya zhizn’ ? Do you feel sick?” My hands caress the backs of her knees .

She shakes her head, her bottom lip wobbling as a tear escapes down her cheek.

“Shh, it’s okay.”

After kissing each thigh, I get to my feet and wrap my arms around her shivering body, holding her tightly against me for a moment.

“I’m right here,” I assure her as I stroke her hair. “It’s going to be fine.”

“Promise?” she mumbles against my chest.

“I promise. Now, let’s get you in the bath.”

As much as I want to climb into the bath with Zara and hold her naked body against me, she needs to rest, so after making sure she’s settled, I head into my office to check on a few things while she soaks in the bath.

The moment I close the door to my office, my phone starts ringing, and I groan at the sight of Alexei’s name on the screen.

“What do you want?”

“I’m on my way over.”

I frown. “To my place?”

“Yes, Dimitri, to your place.”

“Why?” I sink down onto the leather couch.

“Because we need to talk.”

I rub a hand over my face, internally groaning at the thought of having to deal with my brother. There’s no way I’m going to be able to focus. I need to be by Zara’s side, taking care of her.

“Can’t it wait? Zara’s sick.”

“What’s wrong with her?”

“Not sure. She won’t let me call a doctor.”

“What is it with these stubborn women,” he mutters. I chuckle under my breath. “I’m sorry, brat, but this really can’t wait. ”

“Fine.” I run my hand through my hair. “Meet me in my office.”

“I’ll be there in an hour.”

Alexei never visits me at my penthouse, which makes me think that this is something bad.

There was no mention of Mikhail and Danil joining us, so whatever he has to say is clearly not a family matter.

I frown.

Has he learned about my little run in with Giovanni? I really don’t want to have to explain that to him.

After thirty minutes of staring blankly at my computer screen, it’s clear that my focus is shot. I get to my feet and decide to go and check on Zara again.

She’s half asleep in the tub, the bubbles long since dissolved. The sight of her looking so relaxed makes me smile. It’s been a stressful few weeks for her, and I hope that from here on out she’ll start to feel better.

“I think it’s time for bed, sladkaya .” I chuckle as I reach for a towel.

Zara is asleep before her head even hits the pillow.

I tuck her in, making sure she has plenty of water and a small snack in case her appetite returns, before softly closing the door behind me.

My phone buzzes in my pocket with a notification from my security system letting me know that Alexei has arrived.

I input the code that opens the door and head back into my office to pour us both a drink in anticipation of our little talk.

Alexei’s footsteps come down the hall a few moments later.

I quickly down my glass of vodka and pour myself another before he opens the door to my office.

“Come in.” I glance over my shoulder .

From the look on Alexei’s face, I decide to turn my double vodka into a triple. “What did you want to talk about?”

Alexei closes the door behind him. “I want to know why the hell you are looking into this shit with our father and Ivanov?”

“You came all the way from Forest Hills to ask me that?” I scoff, reaching for the drinks and strolling over to the couch. “There’s a thing called texting, brat .”

I set Alexei’s drink down on the table and move to settle myself on the couch.

Alexei glances around the office, and the muscle in his jaw flexes as he spots the wall of family photos behind my desk.

“Texts can be hacked, Dimitri. I don’t want to risk this information getting out.”

I shrug. “Then you shouldn’t have told me.”

Alexei’s nostrils flare as he turns to face me, folding his arms across his chest.

“Would you rather I kept this a secret?”

“Honestly? Yes.” Taking a sip of my drink, I lean back and throw my right arm along the back of the couch as I cross an ankle over a knee.

Alexei glares at me, but I don’t look away.

“Who the fuck did you have look into this, Dimitri?”

“Rurik.”

“Fuck.” Alexei runs his hand through his hair. “Seriously, Dimitri? If this gets out?—”

“Rurik’s more fucking reliable than Frederik! He sent me concrete proof which is more than your guy did.”

Alexei blinks.

“What?”

“I wanted to prove you wrong,” I admit. “I just couldn’t believe that our father would do this, so I had Rurik dig deeper. But it turns out, you were right.”

“Show me. Now.”

I get up, grabbing Alexei’s drink off the table and strolling over to my desk.

“Drink.” I shove the glass into his hand before turning on my computer and loading up the email with the pictures of our father and Igor’s wife.

Alexei downs his drink in one, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand before sitting down at my desk and scrolling through the pictures.

I lean against the wall, my arms folded over my chest, looking anywhere but at the screen.

I’ve already seen them once. I don’t need to ever see them again.

Alexei closes the email. “Is this everything he found?”

“No.”

Alexei curses under his breath as he turns to face me.

I avoid his gaze by picking up his empty glass and going to refill it.

“Fucking spit it out, Dimitri.”

“Trust me. You’re going to need a drink when you hear what I have to tell you.”

I go into detail of what Rurik found, including the stillbirth of our half-brother, and how it seemed to coincide with the exchange of the properties in Russia between our father and Igor.

“Fuck me.” Alexei shakes his head. “An affair is bad enough, but he got her pregnant?”

“Yeah.”

“This is fucking bad.”

“I don’t think the stillbirth is a coincidence.”

“Me neither. There’s no way in hell Igor would have raised a son of a rival Pahkan. That kid was doomed from the start, and our father should have fucking known better.” He slams his hand down on the desk. Hard.

I clench my hands into fists as Alexei is silent, raging, and I’m stewing inside my head for a moment. I can’t believe this is the fucking legacy my father left behind, and now my brothers and I are left to clean up his mess.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, snapping me out of it.

I pull it out of my pocket and let out a breath as I see Rurik’s name flash up on the screen. I show it to Alexei, and he signals for me to answer the call.

I swipe my thumb across the screen and click the speaker button. “Any news from your Russian guy?”

Rurik huffs. “Nothing concrete. He’ll only talk to you or Alexei.”

“Then set it up.”

Rurik clears his throat. “In person.”

“Fuck.”

I think of Zara sleeping down the hall, and the thought of having to fly to Russia and leave her while she’s sick makes my chest tighten.

Alexei seems to read the thought on my face as he shakes his head. “I’ll go. Rurik, set up a meeting, and I’ll take the red eye to Moscow tonight.”

This is not a good idea. “Alexei.”

“I should be the one to go, Dimitri. I’m the head of the family.”

And for once, I don’t argue with him. The last thing I want to do right now is fly to Russia to dig up more information on my father’s infidelity.

“I’ll email you over the details,” Rurik says before hanging up the phone.

I look at my brother. “You sure about this? ”

Alexei inhales deeply, the muscle in his jaw flexing as he turns to glance at the wall of photos behind him.

“No, but we can’t run from this, Dimitri. I want to make sure we’re as prepared as we can be for when this all blows up. And it will blow up.”

“I know.” I sigh, rubbing at my jaw.

My bother stares at me. “I expect you to keep an eye on things while I’m gone.”

“Of course. Just…be careful. These Russian guys are fucking snakes.”

Alexei’s mouth quirks up into a feral grin.

“You forget who gave them that reputation.”