To say Mason was happy when I mentioned working for the guardians, would be an understatement. He was far too happy to take me under his wing and show me what his job was all about. In all honesty I thought his job was boring, nothing ever happened when I was with him. I was starting to think there was nothing here for me to find. But then again he could be hiding it from me, in hopes that I would never find out. I knew the guardians had different stages, and Mason was hiding me from some of the major ones. He was also taking up a lot of my time.
Dimitri had to cut my hours at the bakery by almost half for it to happen, but I had convinced him that in the end it would be worth it. We both had questions we needed answered, and we were not going to get them by just sitting around doing nothing. Going undercover could end badly, but I was certain Mason would not let anything happen to me. Though lately I was starting to question this. I was getting nothing but a headache.
I had been following Mason around like a lost puppy for the last month and a half, but got nothing from it. If anything at all Mason was starting to think I wanted to join the guardians. Dimitri had wanted for me to stop, but I knew things like this would take time. I needed them to trust me, to let me wonder around on my own. Dimitri really had nothing to worry about. I was starting to think the guardians were nothing to worry about, there was barely any activity going on. I knew better though, deep inside I knew something was going on that I had not caught onto yet. At least it was what I was hoping for.
A month and a half was a long time, also for poor Dimitri's family to be living in a hotel room. Dimitri had said that somehow his mother was making it work, but he did not know how. She did not have a lot of money, and had used a lot of it to move herself and the kids to the states. But one day she called saying everything was fine. We did not believe her, but what else could we do? It was strange but we hoped that soon enough they would be able to come over. I had been dying to meet them, and I wanted to tell Mason about Dimitri and I at the same time that they found out.
Dimitri and I had very little time alone now a days. We stole kisses when able, and still had not gotten pass touching each other. I craved for him all the time, but I knew we were taking this slow. Also something told me that the next time we hung out alone we would end up doing just a little more. The sexual tension was growing, and pretty soon the both of us were going to snap. Well I knew I was going to snap. I also knew that I wanted him to be my first. It was something I had known from the start though, and I knew that he was the one. You know the one and only. It was just a matter of time before I would convince him to just take me.
Dimitri feared for my safety, but I had assured him, there was nothing to worry about. The security at this place was amazing. Swipe cards for everything and anything, even to go to the bathroom. Some rooms had fingerprint pads, while the more important ones scanned peoples eyes. Not to mention the hundreds upon hundred of cameras that lines nearly every single wall. No this place was safe, it was the outside world I was scared of. But this security was what was also making it hard to find out information about what the guardians really did. Dimitri had nothing to worry about.
Not only that but Abe seemed to have a sweet spot for me, making sure that I was also safe at all times. There was something odd about Abe though. He was probing into my life, but it did not seem like he was really interested in anything but my knowledge about Dimitri. It had caught me off guard, but after giving it some thought I knew the way to know more about Dimitri and his family was through Abe. He knew things about them, things that only someone close to the family would know. He had slipped up a few times asking about Olena, and the girls when I had never mentioned them before.
"Little girl are you listening?" I was currently sitting in front of Abe's desk as he looked through paperwork, all while asking me a million questions. It had become a daily routine, one he never seemed to grow tired of, not something I could say for myself.
They had gotten worse and worse, the questions that is, I was bored so, as usual, my mind had started to wonder. I was trying to piece together a puzzle. The only problem was that I was missing a lot of the pieces. I was never going to get anywhere, with this little information. I was going to have to start getting brave and asking things that would get me somewhere, without making Abe suspicious. The man was smart though, and I knew that no matter what I did he knew I was up to something.
"Sorry, just tired you know. I worked at the bakery early this morning." Abe perked right up at the mention of the bakery. This meant I would talk about Dimitri, and he really liked hearing about him.
"Oh yes, how is that dear boy Dimitri?" His eyes bore into mine hoping for information, though sometimes I did not know what he wanted to hear. It was like anything I said about Dimitri was enough for him, even something as stupid as saying he got a haircut.
"He's Ok I guess." I shifted in my seat and readied myself for the question I had to ask. "Why do you care so much about what Dimitri is doing, saying, or well anything about him?"
My question had caught Abe by surprise. He knew I was straight forward, but this was crossing the line. No one around here questioned Abe, and when he asked them a question they answered it straight away. He had learned that I did not fall under that category. I poked around, I refused to give him answers, and would demand some of my own. I could not tell if he was proud of me for doing so, or annoyed that I did not easily supply him with information.
"I'm just wondering little girl. You work with the man all the time do you not?" He was trying to keep his voice calm, but my question had startled him. Abe was not easily startled, I seemed to be the only one to do this to him. And every once in a while I would hear him mumble about how much like my mother I was.
"I do. But come on, I am not stupid there is more here. You seem like you care about him. And don't even get me started about his family. You know them, I know you do." Before he could stop me I stood up and walked around the desk. He was going to tell me something today, I had waited long enough. "Just don't lie to me. I'm not trying to call you out. I'm just curious."
Abe looked up at me, not sure what to do. Fear crossed his eyes, but it was quickly covered up with humor. I amused Abe, it was why he always had me come into his office. If I truly annoyed him he would have gotten rid of me a long time ago. But I knew he liked the way I challenged him. He liked the way that I would call him out on things, the way I knew he was lying. And now, now I figured out that he was linked to the Belikov's, and I was not going to stop asking him about them. I came in for information and I was going to get it.
"Take a seat Rosemarie." He pointed the the chair that had recently become mine, I looked at him trying to gauge his reaction but decided in the end to just sit. I was playing with fire and was not quite ready to get burned. Plus I knew something good was going go come out of his mouth, I knew him well by now, even if he did not think so.
"Dimitri is a good friend of mine." I wanted him to know why I was interested. At this Abe laughed, a full out bent over laugh. I sat there with my mouth wide open. Abe did not laugh very often, but when he did it was usually to mock you. So you can understand why it was pissing me off.
"Sorry, it is just... Rose you said he was your friend. Do you believe that? Hell do you think I would believe that?" All I could do was sit there with my mouth open. I had never said anything to this man that would make him think Dimitri and I were an item. But yet, he had figured it out, had I really been that obvious.
"Don't worry I will not tell anyone." He got up and walked around his desk to stand in front of me. "Let me tell you something. Something no one behind these walls knows."
"Ok." Something deep inside told me this was going to be big. Something I was going to want to listen to and listen to carefully.
"I met Olena 26 years ago. She was nine months pregnant and alone." He straightened up and started to pace the office. "She was pregnant with married man's child. He had lied to her, used her, and abused her." He shook his head, and stared at the wall, lost in his memories.
"It's wasn't until her eighth month of pregnancy that she found out that he was married. She was broken, hurt, and alone. I took her in. I helped her out, until she got on her own two feet." This surprised me, Dimitri never mentioned knowing and or seeing Abe, had they done it in secret? What was going on? I knew for a fact Dimitri had no idea who Abe was, I had shown him a picture, and Dimitri had looked at it blankly.
"Throughout the years I visited her. Made sure she was taken care off. And her family in that time grew. I care very much about the Belikov's." He turned to face me again and bore his eyes into mine. I could tell he wanted me to understand what he was about to say next. He wanted me to believe him, and I wanted to as well. "And I just want you to know, Rose I need you to know that I would never do anything to hurt them. I am trying to figure out why they could not come to the states. I have sent them the aid they need to have a place to stay, and means so they can survive. But I will get them here. For Dimitri's and their own sake." The last part made me shiver, what had he meant, where they in danger? Was Dimitri?
I could not figure out if this all surprised me or not. Working at the guardians I had heard many things, that I thought were unbelievable. All I had to do was stay in the sidelines and things would be said around me. No one feared I would repeat things, because no one thought I knew what they were talking about. I had heard things about presidents being assassinated on purpose, to wars being planned. Yes, a lot of it was wrong, most of it could be illegal, but none of it was of my concern. I was alive and well as was Dimitri and anyone I cared for. I was worried about Dimitri's family, but I never thought they were in true danger.
That was until now. From what I had learned about Abe, I knew he did not just care about peoples random problems. The Belikov's were something more to him. He would never help them if they were not. Not only that but he was worried about them. He was fearing something, something that was unknown to me. I knew this something was something big. I did not know how I knew, but it was just a gut feeling. And my gut had never been wrong before.
"You cannot tell Mason about your relationship." Abe's words were sudden, and random. Why couldn't I? What else should I be knowing that no one was going to tell me.
"Look old man, he is my brother. I have to eventually tell him." I sat up in front of him, defiantly. I had made it clear a while back that no one was going to tell me what to do.
"You can tell him eventually Rosemarie, but I beg you, not now, and not anytime soon. There are things coming into play. Things you cannot wrap your head around. I am trying to keep you safe. Both you and Dimitri. Please." Abe stepped forward, and grabbed my shoulders. The look in his eyes was scaring me. There was so much more that he knew. But I also knew he was not going to tell me anymore.
"Rosemarie, starting now you are no longer working here." No, this was not going to happen.
"What? No, I'm staying." He shook his head violently at me and started to push me out of the office.
"I am telling you no. I need to be able to protect you. I cannot while you are here. Keep a low key Rose. Work with Dimitri. Stay close to him. In the end. In the end the two of you will be of utmost importance. I promise you when the time is right I will tell you." I stopped at the door and stared at him.
I had worked here for nearly two months and found out nothing. It was not because I had not tried, trust me I tried. I had even gotten caught a few times. But never, I never found anything. Everything was under lock and key. I had thought the computers and archives would hold it all but I had been wrong. No there was only one source I had needed the entire time, and it had been Abe. He opened up to me, he told me things I wanted to know, and then some. Now he was not going to talk anymore, at least not for a while. Should I leave? Drop it? Tell Dimitri this was all we were going to get?
"Fine, I'll leave. But you are going to answer one more question for me." I stood tall, I needed him to tell me, he knew the truth.
"Ok, depending on the question of course." I took a deep breath, closing my eyes and snapping them open quickly.
"Why did my mother leave?" Abe swallowed hard, but it was like he knew the question was coming. His eyes iced over, and I knew the stoic Abe was back, and he tended to be an asshole.
"She left because someone found her. She had moved here with you kids and thought it was safe. We thought she was safe. But in the end they found her, and in order to keep you all safe she had to leave. She did it for you all Rose. She loved you more than life itself." He tried to grab my shoulders again, I pulled away instead.
"Who?" I needed to know. This person had taken my mother away.
"His name was Victor. She had been guarding him for years. He took a liking to her, but time and time again your mother had denied his advances. She would take breaks from guarding him when she was pregnant, not wanting him to know." Abe closed his eyes, and inhaled deeply.
"He found out about Eddie and his obsession took over. We assigned someone else to him, but he would not have it. He spent years looking for her, and then found her. He wanted her, not you all, so she... So she took his offer, to keep you all safe. And we let her because it was for the best, our clients come first, we work for them." This was all just too much.
"Rose we do our job no matter what. There are things more important than just one person." I was starting to see red.
"How could you say that, we all matter. Every single one of us do." We just had to.
"NO Rose we do not. In the end someone and something else is always better than us. It is what we work for. It is how we live. Some people, some people are just not worth it. We get rid of those who don't matter and sometimes there are casualties, it is the way of the world." That was the last straw.
This place was hell. They had simply let me mother go with that man. A stalker, and god knows what else, all because it was for the best? My mother should have come first. Her life was worth so much more than a scumbag like Victor. Her place was at home with her kids. She deserved a real life, not whatever that bastard had put her through the last 4 years or so. I grew up with Mason, me hating her. And now, now I was told she had no say in what had happened.
"Fuck you!" I had no other words for him. I walked out the door and to the exit. My mind was on overload. I needed to get out of here. Get some air.
No what I needed was Dimitri. My Dimitri had never lied to me. Now I knew that all along Mason had known, it was why he was so forgiving. He let me think ill of her, when he could have told me the truth. He could have defended her, but instead he remained quiet. I had hated my mother for so many years, and my hate for her had been based on a lie. She never abandoned us, she was keeping us safe. She sacrificed her life for us.
"Rose. Rose! ROSEMARIE!" Mason's voice echoed through the walls, and the anger rose in me. This was all his fault. He had been doing so many stupid things lately. I spun around and met his confused face. I knew I was crying but my anger was overwhelming me.
"I fucking hate you. I hate this place!" I jabbed my finger into his chest, each time harder than the last.
"Rose calm down, let's talk about this." Mason was looking around noticing all the people, but I did not care. I even saw Abe looking at us, but he was not surprised, he knew this was going to happen.
"Calm down? You want me to calm down?" I nearly laughed at his request. "You have lied to me for so long Mason. I don't even know who you are? You're a liar, a manipulator, a damn fucking piece of shit." His eyes grew wide and he looked back at Abe. He knew he had told me, and he was not happy about it.
"Please Rose we can discuss this. Talk about it, I swear I can explain." This time I did laugh. This was just pathetic.
"There is nothing to talk about. I am sick of all this. Of you!" I turned to leave but he grabbed my arm, I pulled a move I did not even know I was capable of. I spun in place and grabbed his arm, throwing him down to the ground, I had no time to be shocked though.
"I am going home and grabbing my things. I am leaving." I walked closer to him, driving the point home. "You will not call me, look for me, or do anything that involves me. I am an adult now, and I can take care of myself."
"No Rose, please!" Mason stood up but kept his distance. "You need to stay with me, I need you. You're my sister. I love you. Please don't leave." But it was too late, I had made up my mind. I did not know where I was going to go, but I knew I could not stay with him.
I hated to leave Eddie, but right now I had to think about myself. There was so much going on in my head. There was just too much that had happened that I did not know about. I needed to breath, to get away and that was not going to happen if I stayed under the same roof as Mason. He lied to me. And was going to continue, he was up to something and I knew in the end it would end up tearing us apart. This was just the start.
"It's too late for this Mase. I'm done. Remember don't call, don't look for me, and do not send anyone else to do that for you. I'll call only to speak to Eddie, go over only to see him. You and I are not on good terms." He was about to beg again, but this time Abe stopped him. I wish I could have been surprised when this stopped Mason, but I was not. Abe was in charge here, and no matter the situation, Mason was going to listen to him.
I left the building in a daze. How had all of this happened? I went in looking for answers, but ended up with more than I could chew. I understood his words. I was not stupid, the guardians pick and choose who is worth living. They kill, and are killed. I knew it was a dog eat dog world, but this was just too much. The guardians, well they were the bad people. I was brought up to think that they were the good guys. They were shady as fuck, but good. They had sacrificed my mother, thought it was best for her to go with that guy. And in the end, she was alone, she got cancer and died thinking I hated her.
"Rose?" I had not even noticed I had opened my phone to call her. Lissa's voice rang through my head and sobs consumed me.
"Rose where are you? Are you ok?" I wanted to answer her but this was all too much. I was barely able to give her an address before the sobs consumed me again.
I waited a block away from the guardian building, and the crying never stopped. I was never a very emotional person, but this, this was more than I could handle. Betrayal, hurt, and anger. It was what had just happened to me. How could Mason be so cold, how could he not care? Soft thin arms wrapped around me and brought me into a car, bringing my thoughts away from the hell I was feeling. I did not even need to look up to know it was Lissa.
"Take me home please I need to get my things." Lissa did not even question why I would want my things. She turned on the car, and held my hand the entire drive.
As I slowly and efficiently packed, Lissa listened to everything I had to say. She hugged me when needed, and said comforting words. She helped me pack, and even offered for me to stay with her. I wanted to say yes, but Andre worked with Mason and I knew he would immediately tell Mason where I was. It was mean but I wanted him to wonder, I wanted him to worry. He deserved the pain. Lissa had been learning to dislike the guardians as well, and this only made her want to get further away from this place as well, but in the end we both knew we would stay. Something about this place made it hard to stay away.
So in the end I asked Lissa to take me to the one place I wanted to be. She did so quickly and never once told me it was a bad idea. The drive over served as a time for me to calm down, to think about what had happened. I had to make sure that the person I was going to relay this information to would get it all correctly. I did not want to leave a detail out, and I sure as hell wanted my own theories out there.
I ran into the bakery, the few customers stared at me like I had lost my mind but I did not care. I looked around to see Christian staring at me like I had lost it as well. But upon seeing my face he pointed to where I could find Dimitri. Running into the kitchen I found Dimitri elbow deep in bread dough. The moment I saw him I lost my composure. He quickly washed himself up and before I knew it I was once again breaking down, but this time I was in his arms. This time I felt safe.
"Roza my love." After I had calmed down he had taken my face in his hands and forced me to look at him. "What happened? Are you OK? Did someone hurt you?" Fear was clear in his features and I had to make sure he knew I was fine, at least physically.
"No one hurt me like that Dimitri. I... I.. I found out a lot today." He instantly knew what I was talking about. We had set out on a mission, and even though we knew we would find something we did not like, I never thought I would find out something like this.
"It's ok... Do you want to leave here. We could go to the cabin and talk?" Dimitri did not even wait for my answer before he ushered me out the back door. "Here turn on the car, and I will be right there milaya." He kissed my forehead and I followed his orders.
I wanted to go to the cabin. I liked it there. It was somewhere I felt safe. I sighed deeply as I sat in the car, not believing what had just happened. I closed my eyes and before I knew it I had drifted off to sleep. It was something I welcomed, my body was dealing with so much at once.
I was awoken by Dimitri carrying me into his cabin, he held onto me softly, yet strongly. I always felt so safe around him, he gave me strength and I knew in the end everything was going to be fine. I saw my bags at the door and felt bad. He had carried not only them but me on the 5 minute walk to the cabin.
"I'm sorry." He put me down when he noticed I was awake and hugged me close to him. It was like he knew that I needed his body for comfort.
"It is fine, now come on lets have some tea." I nodded meekly at him, and followed him into the kitchen.
"I found out about my mother today. Not only that but a few things about your family and Abe." Dimitri stirred his tea but did not look up. He was trying to ready himself for what was to come.
He listened to everything I had to say, never interrupting me. I told him my theories, linking my mother to the Belikov's and Abe. It was a crazy theory, but I was sure they were all linked. And whatever I was missing, I knew was not going to be good. There were evil things happening all around us, and we did not even know. I could not even begin to grasp what the guardians did, but whatever it was it was bad.
"I've never heard of a Victor, honestly I've never known anyone with that name. But I think in the end, in the end he may hold all of the answers. I think Abe only knows so much." Dimitri stood up and pulled me too him. I had been needing the contact the entire time I had been telling him everything.
It was then that everything I felt for Dimitri hit me. I loved him. I loved everything about him, and I was not going to let this moment go to waste. I needed to tell him. I feared if I did not something would happen and I never would get the chance to tell him. I pulled away so I could see his face, I needed to see that this was the right thing to do. The way he was looking at me told me everything I needed to know, he was here for me, he cared.
"I love you." At first my words did not register, but when they did Dimitri's face lit up. He smiled down at me and crashed his lips to mine. The kiss was quick and passionate and when he pulled away I was left craving more.
"I love you." He kissed me again, and once again pulled away too quickly. "God, Roza I love you so much. I am going to be here for you no matter what. I swear, together we can do anything. I love you!" I smiled at him as he ushered me to the living room, his eyes never leaving mine.
"Do you have a place to stay?" I looked away from him, shaking my head. "You can stay here Rose, with me." Hope filled his eyes, and I knew I could not tell him no.
"I would like that a lot Dimitri. But are you sure?" I knew it was fast to be moving in with him. Our relationship had just barely hit it's four month mark. We had only just said I love you.
"Of course. Rose I love you. I want to be with you anyway possible. My home is your home." He pulled me into him and inhaled my scent. "I want nothing more than to make this our home milaya. Wake up next to you. Cook you meals."
I smiled at the thought. Together, me and him, possibly forever. My anger and fears started to disperse. It was not going to be easy but with him, everything could work out. Nothing could separate us. Love. I had to have faith in it, because if I could not trust it to keep us together, I would lose faith in the world, in life, in everything. I needed him, and he needed me. Love. Together forever.
So the shit has started to hit the fan... Dun dun dun... What are your thoughts about Abe? What really happened to Janine? Who is Victor? And is anyone else curious about Abe and Olena's relationship? This story has only just begun. Can Rose and Dimitri figure things out before its too late? And is anyone ready for a lemon.. or well a semi lemon? Review please!