THE COMMUTE
by MAMBFF
Disclaimer: The rights to "Vampire Academy" belong to Richelle Mead.
Chapter Seven
~VA TC VA~
Rose
Two months had passed since that late-night call from Detective Croft regarding the arrests made and after countless meetings with my father and the lawyers for the defendants, my father was in the initial stages of trial preparation.
It's now Thursday, September 12th and both Dimitri and I have leave from work to attend a hearing in regards to our case. If the judge deemed there to be sufficient evidence, we would go to trial.
Avery Lazar was adamant that she was not involved regardless of the fingerprint evidence found in our apartment. But there was something she was unaware of and that is the fact that her collaborator recorded their conversations. Said accomplice was a surprise to say the least. But when I really thought about it, it really wasn't that big of a shocker.
Jesse Zeklos was looking for vengeance in some way. He felt that Dimitri had stolen me from him. Knowing Dimitri had his own band of followers and admirers, I never stopped to realize that I had my own trail of devotees in Mason, Isaiah and obviously Jesse. Although, Isaiah was really only trying to use me to make Dimitri jealous. He still was bitter about his lack of recognition for his job performance.
According to a statement from Jesse, he met Avery the night both Dimitri and I left them at 'Guardian's', after we'd broken things off with them. Jesse had returned, thinking we could talk things out and proceeded to get drunk with Avery.
The charges against Avery and Jesse were as follows: stalking, breaking and entering, trespassing and for Jesse, physical assault and battery. I was exceedingly happy that I took a few photos of the result of Jesse's assault on me the night he'd shown up, drunk off his ass.
Zeklos was smarter than he was given credit for though. He recorded all his conversations with Avery to protect himself, and it had paid off. She tried pinning it all on him and acted as if he'd coerced her into things. But unbeknownst to her, the recordings clearly showed that she orchestrated the drop off times of the packages and in gaining access to our apartment building. She'd confirmed on the recordings her pilfering a copy of Dimitri's keys during her naked appearance in his office.
The biggest revelation was how Jesse and Avery's DNA evidence was left behind in our bedroom. It would seem that Avery became rather 'excited' at the prospect of being in Dimitri's bedroom and convinced Jesse to have sex with her, all the while, they each were pretending that they were having sex with either myself or Dimitri. Talk about creepy.
We sat at this hearing more so as a formality because Avery refused to acknowledge her involvement. So, it really was a waste of everyone's time. The Judge presiding over today's hearing was becoming impatient with her and it was clear.
My father was in full lawyer mode and was asking for the maximum five years for Avery with mental health care while he was asking the maximum ten years for Jesse because of the physical assault I'd suffered.
Avery couldn't accept that she was not in a relationship with Dimitri. But in her mind, they were getting married. Her delusions had taken over, causing her to break with reality.
Dimitri and I made depositions of the events we'd endured and we were present out of formality. We would not have to testify unless the Judge wanted to clarify something.
Currently, Judge Voda, who was a sympathetic woman and I swear I saw her look at me and roll her eyes as Avery 'testified', was trying to question Avery on her actions. Most notably her appearance in Dimitri's office, naked.
"Ms. Lazar, can you please tell me why you thought it was appropriate to disrobe and wait in Mr. Belikov's office for him?"
"He invited me there. We're in love." She gushed.
"She's so fucking delusional!" I whispered to Dimitri.
"I know, milaya." he replied, holding my hand firmly in his.
After a few more questions to Avery from Judge Voda, she called a recess. Her counsel was advised to convince Ms. Lazar to take the plea deal. She was serving time, but it was up to her how long that would be.
Without the plea deal, that included the mental health help she needed, she would serve the full five years. With the plea deal, she would serve three, get mental health help and have to be on probation for three years following her release.
"He seems like he's just over it." Dimitri whispered to me as we watch counsel try to plea with Avery. Jesse is a statue. Like he doesn't care if he's here or not.
"I think he's resigned himself to the fact that he's guilty, and he knows it. Plus, I don't know if he realized how crazy she really was." I add.
After twenty minutes and small discussions happening around us, Avery and Jesse's counsel signal to my father that they are ready to talk deals.
"Why don't you and Dimitri go grab some lunch, there is a restaurant across the street, I'll call you if you need to be back here before 1:00PM." My father suggests.
After a quick lunch at a small Chinese restaurant, we head back to the meeting room. My dad signals us over to a quiet corner.
"There's been a complication." My father shared. "Well not a complication, but a development." He explained.
"What do you mean?" Dimitri interjected; anger evident in his tone. I slipped my hand into his, urging him to remain calm.
"Victor Dashkov showed up and presented DNA evidence." He started. "Avery Lazar is actually Natalie Dashkov. His daughter." He explained.
"What?" I exclaimed in surprise.
"Avery, I mean Natalie, for fucks sake, I can't keep it straight." Abe blundered. "Natalie wanted to help her father with his agency. So, she thought if she could get close to Dimitri, she could find out pertinent details about his work with Schoenberg."
"Did Dashkov know?" I posed. Abe nodded in the affirmative.
"She told him, and he didn't try to stop her." He shared. "In fact, he encouraged it."
"What about her obsession with me?" Dimitri interjected. "That wasn't all about gaining access to client accounts." He stated.
"Well, no, clearly. She apparently 'fell in love' with you while trying to help 'daddy'." I shook my head in disbelief. "Anyway, she's accepted a plea, and Judge Voda agrees that for her mental health, it's best if we finalize those details and consider things put to rest." He finalized.
"What about Jesse?" Dimitri asked.
"He's pleading out as well and will serve eight years instead of ten for providing the recordings that led to Avery's, fuck, Natalie's guilt." He explained. "This shit is giving me a headache." He complained.
We nodded in acknowledgment before thanking my father and heading out. But not before he pressured us into joining, he and my mom for dinner at some point in the near future.
"I'll let you know, dad." I smiled.
"Thank you again, Mr. Mazur." Dimitri stated, holding out his hand for a shake.
"I think you can call me Abe, son." He replied before we left.
~VA TC VA~
Dimitri
It was finally over and we could get back to our lives. The fact that Avery was in fact Dashkov's daughter really threw me. I swear I'd met her before as 'Natalie', but just never remembered her. My 'accidentally' bumping into her didn't seem so much like an accident anymore.
Roza was glad that her father was able to get both Natalie and Jesse to plead out, saving us from a trial, but she was honestly concerned over Natalie's mental health.
She was adamant that Natalie gets the best care from 'St. Vladimir's Mental Health Facility' and her father agreed that would be the best placement as well. Thankfully, counsel also agreed to those terms.
In the two months that have passed since the arrests, between work and meeting with Abe and Detective Croft about the case, Roza and I had also been house hunting.
There were two houses that she fell in love with but the one that was her favourite of the two, was sold out from under us. It's not that she was unhappy with the one we settled on but seeing that crushed look on her face when her favourite was gone was hard to overlook.
But I had a surprise for her. The house that she loved most, and the one we thought had sold, well, the financing fell through and it was ours if we wanted it. Our realtors, a husband-and-wife team, called me last week about it and I told them we'd take it.
Before our appearance in the hearing this morning, I got the confirmation that it was officially ours and we could pick up the keys this afternoon. The husband was leaving them in the mail box for me, in the key lock box.
Roza had no idea and instead of heading back to the apartment I went in the direction of the house.
"Where are we going?" She questioned as I looked over and smiled at her.
"Got the call from the realtors this morning, the house is ours." I stated excitedly. I just didn't tell her which house.
When we pulled into the neighbourhood, I could see the look of confusion on her face.
"Dimitri, this is the house that sold." She stated, sounding a little angry.
"Yes, it's sold. To us." I finished as I parked the truck in the driveway.
"What? How?"
"The other couple who tried to snag it from us, their financing fell through and the realtors called me the minute they heard. I told him we wanted this house and to push it through. This house is ours, milaya."
She squealed in excitement before jumping from the truck and running to the door.
"Gimme the keys!" She stated excitedly.
"Hold on…" I replied. I couldn't wipe the smile from my face at her excitement. After pulling the lockbox from the mail box, I entered the code and retrieved the key and held it up to show her.
"Yay!" She stated excitedly, clapping her hands like a child.
"Can you bear with me and let me do this right?" I moved her to the side so I could unlock the door. "Okay come here." I called before grabbing her and picking her up bridal style. She giggled adorably.
"We're not married, you don't have to carry me over the threshold."
"Yet, we're not married yet!" I admonished as I pushed open the door and carried her inside.
We walked into an open concept layout, a detail that we both fell in love with. There was a stairway to the left, leading up to the second floor and next to that was a small hallway with a guest washroom.
The hallway led to the two-car garage. To the right of the entryway was the living room with gas fire place. Walking straight through from the front door, you'd come through a small walkway that led in three different directions. Straight ahead was the kitchen, and to the right of the kitchen was a dining room. On the other side of the kitchen was a guest bedroom and the door to the lower level, which I was hoping to turn into a home gym or games room.
"Is it too soon to christen like every room?" Roza gushed, launching herself into my arms.
"Never too soon. Besides we can christen it while it's empty and then re-christen it once there is furniture in the house." I teased in reply.
Roza grabbed my hand and pulled me up the stairs and to the master bedroom and into the ensuite. Without blinking, she tore off her dress pants and blouse, which she had been wearing for the hearing, 'to look professional', she'd explained, before pulling off her bra and underwear and bending over the bathroom counter.
"Fuck me, Roza…" I groaned as I reached for my dress pants and started with the belt. Once free of my pants, I sidled up behind her and pushed my dick into her hot centre.
"Fuck, so goddamn wet, Roza." I grunted, pumping into her hard and fast.
"I love it when you fuck me like this." She panted, reaching a hand down to play with her clit.
"I'm almost there, milaya." I called as she angled her hips, pushing back into me. I felt her contracting around me as her orgasm overtook her and I came inside her moments later. I pulled out of her reluctantly and pulled her to face me so I could kiss her properly.
"I love you. Welcome home." I smiled.
"I love you too. So much, and I'm so glad to have this home with you. So…" She stated, fading off at the end.
"So, what?"
"When do you want to move in?" She smiled.
"Well, I was talking to Arthur last week and the work for the Christmas campaigns won't start until November 1st, so I thought, we could spend the rest of this month finishing up details on our current campaigns and if done before October, we could plan for some of the Christmas ones. Point being, we will be taking the month of October off to pack, move and have a small vacation." I state.
"Vacation? Are we going somewhere?"
"No, I just thought we could spend the time off doing things we don't get time to do, whether it's going to dinner, a concert, visiting your parents and christening the house of course." I smile in reply.
"I can't wait to go back the apartment now!" She laughed.
"Why is that?"
"So, we can start packing of course!"
After getting decent and putting our clothes back on, we had a tour of OUR house before heading back to the apartment. Traffic was pretty bad by this time and I reached over the console to hold Roza's hand in mine.
"I love you." I stated simply, kissing her palm gently.
"I love you." She replied, kissing mine in return.
"Should we stop and pick up something for dinner?"
"No, I put a mix in the crock pot this morning, we're having beef stew for dinner." She explained.
"Nice, I love a good stew."
"Oh! You know, instead of a regular 'house warming', we should throw a Halloween themed house warming party!" She stated excitedly.
"That's a great idea. We can even throw in a celebratory engagement party for Ivan and Mia too." I amend.
"Oh, I love that. I'm so glad Mia asked me to be in the wedding. I know we haven't known each other that long, but it means a lot that she's included me."
"You guys have become great friends, of course she'd ask you."
"Has Ivan heard from Jared on how Ava is doing?"
"Her foot is healing nicely, it was clean break, no shattering of bones, which is always nice. She'll be walking down the aisle for the wedding, but I doubt it will be in those high heels that Mia wants her to wear."
We continue to have some mundane chit-chat and few minutes later, finally pull into the underground parkade for the apartment building. As per my usual, I help Roza down from the passenger seat and follow her to the elevator. Once inside the apartment, I can't help but take in a deep breath at the heavenly smell of the beef stew she mentioned.
"God that smells fantastic."
"I know, so good. I'm going to change, then we can eat?" I nod in reply and follow her to do the same. Just as I pull on some light weight, draw-string sleep pants and a muscle shirt, my phone starts ringing. I grab it from my jacket pocket.
"Hello?"
"Dimitri? It's Abe Mazur."
"Hi, what can I do for you?"
"There's been an incident." He begins. I take a seat on the bed as Roza emerges from the bathroom. She points to the phone, questioning who it is.
I cover the mouth piece before replying, "Your dad."
"Put it on speaker."
"Mr. Mazur, just one moment, Roza is here, so I'm going to put you on speaker."
"Rosemarie, hello." He states cordially.
"Hi dad, so what's up?"
"As I started to tell Dimitri, there's been an incident."
"What sort of incident?" I urge.
"Natalie was in holding, waiting for transfer to the mental health facility, and because of her fragile state of mind, they had her on suicide watch."
"Please don't tell me she offed herself?" Roza questioned worriedly.
"No, but she may as well have."
"What is that supposed to mean? Dad?"
"Natalie had been rather quiet, and complained of mild abdominal pains. When the guards checked in on her, she appeared to be sleeping; only, that wasn't the case. She was pregnant and had been going through a prolonged miscarriage. She bled out I'm afraid."
"Holy shit." I state in shock.
"I'm assuming it was Jesse's?" Roza added.
"It would appear so, yes. I just thought you should know so you don't read it in the papers tomorrow." Abe explained.
"Thank you for telling us. I never wished her harm, just that she got the help she needed."
"We know that Dimitri. Rosemarie," He stated before turning his attention to Roza.
"Yes?"
"Your mother wanted me to invite you and Dimitri over for lunch on Sunday. If you're free that is."
Roza looked at me and I nodded my head in agreement.
"We'd love to dad, we'll see you then, thanks again for calling."
"Goodnight, kids." He saluted before ending the call.
"I have a weird suspicion that she convinced herself it was your kid, simply because she had sex in our bed." Roza offers up, a tone of disbelief in her voice.
"She was mentally unstable, we know that, but it's all in the past now, milaya." I reply, pulling her into my lap.
"I know, I just, like you said I didn't wish her harm but maybe in a sad way she's better off. No more delusions."
"It's okay to hate her Roza, for what she's done. Her death doesn't change that. It's not like we killed her."
"I know that, but I don't hate her, I just hate the things she's done."
"I know, love. Let's go get some dinner? Yes?"
She nodded mutely before standing from my lap and leading me into the kitchen.
~VA TC VA~
Rose
The information from my dad was shocking to say the least and I can't help but wonder if the stress of the day and her subsequent sentencing caused her to miscarry. I know it's not mine or Dimitri's fault but in some weird disconnected way I do feel guilty.
When I think back to months ago when I first saw Dimitri on the commute to work, those train rides of me glancing at him and noticing him looking at me. It made we question whether or not he would actually be with Natalie now if he had never seen me or met me on that train.
"Roza? You seem far away, milaya, what are you thinking about?"
I look up at him as we sit beside one another at the breakfast bar, my beef stew getting cold in front of me.
"Sorry, I'm having irrational guilty feelings."
"Guilt? Over what?" He questioned; concern laced in his voice as he turned to face me.
"My mind is going over everything, in how we met, when I noticed you on the train that first week, when you noticed me."
"And?"
"I just wonder if, if we hadn't noticed each other then, maybe you and Natalie would be dating now and all of this wouldn't have happened." I confess, a tremble in my voice as I try to hold back the tears, I feel threatening to fall.
"Roza. Train or no train, or 'Guardian's' for that matter, I would have met you at work at some point." He paused. "Just accept that we were destined to meet. I never got the nerve to approach you on the train that first week. Not until I thought I was alone in that car and cursed up a storm." He smiled, cupping my face in his hands and brushing away an errant tear.
"I know. You're right. That's why I said irrational guilty feelings." I paused. "I guess, even though Natalie was wrong in what she did, in some way I still feel bad for her."
"You're a selfless person, Roza. You always think of others before yourself. You want to think the best of people, even if they wrong you. It's that selflessness that makes you who you are and you are so brave, strong, bold." He complimented.
"You're so fucking perfect." I cried, moving from my seat to straddle him in his chair.
"Well, you're perfect for me." He replied, kissing me softly. "I know these past six months have been really hard. The stress of it all. But you did nothing wrong. Like you said, irrational."
I nod in understanding. "I think my dinner is cold now." I laughed.
Lifting me back to my seat, Dimitri heats up my stew before getting more for himself.
"Why don't you open that bottle of Merlot?" He suggests, as he sets a minute on the microwave before grabbing two wine glasses. My phone dings on the counter beside me, signalling a new text message.
"Make that three glasses and a beer. Mia and Ivan are coming down to get the update on what happened today." I relay as I he pulls three glasses from the cabinet before he takes my now warm stew from the microwave and sets in in front of me. Just as I finish uncorking the wine, there is a resounding loud knock on the door.
"Hey guys," He greets, letting Mia and Ivan into the apartment.
"Shit, what smells so fucking good?" Ivan calls, following his nose into our kitchen.
"Roza made beef stew for dinner, would you guy guys like some?" He offers.
"We don't want to take your dinner Dimitri; you didn't plan on us being here." Mia explains.
"There is a lot, trust me, Roza made a crock pot full."
"Only if there is enough." Mia cautions. Dimitri nods in understanding as I hug them both in welcome and offer up the wine and beer before we move to the dining room in order to seat everyone comfortably.
"So, did the crazy bitch and asshole get what they deserved?" Ivan spits out. I know he was trying to be humorous but the look on my face was one of horror.
"Ivan, don't be an ass!" Mia criticized.
"What, those two deserve more than prison!" He adds.
"Well one got more than that." I piped up.
"Rose, what do you mean?" Mia urges.
I'm bothered by this and Dimitri explains the news to them about Natalie's unfortunate miscarriage and death and Ivan is extremely apologetic to me for his crass humour on the subject.
Like me, he never actually wished them harm and it was only by coincidence that he happened to be so tactless in his comments when the worst that could happen, did.
"At least it's finished and you can finally work on moving past all of this drama." Mia comforts, moving to give me a hug.
"Well, we do have some really good news to share." Dimitri begins, looking at me to see a broad smile on my face.
"Please share, good news is lacking at the moment." Mia adds as she digs into her stew. Ivan had already finished his as was looking longingly at the kitchen.
"Ivan, go get yourself more stew first before you have an aneurysm!" I laugh.
We all chuckle at his exuberance while we finish our own and he returns a few minutes later.
"Okay, good news, GO!" He instructs, as he starts to imitate a vacuum as he shovels the stew into his mouth.
Dimitri shakes his head at him before giving me the go ahead to share the news.
"We bought a house!" I state gleefully.
"Really? Ohmigod! I'm so excited for you!" Mia's reaction is so infectious that we toast to being new home owners.
"How is your search going?" I add, finally fishing my stew and pushing my bowl to the side.
"We've found three that we love. Now we're just narrowing down the pro and con lists for each. I guess the winner will be which list is the shortest and which one we want to make the least amount of changes in."
Us girls are in discussion now about wedding business, as Dimitri collects our empty bowls to take them into the kitchen. Ivan follows suit with his and Mia's dishes.
~VA TC VA~
Dimitri
"I'm really sorry man, about the comment." He begins again.
"I know you didn't mean to be disrespectful, at least not intentionally, you didn't know what had happened when you made the comment." I try to mollify him.
After rinsing the dishes and putting them into the dishwasher, I offer Ivan another beer as I grab one for myself, deciding to leave the wine for the girls.
Just as I've popped the tops of them, the buzzer in the apartment goes off. I move over to the intercom to find out who's at the door.
"Hello?"
"Dimitri? It's Detective Croft. There is more to the case, a lot more and you're not going to be happy about this."
I buzz him up without another word and ask Ivan to let the girls know. As Detective Croft knocks on the door, Ivan heads to the living room.
~VA TC VA~
Rose
"How's Ava's foot doing? Dimitri said it was a clean break."
"Yes, thankfully, but her physiotherapist doesn't think she'll be ready to wear heels for the wedding, that is if we plan for March like we wanted."
"Well, it will be a long day for all wedding guests and members of the wedding party. Having us wear fabulous ballet flats could be better and more comfortable." I try to suggest. I honestly abhor the thought of having to wear heels for so long.
"I'll think about it." She concedes.
"Plus, if you're the only one wearing fabulous heels, it will stand out more."
"You don't want to wear heels, do you?" She teases.
"Fuck no, please don't make me!" I laugh.
"Okay, okay, depends on whether I find flats I like!"
Our discussion is interrupted by Ivan, informing us that Detective Croft is on his way up with more information on the case.
"We should go, so you guys can talk in private." Mia adds.
"No, it's fine, whatever he tells us, we're likely going to tell you anyway." I encourage as we grab our wine glasses and head into the living room.
Dimitri leads Detective Croft into the apartment and everyone gets comfortable.
"Can we offer you something to drink?"
"No thanks, I'm sure your father informed you of Ms. Dashkov?" He began, looking to me.
"Yes, unfortunately."
"Well, Victor and his actions are already in question because of Isaiah Wilson and the belief that he was planted in your office for surveillance."
Detective Croft explains how he felt Isaiah was in place to infiltrate Arthur's agency, even before Natalie's failed attempts as a personal assistant. Something which we'd concluded per Arthur's detailed search on him.
"It appears Victor knew Natalie would fail." Croft shares. He goes on to add that he feels Victor knew of Natalie's instability and mental health but put the pressure on her to 'succeed' anyway.
"What a bastard." I murmured. "He basically is the reason his daughter is dead." I shared.
Everyone seemed to agree with that assessment.
"Both Isaiah and Natalie failed to get the intel he wanted, and well let's just say that Isaiah is back in New York, and is a bit of a lap dog to Victor. I wouldn't put it past him to try to get someone else in your office." He added.
"What exactly are you getting at?" Dimitri questioned.
"This all started in New York." Croft replied.
"Are you telling me that all of this began in the first place because I left Dashkov's company?" Dimitri questioned. His temper making itself known.
"My investigations are leading me to that conclusion, yes." He confirmed. "But it's the fact that seven clients went with you. He wants them back."
"Dimitri, should we tell him about the thumb drive?"
"What thumb drive?"
Dimitri nods before explaining. "When Isaiah was let go from Arthur's agency, Arthur had an exit interview with him and purposefully left a thumb drive with sensitive information on it pertaining to those seven accounts that I'm in charge of. It's false information. So, if anyone uses it, it will have the opposite desired effect." Dimitri explained.
"And Isaiah has this drive?" Detective Croft confirms.
"Yes. During the exit interview, Arthur stepped out of his office for a few moments, leaving said drive in clear view after making a passing comment about it in front of him. To bait him to take it. When the interview was finished, and Isaiah had left, the drive was gone."
"How can you prove it was Isaiah and, or Victor involved if that information is used?" Hans pressed.
"Arthur had one of our IT specialists imbed a tracker on the files. Once that drive is active, it pinpoints the IP address and GPS location of the computer in question."
"Shit, that's great." Detective Croft replied with a smile.
We can't help but laugh a little at his lapse in decorum.
"Do you think Arthur would be willing to allow us to monitor the situation as well?" He posed. "I mean police surveillance of the drive's location." He clarified.
"Why don't you come to the office tomorrow, before anyone else gets there, around 8AM, he's there rather early." Dimitri states.
"In case of any other spies in the midst?"
"Exactly." Dimitri confirms. "We have no idea how far of a reach Dashkov has." He added with a hint of irritation. I slipped my hand into his reassuringly.
After their plans are made, and details are being exchanged, I excuse myself and Mia joins me in the kitchen as I top up our wine glasses.
"My goodness, you guys can't seem to get away from all this shit."
"Just when we think it's over, it begins all over again."
"I think the worst of it is over though, Rose. Victor Dashkov? Is it?"
"Yes,"
"I don't think he's the type to do anything himself, as all his subordinates seem to show. Maybe it's time for you guys to plant someone in his neck of the woods!"
"Oh shit, Mia, that is such a great idea!"
"Really? I was kind of joking," She laughs.
~VA TC VA~
Dimitri
"I think Arthur would be amenable to your involvement Hans." I acquiesce.
"Good, good." He nods in reply as Roza comes barreling into the room.
She starts off excitedly, informing us of her idea, and we plan to propose it to Arthur the following morning. The only question I have is whether Roza's idea for the plant will be loyal to us and Arthur or fall to the dark side that is Victor Dashkov.
Another hour passes before everyone finally leaves our apartment and I'm locking up the door before joining Roza in bed. Tomorrow is going to be another long day.
The following morning, we head in earlier than usual and find the commute on the train isn't as busy as usual. I had sent off a message to Arthur the night before, asking him to be in earlier than usual because of a new development that would affect the company as a whole. He seemed concerned in his reply but agreed.
When we get to our floor, I deposit my bag and jacket in my office and take Roza's hand as we head down to Arthur's office. Detective Croft is already there, making introductions.
"Dimitri, Rose! Happy to see you both, but I have to admit I'm a little concerned." Arthur confesses as he signals for all of us to take a seat at the conference table in his office.
I close his office door securely before we get down to it and I urge Detective Croft to relay his discoveries of what we thought was only a personal stalking issue.
"So, Natalie Dashkov, an obviously disturbed woman, is actually Victor's daughter?"
"Yes, Arthur." Roza interjects.
"He's pretty fucking desperate if he's tried to get to our accounts through two plants, then, isn't he?" He adds, a little dumbstruck.
"Roza has a plan, that I think is pretty fucking brilliant, sorry brilliant," I amend, "But I worry about whether we can trust the people included in this plan." I confess.
"What is your plan, Rose?" Arthur questions.
"We plant our own spy within his company, not to steal accounts, but to get some sort of confession or confirmation, either from himself or one of his minions, subordinates, whatever you want to call them, of his intentions to either sabotage the accounts we now have that were his or to steal them back."
"So, you obviously have someone in mind for this job?"
"I do, and I know you have your doubts Dimitri, but I've worked with this person and even though he comes across rude at times, he's loyal to Arthur." Roza states, looking to me for acceptance in her choice.
"I've only seen the jealous side, so I trust you and your judgement Roza." I confirm. She smiles happily at that before turning back to Arthur.
"I propose that Stan Alto be the plant."
"I agree. Stan will be loyal to me, but how can you ensure that Victor will hire him, without suspicion?" Arthur poses.
"Roza thought of that too. And it's simple really." I start. "We supply Stan with a second thumb drive, only with an added bonus." I add. "We include an account that doesn't actually exist and name it something like 'High Profile' and make notes on said account like any other would have. We can use an IT specialist to imbed the proper information, like the various dates when information would have been added so it doesn't have one time stamp showing it was 'created in one day', which essentially it will be." I continue. "Stan can use the same reasoning Isaiah essentially had in that he feels overlooked at the company due to, well me."
"The 'client' that is this 'high profile' account, will only be available if contacted via e-mail." Roza adds. "But either through us or the police or both, we are the 'high profile' account." She smiles.
"That's actually pretty brilliant." Hans compliments. "You could potentially get evidence in writing from Dashkov himself." He adds.
"Isn't that sort of like extortion though?" Arthur poses.
"Yes, and no." Hans replied. "You didn't force Isaiah to steal that drive, or force Dashkov to use it, that was and is a choice on their part."
"Isaiah stole from you. Period, Arthur." I state. He nods in agreement.
"Do you have an IT specialist you can trust with this?" Detective Croft interjects.
"Yes. Lissa Dragomir, who is Dimitri's assistant, her boyfriend works for the IT department here, Christian Ozera."
"Wait a minute. Ozera? As in Tasha Ozera?" Arthur interjects.
"I know, I know, but you can trust Christian. He is not Tasha." I interject.
He seems mollified as he turns his attention to Croft. "So, what is your role in this detective?" Arthur questions.
"I wanted to know if your IT specialist can track the movements of the files from computer to computer, because the more people who see these files, the more people are culpable in a crime if they try to use them." He shares. "The basis of all of this is theft. Files were stolen, even if they are fake." He adds.
"Stan won't be charged if he has to be 'shady' in order to get what we need? Right?" Roza interjects.
"No, he will, in essence, sign a contract that keeps him loyal to you, because even if made an offer from Victor, Victor is going to be punished for his crimes. This isn't the first time he's been on our radar for fraud in regards to his conduct with other companies. We've just never had the intel to charge him."
"What other crimes has he been involved in?" I questioned.
"I can't reveal exact details, but it involves your father Dimitri, Randall Belikov."
"That was why he was so eager to hire you when he did." Arthur states, as though he's reached some epiphany.
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"Randall Belikov, I know of him, and I knew you were not associated with him in any way Dimitri," Arthur clarified, "When you were first hired on at Dashkov's agency, I'd seen the work you could do and have done since and I put in a job offer to you, only to hear that you'd accepted a position from Victor. But one of my IT guys found my e-mail had been hacked and that e-mail to you had been not only deleted, but removed from my servers. You never received it."
"What are you trying to say Arthur?" Detective Croft pushed.
"I think Victor thought you were the link to Randall, for certain 'business' deals." He explained, using air quotes around business.
"Well, shit." I deadpan.
"We know Randall has partaken in illegal acts, like extortion and money laundering, but every time we get close, the evidence disappears. It was roughly eight months ago, maybe a little more, when we got another lead on Victor and his possible involvement with Randall, and that is when we feel he finally realized that you don't work for or with your father." Detective Croft summarized.
"That makes sense. I left because he was taking credit for my ideas, so maybe he wanted me gone and I took the bait." I confess. "He had no other reason to fire me, so he forced me out." I surmised.
"Either way, I'm glad you're not there anymore." Roza comforts.
We spend an hour in Arthur's office hashing out details, like how Stan will appear to leave the company. It was advised by Detective Croft that we not tell anyone else outside Arthur's office of what was going to go down. Christian Ozera would be brought in and sworn to secrecy and would be required to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
The only thing left to do now was act like we knew nothing and continue on with our lives. Which would start with lunch on Sunday, with Janine and Abe.
~VA TC VA~
Rose
I really hate moving. Well not so much actually moving, more so doing the damn work myself. That is why it wasn't that difficult to convince Dimitri to hire movers for today. It's Saturday, October 5th, and we are finally making the move to our new house! We managed to pack fast because we were so excited about moving. But we could take our time unpacking.
"Comrade, can you grab that last box and I'll turn in the keys?" I call out as Dimitri comes traipsing down the hallway for the last time, said box in his arms.
"I got it, Roza." He smirks.
I take a final look around and remember how we started out here. Looking to the space where the couch sat, I reminisce about that first date night with dinner and a movie and the blizzard that had me sleeping on the couch. I smile at the memory of crawling into his bed that night, and his warm embrace. Dimitri notices my smile and walks over.
"What are you smiling about?" He flirts.
"Just remembering my first sleepover due to the blizzard."
"That was a great night, and I know it's sort of sad to leave this place behind."
"It is…" I reply, wiping my eyes. I didn't realize I was actually tearing up.
"Hey," Dimitri calls as he places the box by the door. "Come 'ere." He adds, pulling me into his arms.
"Sorry," I mumble, resting my forehead against his chest.
"Don't be sorry sweetheart. You realize how many more, and new memories we're going to create in our house? This apartment only holds a fraction of what we've shared."
"I know, and I'm excited it's just a little bittersweet you know?"
"I do." He comforts, kissing my forehead. "Come, the movers are waiting for this last box." He finishes, before kissing me chastely.
The drive to the new house is longer than anticipated. Traffic today was insane, but the movers made it to the new house before us. Dimitri unlocks the front door and opens the garage so they can start unloading. He leads the team of four men inside for a brief tour, so when we say 'living room', 'dining room', 'bedroom', etcetera, they will know where they are taking things.
While Dimitri directs the movers with their stacks of boxes on dolly's, I take Dimitri's truck down to a local Starbucks for a coffee run for us and the movers. Instead of individual coffees for the movers, I decide to get one of the carry out coffee carafe's so they can make their coffee how they like it with the creamers and sugar packets supplied.
By the time three o'clock arrives, we only have a few boxes left in the truck and we're starving! Just as we're waving off the movers, a truck, similar to Dimitri's pulls into our driveway. Mia jumps out from the passenger side and starts waving excitedly.
"Hey guys! Welcome to our new house!" I call welcomingly as Mia pulls something from the backseat.
"Hey guys. I know this is moving day and I don't want to be a downer but, about an hour ago, I went down to your old place to do a walk through and make sure nothing was left behind and I found this outside the door." She explained pulling a box from the backseat of the truck. It looks oddly familiar and I feel my stomach drop. No longer hungry by any means.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" Dimitri shouts.
"Hey, we don't know what it is, let's not assume the worst." Ivan tries to comfort.
"Let's take this inside and deal with it." Mia suggests.
"No!" I reply adamantly.
"No? Why not?" Mia interjects.
"I'm not tainting my new house with what could be some bad shit." I explain taking the box from Mia and ripping the tape off.
~VA TC VA~
Dimitri
Roza rips into the box with zeal and pulls out a folded piece of paper.
"I'm going to fucking kill your stupid ass mother fucking brother!" She shouts, throwing the box and paper to the ground as Ivan's feet before storming off into the house.
I retrieve the paper and read it aloud for Ivan and Mia to hear as well.
Psyche!
Your loveliest friend,
It's not really funny but it is at the same time. Although, I think Jared needs an introduction to my fist. Doing this to Roza was not okay with me. Pulling a prank, I get it. But this shit is still too fresh to be doing crap like this.
"I'll talk to him. He doesn't know about Natalie's death. I'm sorry man." Ivan explains.
"Whether he knew about Natalie is not the point Ivan." Mia interjects. "Rose is right, your brother is an asshole!" She adds heatedly before following in Roza's footsteps and heading off into the house.
"Great, now I'm in the doghouse because of my asshole of a brother." Ivan shakes his head dejectedly.
"Well, we can try to butter them up. Roza and I are starving, let's go see what they want and we'll go get dinner." I offer, leading Ivan into the house.
When we walk inside, boxes line the walls and I follow disjointed voices into the kitchen where Roza and Mia are taking charge of unpacking the dishes. I walk up behind Roza, after she's placed a stack of plates on the shelf, wrapping my arms around her from behind.
"You, okay?" I whisper in her ear, kissing the side of her neck.
"Yeah. It's too soon for shit like that." She replied, running her hands along my forearms.
"I know. A few months from now it might be funny but not yet." I agree.
"D and I were going to go grab dinner. What would you guys like?" Ivan interjects, avoiding looking at Mia. She notices and steps up.
"Ivan. I'm not mad at you. But your brother is a jackass." Mia points out, once again. "I don't know how Ava puts up with that shit." She adds. "How did he get into the fucking building too!?" She questions rhetorically.
"Well. It's done, so dinner?" I prompt, kissing Roza's neck once again as I feel her sigh against me.
Roza looks at Mia and their eyes meet before they jointly call out, "Pizza!"
Ivan and I smile and nod before getting a list of their preferred toppings before heading out.
~VA TC VA~
Rose
A week has passed since we moved in and being that we've had time off of work, we managed to unpack practically the whole house. There were still a few boxes of books and small nick knacks to be placed in their desired spots but, Dimitri and I were much more interested in christening each and every room of the house.
So, far we've christened the kitchen, bedroom, our ensuite bathroom, the shower in said ensuite and now, we were in the living room. I had just finished directing him on hanging the wall clock over the doorway and he had a slight sheen of sweat on his bare chest.
He stood back, hands on his jean clad hips, admiring his handy work. I stopped to stare at him as he stood there, bare foot, bare chested, jeans slung low on his hips. I bit my lip in anticipation.
Moving up behind him, I wrapped my arms around his waist, pressing myself against him so my breasts were felt on his back.
"Roza, what are you doing, baby?" He teased, running his hands along my arms at his hips.
"Just thinking we should include this room on our christening list…like, right now!" I demand with a giggle. I feel him laugh lightly at that before turning in my arms.
"Right now?"
"Yes…please." I replied coquettishly, fluttering my eyelashes.
"Come 'ere." He pants, cupping my face in his hands and kissing me.
I move my arms up around his shoulders, my hands finding purchase in his hair as his lips move languidly with mine. His hands move down my arms, to my hips and finally around my waist, where he lifts me, my legs going around his hips. He carries us over to the couch where he sits with me over his lap and I gyrate my hips against his growing erection.
"Dimitri," I pant as he presses me down onto him.
"God, Roza, you feel so fucking good." He replies, pulling at my t-shirt. I rip it off over my head and jump up from him to pull off my pants, bra and underwear before moving to the button on his jeans.
Pulling his jeans down and off his legs, I'm pleasantly surprised to see he's going commando. I look up at his face to see him smiling smugly at me.
"Easy access. I like this." I taunt before straddling his lap again and lowering myself down over his hard cock.
"Slow baby." He pants in my ear before attaching his lips to my neck.
We move slowly together, my hands on his shoulders for leverage as his lips move from my neck to my collarbones before sucking at my nipples. I pull his face up and bring his lips to mine while he uses one hand to move down my body. I feel his thumb over my clit and he brings me to my first orgasm quickly. As I'm coming down from my first high, he lifts me off of him and I move to my hands and knees as he enters me once again from behind.
For my first orgasm, we took things slow, but now that he was behind me, I wanted him to fuck me, hard and fast and I vocalized my wishes. His grip on my hips tightened as he pounded into me and I felt the familiar coiling in my belly as my second orgasm started to creep its way in.
"Fuck Roza, come for me again baby." He cried as the sounds of our skin slapping echoed in the room.
"So close, Dimitri." I exclaimed as I reached down to rub my clit myself this time.
"Harder baby?"
"Yes!" I called as he pounded harder a few more times before I climaxed a second time.
My walls contracted around his cock and a few seconds later I felt him thrust once and hold then pull out slowly only to slam in one more time, just a little harder as he came inside me. He grunted and groaned as he climaxed inside me and I felt the loss when he finally pulled out.
"I love you." I stated, as we embraced each other next to the couch.
"I love you too, milaya." He replied, kissing me again.
Before we could get carried away once again, my cell phone went off from its place in the kitchen.
I pulled on my pants and t-shirt hurriedly, sans panties and bra before running to the kitchen to get my phone.
"Hello!" I called, half out of breath.
"Rosemarie? It's your mother dear."
"Hi mom, what's up?"
"You're out of breath dear, what were you doing?"
"I was in the other room, and ran to get the phone." I lie.
"Oh, well do you and Dimitri have plans tomorrow? We'd like to see your new house, so we thought we could come by and then take you guys for lunch?"
"That sounds good. Come by around 11AM?"
"Sounds good dear. See you then!" She states before the line goes dead. Just as I hang up my phone, Dimitri saunters into the kitchen, only wearing those sinfully low-slung jeans, and carrying my discarded undergarments.
"Who was on the phone?" He queries, putting my underwear and bra down in front of me before grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge and offering me one before taking one for himself.
"My mom. She and dad want to come by and see the house tomorrow, before taking us out to lunch. I told her to be here for 11AM. That okay?"
"Yeah of course it's okay." He states, nodding before uncapping his water and chugging almost the whole thing at once.
~VA TC VA~
Dimitri
Roza and I have spent most of the month of October holed up in our house. We wanted to make it ours with small personalization's throughout. Our christening list has ever expanded to now include the basement, which is our make shift gym and games room along with the garage. For some reason, Roza watched me mow the front lawn for the first time and she liked it. A lot.
This coming Saturday, the 26th, we were hosting a Halloween themed house warming party as well as an engagement party for Mia and Ivan. Roza was in charge of decorations for the house along with the help of Lissa, Mia and Ava. Only Mia was unaware of the joint party theme.
"What do you want our costumes to be?" I questioned, while we were at a Dollar Store buying said decorations.
"I'd like to go as a sexy nurse and you can be my doctor in scrubs." She smiled.
"Really?" I grin in return.
"Yeah, Ava already grabbed some scrubs for you from the hospital, and a white lab coat."
"Hmmm…and what will you be wearing?" I flirted, my hand ghosting over her ass as she tossed some decoration or other into the basket I held.
"I bought one of those risqué sexy nurse costumes when I went shopping the other day with Mia, Lissa and Ava."
"Will you be wearing heels?" I suggested, moving to kiss her neck lightly.
"Red stilettos."
"Fuck, Roza, we have to leave, like now." I panted in her ear.
"Excited, are we?" She teased, looking down to my crotch suggestively.
"Fuck, of course I am."
"Be a good boy Dimitri, don't worry, you'll get yours soon enough."
Roza grabbed the last of her decorations and we raced through the check out before I pulled her into the truck. She was giggling the whole time and it was adorable as fuck.
"Now that you have me here in your truck, what are you planning?" She flirted.
"I never ask this of you and we're in a parking lot so we could be seen, but we're pretty high off the ground…" I trail off, looking at her lips and then down to my hard as fuck cock.
She leans over the console and kisses me chastely.
"Would you like me to suck your cock Dimitri?"
"Fuck, yes please. Baby…" I mean to tell her she doesn't have to but fuck that, I want it and she's more than willing.
Her hands move the button on my jeans before pulling the zipper down and reaching her small hand inside my boxer briefs. She pulls my cock free of its confines. Before I can even take a breath, her lips wrap around my head and I throw my head back trying to keep my moans to a minimum.
~VA TC VA~
Rose
Hearing Dimitri flustered over actually asking me to suck him off was rather adorable. But I was so eager to get him off, as I was purposefully trying to get him riled up in that store.
The moment my lips wrapped around his head, the moans that escaped his lips were hot. Knowing I was doing this to him was really empowering. I moved fast over his cock, pumping and sucking and licking with everything I am. All the while, his hand was moving down over my ass before he slipped his hand into my pants.
"I'm gonna come, baby." He groans as I move my lips back up, licking the sensitive underside of the head aggressively.
Seconds later, I feel him come in my mouth, and I swallow it down before putting him back in his pants. As soon as I sit back, he moves his hand over to the front of my pants and before I realize what's happening, he's slipping three fingers into my soaking heat.
His lips suction onto a junction at my neck and shoulder while his hand pumps inside me. My hands clench around his arm as he brings me closer to my impending orgasm.
"Dimitri…right there…ahhh…" I cry out as his thumb rubs over my clit bringing forth a powerful climax.
As I come down from my high, he pulls his hand from my pants and licks his fingers.
"Good baby?" He smiles cheekily at me.
"Fuck me." I reply, sated and slightly out of breath.
"When we get home, milaya." He purrs.
~VA TC VA~
Dimitri
Tonight, is the Halloween Housewarming/Engagement celebration. Roza has been running around for the last hour like a chicken with its head cut off, putting out last minute decorations and the finger foods she'd made. I'll be manning the Bar-B-Q later for some burgers and hotdogs. Everything that could be done to prepare has been done, but Roza is just worried about everything being perfect.
"Roza, look at me." I call, pulling her against me, looking into her eyes.
"What?"
"Everything is perfect, time to get yourself ready." I comfort, cupping her cheek before kissing her sweetly.
"I just…"
"Roza, no, everything is ready. Decorations are up, food is out, drinks are chilling and the surprise 'Happy Engagement' banner is ready for the reveal. There is nothing else to get ready but yourself!" I try to appease her.
"You're right, I know, I just want everything to be perfect."
"And it will be. I've showered, it's your turn."
Roza leads me up the stairs and hands me a hanger with my 'costume'. After kissing me once, then twice for good measure, I swat her ass affectionately as she saunters into the bathroom to get herself showered and ready.
I pull on the draw-string style scrub bottoms, a moss-coloured green and notice that there is no shirt. Just the white lab coat and a stethoscope. Seems like my girl would rather I go shirtless. No complaints on my part, at least the coat will help to conceal anything. Lastly, I pull on some socks and shoes and just as I place the stethoscope around my neck, the shower turns off.
Roza emerges from the bathroom a few moments later wrapped up in a towel, her hair hanging loose as she uses another towel to dry it.
"Fuck me, Dimitri."
"Later baby, we don't have time right now." I joke smugly.
"You look really good as a doctor." She states grabbing the lapels of the lab coat and pulling herself against me.
"Thanks, milaya. I better leave you to get ready, otherwise both of our costumes will be on the floor and there won't be anyone to answer the door." I finish just as said doorbell echoes throughout the house.
"Shit! People are showing up already!"
"Don't worry, it's probably just Lissa and Christian or Ivan and the gang. Get ready." I state, kissing her cheek before heading out of the room and closing the door behind me.
I was right, it was Christian and Lissa at the door, and they were laden down with a few dishes for guests to snack on and a small housewarming gift.
"Hey guys, Roza is getting ready, but come on in." I greet taking note of their costumes. Christian is dressed as a nerd and Lissa is either a teacher or a librarian, I'm not sure which.
"Is she almost ready?" Lissa inquires.
"She had just come out of the shower when you rang the bell."
"I'm going to go up and help her get ready." She states, heading for the stairs.
"Beer?" I offer Christian as he follows me into the kitchen.
~VA TC VA~
Rose
I'd just finished blow drying my hair, when there was a knock on the bedroom door. Lissa popped her head in.
"Rose?"
"Hey, in the closet, hair is done, putting on my costume and then will do some makeup."
After pulling on the short white dress and putting the little hat on my head, I step out of the closet and see Lissa sitting on the end of the bed.
"Cute, teacher or librarian?" I question noticing her get up.
"Librarian actually. Dimitri looks amazing as a doctor. Especially without the shirt!" She gushes.
"I know, I figured the lab coat would be enough cover up. What's Christian dressed up as?" I question as I sit at my vanity to do my makeup.
"A geek. Black framed glasses with the white tape, suspenders and plaid shirt, too short pants and socks pulled up. It's so cute."
"Dimitri wears plaid sometimes, and it's not geeky. Trust me." I state as we start giggling like high-schoolers.
"What are you gonna do for make up?"
"Simple, red lip."
"Nice, classy and sexy. What about shoes?"
"I have these red stilettos inside my closet, you can grab them for me if you want." I state as I finish applying some mascara.
I finish up with a little concealer under my eyes before pulling out my vibrant red lipstick. Once done I stand and look to Lissa for approval.
"Good?"
"Undo one more of those damn buttons on top, more cleavage girl!" She admonishes.
"I have all my legs and almost my ass out, I think that's enough, plus, I don't think Dimitri will be able to handle much more." I laugh before slipping on the red stilettos.
"That's very true actually, at least you'll know if he's holding the lab coat closed, you'll know what he's hiding!" She jokes, causing us to giggle again.
We make our way downstairs to see Arthur has arrived, dressed as a soccer coach. We make our greetings and I see that so far everyone's brought us housewarming gifts, which were completely unnecessary but we appreciate it all the same.
I find Dimitri in the kitchen getting drinks for our new arrival and when he sees me, he drops the empty beer bottle he was getting ready to discard in the recycling bin.
"Shit!" He curses as he moves back to inspect the damage.
"I'll get it man, go see your girls costume." Christian states with a smirk, pushing Dimitri towards me.
"Thanks man." He states, not taking his gaze from me. "Roza, goddamn, how am I supposed to keep my hands off of you all night? Especially with your parents coming, your dad is going to kill me!" He whines adorably.
"Too much?" I wonder, wrapping my arms around his waist, under his lab coat.
"Fucking perfect," He states, kissing my cheek.
"Lissa wanted me to undo more buttons."
"No, maybe do a few up, at least until your parents have come and gone." He compromises, as I feel him groping my ass.
"Good point. How respectable can you be in a dress called 'sexy nurse', more like 'slutty'." I laugh.
"You're gonna kill me woman." He mumbles walking back over to Christian and accepting the beer he'd offered.
An hour has passed and it would seem all of our guests had finally arrived. My dad of course looked on a little disapprovingly at my choice in costume, but I'm an adult. My mom smiled slyly at me, knowing we were young and just being in the spirit. Lissa was right about Dimitri's lab coat. I noticed it was closed most of the time, especially when I was near him and anywhere near my parents.
I head out to the back deck to see that Dimitri had gotten the Bar-B-Q started and was grilling up the burgers and hotdogs. The girls and I are getting all the fixings for them set up in the kitchen and once the meat is cooked; an assembly line seems to start as people make their way through to get their food.
Once it seems everyone has been sated with good food and the drinks are flowing, Dimitri calls for everyone's attention.
"Can everyone gather in the living room; we have something to celebrate and an announcement of sorts." Dimitri requests, leading the way.
After everyone gathered around in the living room, he started to speak.
"As you all are aware, this is our housewarming party but there is another reason to celebrate tonight, so we've made this a joint party. Roza…" Dimitri states as I move over to the fireplace, where hung on the wall is another banner waiting to be unveiled.
We were able to get the sign printed up from a company that Dimitri worked with on their campaign. I pull the cord and the banner is revealed.
'Congratulations Ivan and Mia on Your Engagement'
~VA TC VA~
Dimitri
"Surprise!" Roza shouts adorably, clapping her hands in excitement. I can't help grinning at her exuberance.
Everyone starts congratulating them and I can't take my eyes off of Roza and her delight. After the congratulations are given, Roza and I run to the kitchen to pull out the two bottles of champagne we bought to toast with and head back into the living room.
Once we see everyone has a glass of champagne, I step up to make a toast.
"Under the guise of just a Halloween themed housewarming, we decided that since all of our friends and family were going to be here, that we'd host this as a dual party," I begin before turning to face Ivan and Mia, or as he'd like to be referred to as tonight, Hercules and apparently Mia is Xena, Warrior Princess. "Ivan, you have been a friend to me through some really hard times, you're not just my friend, you're my brother, and you deserve all the happiness that Mia has already given you. Mia, you've been able to reign in Ivan's enthusiasm and to that, you should have an Olympic medal!" I smile, as a few laughs echo around us. "To your future as husband and wife, congrats!" I finish, raising my glass as the rest of our guests do the same before, we each take a drink.
Once the shock of the surprise dual party has worn off, Mia and Ivan are a little speechless at the fact that we apparently 'sacrificed our own party to give them one of their own'.
"You've become great friends to me and I know you've been even better and longer friends with Dimitri, we just wanted to celebrate with you." Roza states, wrapping Mia up in a hug.
"I love you guys!" Mia gushes before Abe and Janine interrupt.
Abe is dressed as 'greaser', something like John Travolta was in the movie 'Grease' while Janine is donning a poodle skirt, as if she was heading to a sock-hop.
"That was a lovely gesture Rosemarie, Dimitri." Janine states, smiling sweetly.
"Thanks Mom, we wanted to help our friends celebrate, but I hope you guys had a great time." Roza explains, hugging her mother.
"It's a beautiful house and you two are very lucky, thanks for inviting us, Rosemarie, Dimitri." Abe adds, reaching to shake my hand before hugging his daughter.
"We're going to head home; I know it's only 9:00PM but I have some volunteer work in the morning."
"Thank you for coming, and for the generous gift." I state, hugging Janine.
"Abe has his own pool table, and it's a great way to destress, or think ideas over." Janine adds.
"I love to play pool; it's also going to be great for entertaining." I add.
"Wait, is that why you guys insisted on seeing the basement when you were here?" Roza interjected.
"Yes Rosemarie, we wanted to make sure it would fit and wouldn't interrupt any plans you may have had for the downstairs." Abe explained, a smile on his face.
"Thanks Mom, Dad, we love it, and it will get lots of use. When is it supposed to be delivered again?"
Roza and her mom go over the delivery details for the pool table as Abe pulls me to the side.
"Is something wrong Mr. Mazur?" I question worriedly.
"You can call me Abe son, and nothing horrible, but I did hear from Hans Croft yesterday afternoon, wanted to give you an update on Stan's infiltration."
"Oh of course, let's step into this spare room, don't want anyone to overhear." I caution.
I lead Abe into the spare room off of the kitchen and check to make sure the room and bathroom are empty.
"What did Detective Croft have to share?"
"Well, we can be certain that the files have been accessed. The GPS coordinates are being tracked as we speak. Christian Ozera, with whom you can discuss this freely of course, has been very good about keeping on top of it."
"We choose not to discuss it anywhere outside of Arthur's office, that way all information is shared together."
"That's smart, but there is a tidbit of information which was shared with Arthur yesterday, and because of the legal ramifications of this information, he gave me permission to tell you now so that you can be ready if there is any communication made."
"Communication with who?"
"Possible communication with you, Dimitri." He clarified. "Once the thumb drive was activated on one machine, it logged that computer's IP address and GPS coordinates." He continued. "We know it's been accessed by three machines in total. When your friend Mr. Ozera delved deeper into those coordinates, we discovered that GPS location to be the very same office building that is owned by your father, Randall."
"Shit. So, he's in connection with Dashkov somehow. That's confirmation." I replied in surprise.
"Right, but for whatever reason, he might try to contact you, so just be cautious."
"Consider me warned."
"DIMITRI?" I hear from the other side of the door.
"That's all for now, Arthur will update you next week when you're back in the office."
"Thanks Abe. I assume I'm free to share this with Roza?"
"Of course." He nods before opening the door.
"There you are dear, are you ready?" Janine calls as I see Roza standing there, a smile on her face as her mother stands behind her.
"Yes dear, let's head out." Abe confirms.
"What were you guys doing in the spare room?" Roza inquires.
"Just office talk, Dimitri will tell you later." Abe states, kissing Roza's head before reaching to Janine's outstretched hand.
~VA TC VA~
Rose
"This really is such a beautiful house; you and Dimitri chose well." My mom states, as she helps me take a few of the empty champagne glasses into the kitchen.
"We almost lost it to another couple but their financing fell through, so it was so lucky that we got it."
"I'm so happy for you Rosemarie. Dimitri loves you so much and that's all I've ever wanted for you."
"Thanks mom, I love him too. So much." I add, trying to hold back my emotions.
"I hope you and Dimitri will come to ours for Thanksgiving this year, I know you want to spend Christmas in your new home, but dinner with us and your brother of course…" She trails off.
"Of course, mom."
"Plus, I think your brother is seeing someone, he's being coy about it though, so it must still be new."
"As long as he's happy, that's all that matters."
"Of course, now, speaking of happiness, where did ours run off to?" She laughs as we hear muffled voices behind the spare room door.
"DIMITRI?"
After my parents leave, other guests decided to make their exit as well. By the time 11:00PM rolled around, most of the left-over food was put away, and empty bottles recycled. It was good that we choose to use paper plates, easier clean up.
The remaining guests were gathered around the living room. It was myself and Dimitri of course, along with Mia and Ivan, Lissa and Christian, and Ava and Jared, who Ava made dress up like a dog on a leash for his stupid box prank on moving day.
"What did your parents get you as a housewarming gift?" Mia questioned.
"They special ordered us this oak wood pool table with blue felt." Dimitri smiled.
"Wow man, that's incredible." Ivan added.
"I'm glad you were surprised Mia!" I add excitedly.
"I had no idea and it was really nice of you guys to include us like that." She stated. "But we do have other news." Mia adds.
"Please don't tell us you're pregnant!" Ava shouts.
We all laugh at that.
"No, we finally chose a house, idiots." Mia clarifies with a giggle.
"When do you move in?" Lissa queries.
"February 1st. We need the time to pack and with Christmas so close we don't want things rushed." Ivan adds.
After one more round of drinks and quiet banter amongst us, the rest of our party finally leaves just before midnight.
"Congrats on our first official party, milaya." Dimitri states, closing and locking the front door.
"I'm so fucking tired." I groan, slipping my stilettos off.
"You can undo a few of those buttons now." He teases, sauntering over to me.
"I'll undo more than a few, why don't you check the doors and windows down here, lock up, as it were and meet me upstairs when you're done?"
"Deal." He replied, leaning down to kiss me chastely.
Once in our bedroom, I put my shoes back in the closet and undo a few of the buttons on the 'sexy n' slutty' nurse get up before propping myself up on the pillows of the bed.
I've dimmed the bright lights and removed the nurses cap I was wearing. A few minutes later, the bedroom door closing catches my attention, and I see Dimitri standing there. He tosses the stethoscope onto my vanity, before pulling off the lab coat.
"I'm happy to see you were able to keep that lab coat so clean all night babe." I flirt as he saunters over to the bed.
"You looked so fucking irresistible all goddamn night baby." He growls, crawling up the bed. I move over onto my back as he hovers over me.
"Hi," I pant, looking up into his smouldering eyes.
"I love you, Roza. Always." He exclaims before crushing his lips to mine.
"I love you too." I reply, when his lips move to my neck, and down to my breasts.
He doesn't waste any time, and instead of undoing the rest of the buttons, he rips the dress open, sending the buttons flying. I can't stop the giggle that erupts and he smiles down at me taking in the red lace bra and panty set I was wearing under the dress.
"So, fucking beautiful." He states, before his lips start their suction on the top of my breast.
"Take off your pants, now." I exclaim, my hands running over his back and shoulders and into his hair as he continues kissing down my body.
"Now you say?" He teases.
"STAT Doctor." I reply, grinning mischievously.
"Fuck!" He calls, before ripping at the draw-string and tugging them down off of his hips.
"What the fuck, you were going commando all night in those damn things!"
"Sorry baby…"
"Fuck me…"
"Obviously."
We made love, and fucked for what felt like hours, we couldn't get enough of one another. But that had to do with the fact that we seemed to be teasing each other all night in our costumes as well. Finally, after the third round, Dimitri literally had to carry me to the shower.
I sat on the bench while the water warmed up, and just stared at Dimitri appreciatively.
"Baby, stop staring at me like that. I don't think you can handle much more; you have to be sore by now." He teased.
"The best kind of sore, of course." I reply, standing and wrapping my arms around him from behind.
"Time for sleep, Roza." He states, kissing me sweetly before urging me under the spray. I'm careful to avoid getting my hair wet.
"Hey!" I call a few moments later.
"What?" He replies in confusion.
"What were you and my dad talking about in the spare room?"
Dimitri explains the conversation with my dad before we finish up in the shower and crawl into bed together, naked. My mind unravelling the new information.
What could Randall Belikov do to Dimitri that he hasn't already done, and now with Victor Dashkov at his side?
~VA TC VA~
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