Chapter Fifteen
Tuscany, Italy
The hills of Italy reminded Gabriel of the paintings he’d seen in expensive hotel rooms. He tried not to outwardly gawk at God’s beauty as he was escorted from the private airstrip to Dmitry’s wine estate, but it was hard to resist. With the sun slowly setting against the beautiful slopes of preserved land, the green and blue hues dancing right below the yellow-gold haze, he felt amazingly relaxed.
It was quite the contrary to what he had felt when he first got off the jet. He had been summons alone. His men were forbidden to attend, and he had the distinct feeling that this was a set up. Still, he had come. Things had gone much too far now, he was in too deep.
Word had traveled through the grapevine that Anatoly had uncovered an undercover last week. Her fate had been the destruction of her career and her name, still he had seen worse. In fact, he knew that the Medlon would do a great deal worse to him, if they found out who he really was.
But Gabriel had to do this. He had to know from the inside why everything in his life had happened the way that it had. It wasn’t just his father who had hated Dmitry. It had also been his mother, a militant woman whom had been cut out of her family estate because of his uncle Dmitry only a couple of years after he had been born. His entire life was a puzzle. The only way that he could make any sense of it was to finish this.
***
Anatoly pulled into the Medlov wine estate on his bike. He had arrived the day before and decided to do a little sightseeing. In actuality, he had tried to stay as far away from Victoria as possible. When he got Italy the night before, his father had not arrived yet. The wicked side of him told him to go and get one last screw out of her before she was ended, but his father’s voice in the back of his head forbade him from such a thing. Instead, he had ordered Vasily to make sure he had no visitors and stayed on the left-upper wing of the castle.
Now, the men were getting ready to convene. Only this was not a Medlov Organized Crime Family meeting, this was a Medlov family meeting. There was a distinct difference, and in his opinion, these were normally more dangerous.
The butler opened the door for him as he climbed the steps to his father’s place. Taking off his helmet and leather coat, he passed them to the butler dismissively and headed up to his room to shower. He knew that on the right-lower wing, his cousin was getting ready. On the right-upper wing that bitch Victoria was getting ready. And on the left-lower wing, his father was already ready for all of them.
The oak door closed behind him as he stormed into his room. Thoughts of Renee were consuming him. Since his arrival in Italy, the only thing that he could focus on was love. He questioned if he really was in love or if he was in lust. He questioned if she truly loved him or if she was simply enamored. Still, there were many things about Renee that he knew he would never find in any other woman.
Her honesty amazed him. Her cleverness consumed him. Her sexiness ignited him. Yet, he pondered why now? She had been in his life very intimately since his family had relocated. Considering that he was not exactly a holy man, she was his conscience. When he felt that he was truly in mental peril, she was there. When he was starving, she would cook him a hot meal. When he was hurting, she lovingly gave him a massage. When...when...when.
Throwing himself in the middle of the bed, he kicked off his shoes and comfortably rested his head back on the pillow. As he looked up at the ceiling, his mind drifted off to Memphis. He couldn’t believe that she was actually leaving after all of the time that they spent together. What the hell would she do in Atlanta without him? Who would pay her like he would? Who would be there to need her like he did? And if she did find someone to console, to love, how long did she actually expect him to allow the sonofabitch to stay alive?
Then it hit him. He sat up in bed as the epiphany clanged about in his brain. Maybe the thing with Victoria and Destiny had nothing to do with their color. Maybe he was trying to find someone to be Renee. Both women were darker skinned. Both were outspoken. But neither had a thing on the southern belle who clouded his thoughts with fried chicken and long laughs.
“I can’t believe I’m in Italy with a million beautiful women, and I’m thinking about you,” he said aloud of Renee. He growled. Great, now he was talking to himself too.
He got out of bed and made his way to the shower. Stripping out of each layer of clothes, he jumped in the shower. It was a slow countdown before he had to see her again.
***
Dmitry was in a sour mood. He sat in his bed chambers looking over Victoria’s phone records and reading his newspaper under his gold wire-rimmed glasses while classical music played in the background.
He didn’t desire to be here tonight. He should have been at home with his wife. Royal was moving along with the pregnancy, and he had promised that he’d be there every step of the way this time. Yet, here he was, dealing with something that he should have taken care of many moons ago.
The maid knocked on the door and brought in a tray of food. Setting it on the table by his chair, she nodded his way.
“Would you like for me to close the windows?” she asked softly.
Dmitry barely looked up from his paper. “No,” he said, turning the page. “I like the fresh air.”
“The Tuscan winds in the spring can be quite powerful, sir. They tend to blow through and disrupt things.”
Dmitry glanced up at her and uncrossed his long legs. “Thank you for your kind observation. Tell me, Sophia, how many are on staff tonight?”
“Ten of us,” she said, glancing away from his beautiful gaze. He always made her nervous.
Dmitry pulled off his glasses and put them to his lips. “After we have dinner, please let everyone know that they are off until tomorrow after I have left. I’d like to be alone.”
“Of course, Mr. Medlov,” she said, bowing and departing quickly.
When she had gone, he quickly resumed reading the paper and waiting for his son to come and collect him. He knew that everyone had already arrived. Anatoly. Gabriel.is special guest was in the adjoining bedroom, but he would not unveil her until much later.
Smirking a little, he glanced over to the door. He really wished his son would move into his role completely of boss. He was growing tired of having to be one step ahead of everyone. There was another knock at the main door. He put down his glasses and newspaper, and then ordered it open. Revolving, he thought to himself.
“Come in,” he said, reaching to pull his small leather satchel closer to him.
Victoria eased the door open. Wide-eyed, she came in with a faint smile. Dmitry still made her terribly uncomfortable. He was always direct now, with harsh judging looks and calculating eyes.
“Sir, you told me to come to see you before dinner.”
“Yes. Please, close the door,” he said, motioning for her to come and sit across from him.
She sat down, smoothing her pants out as she rested back in the leather chair. Her gaze was locked on his blue prisms.
“I need you to do something,” Dmitry explained, pulling the leather satchel to his lap. “My nephew, Gabriel, will be dining with us tonight. I need you to help me test him.”
“Alright,” she said, sitting up straighter.
Dmitry pulled a gun from his bag. Smiling, he pulled the empty magazine from its bottom. “It’s my trusted Glock,” he said in a low, soothing voice. “It’s empty. See.” He pulled back the chamber, showing nothing was inside.
“Okay,” she said, heaving out a deep breath.
“I want you to smuggle this into dinner for me. And my reason for this is that I want you to know the entire time that it’s empty. When I signal you, I want you to pass me the gun. So, you’ll need to sit beside me.”
“Won’t that be awkward with Anatoly?” she asked.
Dmitry nodded. “I need you to put aside your issues for a minute, and do as I ask. Can you?”
“Of course,” she said, nodding her head.
“Good.” Dmitry’s voice boomed. “Now, I’m going to place the gun on the table and ask him to shoot you. I want to test his obedience to this family. And the reason that I’m giving you the gun is to ensure your safety during this test. You’ll be completely confident that it’s empty if you have it the entire time.”
“And if he doesn’t shoot me?” she asked confused.
“Then he is not obedient,” Dmitry answered. “And I will be very disappointed in him.” He lowered his eyes at her.
She swallowed hard. “Okay. Then what?”
“Nothing. If he does as he is asked, then he will be rewarded later. I just need to know if I can trust this man. Obviously, you know that we are a very close-knit family. And considering what we do, we need to make sure that the people within our circle can be trusted. If not, we must root them out like weeds in a garden.” His glare was icy.
“I understand,” she said, taking the gun. “I’ll do it.” Smiling, she stood up.
“Keep it hidden for me, Victoria. Don’t let anyone know that you have it.”
“I won’t,” she assured.
When she had gone, Dmitry sat back in his chair and looked over at the fireplace. His eyes were fixed on the embers.
“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,” he said aloud.
***
Dinner outside under the Tuscan sun was as close to God as Gabriel had ever been. He sat at the four-party table covered in Italian foods, wind blowing through the clean, fresh air and enjoyed a candle-lit dinner with his family.
Everyone laughed and drank the wine that Dmitry’s estate was currently harvesting while Dmitry told an interesting story from his youth.
Looking around, he caught Anatoly staring at him. His gaze had not changed. It was full of angry malevolence, and he appeared to be continuously grinding his teeth, although his uncle had told him before dinner that there were matters excluding him that had created Anatoly’s angst. “The woman,” Dmitry had whispered in his ear. “The woman is Anatoly’s first brush with love. He’s still bitter from it.”
So Gabriel hoped that this was the case, because to be at the receiving end of the young man’s scowl was to be truly unlucky this evening.
Dmitry, in his normal elegant style, carried a glass of wine in one hand and a conversation on with the other. Relaxed back in his chair with his legs crossed and his wire-rimmed glasses low on his nose, he talked and talked, making merriment with everyone.
“Which brings me to this point,” Dmitry said, setting down his glass. “Young men such as you must learn blind obedience.” He looked around the table, pointing at both Anatoly and Gabriel.
They both looked on wondering what new lesson they would be responsible for learning tonight.
“Blind obedience,” Dmitry said again. This time he lifted a chrome-plated Glock from his side and placed it on the table.
Gabriel’s heart nearly stopped. He looked down at the gun, then back up at his uncle, unsure if his cover had already been blown. If that were the case, then he was truly unfortunate. He didn’t even gethim thnce to further his investigation for the agency or for himself.
Anatoly smirked. His eyes were now focused on the woman across from him. Victoria. The beautiful black woman whom Gabriel had read a great deal about in the many files the agency had on her. She looked back at Anatoly with daggers in her own eyes. There was not one flinch in her demeanor towards the young Czar. It was as if she outwardly challenged him.
Dmitry raised his brow. His smile was uncanny and sent a shiver down Gabriel’s spine. The man was like liquid sin, and in that he reminded him immensely of his dead father.
“What do you know of this?” Dmitry asked Gabriel.
“Excuse me?” Gabriel asked, sitting back as far as he could in his seat.
“What do you know of blind obedience?” Dmitry asked again.
“Obedience is a necessity. It is the thing that allows men to build empires,” Gabriel answered.
“But what of that special brand of obedience. What do you know of that? Better yet,” Dmitry said, putting his index finger to his lips. “When have you given such a thing to another man?”
“I don’t recall ever doing such a thing,” Gabriel answered.
“Not even your father?” Anatoly asked amused.
“No,” Gabriel answered, turning his gaze from his uncle to his cousin.
Dmitry smiled. “Interesting. And would you give it to me? To make it to the next level of your life, would you blindly abide by my will?”
“I understand that my little New York organization is small.”
“Moot,” Anatoly corrected. “Miniscule.”
“Both,” Gabriel said, holding back his growing irritation. He looked at Dmitry. “But if you were willing to take me under your wing and teach me what I needed to know to grow to be a man like yourself, then yes, I would pledge you my blind obedience.”
Dmitry shook his head. His look was grave. “Prove it to me then, nephew.” He pushed the gun over to Gabriel’s plate.
“How?” Gabriel asked, picking up the gun.
“Kill her,” Dmitry said, pointing at Victoria.
Victoria looked over at the gun. Her breaths were even, her eyes still narrowed.
“Why would I kill her?” Gabriel asked, shaking his head. “She has done nothing to me.”
“It is not about what she has don to you. It does not matter if she is the mother of your children. I have asked you one simple thing. To prove your allegiance to this organization, all I have asked is that you shoot her with the gun that I have placed in your hands.”
“But I’m not auditioning to be one of your hit men,” Gabriel countered. “I have men to do this type of thing for me.”
“But what happens when those men aren’t there? What happens when it’s a personal matter? What happens when the point has to be made by you and you alone?”
“Then, I’ll do it,” Gabriel answered in a low voice.
“Now is one of those times,” Dmitry answered. “She knows what she has done. Now, I have asked you to complete my wishes.” He tilted his head. “Is this too much to ask for a man who claims to have murdered five people? Regardless of what people say, it does get easier with each kill. Trust me,” he grunted. “I know.” He touched his chest. “But I question your commitment. In fact, I question every part of you, so until you prove to me that you are worthy, there is nothing more to say.”
Gabriel held the gun in his hand. He tried not to shake, to hold it steady with authority. The woman still had not flinched. That is when it hit him that this must be a test. It was her demeanor that gave them away. Shaking his head, he took a deep breath and pointed the gun at her.
“It’s such a pity. She’s a beautiful woman,” Gabriel said, pulling the trigger.
The gun clicked, indicating that it was out of ammunition. He held his relief. Instead, he pulled the magazine out and checked it.
“I need ammo to kill her,” Gabriel said wickedly. “You took my weapons. So, I don’t have a gun myself.”
“Here use mine,” Anatoly said, reaching behind him.
Dmitry raised his hand. With a smile, he waved off Anatoly. “No, no. He did what I asked him to do. And that is all that mattered to me. I just wanted to see if he would do it. I wanted to see if he would risk the possibility that one was still in the chamber.”
“You told him to kill her, but she still looks alive to me,” Anatoly said, rolling his eyes.
Victoria shot him a deadly look then picked up her plate. “I’ll be inside if you need me.”
“No,” Dmitry said, touching her arm. “You have done well. Thank you. Don’t pay attention to Anatoly. He just has indigestion. It makes him irritable.”
Gabriel sat back in his seat, ready to throw up but hid his shaky disposition.
“I wanted to take you out before it gets too late to see my latest creation. It’s called Lilith – the family’s newest brand of Merlot. There are special grapn the other side of the estate. Victoria has been working very hard on the project. I’m very proud of her.” He looked up at Victoria and smiled.
“Are you sure it’s not too late,” she asked, setting her plate down.
“No, dear. Tonight, you have our undivided attention. The men need to see something other than guns and the like. Let’s take them out to see Lilith,” Dmitry said standing. “Are we all finished here?”
“Da,” Anatoly said standing.
“Sure,” Gabriel said following.