"You must be Christian's aunt." I said, unfazed by her attempt to shake me. She was trying her best to be intimidating, but even with her scars, she just couldn't pull it off. It was actually laughable.
"You know Christian?" She asked, sounding a little bitter as she asked it. It appears that she didn't think highly of her nephew, probably because he was responsible for her disfigurement. I couldn't understand what would make a person attack their own family just for money.
"Yeah. He's one of my friends that I made at the Academy in Virginia. He's a real hot head." I laughed at the dark expression that crossed her face. When I laughed, her eyes narrowed threateningly, which made me laugh more. I wiped at tear of mirth from the corner of my eye before continuing. "So, what are you doing here, Natasha?"
"I've been brought in as a sort of…specialist." She said grinning maliciously. "I'm here to make sure Victor gets what he wants, and right now he wants your help. So, really, I'm here to make you break."
"Like that's going to happen." I snorted at her. The grin dropped from her face. "I don't think there's anything that you could do to me that will make me feel inclined to help you. Especially if your thing is fire." I said gesturing toward the lighter she'd been playing with earlier.
"You've no idea what I can do to you. Don't test me." She growled quietly, placing her hands on the table beside me and leaning in.
"You're welcome to try, but I doubt you're going to get very far."
"Now, now, ladies. No need to get testy." Victor said cutting our banter short. I smirked up at Tasha, but she returned my smile with a glare and straightened herself, stepping away from me. "Natasha, you will get your turn with Rosemarie, but you will have to be patient."
"Yes, Victor." Tasha ground out, her eyes still on me.
"Rosemarie." Victor began turning his attention back on me. "I would advise you to just comply. It would be easier on all parties involved."
"I'm going to have to say 'no,' Victor." I told him in a mockingly apologetic tone. "You can do anything you want to me, but you're not going to get what you want from me."
"I feared you'd say that." Victor sighed. "However, I like you, Rosemarie. So, I'm going to leave you here for a little while so you can think it over. I do hope you'll change your mind."
"Take your time, Victor. I'll be here when you get back." I said sweetly. Tasha had continued to glare at me throughout my exchange with Victor, but when he mentioned returning, her face morphed into something more sinister. I actually thought about being a little scared of her, but decided she wasn't worth my fear.
Without another word to me, Victor stood from his seat and exited the room. Tasha followed immediately, like a trained dog. However, Robert was not as quick to follow and hesitated several tense moments before he nodded in my direction and left. Once Robert was out of the room, the Guardians quickly shut and locked the door.
I waited a few moments before I closed my eyes, finding Dimitri almost immediately. I smiled as I pictured myself with him. His smile wide as he wrapped me in his arms and kissed my forehead. I imagined his scent as I kissed the underside of his jaw, his muscles flexing under my fingers. I could almost hear the soft growls he released when I ran my fingers through his hair. I built the world around me, but I focused on the man I wanted to be with.
"Roza!" His voice entered my ears, causing my smile to widen. I opened my eyes to find my sweet Russian looking quite relieved
"Comrade." I smirked up at him as he rushed to gather me into his arms. "I wasn't gone that long, you know?"
"It was the longest six hours of my life." He grumbled.
"I'll try not to be so long next time. I gathered a lot of information from my conversations with Victor, though I did have some interesting events occur that weren't focused around Victor." Dimitri's eyes widened as he quickly stepped back and scanned my body for any injuries. "Don't worry, Dimitri. I'm fine. They didn't do anything to me. I'm not hurt."
"Yeah? Then what are these?" He asked with a murderous tone motioning toward the bruises on my arms.
"Alright, fine. The Guardians were a little forceful when it came to leading me places, but that's it. I promise, Comrade, I'm perfectly fine. They're just bruises. They will heal." He looked less than thrilled about the thought of me being manhandled, but he was going to have to get over it.
I looked around the building we were standing in. It looked a lot different in the daylight. There were piles of old industrial equipment, I didn't know what it all did, and there wasn't enough to piece things together. A thick layer of dust was covering every surface, and glass littered the floor near the windows. Someone had been gracious enough to board up the windows, probably trying to keep people from accessing the building. I didn't seem like anyone had used this warehouse in a very long time.
Abe was chatting quietly with Pavel, most-likely catching up on all they had missed, and my other friends had taken Vika into their group. They were all sitting in a circle, talking and laughing as if they'd all been best friends for the longest time. It appears that Dimitri had just been pacing since I'd left. I could see the well-worn path he'd created in the dust. He'd been pacing in front of the door I'd left through, never straying from the three feet to either side of the door.
"So, what have you been up to while I was away?" I asked looking up at him, knowing full well what he'd been doing.
"I haven't been able to think straight since you walked out that door, so I've been doing nothing. Well, nothing except pacing and worrying." He told me, retightening his hold on me. He littered my hair with soft kisses. I was actually surprised that no one else had noticed Dimitri stop pacing and my return, but I was happy to have this semi-private moment just between us.
"You don't have to worry about me. I'm more than capable of taking care of myself. And if I can't fight my way out of anything, I can just teleport myself. Victor is probably cursing himself for leaving me alone." I said laughing. It appeared that my laugh was the thing to bring the others out of their respective conversations and run over to where we were standing. They tried to pull me from Dimitri's grasp, but I was held firmly in place by two very strong arms.
The only people that seemed to mind were Abe and Pavel. I rolled my eyes at their disapproving looks as Dimitri pulled me closer, my back to his front. His eyes were narrowed in a challenge. While I was sure that Dimitri could take Abe in a fight, I was unsure of Pavel, considering he had the strength of at least ten men.
"Stop it. All of you." I said sternly, elbowing Dimitri lightly in the side.
"Sorry, Roza." He mumbled in my ear, sounding anything but sorry. He placed a light kiss at my temple and continued to stare down my father and his friend. My father noticed every little move that Dimitri made, from the light kiss to the way his hand caressed my hip as his arm was crossed over my body. My friends, however, seemed oblivious to the power display that was happening right now, and just looked confused between me and the three staring men. I stepped quickly out of Dimitri's grasp and marched right up to Abe, point a finger in the middle of his chest.
"I mean it! Stop with the staring. Abe, I told you before at the house, you're going to have to deal with it. Dimitri's proved, several times, that he is willing to do whatever it takes to protect me. Pavel, I don't really know you, and you don't really know me or Dimitri, so both of you, stop throwing silent daggers and deal with it." As I concluded my speech, Dimitri wrapped an arm around my waist, rubbing my hip in a soothing manner.
"We just want what's best for you, Rose." Abe said with a loving look toward me.
"The best is Dimitri." I said firmly. "He's going to be a permanent fixture in my life. I want him here and he wants to be here. So, I say, yet again, deal with it."
"Right, well, I'm Pavel. I'm your father's best friend. For a time, I was his bodyguard until he ditched me somewhere to go and find his long-lost daughter." Pavel said extending a hand with a warm smile, though he continued to glance at Dimitri uneasily. "I know I don't know you and you don't know me, but I'm very invested in your well-being and I just wish to see you happy. If happy means being with Dimitri, then I'm all for it."
"Thank you, Pavel. I'm Rose. I'm sure you've already been introduced to everyone else, other than Dimitri because someone couldn't stop pacing and trust I knew what I was doing." I said with a pointed look at Dimitri. He at least had the decency to blush, but he soon was defending himself.
"It's not that I didn't trust you to know what you were doing, Roza. I just don't trust any of the Guardians to know what they're doing and I sure as hell don't trust Victor to keep his evil hands off of your powers." He finished with a low growl. His grip on me had tightened to the point where it almost hurt, but he quickly realized that he might be hurting me, and loosened his arms slightly. He did, however, keep me very firmly pressed against him.
Abe had been using this time to study Dimitri and the way he interacted with me and I with him. He apparently approved of what he found, because he stopped glaring at Dimitri altogether. Abe's hand jutted forward, suddenly, reaching for Dimitri in a truce of sorts. Dimitri looked a little hesitant to take his peace offering, but with a nudge from me, he also extended his hand. I couldn't help but smile at the progress I'd just made.
"So, little girl, I'm assuming since you're back, that you've met with Victor and you have news for the rest of us to hear." Abe said, turning his full attention to me.
"That I do. I know what Victor is looking for and he thinks he's going to get it from me. He has Tasha Ozera working with him to ensure that Projects comply with his demands." I reported looking wearily in Christian's direction. "I'm really sorry, Christian."
"Don't be, Rose. You didn't know her before I was in the Academy and you don't really know her now. I didn't think she'd be crazy enough to actually kill my parents, but she's always been a little unstable. I've never really thought about her as close family, and now, I don't think I could really think of her as family at all." I nodded. He seemed to be telling the truth, though he did look a little betrayed knowing that it was his aunt that killed his mom and dad.
"Is that all you found out, Rose?" Abe asked.
"No. Victor has also roped his brother, Robert, into all this. Robert doesn't seem to be the kind of person that would hurt anyone, but his brother is extremely persuasive. I'm assuming that the only reason Robert is helping Victor at all, is because they're brothers." I said a little saddened that Robert had to be pulled into his brother's crazy schemes.
"Well, that was to be expected. Most Projects, especially the older ones, don't really possess the mental capacity to make informed decisions. If Robert is around the same age as his brother, there's no telling how much he's actually able to think for himself."
"I will say that Robert can recognize one of his own, another Spirited, I mean. He was very hesitant to allow Victor to use me for his intended purpose. I think Robert knows what Victor is doing to Projects, and in his own way, is trying to prevent Victor from achieving his goals."
"Alright, before you get into the nitty gritty details of his master plan, was there anything else we should know that will help us formulate a plan of attack?" I hesitated at Abe's question, trying to make up my mind on whether or not to tell him the truth.
"There is something you should know." I said slowly. I looked up at my father, carefully studying his reaction.
"Something important? I'm assuming from your hesitation that you're worried how I might react. I promise, I can take anything you throw at me." Abe said confidently. However, when I told him, he seemed to become unsteady on his feet, Pavel actually stepping in to provide support.
"Mom's alive."