Dmitry's Closet

by Nelson, Latrivia S.

  Dmitry listened attentively with his hands crossed be-hind his head. Rocking the seat, he weighed his options.

  “Get the ammunition, but don’t do anything yet. He’s my brother and a Vor. We must deal with him on our own.”

  Cory nodded. “Okay. Well, I have to give them some-thing. This is an investigation.”

  “Give them the fact that you’ve seen the surveillance room, but it was only a glimpse when the door was open. Give them information regarding the ten whorehouses after I get the deeds out of my name, and I’ll work on deciding the rest in the next couple of weeks.”

  “Yeah, about that. I’m taking a week to go home and be with my wife and kids. Christmas is coming up, and I don’t want to miss it with them.”

  “Of course.” Dmitry understood. “I plan to take Royal away forChristmas anyway. Renée can watch the place. How is your mother’s cancer doing?”

  “Thanks to you, she’s in remission. We could have never afforded the treatments otherwise.”

  “Then our little arrangement is worth it, dah?”

  “Oh yeah. It’s worth it,” Cory sighed. “Let’s just hope that it continues to run smoothly.”

  “It will,” Dmitry said,turning towards the monitors. “Head back up. We have customers coming in. I’ll stay down here and look around a while.” He peered at the busy noon traffic at Mother Russiaand his staff eagerly working. “I’m going to watch them work for a while to ensure that they are actually living up to my standard of customer service.”

  “Alright,” Cory said, leaving Dmitry to his surveillance.

  To Cory, Dmitry was a very odd man but in a lot of ways very merciful. Cory had blown his cover the night that Royal had her opening celebration. He had no idea that the building had a basement, because it was not on any of the plans that he and the team had gone over.

  That night, seeing that only Royal’s car was there and Dmitry was still at the restaurant, and knowing that Royal always closed her door upstairs and never came down until morning, Cory snuck in after hours to comb the boutique’s back office for clues.

  Anatoly quickly emerged from the basement, gun in hand and held him at gun point until Dmitry arrived. Cory was expecting Dmitry to kill him, but they took him downstairs to the basement and talked to him – asked him what it would take to flip. Cory had just found out his mother was in the third stage of cancer, and as an only child, he could not afford he bills.

  Dmitry agreed to pay the doctor bills in full through a doctor that he knew who would classify the project as a charitable case. And just like that both of his problems went away. He would live another day and so would his mother. Now that his beloved mother was in remission, Cory felt that he owed Dmitry everything, including the useful Intel that he gave and the protection that he offered through that intelligence.

  ∞♥∞

  After Dmitry left Mother Russialater that afternoon, he headed back to his house to check on Royal. He was quite surprised to see that she had listened and stayed at home. He had expected to pull into the garage and find her truck gone, but it was still there, which indicated that she was still sick. Carrying a small red bag, he walked up the long spiral staircase of the main hall to the west wing of his home, where he found Royal in bed watching television.

  “Hey,” she said, turning off the television with her re-mote.

  “Hi.” Dmitry closed the door behind him and walked up to her side of the bed. “Has your fever gone, yet?” He placed his hand on her head.

  “Yep,” she said, moving his hand. “Did you stop to check on my shop today, since you wouldn’t let me leave the house?”

  “Everything is fine.” He sat on the bed beside her. “I have surprise for you.” Handing her the small red bag, he leaned in to kiss her lips.

  “What is it?” Royal asked, taking the bag.

  A large smiled came across her face as she pulled a small Christmas tree ornament out of the bag.

  “Oh, it’s so sweet. A figurine of the Red Square.” She held it up to the light to look at the intricately detailed work. “Does this mean that you’re going to let me put up the Christmas tree now. You know, I’ve been dying to do it?” She grabbed a napkin and blew her nose.

  “Even better than that.” He smiled. “I’m going to take you to Moscow for Christmas and New Years.”

  Royal looked up at himstunned. “Excuse me?”

  “Well, you’ve always said that you wanted to go.” Dmitry was confused. Did she not want to?

  Royal was quiet for a moment. She moved the comfor-ter from her legs and stood up. “Does this mean that I’ll actually see it all? The Red Square? Kremlin? Lenin's Mausoleum and St Basil's Cathedral?” She finally smiled brightly and jumped on top of Dmitry. He caught her in his embrace and kissed her.

  “I was hoping that you would be happy.”

  “I’m thrilled. I’ve never been anywhere outside of the South. Now, I get to see a new country…I just can’t imagine.”

  “You know why I like doing things for you?” he asked, moving the hair out of her face.

  “Why?”

  “Because you are the only woman in my life who truly appreciates and deserves it.”

  “No, that’s not why you do it,” she said, in a matter of fact tone.

  “Really? Then why?”

  “Because you love me,” she said,kissing his lips and hugging him tight. “And I love you too.”

  He looked her in her eyes and shook his head. “Dah, that’s why I do it for you. I love you.”

  “Does this mean that you’re going to make love to me?” she asked with her legs wrapped around his back.

  “No,” Dmitry laughed. “You’re still sick.” He tried to pull her off of him. “I don’t want you to get any sicker.”

  “I’m not that sick.” She kissed his checks and coughed.

  “Ugh! You are, too.” He laughed.

  “Baby, I can’t believe that we’re going to Moscow!” She screamed as she wrestled him down to the bed.

  Chapter 17

  Royal had never been out of the country. She had never been above the ocean, the clouds, so near to the heavens. And above all, she had never been in a luxury private jet. There was a certain amount of prestige that came with such a thing. It was far richer that she could ever describe.

  Earlier that morning after a hardy breakfast and a hectic packing session with the maid and Renée to help, she had been escorted in a limo from her house to the private airstrip, where she and her entourage of Russian men, Dmitry and Anatoly included, boarded a swank, LearJet 60 and set out on a trip to a land that she had never seen.

  Dmitry and Royal sat in the interior forward leather off-white chairs beside each other looking out of windows and listening to television that played in front of them on the flat screen.

  Dmitry was thinking of the tasks that lay ahead upon his landing, and Royal was literally in awe of the beauty of the clouds and the blue sky. The stewardess bent down to Royal and offered her a glass of champagne. She took it happily, inwardly thinking that champagne was a great way to celebrate her new lifestyle. However, when offered, her companion quickly waved the woman away.

  Royal looked over at Dmitry, who was completely apa-thetic of the entire trip. He had traveled the world over and found it the same, whereverhe went. It baffled her how a man of such wealth and affluence found her so interesting.

  “What are you sighing about?” he asked, taking his eyes of the window. He looked over at her and tilted his head.

  “It doesn’t move you anymore, does it?” she asked, setting down her glass.

  “What?” He looked around.

  “Any of this.” She kept her voice low, so that the oth-ers could not hear them. If they overheard her, it would only prove more how unworthy she truly was.

  “It is my life, Royal. You’ll get used to it.” He leaned over the arm rest to her. “Does it bother you? The way that I live?”

  “Hell no,” she retorted, and then smiled a litt
le, revealing her perfect white teeth. “It fascinates me. I wake up everyday and pinch myself.”

  Dmitry liked that. His eyes sparkled. “Then it is all worth it.”

  “Tell me…how you find me…”

  “Yes?”

  “Interesting? When you live like this? I just can’t un-derstand what I bring to the table that blows your skirt up.”

  “Sincerity. Genuine sincerity. It’s a hard thing to come by when you have money. Plus, you’re stunning and smart and hard working and….if you just wanted a compliment, my dear, you should have just said so. This is quite a long way around the bush.” They both laughed.

  Royal reached out and touched Dmitry’s golden bronze face. “You’re such a good man.”

  “I am just a man.”

  “No. You are so much more than that to me,” she said, leaning in to kiss him. Her eyes were bright with conviction. “Do you know that I’ve never had one meaningful relationship with a man in my entire life? No dad, no brother, no decent boyfriend. But you are, in a way, all of those things.”

  Dmitry didn’t smile. He looked her dead in her eyes and listened carefully.

  Royal allowed him to kiss her forehead. It was all that he could do to express his gratification for her honesty.

  “Was that too heavy?” she asked, sitting back. “You know how I am. I just…get caught up in the moment sometimes.”

  Dmitry sighed. “No. We are just very much alike, you and I. For us to have come from such different back-grounds and cultures, we share the same perils.”

  Royal agreed with Dmitry, but she could count on her hands how many similarities that they shared versus the countless things that she could not relate to him about, mostly surrounding money. No one ever prepared her for this in her many fairy tale stories as a girl. The knight in shining armor showed up, just as the story promised, but there were no details of what happened during the ever after. She was completely and utterly clueless. With a shake of her head, she looked back over at Dmitry, whowas studying her.

  “I like it better when you think out loud,” he said, tak-ing her glass and sipping her champagne.

  She watched the crystal touch his delicate pink lips. “I just hope that you’re the real thing, Dmitry. Because I’m definitely in over my head. And you don’t make it any better spoiling me like this.” She moved her hair from her face and rested her elbow on the arm rest.

  Dmitry looked over at her and raised his eyebrow. “Oh, I am the real thing.” He put the crystal flute back on her table and smiled.

  ∞♥∞

  To Royal’s surprise and delight, they stopped in New York City before their long trip across the ocean. She had never been to New York but had always dreamt about the opportunity. Now she was in a limo being rushed around the busy city in style. She sat quietly in the limo looking out the window, gawking at the sights while Dmitry talked to Anatoly in Russian.

  Dmitry mentionedthat the reason for his stop was two-fold. He needed to stop for a quick business meeting and to buy Royal a proper mink coat for the Russian cold. Both errands would be short,because they were blocks from each other in the busy burrow of Manhattan. Instead of sending Royal with Anatoly, Dmitry had taken Royal personally to an upscale shop on Madison Avenue.

  The bodyguards stood outside while Royal and Dmitry went inside of the luxury fur gallery, Royal Chie. The innovative Japanese designer Chie Imai’s collection was breathtaking. It was internationally recognized for its eco-friendly designs, versatility and high-profile clients.

  However, up until now, Royal had only read about the shop. Now, she was in it being shown their finest coats and accessories. She felt like a kid in a candy store. She was allowed to look through the entire new line of furs before making her selection, a chocolate Swakala Coat with Russian Sable Trimming, and matching muffler and earmuffs.

  The sales woman was about to wrap her new gifts, when Dmitry instructed her to dress Royal quickly in the furs immediately so that they could leave for his meeting. With a bow and smile, she was escorted to the fitting area and came back out looking richer than she had ever felt in her life.

  As she came out, he was sitting on a chair texting. She walked in front of him and cleared her voice. He looked up at her pleased. Having already paid for the merchandise while she was putting them on, he was ready to go and on schedule. Under his arm, she followed him back out of the shop and into the limo where they ended up at the Wall Street Bath and Spa a short while later.

  Instead of going inside the bath house with Dmitry, he insisted that Royal stay in the car. She did so obediently. She preferred it, in fact. It gave her the perfect opportunity to call and tell Renée about her newest gift and her trip thus far.

  She wasn’t left alone, however. She was accompanied by a driver and a blonde, brick of a man, who Royal concluded was one of Dmitry’s men. She had never seen him before, but he was a cookie cutter copy of all of Dmitry’s bodyguards – huge, arctic polar bears.

  He sat across from her, trying not to look directly at her, but she caught him staring several times. Sliding her shades over her eyes, she tried to ignore the brut while she talked on her cell phone.

  Thirty-minutes later, Dmitry returned with Anatoly and his men to the car, and they were back on the jet eating lunch before noon.

  ∞♥∞

  Before dawn of the next day, Royal and her party arrived in Moscow, Russia. Dmitry had been right when he said that she would need a bigcoat. It wasthe most bone-chilling winds and rain that she had ever experienced in her life.

  Two very large black G550 Mercedes –Benz trucks were awaiting them outside of customs. Once they received their clearance into the country, they were immediately carted off to the Le Royal Méridien National Hotel.

  To Royal’s amazement, the hotel was directly across from the Kremlin. She stood gazing out the elaborately decorated windows of their presidential suite at the palace in her view. The gold sphere-like tips of the cathedrals caught embers of light that reflected from sun trying to break free from the cloudy day and shined into her room. It was a spectacular sight. She could not take her eyes off the fortress.

  The architecture was amazing, and the massive size of the great bricked wall surrounding it was astonishing. It was so remarkable untilit held her attention beyond her own control. By far, it was the grandest thing that she had ever encountered, but there was something else very special about the wondrous place – perhaps just the thought that Dmitry was born and raised in the country.

  While she basked in the beauty of her view, room attendants quickly put away their things, changed out a few amenities per Royal’srequest and ran a bath for Dmitry. With all the commotion in the room, she never broke her gaze. Dmitry found her new interest intriguing. He spoke to men in Russian, flipped through his blackberry and gave out orders, but mostly he admired how entranced she had become. She was like a child with a shiny new toy.

  Dmitry noticed how Royal seemed to be maturing day-by-day, not that she had been a child when he met her. It was just that he had exposed her to so much so very quickly, until she was forced to elevate herself at a hyper speed. When he first met her, saw her, he knew that she was a diamond in the rough, but even he did not know how beautiful and brightly she would shine once she was groomed.

  Royal did not noticethat everyone had left the room until she felt Dmitry’s hands on her shoulders. She turned around and looked at him.

  “It’s…mind-blowing,” she said, shaking her head. “I’ve never seen anything like it.” She touched the frostedwindow. “That’s the Kremlin? It’s huge…massive.”

  Dmitry massaged her shoulders. “I’ll make sure to take you to the Kremlin laterthis week.”

  “Tomorrow,” Royal demanded. “I’ve got a whole day lined up for myself. I brought gym shoes, jeans, a camera with a butt load of memory and a pea coat.” She smiled at him. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “You’re such a little tourist. Tomorrow, I actually had othe
r plans, but I’ll cancel them, and you and I will spend it touring the entire Red Square and your precious Kremlin. Well,the part that we can get inside. You know the Presi-dent of Russia lives there.”

  “Like the White House? Wow. I can’t wait until to-morrow then.” She reached out and gave him a big hug. “This entire place is like one big dream, Dmitry. I still can’t believe that I’m actually here.” She released him and turned back towards the window.

  Dmitry huffed. “When I was your age, I thought this place was nightmare. I couldn’t leave here soon enough. And look at you…you want permanent visa.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck.

  “That was when you were young. Surely, you miss it now.”

  “No. I just come here to take care of things I can’t take care of anywhere else.”

  “But it’s a part of you?”

  “A very big part of me,” he confirmed.

  “Well, I feel like it’s a part of me, as much as you talk about it.”

  That made Dmitry smile. “You feel that strongly about it, eh?”

  “Yes,” Royal couldn’t control her smile. “It’s so differ-ent from Memphis.”

  Dmitry laughed so hard, his voice rattled the room. Her only point of reference was Memphis, yet to look at her,Royal looked like she had traveled the world for years.

  He turned Royal around and pulled her to him.

  “I will open your little eyes to this big beautiful world soon enough. And you will see that everything is quite different from Memphis. Maybe even, you appreciate it more. Who knows?”

  “I appreciate it…when I’m away from it,” she said, hanging her arms around his neck. “I don’t want to live there forever.”

  “I’m certain that you will not.” Dmitry rubbed his hands through her hair.

  “Oh, change of subject. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. So, I’ve got to go and get your other gifts while we’re out.”

  “Other gifts?”

  “I brought some things with me.” She wiggled her nose. She knew how much he enjoyed her gifts.