I own nothing but the plot and the OC!

Chapter Eight

RPOV

"How long were you going to keep it from me?"

Animosity coated my words, I was more than upset, I was seething. When the realization struck me that Ben's brother was involved with this, I called my father. I needed to know what his game was, what he wanted from me. If he knew I was responsible for his brother's death, I would assume he wanted revenge. What I wasn't prepared for was Dad telling me Ben was alive after all. That changes everything.

"Rosemarie, do not take that tone with me. I did what I believed was best for everyone," his voice lowered as he spoke with a grit.

"Why does everyone want to make choices for me?"

"It may not have turned out the way I intended, but I promise I had your best interest at heart."

"Obviously, Old Man, there is no telling what he is capable of now."

"He will not get to you, do you understand? I, nor Dimitri, will let him," he barked.

"You both failed before," by this point I was screaming.

Okay, so that was a low blow, I know, but I was beyond angry and unable to stop the word vomit. The silence on the line was tense, I could hear him breathing deeply as if he was trying to calm himself and find the right words.

"Kizim, I know this is difficult, but we only did what we thought was best. We had some details to figure out and we wanted to do that before reopening old wounds."

A light knock on my door silenced my next remark. I had both the kids laying down for naps, but one of them had woken with my yelling.

"Mama?" Misha poked his head in, "Are you okay?"

"Baba, let me call you back," I rang off and motioned Misha in the room.

"I am fine baby, sorry I woke you," I kissed his hair, pulling him into my lap.

"I wasn't asleep," he whispered.

"Why not?"

"I'm not tired," he said simply, but I knew there would be more to it than that, he just won't talk to me about it.

"How about we go watch a movie together, or you can get your school work done so you can watch TV later."

"School."

I chuckled at him, he gets his love of learning from Dimitri. I would have taken a movie over school work in a heartbeat. I set him up with his sight words and letters, taking the time now to get some writing done. I had two artists contact me last week and I have yet to get started on the songs for them. I put one headphone in and started playing around with the beat. The first wanted a song about overcoming obstacles, distance and overall love. Thinking about everything Dimitri and I had been through, the words flowed as quickly as the beat.

Do you feel the same when I'm away from you?

Do you know the line that I'd walk for you?

We could turn around, or we could give it up

But we'll take what comes, take what comes

Oh, the storm is raging against us now

If you're afraid of falling, then don't look down

But we took the step, and we took the leap

And we'll take what comes, take what comes

In a matter of the hour, I had the lyrics complete and the music not far behind it. Overall, I was satisfied with the result. Uploading it to my SoundCloud, I emailed it to the label and would wait to hear back from them.

Writing has always been my outlet, anytime I was dealing with something, I would get it out on paper. Finishing the first and thinking about the next one, I was calming down from the information Dad had given me. I was still upset about being lied too, but the way I chose to see it was I can keep being angry over something I can't change, or I can focus on how to make it better. I chose the latter, there is no point in staying angry. I inwardly laughed at the thought, when did I become the rational one?

By the time I finished my second song it was five o'clock. Sasha had woken up and started her afternoon studies, Misha had finished his and was watching TV in the living room. I guess I checked out for a while, I never heard either of them move around. Cleaning up my office, I began dinner, seasoned chicken with mashed potatoes and corn on the cob.

Peeling the potatoes for them to boil, I let my mind wander back into uncharted territory. Ben is alive and is coming after me, and he isn't alone this time. All these years I thought he was dead, I had shot and killed him, but that was a lie. Now he has his little brother helping him, who I know nothing about, but if he's anything like Ben he could be just as dangerous. I was willing to let go that Dad had kept it from me, but I was worried about what would happen now. Did Dimitri know about any of this? Dad kept saying "we" earlier, was he talking about Dimitri? Were they able to find any other information on him to help us? Was the threat Dimitri got this morning Ben telling him he planned to kill him, and soon?

I think that is what worried me most. Ben was willing to go to extreme lengths to take and hide me away. Adding on the events that followed that, he would be vengeful, relentless, and desperate to finish what he started all those years ago. Granted, we are stronger and smarter than we were back then, but someone in a psychotic break can and will do rash things.

Sasha came to help me mash the potatoes and I was just pulling the chicken out of the oven when Dimitri got home. He gave me a quick kiss and made his way up the stairs to change. I left him a note in the closet, hoping to make him smile after a long day. Even if I had been upset about the bomb Dad dropped on me today, and the possibility that Dimitri was in on it, I still wanted to make him happy. He had told me Chief would likely pull him from his beat, and considering he is home early, I would assume that is exactly what happened.

When he came back down, he was wearing a black T-shirt, hugging tight to his chest and an old pair of jeans, faded with an unknown number of washes. He looked good enough to eat, but I would have some words before then. Wrapping his arms around my waist he whispered in my ear, "I love you too, Roza, but you are the true hero", I almost smacked him. Almost. One part of me loved that he would say that, but the other was cross with knowing he was hiding something. I would bait him later and see if he fesses to know about Ben.

We were halfway through dinner, the conversation was light as Dimitri talked to the children about their day. Sasha was in the middle of telling him about a book she was reading when his phone started ringing. Misha, ever so helpful, jumped from the table to grab it for him and answered it.

"Papa, it's Tasha, do you want to talk to her?"

I gave an attempt at raising a brow to him, since when are him and Tasha friends? He took the phone and I listened intently to his half of the conversation.

"Everything okay...Alright, can I call you back later, we are in the middle of dinner…Okay, I'll ring you later, bye."

"Tasha," I gave him a questioning stare.

"Yes, turns out she is a dispatcher. She just moved to days so I never heard her before today. She wanted to let me know about something that was going on and thought it might be of interest."

He said the last part with an open look, there was more to it but he didn't want to talk until we were alone. I gave him a single nod and finished my dinner.

I tucked Misha into bed, Dimitri taking care of Sasha. We both changed into our sleepwear and went back to the living room for our quiet time. Settling into our normal routine and relaxing on the couch, I gave him a minute to collect his thoughts. He knew I was going to hound him about the day and Tasha's phone call. Even if she and I had been friends, her randomly showing back up in his life worried me. I hope she was over her crazy obsession with him.

"I should call her back before it gets late, I really need to know what is going on that she knows."

"Did you tell her about everything?"

"No, she is dating one of the Detectives, he had some cases he was telling her about and she thinks it might be related."

I nodded and pulled out a book. Listening to his side of the conversation, questions were forming rapidly in my head. I could make out a few words from her, but not much, when he finished his call, I closed my book and looked back at him.

"Apparently Detective Moore has been tracking a small group that has been burglarizing the prominent neighborhoods. It's outside of my beat, so I wasn't aware of them being connected, but it seems to be the same people. They steal jewelry, and cash, never leaving a trace of who they are."

"How is that connected to us?"

"For one, one of them broke into a house last night and left that message. Two, they would have to get money from somewhere. I doubt they have jobs or a savings fund to drain."

I couldn't help but notice he was keeping names out of it, he said "they" or "them", even though I was pretty sure he knew who it was.

"Have you gotten any closer to figuring out who it is?" Hook.

"I have a theory, but I don't know how practical it is."

"That would be?" Line.

He took a deep breath, "I think Ben's little brother is the one leaving the gifts and letters."

"Why would he do that though?" Sinker.

He paused, his eyes closed and he inhaled and held it for a moment, breathing out he whispered, "Because Ben is telling him to."

Reel it in, by God, he actually told me. I for sure thought he would beat around the bush or keep hiding. When I didn't say anything, he looked at me confused.

"Why aren't you freaking out?"

"This morning after you left, I was going through our photobook. I saw a picture of me and Ben from Destin, putting two and two together, I realized the kid who brought the flowers was his brother. So I called Baba, he told me about the profile and how Ben never died."

"And he told me to keep it from you, hypocrite," he mumbled.

"Well I'm sure he would have, had I not drug it out of him. I asked a lot of questions before he confessed."

"How are you feeling?"

"Scared. Pissed. Relieved."

"Relieved?"

"I didn't kill someone, I always thought I had, but I didn't. That burden is gone now, even if he is still after me, at least I wasn't the reason behind his death."

"Again, finding the silver lining in the worst scenario, you are amazing, Milaya."

"So was she able to give you any idea as to who the other people involved are? How many are there?"

"From what Moore is saying, there is three. The younger two I assume is Ben and his brother, the other is a much older man, but they don't have a good description of him."

"Do you think it could be his Dad or an Uncle or something like that?"

"I don't know, did he ever mention them to you?"

I thought back, many many years, he told me his father served in the Military, but nothing after that. He only had the one brother and never mentioned any extended family. He grew up in a small town and left when he joined the Army.

"No, just the brother, Nathan."

"I am going to do some research on them, hopefully, something will turn up there."

"Sounds good...So do you want to go to bed early?" I wiggled my eyebrows at him.

"You sure you're up for that, Milaya, not still sore?" his voice took on a husky tone.

I moved to straddle his waist, running my fingers through his hair and pulling back slightly. I gave his lips a gentle kiss, not letting him push further.

"I mean, if you don't want to, we can sit here for a while."

I pushed my hips down to his, I could already feel him hardening, his eyes twin pools of lust.

"Don't start something you don't intend to finish, Roza," he mimicked my words for a few weeks ago.

"Oh, I fully intend on finishing, Comrade, before you if I have it my way."


START M SCENE

Running his hands up the outside of my thighs he pushed the oversized shirt I wore up to bunch at my hips. I had purposely put on one of his old Rangers T-shirts tonight, knowing it would go down to my knees and he wouldn't know that I had nothing on underneath until I wanted him to.

"Oh, Roza," he growled.

Once he realized I was not wearing any panties, one hand went straight to my core, the other continuing up my side, fiding I was not wearing a bra either. He gave another low growl, pushing a finger into me and roughly palming my breast with the other. I brought my lips back down to his, my hands running through his silk-like hair.

He shuttered under my fingers as I drug them down his chest to his bulge, rubbing him through the soft cotton of his sweatpants. The softest of moans escaping him, taking advantage, I pushed my tongue passed his open lips, dancing with his. My hips rocking with the steady ministrations of his fingers inside of me. Adding another he curled them forward, hitting my G spot. I pulled back and let out a breathy moan.

"We have to be really quite, Milaya, you know Sasha hears everything," he whispered, though I could hear the desire and desperation in his voice.

I nodded and pulled him out of his pants, I wanted him inside me, now. Pulling his fingers from me, he shifted further down on the couch, partly reclining and making his legs into a chair like an angle. Resting one hand on his shoulder, I rubbed him against my soaked slit, before guiding him into me. Both of us let out a soft moan as I sunk fully onto his large member. I continually checked the stairs, making sure neither of our children was waking up and seeing us. I knew we should be in our room, with the door locked, but I needed him, wanted him and I was not waiting.

I glided up and down, rolling my hips in a circular motion, as I brought my mouth back to his. It was slow, non-dominating and absolutely amazing. Dimitri brought his hand in between us, using his thumb to circle my clit. I could feel my peak coming, my body was starting to tighten up.

"Dimitri.."

"Let go, Roza, I'm right behind you," he breathed out roughly.

A few more circles on my clit and I clinched down on him. Bringing both hands to my hips, he lifted me slightly and began to thrust quickly, riding out my orgasm and sparking his. He slammed me back down tight to his body as he shuttered with his release. I could feel him pulsing and his hot seed squirting into me.

End M Scene


We were both breathing heavily, coming down from our highs, but we sobered up quickly at the sound of our son screaming.

"PAPA!"

I was off of Dimitri in a second, he had righted himself and bounded up the stairs to Misha's room. I followed behind a few seconds later, standing just outside the door to hear what was going on.

"It is just a dream, Misha," Dimitri consoled.

"Can I sleep with you and Mama?"

"Of course."

Dimitri walked out with Misha in his arms, I rubbed my boy's back and kissed his head. Dimitri laid him down and we both headed to the bathroom to clean up. Taking my chance, I asked him what happened.

"The shooting again, he keeps having the same dream."

"Should we maybe look into a child counselor or something for him?"

"We need to do something, he can't keep going on like this, it's not healthy."

"I'll check into it tomorrow, let's get some sleep."


DPOV

Roza was taking this all so well, I was surprised. She wasn't freaking out, getting angry or anything. She was calm, way too calm if you ask me. I hope she isn't bottling all of her emotions, that will only lead to a road of destruction in time.

Spending the morning part of my shift, I looked into every lead of Benjamin and Nathan Rieves I could find. Ben appeared to have disappeared off the grid somewhere in Michigan after the ordeal in Kentucky. Nathan, well he showed a lot more promise. Up until two months ago, he was working at the mall in Missoula, Montana. He was a bright kid, no arrest record and had an academic scholarship to Penn State, which he declined in 2018. Around the time that Ben had been "killed". He graduated and got the job at the mall, he had been there since then. If I could get in contact with his friends and family, they may be able to provide some insight to his abrupt departure. There was still the matter of the third person involved, but I was confident if I could get a lead on these two, I could find the third rather easy.

After lunch, I went to sit with Tasha on the dispatch console. After yesterday I tried to prepare myself for the hell I would be in for today. Plugging into her headset, so I could hear the radio traffic, we started the day with a Cardiac Arrest call. That was something new to me, hearing the caller in that situation was intense. Usually, I would arrive on the scene and pull the caller out of the room, they were calm by the time I got there. I now know why our dispatcher has helped them get through the pain and bring them down to a level where they can help the person. I listened to Tasha talk to the seventy-five-year-old man, trying to get him to perform CPR on his wife of fifty years. In the back of my mind, I knew it would do no good, but it gave the caller a little bit of hope to hold on to. In the end, I guess that is what mattered most, helping them and giving them the tiniest bit of relief in the situation.

The hours passed slowly, several traffic stops called out by various units. A few decent calls, thefts, and fights, but nothing major. However, nothing in the world could have prepared me for the final call we would deal with today. A colleague of mine, Neil Raymond, called out on a welfare concern.

"3801, show me in the 100 block of Allison, checking on a male limping down the street."

"3801, Received, advise if another unit is needed," Tasha keyed the radio and put him on a call.

In the blink of an eye, the whole world shifted. Raymond's radio keyed up and he was yelling at the male.

"SHOW ME YOUR HANDS…POP POP POP…"

I looked at Tasha, her eyes wide, but her hands and voice didn't falter. She typed notes in the call and keyed up to have additional units en route to him, code of course. I stood up and moved to head to my unit, but Tasha grabbed my arm.

"You can't go, you're not allowed on the street, sit down."

"How can you tell me to sit down when my brother has been shot at?" I screamed.

Several other dispatchers looked over to me, you could see the tears welling in the eyes of every single one of them. My own included.

"The same way I have to sit here and help him. I would give the world to be able to run out there and save him, but I can't. Now sit down Dimka."

I did as she said, staring at the computer screen where a red glow was covering the map. Units responded lights and sirens to assist our brother. The radio keyed again, his voice barely a whisper.

"White Male, Mid fifties..*cough*... Brown hair...Six foot..*cough cough*..has an accent...north.."

The transmission stopped.

Tasha typed the description into the system, re-transmitting what he said for everyone responding, just in case they couldn't hear him. My leg was bouncing up and down, unable to stop. I hadn't even realized that she had dispatched EMS to the scene until I heard them call out. I held my breath, praying he would be okay, praying they got there fast enough to save him. Several other units were calling out, checking the area for the suspect. None of them found him, he disappeared into thin air.

Minutes felt like hours, the waiting unbearable. A voice I was very familiar with, a voice I grew up hearing, spoke through the airwaves confirming my worst fear.

"2210, show 3801 end of watch," Eddie's voice wavered.

"Received at 1723 hours, 3801 end of watch," Tasha choked on the last three words.

The three words we never want to hear cross the radio. I placed my head in my hands, shaking violently, as the tears fell freely from my eyes. Tasha placed a hand on my shoulder, I looked up to see her own tears. Without a thought, I pulled her to me, wrapping her tight in my arms, holding onto something, anything of the living world. I don't know how long we stayed like that, a units traffic finally breaking us apart. She responded to the officer and turned to tell me I could go home.

"Aren't you off, too?"

"Yeah, but I will stay to finish this call. I won't leave until my last unit clears code four."

"So will I."

My phone rang several times, but I paid no mind to the vibration. My thoughts were consumed by the loss of a friend, a brother. He has a wife and two children, they will never see him again. The realization of just how dangerous our job is settled in. That could have been me, I could have been the one gunned down on the street for simply wanting to make sure the man wasn't in need of help. Rose could have been the one to get the phone call, my children could be the ones left to grow up without their father. It has always been in the back of my mind, but now it was at the forefront and all I could think about. Even with the revelation of it, I would still be coming into work tomorrow, I would still go back to my beat in a week or so and serve. I would honor him by continuing the job he loved. The job he died doing.

"You should answer her before she has a conniption. I know when Ethan doesn't answer I worry ten times more," Tasha whispered.

I nodded and headed out the door toward the parking lot to called Rose back.

"Comrade! Are you okay, I have tried to call you like fifty times!"

"I am fine, Roza. Can't get hurt working the desk," I chuckled, desperately trying to hide the pain in my voice.

"What's wrong, you should have been home hours ago."

"We had a major call, I'm staying to see it through."

"Okay, will you be home soon, or you don't know?"

"Shouldn't be too long now, most of it is over."

"Okay, I will leave a plate in the oven for you. I love you, Dimitri."

"I love you too, Roza, so-so much," the tears began to fall again.

"Are you sure you're okay?" her own tone forlorn.

"I will be."

Wiping my face, I went back inside just as Eddie cleared. Being the Sergeant on shift he stayed until everything was settled. Tasha told me to go home and get some rest. We would still be working tomorrow, six a.m. I gave her another hug and headed to the house.

I sat in my car for another half hour before I walked inside. It was now after nine p.m, the kids would be asleep, but Rose was likely to still be awake and waiting. Had she heard? I'm sure it was already playing on the news, Eddie had advised the media was on scene about an hour into the call. Taking one last deep breath, I got out of the car and walked through my front door. Letting out that breath, I relaxed, I am home, safe and sound.

"Comrade?" Roza whispered I could hear the sobs in her throat. She knew.

I just looked at her, sitting on the couch the news playing on the TV. She looked at me with such sorrow, able to tell how my day has been. She opened her arms for me, half laying down on the couch, I wrapped my arms around her waist as she ran her hands through my hair. Shushing me and singing softly. She didn't ask questions, though I knew she had a ton, she didn't even talk really, just kept singing softly as I let more tears fall.

I do not cry often, you know this, but this hurt. My colleagues are my family, I felt like my flesh and blood was taken from me today. My heart hurting as much as when Rose was taken. Only this time, I know I will not find him alive and well, I will never talk to him again. This is the first person I have ever lost in my life, how do you handle it?

"Why don't you go take a hot shower and I will reheat your dinner?"

"Thank you, but I am not hungry, I think I will shower and head to bed."

She nodded softly as I got up to go to the bedroom. I heard her move around in the kitchen before I closed the door and stripped my shield. Standing under the scalding spray, I let the grief take over.

You know how they say there are five stages of grief; denial, anger, depression, bargaining, and acceptance. I was definitely in denial, I didn't want to accept the fact that he was gone. There was a gaping hole in my heart, one that no one can fill. Then depression, It's hard to explain, the feeling of losing someone like that. He may not have been a blood relative or a lifelong friend, but he was my brother. We spent many nights enjoying cold drinks and swapping war stories with each other. He watched my back in dangerous situations, making sure I made it home every night. His life was stripped away, for what? That is what got me the most, why it happened, which brought on the anger. Anger at the coward that took his life, at the way it went down, at myself. I couldn't protect him, I couldn't save him.

I know I wasn't on the beat when it happened, but that doesn't stop you from thinking you should have done something. It doesn't make it any easier to process and accept the fact that you had no chance of making a difference in the situation.

I was in the shower longer than I had intended to be, Rose came in the bathroom to check on me.

"Dimitri? Are you alright?"

"Yeah," I cleared my throat, "Sorry, I'll be out in a minute."

She waited for me, with my towel wrapped around my hips, I sat down on the bed. Coming to stand in front of me, guessing my internal battle.

"You know, there is nothing you could have done, Dimitri."

"I know, but I will always feel like I failed in some way."

"There are some things you just can't control, this is one of them. You had no idea something like this would happen, no one did and nothing would have stopped it."

I processed her words, letting them fully sink in, she was right, but no matter, I still feel guilty. I get to keep living, keep going and he doesn't.

"It's not fair," I cried.

Rose wrapped her arms around my neck, mine going around her waist, allowing me to cry into her chest as she rubbed my back. I hated letting my guard down, I didn't like to feel vulnerable anymore, but in the arms of my wife, I was the biggest baby in the world.


Author's Note:

This Chapter is dedicated to Police Chief Lee Dixon, 3801, End of Watch June 19, 2014

This was extremely hard to write, going back down that road was very difficult, but necessary for the story. I was the dispatcher who logged unit 3801 end of watch for the last time. I worked with him numerous times and he was a very kind man. I don't mean to ramble or depress anyone, but this is an unfair reality in our world. Chief was trying to check on someone who was causing fear in their neighbors by walking around with a gun, that person, in turn, took his life. It was sudden and unexpected. I will never forget that day. So this one is for you Chief, know that you are missed and never forgotten.

Song used: Walking The Wire: Imagine Dragons (I don't own that either)