with a black hood over his head, concealing most of his face.
“What in God’s name are you doing here?” I hissed, feeling frantic. “Why aren’t you with my father? Protecting him?”
The hard angles of Dimitri’s face softened. “Because he asked me to protect you. Don’t worry, he has plenty of protection. But you don’t.”
My head reared back. “He asked you to guard me? Why would he do that? He ensured me I had nothing to fear from Nico Rossetti. He promised me the man would keep me out of harm’s way.”
Dimitri’s eye twitched. “He didn’t offer an explanation. Perhaps he’s second guessing his decision to marry you off due to the friction between the Rossettis and the New York Firm. Maybe he wants to ensure you don’t get caught in the middle of their war. Which I could have told him was a possibility if he’d only listened to me in the first place.”
He knew about all that? Why hadn’t anyone felt it prudent to tell me before I was dragged out of Russia?
I rubbed my temples. “Batya would never risk my safety.”
Dimitri shrugged. “All I know is Sergei gave me an order, so here I am.”
I peeked around the corner to make sure no Rossetti had come looking for me. If anyone saw me talking to Dimitri like this, it wouldn’t send a good message. They’d get the wrong idea. “And what exactly are your orders?”
“To keep an eye on you and make sure no harm comes to you. Call it extra security, especially with the trial of Raphael Esposito coming up.”
He certainly knew more about the situation than he’d ever let on in Moscow. Was there more going on between Batya and Nico behind my back?
“I’d honestly feel better if you were by my father’s side,” I told Dimitri reassuringly. “I know you don’t feel that you can trust Nico, but I don’t think he’ll let anything happen to me.”
Dimitri’s eyes bulged. “Are you serious? Alexia, you can’t trust him. None of the Rossettis. Anyone who has affiliations with the Firm cannot be trusted. You know this. You’ve grown up your entire life being told this.”
Yes, yes. The russkaya mafiya was not friendly with the Italian-American mafia. I’d heard it over and over from Batya for years. He refused to ever do business with the syndicate. Which made his dealings with Nico a bit puzzling. If he’d known of the Rossettis’ connection with the Firm, contentious as it was, why had he still thrown me at Nico?
“They are enemies with the families, Dimitri,” I argued adamantly. “Not allies. They are the ones responsible for putting Raphael in jail in the first place. Why would they want to hurt me?”
The ragged scar on his cheek turned whiter as his mouth tightened. “That’s just the image they project. Did you know one of the sons is dating the daughter of a former boss in the Firm? They’re more involved in the business than they want the public—or the police—to know. Do you honestly think they’ve acquired all that wealth strictly through legal means? You grew up in this life, Alexia. You know better than that.”
Doubt scratched at the back of my mind.
But the girls had never once let on that they were involved in any kind of organized crime. I’d seen no evidence of it. And lunch today with all of them had just felt too…normal. It didn’t seem possible.
“At the end of the day, Dimitri, you have to ask yourself if you trust my father. Even if you doubt some of his decisions, do you trust him?”
His eyes cleared, as if he couldn’t have been more bewildered by the question. “Of course, you know I do. I’d give my life for him. And for you.”
I laid my hand on his arm comfortingly. “Then you must step back. Stay in the city if that is my father’s orders. I understand you cannot disobey him. But Nico cannot know you are here in Brooklyn. He would think you and Batya have malicious agendas. That you’re working against him. Worse, that I’m working with you against him.”
Dimitri canted his head to the side. “Do you care about your own safety, kotonoyok? Or about your husband’s feelings if he were to see us meeting?”
I breathed through my nose as I decided how to answer that. I wasn’t sure I even knew the answer myself. “Right now, I only care about my father’s safety. That is all that is important to me.”