POV: Dimitri

"Keep going boys! We have one more truck on the way", the bearded guy hollered as I threw the sack I was carrying down and wiped sweat off my forehead with the back of my hand.

You're doing this for them. You're going this shitty job for your family. I had to keep reminding myself of that so I wouldn't say "to hell with this" and take off. After all, it was far better than some other "employments" I had to take so I really shouldn't have been complaining.

"Move", somebody growled and I noticed a man stumbling slightly as he tried to get out of the way of a clearly pissed off guy who looked more like a bulldog than a human being.

The stumbling didn't stop though, so he winded up almost falling over me as I moved to get another sack. I instinctively grabbed him, steadying him on his feet as he breathed out unevenly. His blond hair was so damp that it stuck to every single piece of his skin it could reach and, as he turned, he desperately tried to push it away which only resulted in an even bigger mess.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to-."

"It's fine", I cut in, impatient to get back to work so I wouldn't get on the bosses bad side.

"Thanks", he added, his lips tugging into a small smile which made his deep blue eyes look a shade lighter.

I nodded and surpassed him, diving back into the truck. After what seemed like a lifetime, the last of the shipment was unloaded and the bearded man blew into a whistle to get our attention. We all patiently waited for him to hand us what little we had earned before we were free to go.

My muscles were burning, but I still threw my jacket on so I'd avoid catching a cold. I couldn't afford to be sick. Being sick meant I was less productive. Being less productive meant I would get even less income and that would be the end of me. I tucked the money into the inside pocket of my jacket before zipping up and heading towards the station. Usually I'd walk, saving the money I'd spend on tickets because every penny counted, but now I was in the middle of nowhere so it wasn't exactly an option if I was ever going to make it back to the shelter in time.

I glanced at the clock hanging on the entrance of the station and slowed down. I still had plenty of time before the train would take off so there was no need for me to keep walking like I had a pack of stray hounds at my heels. I picked a bench that was positioned close to the platform and was one of the rare empty ones. I fixed my eyes on the rails and zoned out until somebody decided it was a good idea to plop down next to me.

I peered to the side and saw the blond guy from earlier smiling at me as he said: "Do you mind?"

Even if I did, I wasn't going to say it. That would be arrogant and rude. I attempted a polite expression while I responded with: "No."

That was the best I could do, but it seemed to be good enough for him. He leaned back and cracked his head to the side, absentmindedly rubbing his cheek where it was dirtied by coal. He didn't take the smudge off, but I knew it would disappear after a proper shower. I had experience in the matter.

"Oh, I almost forgot", he suddenly spoke up again, turning to offer me his hand, "So, how is the guy who saved me from embarrassment called?"

"Dimitri Belikov", I replied, shaking his hand a bit lazily since every movement ached.

"I'm Ivan. Ivan Zeklos."

Someone banged on the door and I jumped up in the bed, grabbing the gun from underneath my pillow in an instant. It took me a second or two to remember where I was. I cleared my throat and shouted: "What?"

"Adrian wants to see you in his office in twenty minutes", McCall replied through the door before the sound of his footsteps tapered down the hall.

I sighed, running my hand through my hair as my frantic heartbeat slowed. I kicked my blanket away and rolled my legs over the edge of the bed, taking the time to ease myself to lucidness since McCall didn't give me that luxury. I stripped and headed towards the shower. I decided it was time for me to shave so, once I was done showering, I opened the door to let the steam out and ran my palm over the foggy mirror to clear it so I could see what I was doing. My mind wandered as I slowly slid the blades of the razor over my chin. I tried picking what to wear, thinking of the contents of my closet. It was getting crowded in there. I had too many clothes, far more than I needed. I used to own a couple of torn and washed out shirts, two pairs of jeans, one jacket and one pair of boots. That was it. And I made it work. I'd learned to use what I had to the maximum and that habit followed me to this very day. I cringed every time Adrian got the maids to throw away what he found unwearable and it was safe to say his standards were extremely high. I was unwilling to be wasteful which was the reason I made a deal with him to have our old things given to the people who needed them more than he could ever comprehend. Adrian grew up in wealth, but I didn't, so I knew damn well how important one single shirt could be.

When I was on my way to Adrian's office I glanced down the hallway to see if Rosemarie's door was open. I didn't exactly know why I felt the need to check if she was awake. Actually, I didn't know why I was so obsessed with her whereabouts in the first place. Not that knowing where she was and what she was doing wasn't partially my job, but Adrian did point out a few times that I shouldn't waste so much of my energy on it. She wasn't going anywhere and I wasn't the only guard on the premises.

It was pretty early so as expected the door to Rosemarie's room was closed shut. Judging by her affinities towards sleeping she was most likely still pretty comat—.

"Oy, Comrade, don't stomp all over us short people", she exclaimed as we collided, cutting my thoughts short, "It's not my fault I'm not a giant like you."

I glanced down her body, seeing she was wearing a robe over her pajama bottoms and tank top. The robe was too big on her and I instantly recognized it as one of my old and unused ones. I didn't give it to her which only left Adrian as an option. I frowned as I pondered on why he had chosen to lend her my clothes when he had plenty of his own. While I was lost in my thoughts she gave me an odd look that had me narrowing my eyes at her and questioning: "What are you doing here?"

A mix of surprise and annoyance crossed her face before she replied: "Well, forgive me for needing to drink some water every once in a while."

I was about to point out she could have drank it from the tap in her bathroom, but decided against it. I had been very hard on her since the moment we'd meet and suddenly I felt a pang of guilt over it. I wasn't exactly the nicest person on the planet, but that was no excuse for acting like a complete asshole towards her. The worst part was, I had no idea why I behaved in such a way around her. Precaution? Defence? Maybe a small sign of my grandmother's gift of foretelling resurfacing from my subconscious?

Rosemarie studied me for a few more moments before she moved to the side and brushed by meme, thumping down the hall and back to her room without another word. I uneasily continued on my way and soon enough entered Adrian's office. I didn't even remember to knock and for a moment I almost backed away, thinking about the last time I rushed in there and found him with a girl between his legs and a rail of cocaine quickly disappearing up his nose. Adrian and I might have become close over time, but not close enough for me to ever feel comfortable with either of those things.

Luckily, he was not up to such extravagances today. Instead he was sitting on the window-sill, one of his legs dangling from it and the other firmly set on the floor inside. He was holding a steaming cup of coffee and slowly nodding his head to the rhythm of the song playing from his stereo. He looked surprisingly relaxed for a change and heaven help me he was wearing a tracksuit.

"Morning", he spoke up while his eyes remained set on something in the garden.

"To what do I owe the wake up call?", I chuckled, his mood somehow managing to set me at ease as well.

"I was thinking of going for a run", he said as he climbed back in and sipped on his coffee, "I thought you might want to join me."

"Sure. Let me change."

He just nodded and headed towards the door, handing me the hot drink as he instructed: "Feel free to finish it. We ran out, so this is the last cup. I'll meet you downstairs."

Apparently, Adrian had forgotten that our fridge and cupboards didn't magically fill up on their own. His decision to send most of our staff on a prolonged vacation seemed rash at first, but judging by how fast the word about Rosemarie's kidnapping was spreading along with the rumors of her bloodline, it was probably for the best. There weren't many people you could trust nowadays and Adrian made it a habit of trusting almost no one. It was what kept him alive since he was a child. We needed to keep a lid on things until we could figure out how exactly we wanted everything to unfold. I knew he was already three steps ahead of everyone, but he wouldn't be satisfied until he left them all in a cloud of dust behind him.

After a quick change of clothes, I used the same technique McCall did to wake Ashford and then made it to the front of the house. I found Adrian sitting on the stairs. He looked up at me with a small, but challenging smile and said: "Race me to the gates?"

"I thought you would have learned your lesson the last time?", I teased as I began rolling my shoulders and pulling my knees up one after the other.

He jumped to his feet and jogged in place, giving me a little smirk as he went into his dramatic mood and exclaimed: "I want a chance to regain my honor. Am I undeserving of it?"

I kneeled in front of the steps and angled my foot against the marble, getting ready to take off. He quickly mirrored my stance, counting down from three. We propelled forward reaching high speed as fast as our bodies allowed us. We both knew the grounds by heart - every shortcut, every hole in the ground, every obstacle. We didn't slow down, not even once so by the time the gates appeared before us I could feel my lungs burning. Adrian was right next to me, matching my pace to perfection, but I knew that if I pushed myself just a little bit harder I'd beat him again. It was still admirable how someone who inhaled the minimum of twenty cigarettes a day, drank like there was no tomorrow and had many other disastrous habits could stay in such good shape. I'd be lying if I didn't say I was holding back a little though. I'd also be lying if I didn't admit that I paused for less than a second just before we slammed against the iron gates in order to let him win.

He began coughing the minute he bent down and tried to regain control over his breathing. He was in shape, yes, but I did mention plenty of vices that would always catch up with him at some point.

"Well", he huffed, rotating to lean against the gate, "Thanks for. Saving me. From embarrassment. Again."

I froze, my muscles tensing and my smile crumbling in a blink. It was a harsh enough reaction to draw attention. Adrian's eyes raced to mine as he carefully asked: "Are you okay?"

"Mhm", I mumbled, but all I could picture were deep blue eyes in the place of his emerald ones.

"I'll take that as a no", he breathed out, straightening up, "But I won't pry, so let me take your mind off whatever it is. I have some news."

"Do tell", I prompted, shaking my arms out to loosen up a little.

"Wilket called. He agreed on the time and place with the Ricci's. It's tonight, but there is a problem that I didn't see coming and that, quite frankly, pissed me the hell off."

"The fact that you didn't see it coming or that there is a problem?"

"Both. The first one maybe even more", he laughed humorlessly, "Apparently, Andrea doesn't think I'm worth his time so he's sending two of his men instead."

"You want me to go with you?"

"Actually, I want you to go without me", he exclaimed, making me look up at him in wonder, "Bring Rose. I think you two could use some bonding time. And regardless of Andrea's absence, we still need to make sure he knows about the advantage we've talked about."

I barely held back a groan at the mention of me going anywhere with Rosemarie, especially alone. We could hardly talk to each other for longer than five minutes without becoming awkward or annoyed by one another, let alone do something this important. I didn't want it to seem like I was disobeying Adrian though, since we'd already had our fair share of disagreement over her. I didn't want him to think that I was falling out of line. So, instead, I tried making a different kind of countermove.

"You think she'll play along?"

"She will", he reassured me confidently, "The two of us are becoming fast friends. Also, I'll give her a reason to want to do it."

"What reason?", I asked, not liking the sound of it.

"You'll see."

POV: Rose

It seemed like a sound plan. It also instantly had me thinking about how I'd be able to breathe in fresh air at last. I was actually pretty excited about it which just proved how odd my situation was. However, all of that didn't mean I wasn't going to bargain for more than just a chance for a stroll. Adrian needed me to play along since he couldn't exactly drag me somewhere kicking and screaming without embarrassing himself over the fact that he couldn't tame one, little, harmless lady. Not that I viewed myself in that way, not even close, but it was useful playing a damsel in distress sometimes.

"What do I get in return?", I questioned, crossing my arms over my chest.

I thought Adrian would at least be a bit surprised, but apparently he was completely ready for at least some demands. He nonchalantly pulled out his cellphone and shook it while saying: "You get a phone call. You can call whomever you want and talk about whatever you want, except where you are, who you are with and anything related to Ibrahim and my plans for you."

So far I'd picked up on Adrian's habit to be the agreeable one and his desire to be generous in any way his position allowed. He could be charmed more easily. Not that he was stupid or anything. On the contrary, he was too smart for my own good. He just had more faith in me than Dimitri did. Truthfully, his trust wasn't misplaced for now. I really wasn't planning to try to escape since it would most likely get me killed either by Adrian's men or somebody else's. Still, when I pushed out my next words I was certain there was no way he was going to allow more even if he continued to ignore Dimitri's enraged expression.

"That doesn't leave me many topics to discuss. "

"Take it or leave it Rose. I won't give you a better offer."

"Fine. I'm in."

"Well, that was easy", Adrian smirked, going back to his usual cocky ways.

"Give me a finger and I'll sneak up to the whole hand. You won't see me coming, Handsome."

"She thinks I'm handsome", he exclaimed, pretending he was about to swoon.

"We have a meeting to get to", Dimitri grumbled impatiently. He was all work and no play, all the time.

"Right. Spread your wings Little Bird. It's time you learned how to be a part of our world", Adrian chuckled, before he gave Dimitri a more sober expression.

These guys were good and I mean really good. I guess that explained how they got their hands on me so quickly and easily. I was ushered into a car before I could even figure out what was what and we left soon after Dimitri's and Adrian's debate about handcuffing me. Clearly, Adrian won since I was sure the giant nuisance was all about tying people up and not in a fun way. We were riding with Eddie, who took the passenger's seat, and Mason, who stayed in the back with me. There was another car following us close behind and I began wondering if it was stupid of me to agree to this meet and greet judging by the amount of armed men in my presence.

Mason kept a steady grip on the back of my neck, pushing me down so I couldn't see where we were going until we reached a safe distance from Adrian's house. Not that that knowledge would have helped me in any way. I stared out the window after I was allowed up just to for the heck of it, but we were driving down a highway with little to see passed the lanes so I got bored pretty fast.

"Is the radio working?", I questioned after twenty minutes of silence.

"Yes", Dimitri responded, keeping his eyes on the road as I looked at his reflection in the rearview mirror.

"Could you turn it on then?"

"No."

Well, that was a waste of breath. I fell back against the seat and sighed, meeting Mason's supportive smile. Maybe I wasn't the only one annoyed by the driver. Mason quickly looked away though and I didn't blame him. I was not worth getting fired over.

After the drive from hell was over we were parked in what I figured were the furthest outskirts of the city next to a block of buildings that looked like they were once a part of some factory or something, but were now abandoned. The men exited the car and I, for once, exercised patience, waiting to be let out. Truthfully, I only did it because I was scared shitless already. This was the kind of place where murders happened in movies and most likely in real life too. To my surprise it was Dimitri who decided to be the gentleman, opening the door for me and even offering me his hand to help me out. I took it, deciding this wasn't the time to be stubborn.

He mumbled something into his headset and gave orders to Mason and Eddie before he gestured me to follow him into a questionable looking alley between the two buildings closest to us. I looked at the men heading the other way and pushed out: "We're not going with them?"

"No. We're going around the back. There's another way in."

He seemed totally unfazed by the creepiness of the atmosphere as we walked down the dark road. I would jump at the slightest of sounds while he kept his pace even without bothering to turn towards the noise. That was probably because he had a gun and most likely some sort of military training to save him, my mind supplied, and you have no one and nothing to save you but him right about now. I suddenly had a burning desire to talk so I'd avert my mind from the panic that was beginning to form in it which was why I winded up blurting out: "And why isn't Adrian doing this?"

"He doesn't like to get his hands dirty", he simply responded as we turned the corner and walked towards the open space behind the factory.

"So you do his dirty work instead?"

"Yes", he shot back. He truly was a man of few words.

"Well, that's not fair", I commented as he peered at the gaping hole on the back of the building which was probably the other entrance that he had mentioned. I scanned the bricks above us wondering if they'd all collapse if somebody slammed their fists against the wall a little harder. This construction was probably ancient enough to get knocked down by a stronger breeze. Dimitri started nearing the hole and I tried to catch up, since I'd fallen out of step with him, while I continued: "I mean, he is basically using you."

He stopped so abruptly that I barely managed to avoid knocking into him. He twirled around and towered over me, his expression showing a frightening dose of anger. Looks like I struck a nerve.

"You don't know the first thing about him or me", he spat through gritted teeth, "Adrian's done more for me than anyone in this Godforsaken shithole of a world. I owe him everything and I'm more than willing to spend the rest of my life repaying him in any way he deems fit."

I swallowed hard before I managed to come up with what I hoped looked like an easy smile and exclaimed: "Alright, sheesh. No need to get so worked up, Comrade."

"Why do you keep calling me that?"

"Because I love seeing it annoy you."

It seemed like he was trying really hard not to roll his eyes at me. Instead, he just pointed at the hole and said: "Just keep your smart mouth shut while we're in there. Understood?"

"And deprive those lovely mobsters of my charm? Ah, fine. Have it your way", I teased, climbing up and jumping inside, dusting my hands off on my jeans.

"Have you ever even heard of stealth?", he muttered as he followed me in with way less noise than I made.

He instructed me to stay close as we passed through a few murky hallways and walked into a big, open space. Waiting for us there were two men who sat on chairs which they probably created out of thin air since there was not a damn thing around except for some garbage and one barrel that I figured somebody used as a fireplace by the looks of it. There wasn't a soul around either so their voices echoed pretty loudly as they stood up and greeted Dimitri.

"I'm surprised to see you without Ivashkov. He didn't want to attend?", one of the guys spoke up with a strong accent.

"No, Valentino, he is busy with other matters. Just like your boss."

One score for us bitches, I thought, actually feeling kind of proud about how quickly Dimitri shot down this Valentino dude. His companion, unlike me, seemed very displeased by it and his voice dripped with disgust as he pushed out: "We're here to talk business Belikov."

He had a bit of a southern drawl which made the gathering of dialects and accents in the place kind of comical. It also made him sound out of place next to the Italian dude. Not that his very presence didn't seem odd enough. To me he seemed more like a country bohunk than a mobster really, but hey... who was I to judge? I probably seemed more like a prima ballerina than a daughter of one of the toughest crime lords out there.

"And so we will Spiridon", Dimitri replied sharply and I instantly knew he disliked this guy even more than he disliked me. I guess I was no longer privileged in that department.

"Who is the donna?", Valentino asked, scanning me up and down.

Dimitri ignored him and instead looked at me while he instructed: "Miss Mazur, why don't you go and sit down?"

His eyes flew across the room to that barrel I'd noticed and landed on the half knocked down wall next to it. I barely managed not to cringe at his purposeful use of my father's surname and turned on my heel, walking away. I was here to be shown off, not to participate. Dimitri made that very clear. I had no idea if it was his own decision or if he'd agreed on it with Adrian, but either way he had no supervision here and no one to answer to at the moment.

I settled on the pile of crumbled bricks and waited as Dimitri engaged into some rather serious topic by the looks on the men's faces. He mostly talked to the energetic Italian who kept waving his hands in the air and talking before Dimitri even had a chance to shut his mouth. It was annoying him which made me extra happy. My happiness was short lived though since I soon felt someone's eyes on me. It was Spiridon. He was staring at me in a way that made my skin crawl. He barely looked away long enough to cut into the conversation going on in front of him.

At some point Valentino offered his hand to Dimitri and he took it, shaking it vigorously and potentially squeezing it more than he had to since Valentino seemed relieved to have his hand back afterwards, trying to discreetly rub it. Spiridon didn't shake hands with him, not that I thought Dimitri wanted to do it either. They left and Dimitri headed towards me, the frown on his forehead getting deeper by the second.

"So that's it, huh?", I asked when he got closer, "If I knew making deals with criminals was this easy I could have been a millionaire by now."

"None of this was easy, though I understand it may have looked that way to someone as clueless as you", he shot back bitterly and I took that as a sign of my sass paying off.

I hopped off the bricks and decided to ignore his comment since I had more important things to get to. I extended my hand with an open palm and impatiently stared up at him. With a sigh he produced a phone from his pocket and handed it to me.

"What am I, a drug dealer?", I mumbled as I turned the crappy, old phone in my hand.

"Be happy you're getting the phone after the effort you've put into this night."

"I did as I was told, didn't I?", I argued, getting ready to type in a number.

I knew I didn't have a lot of time to think about who I wanted to call so I dialed the first person that crossed my mind. I wasn't surprised that I woke her. Normal people were comatose at this ungodly hour. Her voice was heavy with sleep and a bit cracked, but it was a music to my ears after a week of not hearing it despite the fact that she barely managed to push out one word: "Hello."

"Syd, it's me."

"Rose", she exclaimed, sounding wide awake in a blink, "Where are you? What's going on? Hang on, I'll call for help."

"Slow down. Don't call anyone", I said, seeing Dimitri tense at my words, "I'm okay."

"Okay? OKAY? Where the hell are you?", she growled into my phone so loudly even Dimitri heard her. He gave me a warning look, but I was already way ahead of him.

"That doesn't matter. Are you okay? And Lissa? Did somebody-, are you safe?"

"We're not the ones that are missing Rose", she exclaimed and I heard someone mumbling something in the background.

"Yes, it's her", she replied to them in a hushed voice before she turned her attention back to me, "Listen, Brayden's going to call the police and-."

"Sydney, I mean it, don't or you'll never hear from me again. My, um, new friends were kind enough to allow me to talk to you, so let's just talk, please."

"Friends? You mean your kidnappers?"

"Exactly", I replied and my vague response caught Dimitri's attention enough to make him signal me to hurry it along.

"Do you know who they are?"

"Yes."

I was really walking the line here. One more word that Dimitri found suspicious and God only knew when I'd get a chance to talk to anyone ever again. Sydney was a smartass though, so she knew exactly what kind of questions to ask in order to get the most out of me.

"Is it someone I know?"

I was just about to answer her when Dimitri reached for my hand and tried taking the phone away. I gave him the most pleading expression I could come up with and whispered: "Just a few more seconds, please."

He froze with his palm covering mine and squeezed my fingers but didn't take the phone away just yet. Sydney obviously heard our exchange since the next thing she said was: "If we keep talking, I can get Trey to track your phone."

"Don't bother. I'll be long gone before that", I mumbled, remembering to add just a few more things while I still could, "I'm going to be okay Syd, I promise. I love you. Tell Lissa I love her too."

"No. Rose, don't go, Rose-", I heard her frantic voice blasting from the phone before Dimitri ripped it away from me and cut the line.

I wasn't paying that much attention to what he was doing while I was talking to Syd, but when he took out a lighter and threw it in the barrel next to us I realized he had prepared to start a fire in the meantime. Flames developed fast, licking the edges of the metal as they surged up. Dimitri turned the phone off and took it apart, tossing all of its pieces into the barrel. The flames sizzled as they sank to the bottom and I couldn't look away from the angry orange twirls. My eyes filled with tears and since I refused to try to wipe them away they soon spilled over my cheeks. Dimitri glanced up at me and for the first time his stone mask waivered. He opened his mouth to say something, but I quickly cut in: "It's because of the smoke. Are we leaving?"

"Yes", he replied, but this time his voice didn't sound as decisive and sharp as it did in the car earlier. Actually, it sounded like he was almost feeling sorry or even guilty for what I was going through.

I didn't want to be pitied though so I pulled my chin up high and defiantly stared at the flames for one more moment before I bit back: "Then let's go."


Hey y'all! I know everyone's been looking forward to seeing a bit of Romitri one-on-one and I hope this satisfies your thirst a little bit! Their dynamic is slowly, but surely changing and since we're a chapter away from the first quarter of the story (yes, this is going to be a hell of a long story) what I fell free to say (mini spoiler) is that once we're past chapter 10 (which will be a honest to God test for all Romitri super fans) the second quarter will contain a lot more Romitri and I have a few "gifts" stored in chapters 11-20 and a more than a few after 20! I just hope y'all are enjoying the story overall and that you're patient enough to let this slow-burn get to the juicy bits XD Also, per my usual style, I'm throwing in some flashbacks that will unrevealed Dimitri's and Adrian's past one step at a time! I hope they are fun to read!

And now, because I feel like it's been too long since I've done this, I'd like to again thank the person behind the curtains - my lovely beta Megan (megamorr)! Y'all have no idea how many damn times this wonderful angel had to read each of the chapters I've posted so far and plenty of the ones still waiting to be posted! She's offered so much help, support and love that I feel confident to say you can all thank her this story is out here and being updated regularly! I couldn't have done this without you girl! Also, I'd like to give a HUGE shout out to her AMAZING story "Hopeless Wanderers"! If you still haven't read it, do yourselves a favour and just go read it, NOW!

Lastly, thanks to everyone who has followed, favourited and reviewed this story so far! Getting feedback and support to keep at this means a lot! SO, readers, give yourselves a round of applause! "See" y'all next week!

Kisses, T!

Songs: A Little Faster - There For Tomorrow, If I Say - Mumford & Sons