"Okay looks like there's five bedrooms in total, five bathrooms, jacuzzi, the open living room, dining area, laundry, and what I can only assume is just an open recreational space. There's one more wing I haven't looked it but can't be anything special I'm sure. The fridge, freezer and all the pantries are fully stocked and we have enough toilet paper to last through an apocalypse. We can split up the house and take however many rooms on each opposite end and work out a schedule for who's going to be out when so we can cross paths as least as possible. Which I'm sure we both can agree is best. So...how do you want to do this?" Ever since the call ended Dimitri had been pacing back and forth and frankly it was starting to piss me off. The quicker he was out of my sight the quicker I can get to my break.
"Makes no difference to me. Do what you want and I'll stay out your way. All I ask is don't cross into my territory, don't touch any of my stuff and for once keep your childish antics to yourself. We're not on some summer vacation, this isn't a friendly trip, and I'm not treating this as anything other than an unfortunate and temporary business agreement. Understood?" He stood with his arms crossed over his chest and rolled back shoulders. The angry teacher posture paired with the strict tone in his voice made me feel more like I was back in third period detention than a catch-22.
"Last I checked, Comrade, you're a wanna-be cowboy. Not a correctional officer. Stick to your strengths." I shot back with the biggest 'fuck you' smile I could muster. His eyes narrowed but he kept his mouth shut. Anyone that crossed me knew better than to try and fight verbal battles because it was always a losing game.
"Now, if you want to act like we're both grown ass adults who can actually..." I lost my train of thought as Dimitri stumbled into the table next to him catching me off guard. His hand flew to the side where the bullet was but it wasn't enough to stop the blood that started seeping through his fingers.
So much for slipping away quietly.
As much as I would've loved to pull up a chair and watch him bleed out it'd be too much of a coincidence if he were to die now so soon after our briefing and I did nothing to try and prevent it. Old man knows I'm more than proficient enough in medicine to practically be an EMT. Not exactly one of the core curriculums common in "assassin school" but I wasn't about to just be openly walking around with a target on my back and not know how to take care of it whenever someone shoots for the bullseye.
"Unless you want a one way ticket to sin city," I quipped pointing my thumb towards the down below, "I suggest you let me help you."
"Help? What help could you possibly provide aside from raising my blood pressure." He scoffed through labored breath. I could see the mocking laughter behind his eyes, which was the most emotion I'd seen from him in a while. Of course it has to be in insult to me.
On second thought, maybe I'll reconsider just letting him die...I can be pretty persuasive with a fake alibi.
"For your information, I'm EMT paramedic licensed. Illegally of course but that's not the point. I've done the work. AND passed with flying colors I'll have you know. Now, I don't see a doctor on deck anywhere to save your sorry ass, so how about a little humility?" He pursed his lips and took a moment to think it over. Not that he really had a choice it was either me or a nice powdery snow casket and I'm sure he cared way too much about that family of his to croak now. Frankly I was fine with either choice.
"Alright, fine. Just make it quick." Smart man.
"Good. I assume there's a trauma kit here somewhere so just sit there and don't move. And stay off the furniture, it's white and I'm not a free housekeeper." He nodded in agreeance and let himself sink all the way to the floor, propping his back against the wall.
The chalet was pretty huge but if I knew anything about the Old Man he always liked to keep things in the least expected but usually pretty practical place.
Like taped behind the bedroom double dresser. Bingo.
"Are you going to cooperate like a good boy or am I going to have to sedate you?" I filled one of the needles with saline solution and made it shoot out like in those horror movies. Fear actually flashed in his eyes for a second and he coiled back further against the wall. Nurse Ratched would be proud.
I nearly shit myself cackling at the sight of it. Dimitri Belikov; widely feared, merciless killer nearly pissed himself over a woman half his size with a baby needle. What I would've done for a video camera in that moment.
"You-should've-seen-your face!" I almost stabbed myself with how hard I was doubling over from laughter. Dimitri was not amused. I was surprised he didn't manage to crack a tooth with how much force he ground them together.
"Can you please act your age for once." I was satisfied with my accomplishment and getting tired of being in such close proximity to him so I put my doctor hat on and got to work. Or I would've if it wasn't for one problem...
"Umm...as much as I don't want to see this the shirt needs to come off..." I murmured already feeling the burning rise in my cheeks. The blood had soaked through the material so much that it was sticking to the wound which would only cause more likelihood of infection and he didn't have the strength to hold it up for as long as I'd need to get the wound cleaned and closed. And this was a two hand job so I couldn't spare the free hand to do it either.
He looked everywhere but my eyes as he nodded and started to sloppily pull the shirt up over his head.
"Here, let me help you." I spat. Between how slow he was lifting and stopping every two seconds because he was faltering from the pain of stretching we would've been on that floor forever. Patience was not part of my skill set.
With how quiet it was between the two of us the pounding of our heartbeats was deafening and it hadn't registered in my body or mind just how close we were until then...
To get a good grip and help him lift the shirt up I had to sit on my knees between his legs and lean over to help him keep as much slack on the wound side as possible. We were only inches apart, had I been any closer our chests would practically be touching. As much as I wanted to just yank it off and get back to a comfortable distance that would've just made the job even harder so we had to take it slow. Thankfully he seemed a lot less effected by our closeness than I was and was fully focused on getting the shirt off. And probably not dying as well.
Thankfully once we got it up over his arms the hard part was done. Getting to that point was just...let's say he'd been sweating a lot in reaction to the blood loss so his body was very...sticky to say the least.
After nearly five years of knowing each other this was the first time I had actually taken a good look at Dimitri.
Even though we were both on the same floor level he still had a good foot on me at least. I could always tell he kept in very good shape under that stupid duster he wore but I underestimated how much. He kept a lean physique but his chest and upper body were anything but. It was hard to imagine how just his chest alone didn't stretch out the shirt he was just wearing. His stomach was sublimely toned with a six pack I dared say bested my own and just looking at the size of his arms I would bet money he could lift tree trunks with no problem.
When we finally got the shirt up to his head I had to raise up on my knees to pull it the rest of the way over, pushing my chest up to meet his. This was probably the first time I'd ever wished I had a smaller, less..cheery chest size.
Thank God his eyes are closed.
The second we touched a shudder went through my body from the cold of his bare skin fighting for equilibrium against the heat hastily rising under mine. He must've felt it too because his eyes shot open to meet mine. The man was already hard to read on a regular basis and in this instance I'd have an easier time decoding a lost language. His dark brown eyes were nearly black clouded with so many different hues of swirling emotions that I couldn't even begin to discern because they were forming and changing simultaneously. Not that I could totally focus on them anyway with his signature musk sucking up all the remaining breathable air around us that wasn't stuffed up with tension.
Granted the only other man I've ever been this close to in a long time is Adrian but Dimitri is still just another man...a taller and much more chiseled man but still. Why does this feel so...different?
Although Adrian never tried to kill me, doesn't haunt my dreams or fill my life with constant stress and anxiety so maybe that was it.
This, what should've been a, twenty minute patch job was turning into a lot more trouble than it was worth.
I cleared my throat before speaking to hopefully push whatever the hell just happened as far down as I could along with the lump sitting in my throat, "Right, well...looks like the bullet went through between the ribs in the front and passed straight out the other side missing any important stuff so I won't have to dig for it. Luckily for you." He fidgeted under my chilled fingers prodding at his stomach and was now full on avoiding any and all possible eye contact with me but still nodded in acknowledgment of everything I was saying.
"I don't see any signs of infection but I'll need to keep an eye on it for the next few days to be sure. That is if you think I'm qualified enough." I tried my best to raise a brow and failed miserably. That got his attention as a faint smirk creeped up onto his lips in amusement.
Atta girl, Rose. Just stick to humor and denial of how completely awkward this situation is and eventually it will be reality.
"I'll try to make this as quick as I can just need to clean out the wound, sew up the entry and exit points and slap on the adhesive bandage and you're done. Okay?" He took a few deep breaths in preparation and nodded again. Any other normal day I'd be more than happy to stick him with a needle repeatedly and watch him twitch and writhe in pain but right now all I wanted was for all this to be over. And that didn't just mean playing nurse. That meant killing people regularly, not being able to keep any stable relationship other than those forced because of them taking part in what I do, not knowing whether the next time I step out my house will be the last thanks to a bullet to the head, not being able to live a normal life. Now, I knew better than to expect life to just be peachy keen because I hung up the guns but at least I could finally settle. I could start a farm, open a quaint bakery somewhere remote, start a self defense training business, hell I could retire to the woods somewhere and just be Bob Ross if I wanted to. Point is I'd have the choice. The freedom. And part of me couldn't help but think if that's all that Dimitri wanted too...
And you dead. Don't forget that.
"So...how's the plan to slip out from under Galina going?" Even through the pain he was desperately trying to put on a brave face for I could still spot his pupils dilating in surprise.
"I don't know what you're talking about." I all but snorted laughing. Wasn't sure if it was more insulting or amusing he really thought I was that naive.
"When you do the work we do, if you're not a total psycho, eventually everyone wants an out. And we both know when you're contracted by the big shots there is no escape clause. You don't have to tell me but I know you well enough. We're not that different." That actually got a chuckle out of him. A dark, humorless chuckle but hey still a win in my book.
"Oh, are we? Tell me, Mazur, how many families have you gone to check on after you've murdered their father? Or their mother? Brothers, daughters, whoever. How many faces do you still see every night? If it even bothered you enough to remember them. We're nothing alike. Not even to count the lack of maturity, who do you truly care about other than yourself?" He had the most self righteous look on he face with pointed eyes and a small smirk like he had me all figured out. As if he was some wise old owl that just knew and it made my blood boil.
So much for trying to ease the tension with some harmless conversation. If this was how we wanted to play it, fine. I broke the thread I was using to close the bullet wounds off and tossed the needle to the other side of the room. It took every ounce of strength I had not to shove it into his throat instead.
"Good luck finishing that up yourself. You're lucky I care about the consequences otherwise I'd be using your head for a snowman already. You don't know shit about me or my life. You think you've had a bad time? Boo-fucking-hoo Dimitri, we've all lost people. You know one thing I don't do? I don't blame everyone else for my own fuck ups, unlike you. Remind me, what did you do to stop Ivan from dying?" He was only slightly irate before but now he was practically fuming. All signs of pain he had were long gone as he leapt up to tower over me, fists balled tightly at his sides and nostrils flaring. He looked almost like a bear when they stand and puff themselves up before they charge. It should've been pretty damn intimidating but to me he might as well have been no taller than eye level. Normally I considered us pretty equal in stature but now he was lower than dirt.
"Don't you DARE speak his name!" He snarled. I couldn't help but smile at seeing him so low. So unstable. Dimitri always held himself to a higher standard above needing or even having emotions and this was the first time I'd seen him stoop to my level. And I was going to revel in it.
"You think you're so high and mighty because what? You have a family to take care of? You think they'd be proud of you? Think they'd be happy to know what you do to get that money you send them every week? At least I'm not trying to still pretend like I'm a good person, I know exactly who and what I am which is a lot more than I can say for you. You need to take a really good fucking look in the mirror Dimitri Belikov because last time I checked your ledger is just as red as mine. And I got a news flash for you, he wasn't exactly the "Good Samaritan" you think he was. Did you ever stop to think about what exactly it was he did on all those trips she sent him on? Why the number of missing women is rising by the hundreds every week?" Slowly as he took in my words his posture turned from shaking with anger to tense from uncertainty. He was looking at the floor now trying to process everything but I could still see behind his eyes he thought there was possibly some truth to my words. He just didn't want to accept it.
"You don't know what you're talking about..." I scoffed, resisting the urge to just spill everything right then and there for the sake of proving my point.
"No? Ask her about Vorkuta sometime. I'm sure she'd just love to take her golden boy on a trip into the skeleton closet. Assuming she doesn't kill you for even mentioning it." His brow was furrowed with questions but clearly answers were the last thing I was willing to give him now. After taking a few deep breaths he fully retreated from me and his expression and body language returned to its usual neutral state, but the muscles were still stiff.
I suddenly remembered he still wasn't wearing a shirt.
"If you start to bleed out, do me a favor and just die in the tub. Last thing I need is shit to clean up." With that I left before my temper got the best of me and went to search for something else to take it out on.
-Δ-
I couldn't tell you how long I was at that punching bag but it definitely wasn't dark out when I started. Only reason I had to stop now was all the muscles in my arms and legs screaming for a break before they took it upon themselves to make me.
I was surprised to even find a gym in the last wing I hadn't checked earlier in the day. Guess they didn't want us just camping out and getting fat. Wonder why. There was also a library, for the Russian obviously, and a painting room for me. Wasn't sure if it was comforting they had the chalet catered to us or horrifying that they thought we'd be here long enough to need the extra amenities. Either way, wasn't complaining about it now.
I checked around to make sure Dimitri wasn't in the vicinity and hopped in the shower. The gym also had a mini kitchen area and a small steam room.
I just might have to ask Abe how much this place costs to own...
The shower was open with a glass slider, rainfall head, body jets and came along with a wall panel to control the pressure, temperature and operate the collapsible tub sidings. I would definitely be spending a lot of time in here.
For a while I just stood there letting the scorching water run over me. Anyone else would probably melt but any colder and I might as well take an ice shower. Not sure if that counts as some conditioned personal punishment or what but my body refused to relax without boiling temperatures.
While trying to alleviate my never ending stress my thoughts started to wander. As usual it was all but a nice trip down memory lane. I thought about what might happen if they never managed to find who was responsible for this, if Dimitri and I were stuck together on the run forever. I'd never get to see Adrian again or Lisa...hell I hated to admit I'd even miss Christian. As big of a pain in the ass as he was. I thought back to what Dimitri said earlier, "Who do you truly care about other than yourself?" It may have been hard for him to believe, and even myself at times, but there were people I couldn't risk to lose in my life. Despite how neglectfully I tried, and usually always failed, to hold them tight to me.
Look how that turned out with the last one.
My fingers mindlessly traced over the healed bullet wound from the day he died. Mason. I tried my best to protect him, and I failed. It was only a matter of time before I lost everyone I ever cared about thanks to this life...a life I was finally starting to regret ever getting into. Granted I wasn't given much choice in the matter, but that was besides the point. How long would it be until I ended up like Abe? Alone and despairing. He put on a good front but ever since mom...he wasn't the same. The only thing he had to keep him going was the business, and I'm sure he would gladly throw it all away if it meant she could be with us again even just for a moment. Sure, he had me but our relationship wasn't exactly the picture perfect father-daughter one. When I was younger we had been practically inseparable. As much as I loved my mom she always joked that I was a daddy's girl. It wasn't until after I started working for him that he became distant. He was my boss. Nothing else. He was probably the only person I truly had to understand me, the struggles of being in this life and the toll it was taking on me and he could barely look me in the eye...
Well, maybe now there could be someone else...
I recoiled at the thought of actually having a friendly or even cordial relationship with Dimitri Belikov or something even beyond that. Images of how close we were just hours earlier on the floor immediately invaded all my senses. I could smell him on me, feel his cold skin pressed against mine, hear his erratically beating heart and feel his breath brushing across my face. I couldn't stop the image that swiftly followed suit of us in a much more compromising position except this time I wasn't taking off his shirt to play doctor.
I was nauseated.
Could you fucking imagine?! Dimitri and me. Intimate. Even just the thought sent shudders down my head all the way to the tips of my toes. That was exactly the wake-up call I needed to realize the shower water had run cold. Thankfully the gym had also been stocked with changes of clothes so I didn't have to walk back to my room and risk running into him in nothing but a bath towel. I threw on some black leggings, a fitted red crop tank and some very comfortable fuzzy slippers with roses printed on them. As much as I hated anything rose related, it was super corny and not in the good way, they felt like little clouds on my feet and I couldn't resist.
Working out that long had pushed my appetite to it's max. I actually considered going out and hunting down a moose or something before remembering the kitchen was fully stocked.
Apparently I wasn't the only one in need of some sustenance.
Seeing him sitting in one of the stools pushed up to the kitchen island instantly stopped me in my tracks. After all that time had passed I had actually started to forget I wasn't alone here. Unfortunately.
Our eyes met for a split second before mine darted to the floor. I half expected him to be filled with rage and bloodlust at the sight of me but even in that short time we were locked with each other, I didn't see anything like that. Some disdain and aversion yes, but not exactly the 'I'll kill you now with my bare hands' that I was anticipating. I was sure he was just as surprised at my lack of animosity but to be frank I really just wanted to eat and catch up on some long overdue rest. Despite being hungry enough to eat a horse I decided to let him have the time first since he was already there.
"Wait." The instinctual 'fuck you' rose in my throat but I swallowed it. Not sure if it was the tone in his voice or my own itching curiosity that got me to actually consider listening to whatever it was he had to say.
It better start with a good fucking apology.
"Obviously neither of us are content in this situation, but I do think there's some use that can come of it. No one knows the ins and outs of both Zmey and Galina's operations better than us. If we can work together to find the blind spots in them then we might just be able to figure out where someone could have breached into them and get out of here sooner than later." I had to admit it was a very solid strategy, but it was going to take more than just good faith to get me to agree to sitting down and telling him everything about the Old Man's trade. How was I supposed to trust he wouldn't just take all this information, get it to Galina somehow and use it to dismantle us. Not to mention if he'd even be telling the truth on his end. As well as I could usually read him, we were both very good liars when we needed to be. It kept us alive.
"And what's to assure me that everything said will be in full disclosure?" He raised a brow as if to say he was insulted that I would suggest he hadn't already thought of that.
"One question. We each get to ask and the other has to answer with complete and brutal honesty. Something no one else would know and no one can disprove, and it has to be personal." I pondered the suggestion...while it was still a risk we didn't really have any other options. We'd both have to be willing to take the leap. Something I never thought the great stoic was capable of doing. Dimitri was many things; cunning, calculating, deadly, straight-thinking and many more but impulsive and adventurous he was not. There was hidden motive behind this proposal. Something he wanted no-needed an answer to and this would probably be his only chance to get it. This could be used to my advantage...
"Alright then, cowboy," I took the seat across from him and helped myself to a slice of whatever bread he was having with his coffee. It was darker than any regular grocery store bread I'd seen before and it gave off a sweet but pungent aroma. Assuming he wasn't trying to poison himself I deemed it as safe to eat and took a bite. A quiet moan slipped past my lips. The taste was even better than the smell. Slightly sour but huskily sweet from what I could guess was cocoa and molasses. I'd have to wrangle the recipe from him later because God was it delicious.
"Shoot." He glared at my thievery but left it be, there were other things more important. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. Suddenly my stomach started to twist. As tantalized as I was with what it could be he wanted to ask, I hadn't considered whether or not it would be something I was ready to answer. When his eyes opened again they didn't have their usual tint of steeled resolve to secrecy, they were completely clear and I was free to peer into them at all the emotions churning inside them. Fear, anxiousness, anger, guilt, sadness...I could see all of them. It was then I realized this was how he intended to make it clear that he meant what he said. Complete and brutal honesty. Long as I was that way with him, he would be with me. For this particular exchange at least. Strangely enough there was an odd comfort in that. With all the people you come across in a contract killer's world it's beyond rare that you find someone who is truly sincere in what they say, do or even think. It was nice being able to trust that someone was as authentically themselves as they could be...totally vulnerable. My breath hitched in my throat at the uncertainty of whether I was ready or even capable of doing the same depending on his next words.
"Why did you kill him?" My veins froze. All involuntary functions i counted on to live suddenly ceased. I couldn't breath, couldn't move, couldn't even blink. Ask anyone they probably would've thought I'd dropped dead or comatose.
"I know he wasn't a contract for you...it had to have been personal. So why'd you do it?" The name didn't need to be spoken for the both of us to understand fully who he was talking about. Ivan Zeklos. I never knew the extent of the relationship between the two of them, only that they were close. How close was still in question. But seeing the crippling pain behind his eyes and the glossiness that started to pool in them as tears threatened to fall it told me all I needed to know. He meant everything to him. As much as Lissa did to me. I bit my lip as I frantically thought of a way to explain without delving into territory I wasn't ready to process let alone spill out to someone I still very much considered an enemy.
"Don't lie to me, Rose." His tone was intended to embody demand but it quietly crawled past his lips more like a plea. I couldn't hide the surprise at my first time hearing him speak my actual name. At times I wasn't even sure he knew what it was. His accent grew thick as he intuitively rolled the R, it sounded almost melodic in a way. But I didn't have time to savor that small victory as other less pleasant thoughts took hold. A seemingly harmless man, a sharp needle, rope burns on my wrists, a very unpleasant plane ride, and even worse being stripped naked, a cold surgery table, a mask being slipped over my face and silently pleading for my father to come wake me from the nightmare to follow before I went numb and slipped into the void. I hadn't noticed how entangled I'd gotten in my imaginings until Dimitri loudly cleared his throat, growing impatient of the silence.
"I—I had just come off one of my first missions in Mexico. I shot a man in front of his wife, opioid smuggler and sex trafficker, and I was pretty shaken up so I stopped by some rinky dink bar for a drink. I didn't think anyone would know I was in Mexico, let alone be able to track me to that bar but he did. Obviously I'd heard of him as one of Galina's best but I wasn't briefed on what he looked like. He approached me with a drink and I didn't think anything of it, he laid the charm on pretty thick so I thought he was just another creep trying to hit on me. I entertained it for a bit and let my guard down…" I took a pause as the memories once again became too vivid to ignore. I couldn't even look Dimitri in the eyes anymore as I spoke because all I could see was amber. He noticed the change in my demeanor but said nothing, patiently waiting until I resumed. I subconsciously dug my nails into my thighs to help keep me anchored in the present.
You're not there anymore and you're not that same naive girl. You can protect yourself now. You're in control.
I steadied my breathing as best I could and continued, "He stuck a small needle into the outside of my thigh and the effect was almost instant. Whatever the drug he used it was strong. I could barely stand let alone fight back when he carried me out the bar, into some unmarked SUV and loaded me onto a plane with some other girls years younger. After that I ended up in Russia. In Vorkuta. I went in and let's just say I escaped out a lot…lighter. I hated him. I blame him, and all the other men involved but him the most, for what happened to me and those girls and all the rest to come after us and I wanted all of them dead. So they could never do that or anything else to anyone ever again. He was just number one on the list. I laid low in Russia until I had all the information needed to track his patterns and hunt him down. I wasn't planning for it to happen the way it did but the opportunity presented itself, so I took it." I crossed my arms at the end of my tragic tale and sat back. With all that weight alleviated off my chest I felt a lot better. I had the confidence to look Dimitri square in the eye now. Unwavering and unapologetic. As tough as I'm sure it was to accept I needed him to know and understand I wasn't at all regretful or sorrowful. Could he have not been acting out of malice but obedience? Sure. Would the people he loved and that loved him be forever shrouded by grief from what I had done? Yes. Was there possibly more to him than just a man who helped send women to their ruin? Of course. But if it truly meant sparing others from the fate I have to suffer everyday I would do it all over again without hesitation. And something told me if he truly knew the extent of Galina's crimes and everyone else she picked to be involved, he would too.
His lips pursed to trap in the slew of questions he desperately wanted to follow up with but he was bound by his own words against it. One question each. Instead all the vulnerability he had just shared was locked away tight and he went back to good ole' heartless tin man.
"Your turn." I smirked at the reminder there was also something in it for me with this little sharing session. His eye twitched in annoyance at my playful attitude in what was supposed to be a very serious exchange. Of course I recognized that, but since when did that ever stop me from being me?
"Hm..." I purred blithely tapping a finger on my chin in semi-deep thought, "Let me think..."
I hope you all liked this chapter! It's a little longer than some of the others. Suddenly realizing how hard it's going to be to build this relationship in a realistic but also progressive way. Please let me know if it feels natural to you all or if I should slow it up a bit. Really glad you guys are still in this with me I really love this concept and I'm glad you guys do too!
Sorry no Dimitri POV this chapter if anyone was hoping for one but there will be next chapter promise.
What do you guys think our favorite trouble maker is gonna ask? And does anyone have any ideas who could be behind this yet o.o bet you'll never guess.
Hope everyone is having a good week and living life and I'll see you next chapter. Keep the reviews coming please they really do make my days 3. Love and appreciate all you guys!