The early morning sun had just barely broken over the treetops when we finally heard a knock on the door. I went to answer but only made it a step or two before Dimitri stood and urged me back behind him, tension filling every muscle. He was ready for another fight if one was waiting for him on the other side. Thankfully, he relaxed a moment later after checking through the door's peephole.

"It's your father."

The collective weight bearing down on the room seemed to lift a little as Dimitri opened the door, and Abe entered with all the power of a raging hurricane poised to leave destruction in his wake. He blew past Dimitri with barely a glance. Always the silent observer, Pavel followed after him, pausing a moment to clap Dimitri on the shoulder and give him a solid, decisive nod. That was probably as much as the man would say, but it was enough for me to know that Pavel approved of what Dimitri had done for his sister last night. Consequences be damned.

My father fell heavily into the overstuffed cushions of the old living room couch, crossing one ankle over his knee and resting his arm against the back in an almost offensively casual pose considering the circumstances. He canted his head to the side and leveled Dimitri an appraising look as he remarked, "Seems like you have a habit of getting yourself in trouble around here, Boy."

I watched as Dimitri's eye twitched almost imperceptibly at the somewhat derogatory title. Still, he managed to stay silent with nothing more than a deep breath to center himself. There was a history between the pair of them, and I had a feeling that this was my father's way of knocking him down a peg or two. I didn't like it, and any other day, I would have been happy to give him a piece of my mind, but I also knew that there were more pressing issues at hand.

"If by 'trouble' you mean that Dimitri gave someone a well-deserved beating in defense of someone he loves, then yes, he has an admirable habit of doing that." Hand on my hip, I tried to drive us closer to the whole point of our early morning rendezvous. "Unfortunately, not everyone appreciates that mentality, especially little wimps that abuse women then crumble under a single punch, and we need your help…setting things right."

I hated that I was basically begging for my dad's help, but the truth was that money, power, and status mattered in this world. Those were things that Dimitri and I (as well as a vast majority of dhampirs) lacked. Abe had them all in spades, however.

My father regarded me carefully, pausing for what I could only imagine was a dramatic effect before finally speaking. "I don't give out favors for free, Little Girl. We're going to make a deal."

Before I could reply, Dimitri tried to cut in. "Are you seriously going to—"

"Shh!" Mine and my father's voices echoed in unison as we both turned on Dimitri, causing him to rear back a little in surprise. Dimitri's eyes flitted between us, brows raised as we both silenced him with a single word. I knew that my father and I shared some pretty strong resemblances physically, but it seemed like there might have been a few other similarities hidden deep down.

Not completely deterred, Dimitri ventured again, eyes narrowed on Abe. "If you're going to dangle your assistance over our heads, at least let me pay the price. This is my problem. Rose isn't responsible for anything that happened last night."

Abe seemed to consider that a moment but eventually just shrugged. "While that may be true, Rose is the one who called me. She's the one who asked for my assistance, and she's the one I'll be dealing with."

Dimitri's jaw tightened, and through clenched teeth, he replied, "But she had nothing to do with it."

"I never said she did. You're obviously the one who got yourself into this pickle, but she's the one who asked for my help getting you out of it." I nodded along as my father spoke, already ready to pay whatever price was needed to protect Dimitri and the rest of the Belikovas. "Plus, you don't have anything I want. She does."

Dimitri's brows furrowed in confusion, obviously trying to figure out what my father could possibly want for me. I didn't bother trying to sus it out, though. In my mind, it didn't matter what my father wanted from me. I'd accept whatever he asked.

Dimitri stepped between me and my father, practically pleading with me. "Rose, you don't have to do this. Please, just let me take care of it."

I knew I should. Technically, Dimitri was right: he had been the one to get himself into this mess. Was it justified? Completely. But so had been my attack on Jesse last year. Dimitri was the one to save me back then, and now it was my turn to do the same. If my father was only willing to work with me, so be it.

I gave Dimitri a small smile in an attempt to reassure him. He almost looked relieved, perhaps thinking I was going to let him handle things, but the spark of fear I had seen before doubled as I stepped around him and said, "Name your terms, Old Man."

A frankly disturbing smile slithered across my father's face that almost made me want to back down. Almost.

I was his daughter. Surely that meant that I had some sort of perks over the average Joe who came to him in desperation. He knew I had almost no money, but I also knew that he didn't need money. What he'd want was a favor.

Would he want me to work for him? Leave the school I had only been accepted to yesterday? Leave the Belikovas? My gut twisted at the thought, but I'd do it. I'd do anything if it meant that Dimitri remained a guardian and out of jail.

It wasn't until my father's eyes briefly flashed toward Dimitri that I had a moment of worry. Oh god, what if he wanted me to leave Dimitri?

He wouldn't, right? There's no way. I mean, he hadn't been as outwardly supportive of our relationship like the Belikovas, but he never said anything bad about it either. He liked Dimitri…I think. Well, if he didn't like him, then he at least respected him.

"I'll work for you," I said in a rush, trying to plant the idea in his mind. Perhaps if I offered that first, he'd jump at that chance. "Anything yo—"

"Call your mom."

A long pause lingered as he met my stare and didn't falter.

"...What?" it seemed like such a simple request that I almost couldn't believe that I had heard him correctly. There had to be something else. Something lying in wait for me.

"You heard me. Call. Your. Mother." He said, punctuating each word with a pause and a step towards me. "She's been worried about you and wants to know that you are okay. She doesn't know where you are or where you are staying, and it's driving her crazy. So, all I want from you to make this little problem disappear is for you to call her."

I let the idea roll around in my mind a little. It still seemed like a trick. But the longer I waited for the trap to spring, the more I began to wonder if that really was it. Maybe that was all my father really wanted.

Perhaps it was ridiculous, but I almost wished it was something else. Anytime I let myself even think of my mother, all I could hear was the years upon years of disappointment. The letters I used to cling to as a child and the ones that made me wary when I was older. Her contact had become synonymous with disappointment in my mind, and it all culminated in her final words to me:

"I won't have a blood whore for a daughter."

Sure, I wasn't a blood whore like she feared. Stranger still, I actually knew a couple of "blood whores" who worked in town and almost had to respect them in a way. I always imagined them as some sort of bite- and endorphin-fueled addicts, but it turns out that they were just…normal. Most of them, at least. There were still a few that I felt sorry for—the ones that were truly addicted and would do damn near anything for their next hit—but most were fully aware of what they were doing and were doing it by choice. They charged a pretty penny and made bank. They treated it like a job. Maybe an unusual job, but a job just the same.

"Fine," I said, reaching my hand out as an offer to close the deal.

He shook my hand, but when he let go, I kept mine extended, palm up. "Give me your phone."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me," I said, mimicking his words from a moment ago. "Give me your phone."

Looking more curious than concerned at my request, he pulled his phone out and placed it in my hand. I quickly swiped across the touchscreen to wake it up and then turned the front camera to him for a moment so the facial recognition would trigger. Once the phone was unlocked, I started rolling through his contacts.

Most of the names were completely unfamiliar to me. Most likely business associates or whatever. There were a few that surprised me, however.

"Wait a moment. How did you do that?"

"Do what?" I replied, not pausing as I continued to scroll. Holy cow, how many contacts did my father have?

"Hack into my phone."

"Hack? I wouldn't call that 'hacking' your phone." I quickly glanced at his shocked expression and bit back the temptation to laugh. "It's really not that hard. I've seen you use your phone before. You have facial recognition on, so all I have to do is make sure you look at it for a second, and it unlocks. Honestly, I could probably trigger it with just a good photo of you. You really should have a passcode instead. Or both."

I caught Abe shaking his head as he glanced back toward his second-in-command, who was still leaning against the stair railing. "I paid a guy five figures to encrypt that thing to hell and back, and Rose broke it in less than five seconds. Are you sure you don't want to come to work for me? I could use someone like you."

"Someone like me?" My finger paused over the name 'Tatiana Ivishkov,' and I had to fight the temptation to call her instead. I'd love to give that sanctimonious bitch a piece of my mind. Maybe another time, though. Right now, I had another mission to complete. A mission that was very time-sensitive, unfortunately.

"Yeah, someone like you," My father replied, ideally pulling me back to whatever he was suggesting a moment ago. "Someone who sees the obvious weakness when everyone else overlooks it. That's a valuable skill, Rose, and one that too few people possess."

Maybe he was on to something. I did tend to look at life with a slightly different perspective than others. Dimitri joked that it was 'Rose-logic,' but honestly, sometimes things just made sense in my mind even when others thought I was crazy. I didn't have any more time to consider the idea because I finally found the name I was looking for:

Janine.

I had no idea what time it was wherever she was located, so I didn't bother to do any mental math to see if she should be awake at the moment. Instead, I just pressed call, placed the phone against my ear, and waited.

As the first ring sounded, I took a deep breath to calm my nerves.

As the second ring sounded, I wondered what I would say to her.

As the third ring sounded, I turned away from the others, needing a bit of privacy for what I knew would probably be an emotionally draining conversation.

And as the fourth ring faded into her outgoing voicemail script, I breathed a sigh of relief.

I waited for the beep and let my words flow as fast as possible. I wasn't even sure what I wanted to say to her. I just wanted to get it over quickly. "Hey, Mom. Dad's making me call you against my will, so I'll keep this short for both of our sakes. I'm alive, and despite your lack of faith in me, I'm doing pretty well for myself, too. I hope that's enough to settle your guilty conscience. No hard feelings, but don't bother reaching out again. I have no interest in answering."

I wish hanging up had that satisfying moment that the old house phone gave when you slammed the headset in the receiver. Simply touching a little red button almost seemed…empty. Still, it was done, and the knot that I had felt around my heart loosened a little bit.

"There," I said, turning back to my father and handing him his phone. "Now, do whatever you have to do to make this whole Rolan thing go away."

"Now, wait a moment, Rose." He didn't take his phone, so I just tossed it on the couch while he tried to scold me. "You just left a voicemail. You didn't speak to her."

"So?"

"So that doesn't count. You need to actually talk to your mother." He looked towards both Dimitri and Pavel as if they'd offer some sort of backup, but both men stayed silent.

Now, it was my turn to offer a sly smirk that probably seemed very familiar to the one he saw in the mirror every morning. "Ah-ah-ah, that wasn't the deal. You said I just had to call her. You said nothing about actually speaking to her. Technically, I gave you a little extra by leaving the message. I could have just called and then immediately hung up." I knew I was pushing it, but hey, he agreed to the terms.

From the corner of my eye, I could see Dimitri still tense as he watched the battle of wits play out between me and my father. I was taking a chance, and he was obviously nervous about the potential outcome.

Pavel, however, seemed utterly amused. "You did say that she finds the weakness when everyone else overlooks it."

"Indeed." I could tell that Abe wanted to be upset with me. Perhaps he was a bit disappointed that he hadn't gotten the cathartic mother-daughter reunion conversation that he had obviously been hoping for. Still, there was also a glimmer of pride in his eyes. "Well, I am a man of my word, even when my own daughter outsmarts me."

I gave a sigh of relief, one that was echoed by Dimitri behind me. I think he was actually more concerned for me than for himself at this point, but all I wanted was for this whole thing to be over. "Then do your thing, whatever that is. I think we're kind of on a time crunch here."

My father picked up his phone from the couch and slipped the phone back into his pocket. "It's already done."

"Excuse me?" It took me a moment for his words to sink in, but once they did, they still didn't make sense. "What do you mean 'already done.'"

"Exactly what it sounds like." He just shrugged and reiterated. "The issue has already been resolved, and Dimitri is off the hook. You two have nothing to worry about anymore."

I stared, uncertain how to put together some scrambling of words that encompassed the shock, confusion, and frankly, the little bit of anger that I was feeling at his unexpected revelation. I failed miserably, but Dimitri didn't seem to have the same issue.

"How?" He asked, point blank. I could hear a bit of his frustration simmering under the surface as he grabbed my hand and pulled me beside him. "And why would you bother coming all this way to blackmail your own daughter when you obviously hand things already under control? Was this just a game for you?"

My father let out a sharp, barking laugh at the notion. "Blackmail? Do you honestly think having my daughter reach out to her worried mother is worthy of being called blackmail?"

"It is if you know Rose wouldn't have done so otherwise." Dimitri all but sneered at my father's flippant justification. "Janine hurt her, and Rose shouldn't have been forced to put herself out there just to satisfy Janine's regrets. It should have been Rose's choice, and you should have respected that." Dimitri's grip on my hand tightened almost to the point of pain. I knew he wasn't trying to hurt me, of course. He'd never. But, I could also see that the stress of everything that had happened today, as well as the exhaustion that he was probably fighting, was building to a dangerous level. It was only a matter of time before things exploded.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm fine. I promise." I placed my free hand on his forearm and used my thumb to trace small circles until I felt his muscles loosen again. With a shuddered breath, Dimitri closed his eyes and pulled his temper back. A moment later, I felt him give my hand a quick, gentle squeeze to assure me that he was alright. Once I was sure things weren't going to hit the fan, I turned back to my father. "You said that everything's good now?"

"Yes," He replied with a nod. I wondered if Dimitri's words might have struck a chord with him because Abe almost looked apologetic. I doubted he'd actually apologize, but it was something. "Everything is settled. Rolan won't be a problem anymore."

"You didn't kill him, did you?" Something about his vagueness made me pause.

My father lifted a brow at my question but didn't balk. "Would it bother you if I did?"

"Not really." Perhaps the idea of my father killing someone should have upset me, but at this point, I didn't really care as long as I never had to deal with him again. "But I figured I'd ask just in case Dimitri or I needed an alibi of some sort. We wouldn't want to end up the prime suspects if a body drifted to shore next spring after the river thawed, you know?"

Dimitri looked aghast, but Abe didn't flinch at my callousness. "Nothing so drastic. I just made a couple of calls, and Rolan's father wisely decided it might be better if his son joined him in Moscow for the foreseeable future. Now, if Rolan shows up again for any reason, let me know, and we can talk a little more about river beds and cover stories. Understood?"

"Got it." I gave him a sharp nod and then gestured to the front door. "Now, I'm freaking exhausted and want to go to bed. Thanks for everything, but I think we should call it a night…or morning…or whatever."

"Of course, Kizim." My father's eyes softened, and he opened his arms to invite a hug. I accepted, and as we embraced, I felt him kiss the top of my head. "We'll talk more after you have the chance to rest." As I stepped back again, he turned his attention towards Dimitri. "Try to stay out of trouble. Goodnight, you two."

My father saw himself out, and as soon as it was the two of us, Dimitri pulled me to him and wrapped his arm around me. We stayed like that for a long while, just silently holding onto one another as we finally let go of the stress and fear that had been looming over us like a shadow for hours. I knew that the consequences of this night weren't entirely over—Vika would still most likely be pissed once she woke up—but at least neither of us had to worry that Dimitri would be carted off in handcuffs or lose his job. We'd deal with everything else later.

"Thank you," Dimitri whispered into my hair so softly that I almost didn't hear him.

I wasn't sure what to tell him. It wasn't like I had sacrificed much, after all. I would have done so much more, given so much more to keep him safe. Still, I appreciated his thanks, so I squeezed him a little tighter before looking up at him. "Can we go to bed now?"

We did, and he held me close to him as we slept well into the morning.


Author's Note


Hey guys! I'm still alive over here, just busy. The question of the week is: Who is doing NaNoWriMo this year?