Page 64 of Dimitri

Sadly, for us I was only home for a week before I went back out for five days. That meant I was headed back to Italy tomorrow morning. I wouldn’t complain. I had wanted to be sent out on assignments. Now that I was, I wouldn’t complain. But things were certainly different now that I had a mate to leave behind and then come home to.

“There’s been a development,” Benjamin said hurriedly from the doorway when he suddenly appeared. “We’re needed in conference room two.” Benjamin took off before the rest of us could stand. We quickly followed, and I realized that Atticus and his team were already headed that way. If they were pulling in all of the teams, what exactly had happened?

“What do you think this development is?” Briggs asked as we walked down the hallway.

I shrugged. “I do not know. Maybe they found something on the laptop that Marcello gave to Benjamin? Or perhaps Damien or Sebastian’s teams found something else while there.” I looked at Briggs and wondered what went through his mind at times. I was just as in the dark about this as he was. Did the wolf shifter not think things through completely before voicing them out loud?

We entered the conference room and found it, well, in chaos. It was difficult to understand what was happening, so I grabbed Briggs and pulled him against a wall next to Benjamin. “You said there was a development. This seems much more than something as simple as adevelopment.” Raiden joined us, crossing his arms in front of him, glaring at the mess that was the created ones arguing.

“What is happening here?” Raiden finally asked.

We all looked to Benjamin who had brought us here, so perhaps he knew.

“Don’t look at me. I’m just as unknowing as you all are. My father told me to gather the team and meet here.” Benjamin gestured to the room. “Here we are.”

We refocused on the others and watched as Master Edison argued with Master Ambrosius, who was being held by Chief Daegal. Dedushka walked in and with a loud clearing of his throat, the room fell into silence.

“I understand the urgency, but this is not the time.” Dedushka made a show of looking around the room. “Or the place.” Dedushka made direct eye contact with Frederick. “Frederick, you and your team are to go to Amherst immediately and assist Master Arthur in securing the coven.”

That had me looking at Benjamin straightaway. “Is that not Master Edison’s coven?”

“Yes,” Benjamin said as he stepped away from the wall. “I’ll go to help,” he said out loud. “I know Amherst and the area well.”

“We appreciate the offer, Benjamin,” Dedushka said. “But we would like for you to remain here. Dante’s team will be traveling with Frederick and joining him there. They will return with Dante once everything has been dealt with.”

Benjamin looked as if wanted to say more, but I grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back to the wall. Dedushka shared a look with me before he turned to the rest of the room.

“I’m sure you are all wondering what is going on. Two things. The first, and most important one is that Riccardo Gallo has been captured.” There were several that started talking around the room, but Dedushka quickly got it under control. “It was the collaboration of Damien and Sebastian’s teams along with a few of Vincent’s enforcers that he was able to be apprehended. We are still searching for Marco, but the hope is that with his cousin in custody he will lead us to him.”

“If he’s in custody, why is there an issue with the Amherst coven?” Frederick asked. “Not that I mind going to Amherst. I’m simply curious as to why.”

“We were certainly going to inform you of any information we have regarding that situation before we sent you,” Dedushka said. “The laptop that was retrieved from Italy has been broken and Salvatore’s team as a list of names of companies and organizations that are working with Rocco. Two of those names, Dominic De Luca and Tullio Gambino, were sent to Amherst until things calmed down. Arthur has said they have been nothing but model guests thus far, but he is being understandably cautious with this new information. We do not wish to tip them off that we are aware of this new information. That is where you come in.”

“Understood,” Frederick said. “I’ll prepare to leave as soon as needed,” Frederick said before turning to his team that wasstanding near him. They started talking quietly, and I had to wonder if this was going to end the assignment in Italy or if this would only amplify it. We had caught one of the Gallo cousins, but where was the other? Would he be a serious threat to us?

“What are the rest of us going to do?” Benjamin asked. “Are we going back to Italy still?”

“The assignment continues. We still need to locate Marco, and now there is new information that must be found to either be factual or not. The Vittone coven is still willing to work with the council. They want Marco found just as much as we do, possibly more.”

I nodded, noticing others did as well. It looked as if I would be going back to Italy. I didn’t mind. Well, not overly. It was important that we took care of the issue before it became a larger problem. If having his cousin in captivity meant that Marco would become even more ruthless, we needed to ensure we found him before he could harm anyone else.

But my dragon grumbled at the thought of leaving our pregnant mate behind. It helped that Dedushka and Yéye were here. My parents were going to be in and out between now and when the baby was born. They had some things to take care of back home, which was completely understandable. Caspian’s parents were here and would remain here, which also helped reassure my dragon.

I tuned out what else was being said to Frederick. Once his team left the room, Benjamin touched me on the shoulder, getting my attention.

“Ja?”

“We need to go back to the office.”

I nodded, realizing that I had obviously been more distracted than expected. “Dimitri,” Dedushka said. I looked at Benjamin who nodded and then left the conference room. I closed thedistance between me and Dedushka and waited. He finished talking to Master Edison.

“How is Caspian?” He asked, throwing me a bit off.

“Well. Why do you ask?”

Dedushka nodded. “You are all right to go back to Italy?”

“Ja. He has a support system here. My dragon…” I thought about it a moment, looking for the right words. “He is understanding when it comes to assignments. He would prefer to be with our mate, but he does not give me fits while apart.” I raised an eyebrow at him. “Is there something that I should be worried about?”

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