Chapter 54

"So," Viktoria began, learning back in her seat after she had been filled in on everything important. "Since you've decided you're not going to give up on this case, what's your next move?"

"I'm going to hire a P.I.," I told her, draining the last of my coffee. Normally, I wouldn't touch the stuff; even the thought of it was disgusting - although Dimitri was addicted to the stuff. But I had to admit, it really gave me the boost I needed to stay awake. "Nathan may not be the lead I need to get this solved, but I still want to know what really happened to him for my own peace of mind. I want to make sure he's dead or someone who really can't help me before I rule him out completely."

"Sounds like a good plan," she agreed. "You need me to do anything?"

"Actually, could you read over this?" I handed her a file that contained all of the information I had compiled since getting the case. "I've gone through it a hundred times, but maybe some new eyes will spot something I couldn't."

"No problem," she took them from my and shifted, getting comfortable in the chair. "See you in a bit."

While she started into the evidence, I left my office to see if Hans could put me through to a reliable Private Investigator. Thankfully, he happened to be good friends with someone who would be considered an excellent investigator and called him personally.

And so, by the end of the evening, I already had a P.I. who had started into looking for Nathan Whitt. Happy with our progress, Vika and I decided to find Dimitri and see if he was ready to come home. I chuckled at the state I found him in upon entering his office.

DPOV

My mind alternated between consciousness and dreamland as I was slowly roused from my sleep. It took me a few moments to realise that I hadn't woken up on my own accord; someone had stirred me.

"Dimitri?" My Roza's sweet voice whispered in my ear. "Wake up, silly." I was vaguely aware of my sister laughing in the doorway.

"Let me sleep…" I mumbled, lifting my stiff neck from my desk, causing an ache to course through it.

"Maybe we should go home and you could sleep there instead," Rose suggested, kissing my cheek sweetly. I found myself smiling at her compassion; a side of her I hadn't truly seen until after Luka was born.

I agreed and stood up; abandoning whatever paperwork I had been drudging through before I'd fallen asleep. For once, I allowed Rose to drive us home considering it was safer that she did it…although that statement was arguable.

"Rose, you drive like a maniac," Vika commented, unstrapped herself from her seat belt and jumping out of the car.

Rose grumbled while I agreed and chuckled. "Shut up…"

"Woah, what's up with you?" Ivan raised an eyebrow at my no-doubt dishevelled self once we entered the house.

"Just tired," I replied, clapping him on the back and moving past him to pick up Luka.

"Last night finally catching up with you?" he shot back, grinning from me to Rose. My little sister had, thankfully, gone straight upstairs to get ready for bed. "I'm surprised you've managed to stay awake this long – I heard you guys at it for hours."

Rose laughed. "He actually didn't even manage to stay awake; I found him passed out in his office. Where's Avery by the way?"

"She clocked off about an hour ago; Luka and I have been having some quality time." I handed Luka over into Rose's outstretched hands. He immediately snuggled into her neck. Apparently, I wasn't the only one suffering from lack of sleep.

"I hope you weren't telling him some of your many escapades…or should I say 'sexcapades,'" Rose commented, rocking the baby gently back and worth.

"Course not," Ivan pretended to be shocked at the notion. "I'm saving those for his eighteenth birthday. Speaking of birthdays…what are we doing for this little guy?"

Luka's first birthday was fast approaching, and Rose and I had been torn at what to do. On one hand, I knew my family wanted to be there to celebrate with us, but due to the stress of work and both of our cases, flying to Montana was just not ideal right now. My mother would be heartbroken when she heard that we wouldn't make it, but I was certain she would understand.

Rose walked back into the room after fetching Luka's bottle and set him down on the floor so he could drink it in peace.

"I guess nothing major," she answered Ivan's question. "With work and everything we can't fly back to Olena's so we thought we'd just have a small dinner here."

"So a party with you two, me and Vik? Sounds good," Ivan grinned. "I'll get the alcohol, shall I?"

"People don't generally drink at a one year olds birthday party," Rose informed him and turned to me. "And I actually thought I'd ask Sonya and Mikhail if they'd like to hang out for a few hours."

"That's a great idea," I smiled in reply. Mikhail and Sonya were two people who had actually become quite close to Roza and I. Despite being Luka's doctor, Sonya had become a good friend to Rose; I was extremely grateful as I knew Rose missed her friends back home. For me, personally, I had always been contented by myself; Rose on the other hand, was someone who almost constantly surrounded herself by her friends and loved ones – I knew that it was difficult for her to suddenly be away from the girl's she was so close to in Montana. Also knowing that the reason Rose moved away was for me was something I had felt very guilty about, despite her assurances that she didn't mind.

Mikhail, like Sonya, was a genuinely nice guy; one who I talked to both in work and outside on many occasions. He was modest and unobtrusive, qualities I highly respected and understood.

"Oh look!" Rose's exclamation brought me out of my musings and she nodded her head towards Luka.

Having finished his bottle, Luka abandoned it on the ground in order to find something more interesting. He crawled over to the coffee table where he used it as leverage to stand up. He'd been doing it a lot lately, to the point where we were sure he would take his first steps soon. Rose grinned happily and wrapped her arms around my waist.

"He's perfect, isn't he," she sighed and leaned into me, still captivated by our son who was slowly but surely using the table to keep himself upright.

"Just a little," I whispered back and kissed her temple. Luka decided that he had had enough standing up for the moment and dropped back down onto his padded bottom. He emitted a huge yawn from his little mouth.

"Looks like you're not the only one whose tired," Rose giggled and unwound herself from my arms. "You go up to bed; I'll take care of Luka."

Fortunately, Luka was tired and full enough to fall asleep almost instantly, meaning it wasn't too long before Rose's warm body joined mine in our bed. I lifted my arm so that she could rest her head on my chest.

"You still awake?" Her question echoed through the dark room and I mumbled in response.

"I can't believe he's nearly one," she continued whispering. "Are you sure that's right?"

"I'm pretty sure," I smiled despite knowing the fact that she couldn't see me. "Time goes fast."

"You know, it won't be long before he's going to school and then brings home his first girlfriend who I already know I will hate, and then he'll go off to college-"

"Rose, ssh," I cut her ramblings off before she had an anxiety attack. "Those are things we don't have to worry about for a long time…let's just enjoy right now. And sleep." I gave in to the seemingly immense but invisible pressure that was pushing my eyelids closed.

"You're right, I'm sorry," her arm that was wrapped around my stomach loosened up as her muscles relaxed. "Goodnight, Dimitri."

"G'night, Roza."


"People are staring at me again!" Rose slammed my office door open as her anger got the better of her. "It's starting to really annoy me!"

She shut the door behind her and walked around my desk to sit in my lap. I had looked up at my loud entrance in concern.

"Are you sure they're staring? You're not just being paranoid?" I asked, putting down my pen. It had been a week since the last time our colleagues had been whispering and watching Roza behind her back – or so she said. She had also said that those murmurings had disappeared quite quickly; but seemingly, they were back once again today.

"I'm definitely not being paranoid," She replied, resting her head on my shoulder. "At first I thought I was, but even Vika says so!"

"Has she heard anything about why people might be looking at you?"

"Nothing!" Rose replied, frustration evident on her beautiful face. "Whatever people are talking about, they're doing it among themselves. Ugh, this is like high school all over again! If you've heard anything, you'd tell me right? No matter how bad it is?"

"Of course I would, calm down," I stroked her hair in a comforting manner. "It's probably not that bad-"

I was cut off by the sound of Rose's phone ringing. She jumped up from my lap to fish it out of her pocket in case it was Avery; who wouldn't ring unless there was a problem. Due to Luka's previous health record, both Rose and I were – unconsciously – on edge almost constantly in case something was wrong. Although, something told me that even if he hadn't had more experiences in the hospital than he should have at this age, we'd still be worried when we were both away from him – parental instincts and whatnot. Upon looking at the screen and seeing it wasn't Avery, Rose relaxed.

"Everything alright?"

"It's fine," she answered, sounding a little breathless. "I've got to take this; I'll come find you when I'm ready to go home, okay?"

"Okay, Roza," Rose left the room, phone already pressed to her ear. She seemed calmer, and happy to be talking to whomever it was she was talking to. I chuckled, much preferring to see her that way than distracted and upset by potential rumours filtering through the branch.

I swung around in my chair, bored with my dead end case – Han's had asked me to do the impossible. How on earth did he expect me to get to the bottom of something like this when there was – literally – no evidence to go on?

I heard my office door open from behind me and swung back around, expecting to see Rose.

Instead, Natasha Ozera stood there, looking pretty pleased with herself…

I hated to admit that my attention was diverted slightly by the open top three buttons of her blouse; it only took me a millisecond to redirect my line of vision, but it was a millisecond too late…and I hated myself for it.

"Can I help you?" I asked, my teeth already gritted with annoyance, knowing what was to come.

"I just wanted to talk to you…" She entered my office and shut the door behind her. I stood to give myself the chance to escape should I need to.

"Is it work-related?"

"Not exactly-" she began, taking a step forwards.

"Then I don't think it's appropriate," I told her seriously. I had been quite clear with her about my intentions to be nothing more than colleagues…an intention she refused to admit or acknowledge. I needed to be more assertive and assure her we would never be anything more than that.

"But Dimka-" My brows furrowed at the nickname…only Vika called me that – and Ivan, occasionally. "You've been avoiding me all week!"

"Avoiding you?" I repeated, beginning to wonder if maybe Natasha had some mental problems. Okay, yes, I had gone out of my way to not run into her…but that was something that shouldn't affect her in the slightest.

"Are you mad at me?" She questioned, a pout forming on her face. I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes and leave the room.

"Why would I be mad at you?" I sighed, confusion and helplessness the only feelings going through me now. I crossed my arms, hoping that if she wouldn't listen to my words, she would perhaps be able to read my body language.

"I don't know…" I had to give it to her – she looked equally as lost as I was…although for very different reasons. "But you haven't spoken to me in days."

"I don't speak to a lot of my colleagues every day, Natasha," I emphasised 'colleagues,' and gave her a serious look. If she really didn't understand that there was absolutely nothing between us than I was completely at a loss at what to do. "Don't take it personally. You know how busy work can be."

"Well, I-" Natasha stopped talking at the sound of my office door swinging open. I felt both pleased and relieved to see Rose standing in their doorway, Vika at her heels.

Rose, however, looked anything but pleased. Her eyes darted around the room, assessing the situation, and finally settled on Natasha.

"Agent Ozera," Rose gritted out, quickly eyeing the space still left between Natasha and I. "Can we help you?"

"Not at all, Rose," Natasha sent her a tight smile, ignoring all formal titles. "Dimitri and I were just having a conversation." Rose's glare shot to me, daring me to agree with her.

"Yes, we were," I removed myself from the corner I had somehow gotten myself into and gestured for Rose and my sister to enter the room. "But we're done now. Natasha was just leaving."

I managed to keep my face in check as Natasha looked appalled at my words. Viktoria snickered and an unforced smirk formed on my girlfriend's face. After sending Rose a disgusted look, Natasha stormed furiously out, slamming the door shut behind her.

"What on earth was she doing in here?" Viktoria asked, walking around my desk and snuggling into my chair.

"Did she try anything?" Rose didn't move from her spot; she just rooted her feet and folded her arms.

"No," I replied, walking towards her. Suddenly, her hand shot out and landed against my abdomen, halting me from coming any further. I felt confused and unsure about whether or not she was mad at me.

"Was she going to try anything?"

Her question stumped me. "I don't think so. Are you- Are you mad?"

"'Course she's mad, dumbass," Viktoria piped up, leaning forward and resting her elbows. "That bitch keeps flirting with you every chance she gets. You know, I think it might be a good idea to put a tracking device on her, Rose…you should get your P.I. to look into that."

Her comment was meant to be funny, but Rose didn't even crack a smile. If anything, she looked more upset.

"Vika," my sister looked towards me, finally sensing the tension. "Could you give us a minute please?"

"Sure," she stood, looking back and forth between us. Rose had now looked away from me and was staring at some spot behind my head. "I'll be in my office if you need me."

Silence engulfed the room after Viktoria left. I continued to watch Rose, trying to get to the root of what exactly she was feeling. Usually, I was pretty good at reading her emotions but there were those times…

Those times were her face expressionless, her eyes blank and unreadable as she got lost in emotions and thoughts swirling around inside. It was these times where she didn't want me knowing how she felt, most likely because she didn't know herself.

Her eyes didn't meet mine as I approached her – it was as if she hadn't even noticed that I had moved. I reached out to push a strand of her dark hair from her face and coax her into my arms, but she jumped at my touch and backed up. I froze…it had been a long time since Rose had refused my touch, even when upset.

"Come on, Roza," I decided to stay where I was; there was something in her eyes that was distant. "Talk to me." When she didn't answer and stayed immobile in her spot, I began to panic a little.

"Roza? Rose, are you okay? Can you hear me?" I hurried to her side now, grabbing her face and forcing her to look into my eyes. "Rose?"

"Hmm?" I let out a breath as she blinked and her brown eyes shifted to look back at me.

"What happened?" I stroked her cheek gently and placed a soft kiss on her nose.

"I don't know what you mean." Her voice was…off. Cold. Distant. I felt my eyebrows furrow in confusion.

"Rose, are you mad at me for letting Natasha into my office?" I gave an educated guess – honestly, it was the only conclusion I could come to, and pretty plausible in my opinion.

"No, Dimitri, I'm not mad at you," She replied, her voice unwavering. She reached up and removed my hands from her face and stepped around me. "I'll see you later."

"Wh-" The door shut before I could say anything else and I stood in a stunned silence for a few moments…and then… Fear. It began slowly seeping through me, taking over both my body and my mind. What had just happened?

I sighed and ran both hands into my hair. She was shutting me out again. It had been so long since our relationship had been like this, and I didn't think I could go back to trying to read her mind all over again; it was a difficult stage in our relationship that I thought we had gotten past.

"Just relax, man," Ivan forced me to sit down on the couch that evening. I had filled him in on my thoughts and fears after Rose had claimed she was tired and gone to bed.

It was seven o' clock.

"I can't," I replied, clutching onto the unopened beer he had placed into my grasp. "It feels…like before. This is how she deals with things that seriously bug her – by shutting me out!"

"Then why not let her?"

"What?"

"Why not let her deal with whatever it is going on inside her in her own way. You said it yourself – this is how she copes with things," Ivan said cleverly. "I know you want to be Mr Nice Guy and fix everything, but the fact is that sometimes, it's out of your power.

My immediate reaction was to go to her and try and 'fix' whatever was upsetting her…but thinking about it, maybe Ivan was right? Letting Rose process her thoughts and what she was feeling by herself was something I hadn't tried before, mainly because letting her suffer in silence was not in my natural instinct…

But maybe it was exactly what she needed.