Page 11 of Ensnared
Dimitri walked over to where they were. "Tell me some good news."
Out of the corner of his eye, Ricky flinched as he walked by, hunching further over his keyboard.
Andrey swiveled around in his chair and looked at Ricky with a pitying smile and up to Dimitri. "The kid still claims he can't remember any of the bank information for the Armenians, but he has been working on getting a new date to get back into the exchange point."
Dimitri didn't say anything. He looked from Andrey, to Ricky, and then to Dominic who stood like a silent sentinel off to the side. With only a raise of his brow, Dimitri sent his lieutenant the silent command.
Without any warning, Dominic's hand shot out and grabbed Ricky by the back of the neck. Ignoring his yell of surprise, Dominic lifted him until he was standing up and facing Dimitri.
Dimitri lifted his phone, showing him the image on the screen, and watched.
It was amazing what love could do to someone. It could make you feel whole and protected from the world, like a blanket wrapped around your shoulders on a cold night, or it could be your Achilles heel.
At first, it seemed the kid was confused by what he was looking at but the image soon settled into his mind and Dimitri watched with a satisfied smile as horror dawned over the young man's face and the blood drained away. Dimitri pulled back the phone and looked at the image again himself. It was one of him and Eve. He had taken it while she was looking at her phone and biting her nail while he was smiling knowingly into the camera.
Dimitri thought of her pained expression and his own smile faltered. He had caught her twice now working up the courage to text her ex and each time he stopped it with his own text. He had plans for Eve Thomas. Meticulous plans. And her ex was not a part of them. Dimitri shoved his phone back into his pocket and looked at Ricky.
"I'll get you your money, I swear." Ricky's eyes were darting from one man to the other as if trying to see where the next attack would come from as he pleaded his case. "I just need a little more time. There is another update happening to the exchange point's system in a few days and if you-"
Dimitri shook his head and leveled him with a look. "I want you to think about it. Really sit and think about what I'm capable of. And what I'm capable of doing to her. She already seems a little broken from her breakup," he said, thinking of Eve's sad profile in the photo. She reminded him of a little bird with a broken wing still doing its best to build its nest. A useless endeavor. The girl had too much student loan debt, no one was responding to her daily job application submissions, and she was flat broke. All of her attempts at a better life were useless. Dimitri stepped closer to her brother, leaned in and whispered. "Now picture me in the equation. I'll leave her in pieces."
A flash of unhinged rage was Dimitri's only warning. Ricky lunged for him, pulling out of Dominic's grip, his fist going for Dimitri's face.
Dimitri ducked it with a laugh. Dodging the wild punch, he sent his own fist slamming into the kid's solar plexus. Ricky let out a sharp gasp as Dimitri's other fist connected with his jaw, sending Ricky tumbling backward into his computer. The chain attached to Ricky's ankle jingled beneath him.
Grabbing him by the shirt, Dimitri lifted him and looked directly at him, his gaze burning into his. "Get me my fucking money or I'll dump your fucking grandparents in the middle of the desert," he sneered. "And while they're roasting under the sun, I'll be putting your sister's smart little mouth to work on my dick. Do you understand me?"
Blood trickled from Ricky's lip. In his eyes, a mixture of hatred and hopelessness glared back at Dimitri. Reluctantly the kid nodded, surrendering to the inevitable.
Chapter 7
"Andthisisouraquatic center that offers daily water aerobics and supervised free swim time," the tour guide explained.
Eve just stopped and stared. Through the double glass doors was a palatial room and pool. Sixteen-foot ceilings led up to a beautiful glass dome that poured soft diffused sunlight onto the massive pool. And the pool. Where did she start? Olympic size just didn't quite cover it. The pool was so big it had quadrants. One section had permanently submersed bikes that a few ladies were using even now, while the other section of it was roped off in the traditional swimming lanes. This pool was better than her old college's pool!
"Come on Eve," her grandmother called from up ahead near the end of the hallway. Both her grandparents and the tour guide were politely waiting for her as she gawked at the pool.
"Coming," she called, hurrying down the hall.
They had arrived fifteen minutes ago for the tour of the place her grandparents refused to stop talking about. At first, The Reserve was just something they had mentioned in passing in a "must be nice" kind of way. But for the past week, The Reserve, a luxury assisted living facility, was becoming much more than a dreamy topic and more of an obsession. Stupid internet cookies and those damn invasive ads, Eve mentally cursed. That was to blame. Every time her grandparents opened an app on their phone or browsed on their computer there was another ad for this damn place driving the nail of want further and further in.
Not to mention the final nail being that damn flyer. This morning, Eve came to the breakfast table and was greeted by herlolo, her grandfather, waving the slick laminated flyer offering a free tour of the place in her face. Eve hardly had time to read the thing before they were rushing her back to her room to get dressed so they could all go.
"And now for the best part," the tour guide paused and smiled, an older woman with a sleek French Twist to her strawberry blonde hair and a fitted navy-blue skirt and matching blazer. Holding her hand out like a presenter on Wheel of Fortune, she gestured to the glass double doors across the main hall. "The living accommodations."
Eve groaned as they walked outside to see rows and rows of townhouses all connected to the main facility via a wide-covered sidewalk.
Oblivious to Eve's reluctance, the guide walked ahead next to her grandparents. "Each unit comes with a garage, a small private patio area, and a state-of-the-art kitchen."
As the guide droned on and on with her grandparents practically salivating over every word like precious gems falling from the sky, Eve couldn't help but think of reality. They could not afford this place. Even if they sold their house, it would probably only cover a year's rent at max.
"So how did you like it, Mrs. Barrameda?" The guide asked her grandmother as they all eventually came back inside the main building.
Eve had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. It was more than evident how herlolafelt about the place. She practically had stars in her eyes, she was so dazzled. And her grandfather was no better. He was tapping so hard on his phone screen trying to work his calculator that Eve feared he would break it.
Her grandmother sighed longingly. "It was beautiful! Absolutely beautiful. Everything was so nice and modern. I could really see us living here."
"That's wonderful to hear. Why don't we go inside and talk numbers to see when you both can move in."
