Dmitri

Chapter 4

The air in the car was loaded, the silence abrasive and uncomfortable as we pulled away from the church.

I was in the back of the large black SUV with Dmitri next to me, two of his men that I didn't remember their names up front and nobody was saying anything.

I was keeping quiet because it was the day of my parents funeral and one of the worst days in my life, also meeting Ariana again and learning what she'd overheard about the Villanueva cartel possibly being involved, all of this and I had more than enough to think about.

When Ana had told me about the possible involvement of the Villanuevas, my first thought hadn't been that my father had somehow gotten mixed up in something with the infamous drugcartel, but that this was for whatever reason, about me. Years ago, so long ago I couldn't even remember how old I was at the time, I had known Carlo Villanuevas youngest son, Romero. We were approximately the same age, and given our fathers positions in the same world, our paths had crossed on more than one occasion. 

I couldn't remember how old I was, but I could remember I was young, hopeful and naive and I'd fallen in love with the wrong boy. He had been handsome, charming, sweet and he made me feel like I was special. At the time, that had meant everything to me, not to mention, he was raised in the same world as I was and he understood me in a way that no other boy in my school or outside the life, ever could. It lasted only for a short time, and in reality the whole relationship had been doomed even before it began, so logically I knew it was an insane thought to think that my parents murder might be about what happened way back when. Still... I had this nagging feeling in the back of my mind that just wouldn't let go. 

"Elena," I came out of my thoughts and turned my head to find Dmitri watching me with those intense, searching eyes. It had been obvious at the funeral that he was not a pleased to discover I had a previous friendship with Luca Valente's fiance, and I knew with the way Ana had explained it, like the situation was creeping closer to becoming a full-scale war, that this friendship put him in a bit of a perdicament, but today when putting my parents in the ground, I had needed that reminder of better times and old friends. 

"Sorry," I murmured and offered him a tired smile, "my mind just drifted away there for a second." He studied me, something working in his eyes that I couldn't decipher, and I didn't even try to, Dmitri was not the kind of man who would ever let his guard down enough for anyone to read him. 

"You've had a trying day," he pointed out, and I turned my head away from him to gaze out my window. 

"I'm just glad it's over, that they can finally have peace." 

Except, said a tiny voice in the back of my mind, they won't have any peace until the person responsible is caught, will they?

I tried to ignore the ugly little whisper, but it was difficult, because in a way it wasn't wrong. My parents bodies may have been laid to rest, but what about their souls? I knew my father, and I knew that even in death, he would not allow himself rest or peace until the people responsible for murdering him and my mother, responsible for taking away the only family I had, was brought to justice in one way or another. 

"Elena, what were you and Ariana talking about today?" 

Tensing up at Dmitris subtly veiled probing, I didn't immediately answer and took a second to consider how much to share. If I told him what Ana told me, he might tell Luca and get Ana in trouble, but at the same time I also wanted to know if she'd heard was true, if the Villanuevas truly was involved in my parents murders. Eventually I came to a decision and shrugged as I once more turned to face the man who had positioned himself as my protector in this surreal reality that was my new life.