The Chronicles of Young Dmitry Medlov: Volume 7 (The Medlov Crime Family Short Stories Series) (6 page)

Chapter 7

Since they had returned from Milan, Ivan and Arie had been staying in a suite at the Corinthia Hotel in London and commuting to Dmitry’s estate when needed. 

Ivan said that if he had to be under his brother’s thumb, he would not also be forced to live with him. 
And no one disputed that
. 

Although Dmitry did not tell Ivan to leave the estate, he had not protested against it, and since Ivan had left, Dmitry had not asked him back. 

It was an understood arrangement that seemed to work out for both men.

For Arie, the distance had been a Godsend.  There were other things that she wanted to do in her life besides deal with the complexities of Ivan and Dmitry’s relationship.

Being at the hotel allowed her a way to get away from Ivan often enough and spend time alone, even if it was just for lunch, dinner or the occasional massage.

But now that Emma had shown up, all of the ranting Arie had been forced to listen to by Ivan in the past would surely return.  

They had moved right back into the middle of chaos, and she didn’t see it getting any better any time soon. Honestly, she didn’t know how much more she could take.

Without asking, she knew that her husband was up to something again, and if it failed, they would both suffer. She just wanted it all to end one way or another. 

But Ivan seemed on a perpetual course toward destruction. His greed had consumed him, and he was never happy, not even when his brother had spared his life.  This man that she once thought was her knight in shining armor had become her biggest mistake and worse nightmare. 

Only leaving him wasn’t an option.  She knew too much and neither Medlov man would ever let her go with so much Intel on their organization, even though Dmitry once said he would.  She just didn’t trust it. 

After all, she knew where the bodies were buried, because she had buried some of them.

She knew about the guns, the shipments, the hit men, the arrangements…she knew too much.

Even if Dmitry did let her go, Ivan would kill her, and even if Ivan didn’t kill her, her brother Dorian would. No matter what she did, she’d always be trapped by her decisions. 

The thoughts in her head nearly drove her to scream.  While she settled into their old room and put way some of their things that she had sent for back at the hotel, Ivan set out three perfect lines of cocaine on the coffee table and poured another glass of vodka. 

His mind was racing again, and he needed something to take the edge off.

Just being around Dmitry and Emma at the same time brought back old memories that he didn’t care to revisit.  

The thing that was bugging him, however, was not the mother of his child or even Dmitry
for the moment. 
It was from earlier this morning. 

When he had barged in on Dmitry and Emma in the main dining hall, Davyd was nowhere to be found.  The old man was always around, always lurking and spying. It’s what he did best; so what would pull him away from his duties? 

Was he sick?

No, the old goat looked fine.

Was he with one of his women?

No, he was too irritable to have just gotten laid. 

“What
were
you up to?” he asked aloud, scooting to the end of the chair.

“What do you mean, what I am I up to?” Arie asked, stepping out of the closet area when she heard his mumblings.

“I’m not talking to you,” he said, placing one finger over his nostrils and inhaling the cocaine with the other.  Dazed, he sat back up and wiped his nose. 

Asshole
, she thought to herself.  Annoyed, she went back to hanging up his shirts. “Why do you always have to do that?” she asked, huffing at him.  Just the sight of him snorting cocaine disgusted her.  Every time that he got high, he became unbearable and ended up doing something monumentally stupid. 

“Do what?” he asked, turning on the television.  He really wasn’t in the mood for one of Arie’s moments.  Lately, all she did was complain.  It was like he had married someone’s mother.  Only with Vladimir gone, there was no filter. 

“Why do you have to always get high?” she asked, staying true to his irritations. 

Ivan twisted in the chair and looked back at his petite wife in her dark cargo pants and navy blue t-shirt.  “I’m
not
always high, but it seems lately, you always look a mess.”

“Or drunk,” she added, hands on her hips. She ignored the comment about her clothing. “What about life is so unbearable that you can’t face it sober?”

“You, for one,” he quipped.  When she did not respond, he knew that she was pissy.  “Are you are about to start your cycle or something?” he snapped.  “Now is not a good time.”

“No, I’m not about to start my cycle.”

He quickly went down for the second line. “Why are you always bitching?” he asked, not expecting an explanation.

Arie felt her head begin to pound.  “I’m always
bitching
, because you don’t know when to just relax and enjoy a good thing.  We were fine at the Corinthia.  There is no reason for us to be out here, except for that woman.”

Ivan set back up and inhaled. Suddenly, the pieces of the puzzle snapped in place for him.  Davyd had found out about the Irishmen. What other logical explanation could there be. “That is where you are wrong, Arie.  We have every reason to be here.  You just have no vision.”  He found that to be ironic considering that he was suddenly blurred. 

Arie threw down the rest of his clothes in the floor of the closet and stomped back into the bedroom.  With her arms folded across her chest, she glared at him. “Vision?”

“Don’t you see that if Emma is here, she wants something from him?  This isn’t about me.  She could care less about me and I could care less about her.”  He said it although it was partly a lie.

Whether Arie admitted it or not, that small statement made her feel a hell of a lot better.

“Bigger than that,” he continued, “where the fuck was Davyd this morning?  There are so many moving parts that need to be put in place.”  Drifting off in space, he looked up at the ceiling and kicked his bare feet up on the table.  “What do you think it all means?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. How am I supposed to know these things?  I’m no clairvoyant.  Until this morning, I didn’t even know that you had a child.  And I hate when you get high for this reason. You get paranoid.”

Ivan cut her off before the conversation derailed.  “We are this close.”  He put a small space between his index finger and thumb to illustrate. “This close to being found out by Dmitry about those Irish bastards.  Word is that they are expanding like cockroaches in a sandbox.  I have to get to them before Dmitry does or you can say goodbye to the good life completely.”

“What does that have to do with us being here?”

“How are we going to know what Dmitry is up to if we are at the Corinthia?” he asked sarcastically.  Hitting his temple with his pointed finger, he huffed.  “Think Arie.”

“How are you going to get any closer to him here?” she asked, shaking her head at him.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Ivan asked, narrowing his eyes on her.  “You.”

“Me?” she frowned.
Now he really was losing his mind.

“Did you see the little smirk that Dmitry had this morning? He liked that I walked in on him and Emma having breakfast alone.  He enjoyed it.”  Ivan was certain of it, and had only way he could prove his theory.  He had to make a scene.

Arie rolled her eyes again, and prepared to walk away.

“And did you see the way that he looked at
you
this morning?” he said, stopping Arie in her tracks.  He knew that she’d want to hear that.

She stopped and turned. 

Ivan smiled and licked his lips.  “I know that you want him,
my dutiful little wife
.”  Sniffing, he ran a hand over his nostrils.  “And normally, the idea might piss me off just a little, but tonight, you are going to get something that you want, and I’m getting off this property and going to handle those Irish bastards one last time without anyone following me.”

Arie snorted in response. “Have you lost your fucking mind?”

But Ivan had not.  He knew exactly what he was doing. “Do you want him?” he asked, voice low now.  The twinkle is his eye let her know that he’d be thinking about this for a while.

“No,” Arie said quickly.

“Not even a little?” he asked again. 

“No,” she lied again. “Not at all.”

“Well then I feel sorry for you, baby.  Because tonight won’t be easy.” Ivan watched her and waited.

“This man wants my brother dead.  He might even want me dead, and yet you’re going to offer me like a midnight snack?”

“No, you and I are going to engage in an epic falling out, during which time I will explode about needing time to myself and grab the keys to get away. I’ll insist the bodyguards don’t go with me, and if they tail me, I’ll lose them.  I’m sure that Dmitry’s Lamborghini can move faster than a Land Rover.  I’ll change cars when I get to my location and then I’ll head out.  If not that plan, then I’ll think of some other way to piss him off and get off the property.  Either way, I have to.”

Arie still thought he was being preposterous. “You don’t even know where the Irish men are going to be tonight?”

He waved a dismissive hand. “Yes, I do.  Tonight is the scheduled pick up on the docks.  I’ll meet them there, get my money and get rid of them. It won’t be anywhere close to the clubs, and there will be little to no evidence left.”  He slapped his hands together. “Damn, Am I good or am I good?”

“What if Dmitry doesn’t bite?” Arie argued. “Then you entire little plan goes to hell.”

Ivan reached out with his long arms and grabbed her by her tiny waist. Pulling her to him, he ran a finger down the soft curve of her body. Red-shot eyes flashed up at her. “Oh, he’ll bite.  He’s always wanted to and you know it.  Tonight, you’ll go to him all hormonal and hurt and you’ll start to talk about how crazy I’ve been.  Then he’ll try to probe you for questions and you’ll both have too much to drink. That’s when you move in, but you have to make him believe that it’s his decision to fuck.”

Arie tried to snatch away. “It won’t work, and I don’t want to do it.”  She did not bother hide her disdain. Sure, she wanted Dmitry when it was her choice, but not this way.  It was just one more reminder of how Ivan repeatedly tried to control her and use her for his own benefit.

“Do you want to die?” he threatened.  Releasing her waist only to put her on his knee, he moved her hair off her shoulder.  “Don’t you see that I’m doing this for both of us?  If Dmitry finds out about those men, he’ll end me and then he’ll end you.  Do you really think a man as selfish as he would ever take care of you when I’m gone?”

Arie had never thought of things that way.  “No, I don’t,” she answered.

Ivan smiled gently and deceptively, knowing that he had her right where he wanted her.  “I know that there have been times when I’ve shared you with other men for my own selfish reasons.  Part of it is simply because you are so beautiful,” he lied.  “But this time, I need you to do it for us.”

Arie huffed.  “He won’t want me.  Did you see Emma? If he doesn’t want her, he won’t want me.” 

“Have you tried?” Ivan asked, suspiciously.

“No, I have not tried.” She gritted her teeth.

“Are you sure?” Ivan asked, standing up. Taking her hands in his face, he rubbed through her hair. “Wife,” he said like curse word, “if you’ve tried to fuck my brother and it has not worked, please tell me now. I need flawless execution.  If you have fucked him and it worked, then I simply need you to do it again.”

Her eyes stayed focused on him despite her sudden desire to spit.  “Don’t be so stupid. Of course, I have not,” she insisted. Flashes of the night that she had propositioned him in Milan came to her mind, even as she denied it. 

“Good,” Ivan said, stepping away.  “I need you to spend the rest of the day getting pretty. Wash your hair, put on something sexy, groom…”

“I don’t need to know what to do or how to do it,” she said, fighting utter humiliation.

He raised his palms to her in protest. “You can’t look your normal self. It has to be a jolt to his system. He’s used to you looking a mess. I’m afraid that won’t help the plan tonight.”

“I know how to look the part of what Dmitry or any other man wants to screw. Let me handle that. The bigger question is, what about Emma?” she asked as he walked toward the door. “If he is interested in her, then what makes you think that I’ll get anywhere close to him?  For all we know, he’s fucking her right now.”

“Leave Emma to me,” Ivan smirked. “I’m not without my own charms.”

“Where are you going?”

Ivan looked at his watch.  “I’m going to set the tone for the evening. You’ll know when it’s time for your part, so please keep a listen out.”

“What are you talking about?” she called after him.