by Iverson, Ivy
Dimitri was already sitting at the kitchen table, eating a bowl of cold cereal. He smiled a thinlipped smile at her when she came down. “Good morning, Carmine. Did you sleep well?”
Carmine’s brow furrowed. He usually wasn’t so formal with her. Maybe it was because she was leaving. “Good morning,” she replied. “I did. I hope you did too.”
“It could have been better.”
There was a black duffel bag of cash on her chair. It was identical to the one she received yesterday from him. She placed it on the floor next to her and sat down. Suddenly she wasn’t hungry for breakfast.
“You have plenty of time to eat,” Dimitri said. “I’m afraid the car won’t be available for another hour.”
“I’m not hungry,” she said. “And I already fed James. Upstairs.”
“Of course you did,” he said, his expression darkening.
What is with him? Carmine looked down at the table, wishing she could figure out what, exactly, he was getting at. She always fed James upstairs. She had to because he needed to take his medication with his breakfast.
The silence was suddenly broken by James coughing and Carmine quickly went to pat his back. Dimitri’s expression darkened even more. “Some saliva went down the wrong tube, huh?” he asked, trying to keep the anger out of his voice..
Oh shit. He knows.
Carmine took a deep breath. “Dim-”
“Oh, I don’t have that much to say to you,” Dimitri said coldly, any pretext of civility gone. “If I seem to be tired it is probably because I spent the better part of last night reading about congenital heart failure. It is the leading cause of infant deaths in America but you already knew that, didn’t you?”
Carmine sighed. “I was going to tell you”
“When, after my son was dead?”
Carmine stood up so fast her chair almost fell back. “He is not going to die! As long as you don’t try and fuck it up, he’ll be just fine.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Dimitri demanded. “Why the hell would I fuck up any chance of him living? Unless just being his father would, because god forbid, I have any contact with my son.”
“It would mess it up!” she said. “The treatment is experimental but the doctor says it’s his only hope. The program is highly selective. They think I don’t know who the father is, and they know I’m a single mom. If they had any idea of this… of who you are, he would be kicked out of the treatment. Dimitri, he’ll die without it.”
Dimitri stared at her for a long time without speaking. “What do you mean?” he asked.“Why does what I do for a living affect how James gets treatment?”
“This is a program run by big companies. It’s all about good press on how they are helping the world become a better place. If they knew that one of their patients was the son of a mafia boss…”
“Then it would get out that they are saving the next mafia leader, and not another poor, unfortunate soul, is that it?” Dimitri swallowed as he slowly started to understand.
“That’s why I needed the money. It isn’t covered by insurance and the treatments are expensive.”
“I know,” he said. “You always were good at living within your means. I figured it had to be something drastic to get you to need so much money.”
“I wouldn’t have come if there was any other way.”
“You’ve said that,” he said tersely. “Many times.” Dimitri sighed and closed his eyes. “Carmine, please let me help you. I know I can help you. If you don’t want me to be James’ father until after the treatment is complete, fine, but don’t walk away and never let me see you or my son, again. Please. I’m begging you.”
Carmine swallowed. She never thought she would see the day where Dimitri begged for anything. He never wanted to do anything that made him seem weak. But right then, there was nothing but pain in his eyes. It nearly broke her heart.
She couldn’t do it. James was her first priority and she couldn’t have him exposed to a life of crime. “I know you’re sincere,” she said. “I know now, more than ever that you would do just about anything for James, and maybe even for me but I can’t have you around my son. I want to give him his best chance in life and his best chance is away from you.”
Nothing could hurt Dimitri more than when Carmine told him with complete sincerity and sorrow that he would be a bad influence on their son. It had practically ripped him to the core like nothing he had ever known before.
He left the kitchen knowing that he needed to calm down and pull himself together, and quickly, too. He went to his room and shut the door, breathing hard. He rubbed his head as he paced the floor.
She was right, of course. He would be a bad influence on James. There was nothing natural about growing up into a life of crime and he wouldn’t subject it to anyone, much less his own son. Some of the things he had done for his father would haunt him for as long as he lived, and he would do anything he could to spare James of that. But that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. He punched the wall in frustration smiling at the indentation he left. Staring at his red knuckles, he was about to hit the wall again when there was a soft knock on the door.
“Dimitri, it’s me,” Kaleb said. “Can I come in?”
“I would rather you didn’t.”
Kaleb opened the door anyway. “And I would rather you not be alone.” He laid a hand on his boss’s shoulder and opened his mouth to say something before finding himself at a complete loss for words.
“I cannot believe I got so attached, again. That was stupid and weak of me.”
“It’s unavoidable, Boss,” Kaleb said quietly. “You know that.”
“I could have avoided it. I never should have let her stay here. Hell, I never should have gone to her office all those years ago, and I sure as hell shouldn’t have given in to my impulses. All of this could have been avoided if I had kept my dick in my pants.”
“If it didn’t happen with Carmine, it would have happened with somebody else.”
“I should have learned my lesson the first time. What am I supposed to do?”
Kaleb was quiet for a long time. “I don’t know but I do know that she’ll never accept you in his life so long as you remain in the businesses that you are.”
“I know that but I can’t just stop. It’s all I know.”
Chapter Eleven
Carmine folded her clothes and put them in her suitcase. James was already packed with the exception of a small toy car, which he was playing with as he rolled it around on the floor. She hadn’t seen Dimitri since that morning, something she was very happy for.
Even without him physically in the room, she could see his pained expression as if it was seared on the back of her eyelids. The facade he had always had in place was completely gone and he had looked at her with unbearable pain and anger.
Yet, she had to do it. There was no way she was going to allow their son to be around a father who could easily be shot or worse by a competitor. He didn’t need to spend his childhood wondering if daddy was coming home or if he was going to miss another birthday because he was in the hospital or worse, not like she did.
Dimitri strode into their room, as James looked up at him wide-eyed before breaking into a huge grin. Carmine couldn’t look at him. It would be too painful knowing that she was tearing him apart, again.
“The car is here to pick you up,” he said, his voice flat. “I hope you have a safe trip back to DC.”
“We will,” Carmine said. “I hope…” she steeled herself to see his pained expression and turned only to find his cool facade back in place. “I hope you can find happiness, Dimitri,” she said. “You deserve it.”
“Do not lie to me,” he said. “You do not think I deserve anything. If you did you would not be doing this.”
“Just because I don’t want you corrupting James doesn’t mean you don’t deserve happiness,” Carmine shot back. “Everybody does on some level.”
“I would never corrupt James. Do you really th
ink me so heartless that I would subject my own son to the same childhood I had? You are the one who left me and now you are taking my son away. Remember that when they are giving out awards for cold-hearted bitch.”
“Watch your language around him,” Carmine said sharply. “Just because your father beat you as a kid doesn’t mean you can be a jerk to everybody.”
Dimitri laughed derisively. “You really think it was the beatings that were bad, Carmine?” he ground out, rubbing the back of his neck. “Believe me, it wasn’t. It was what came after that was bad, after I gained his respect and my brothers got out. When I became his right-hand man. Tell me, Carmine, how can I not be a jerk when I had to toss children out on the street because their parents could not pay their debts to my father? How can I not be a jerk when I had to explain to sixyear-old boys that their mothers and sisters would never be back because my father took them to fill his whorehouses? My compassion was stamped out a long time ago. Any of it I still had, you destroyed the day you left me.”
“Bullshit!” Carmine shouted, completely forgetting the fact that her son was listening. “You know as well as I do that you’re better than this. I haven’t destroyed crap.” She grabbed his hand and felt a twinge of triumph when she saw his facade slip for a split second. “Come on, Dimitri don’t close yourself off like this. I can help you. James can have a father, too. But you can’t keep hurting people for your own gain.”
Dimitri jerked his hand back, shaking his head. “I can’t stop,” he said. “It’s…it’s all I’ve ever known.”
Carmine sighed and picked up her suitcase, motioning for James to grab her hand. “Then I can’t help you.”
***
Carmine could barely keep from crying as she and James got into Dimitri’s private car to go to the airport. James was still playing quietly with his toy car, running it over the black leather seats. I should have known better. What was I supposed to expect from him?
He wasn’t about to give up his livelihood for her. Why would he when he detested just about every legal way of making money? As for James… well, he had been clear on many different occasions about what he thought about personal connections.
James started coughing and Carmine patted him on the back. She checked the time and knew it was about time for another dose of medication meant to ease the cough. She opened up her bag and rifled through it for the medication, but she couldn’t find it.
Panic seized her as she checked the side pockets but it wasn’t anywhere. Shit she must have left it at Dimitri’s. She tapped on the window separating her from the driver. “Excuse me,” she said. “Could you please go back? I forgot something at Dimitri’s.”
The driver nodded and turned around in the nearest driveway. By the time they were back at Dimitri’s house, James was coughing really badly. Carmine grabbed his hand. “Come on, sweetie,” she said. “I’ll give you something to ease that as soon as we get inside, okay?”
James nodded, not able to talk because of the hacking. They went inside and Carmine picked him up, running upstairs as fast as she could. The bottle was on the nightstand. She grabbed it and tried to open it with trembling hands. She jumped when she heard something smash and a strange man strode in from the hallway and sneered at her with a cold smile.
Chapter Twelve
Kaleb and Dimitri left for Moana’s, Dimitri’s brothel in Webster Plantation in northern Maine, hours away from the house where he had left Carmine. But it was still not far enough.
Moana’s was self-sufficient, drawing many local and Canadian customers who needed a nice out of the way place for some adult entertainment. Dimitri did not need to give it much attention, unlike some of his other brothels, but it was a good place for a distraction and that was what he needed right now. Just not in the same way most people who came here needed it.
Kaleb stayed by his side as he went in. Moana’s was a dingy, old house that was furnished elegantly on the inside with a modern, high-class feel. The manager, Clarisse, greeted him with a smile that was not all the way genuine. “Hello, Dimitri didn’t think you would show up here so soon.”
“I always like dropping in unannounced,” he replied, soaking in the surroundings. “You know that.”
“Of course, boss,” she said, flashing a grin as a client came through the door. “You want to see the girls or the finances first?”
Dimitri glanced at the man and moved to the side. “I’ll see the girls first.”
All of the available prostitutes hung out in the living room, wearing little to nothing while on display. Most of them wore outfits that suggested different scenarios that could happen if they were chosen. All of them straightened up when he came in. “Hello, Dimitri,” a woman named Shauna said, rising. Her hair was in a simple upsweep that almost made her look innocent despite the makeup she wore and her geisha gown, which was open in a provocative manner. “It looks as if you can use something to help you relax.” She reached up to massage his shoulders. “You know I’m the best one here for that, don’t you?”
“Of course, Shauna,” he said, closing his eyes and imagining it was Carmine’s hands on his shoulders and not hers. “But I’m not here for that. I am just here to make sure everything is running smoothly.”
Poppy, a petite twenty-year old in a schoolgirl’s outfit, wrapped her arms around his waist. “Oh, you know things always run smoothly around here,” she replied with a girlish voice. “You work too hard, Dimitri. Are you sure you don’t just want to relax?” Her pigtails brushed against his collarbone as she kissed his neck.
Only a few weeks earlier, their actions would have turned him on, but now all he could think about was Carmine. He smiled for their benefit as he disentangled himself from their arms. He knew it was really just a show to let him know that they were still at the top of their game.
If he asked, then they would take him up to their rooms in a heartbeat but they felt absolutely no attraction to him, definitely not emotional and probably not even physical. “Ladies, it’s a very tempting offer but I have a very busy day ahead of me. I just want to see how you are doing. Are the clients treating you well? Paying extra for bruises?”
Poppy pretended to pout before going to perch on the couch, her hands folded primly on her lap. “Of course,” she said. “I made you about three grand earlier this week. One of the Johns couldn’t get enough of spanking my ass with a ruler. Couldn’t sit down for a couple of days but it was worth it.”
Dimitri swallowed and nodded. He saw Kaleb’s disgusted expression out of the corner of his eye before his bodyguard’s facade of indifference slipped back on. He talked with a couple of the other girls, making a point to make sure they hadn’t been forced into doing something they were uncomfortable with, wishing it would ease the feeling of guilt clenching his stomach.
Visiting Moana’s and seeing its smooth run operation usually made him happy and satisfied but all he could think about as he questioned the girls in their cheap, skimpy outfits and watched them being taken away to their rooms by clients was what Carmine would think if she saw this and how disgusted she would be.
After checking the financials and confirming that it was profitable and consistent with the girl’s reports, Dimitri left, and not a second too soon in his opinion. As soon as they were out of that place, he felt like he could breathe again.
“I thought we were going here to cheer up your spirits,” Kaleb said. “It seems to have made them worse.”
“I was mistaken,” he said. “Visiting a sex house was not the thing to take my mind off Carmine. Let’s go to one of the drug houses. Maybe if I’m not bombarded with scantily clad women I’ll stop thinking about her.”
“It wasn’t the girls and you know it, Boss. It was the unethical part that you hate. Why can’t you accept the fact that you don’t enjoy it anymore?”
“What do you propose I do, huh? I have come to enjoy money too much to give it up now.”
“There’s more to life than money. I’ll follow you anywhere, yo
u know that. I’ll even work for you for free. But you can do so much better than this.”
Before Dimitri could respond, his phone rang. He checked the caller ID and frowned when he saw Carmine’s name. She had made it clear that she never wanted to speak with him again. He held the phone to his ear. “Dimitri.”
“DDimitri?” Carmine asked, her trembling voice barely audible over the phone’s speakers. “I need your help. I don’t know what to do. I forgot James’s medicine and had to go back, but these guys broke into your house and one of them saw me. He went to shoot James, and” her voice broke. “Oh god…”
“Calm down. Tell me what happened.”
“I lunged at him and tripped him up just enough for him to miss James, but he shot the medicine bottle before I could give him some and he can’t stop coughing. I called 911 but I don’t know what to do, they can’t be here for another twenty minutes.”
“Are you okay? Where is this man?” Fear clenched his stomach so tightly that Dimitri felt nauseated. “Did he get away?”
“Yes,” she said. “I knocked the gun out of his hands and then his partner shouted at him from somewhere else in the house and he ran. I don’t know if he’ll be back or if James will be okay, or” her words dissolved into short breaths and Dimitri knew she was having a panic attack.
“Carmine, it’s going to be okay. Keep calm and keep James calm. I’m going to stay on the phone for as long as you want, keep talking to me.” He turned to Kaleb. “Carmine was attacked and James doesn’t have his medicine. Call Rae and tell her to get to my house and call Courtney and tell her to go to Eastern Maine Medical.” Rae was close enough possibly to get there before the paramedics and Courtney could meet them at the hospital. That way Carmine would at least not be alone.
Kaleb nodded, his face grim. He pulled out his phone and Dimitri focused his attention back on Carmine. “Carmine,” he said, getting into the shotgun side of his car. “You need to keep talking to me, sweetheart. Please. Tell me what James is doing.”
