It did his heart good to know the girls were doing well, but he had no idea how deeply Petrov had been involved. “Why did you help?”
“Because it was not only the right thing to do, it was necessary to keep a war from starting.” Petrov looked up from his computer. “There are those who would benefit from such a war between Bratvas. A war would weaken everyone, leaving them vulnerable to the carrion feeders who would move in to take over territory. It almost started when your father kidnapped the Boldin girls, but whoever talked your father into doing that was not counting on you and Alex being honorable men. But, did you ever wonder who whispered into your father’s ear the poisoned words that made him take those children? Or who switched out his pills?”
“Of course, but we could never find out who did it.” Stunned, Dimitri stared at Petrov. “Why do you tell me this now?”
Petrov held his gaze. “Because you finally have someone to fight for, Dimitri. You finally know what it is like to love someone more than you love yourself. This Rya, she is your weakness but also your greatest strength. You will be ruthless for her. You will destroy anyone who threatens her, but you will also seek a peaceful resolution to conflicts.” Petrov leaned back in his chair and laced his hands over his chest. “Sun Tzu said, ‘In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy’s country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good.’ If you have someone you love, someone you have children with, you will work hard to leave them a legacy that is strong, solid. If you are alone and consider only yourself, only of the present, then destroying everything around you will not matter as long as you have your hollow victory. That is your father’s problem. He only wants the victory, or in his case, the vengeance, not a future.”
Before Dimitri could respond his phone rang and Alex’s name appeared on the screen. Still watching Petrov, he answered it. “Hello, Alex.”
“I have the documents needed to bring Rya back home with us and our jet is getting prepped as we speak.”
Dimitri tried to keep calm at the possessive tone in his brother’s voice, trying to tell himself that he was imagining it. “You will stay here. I will get Rya.”
Anger replaced the tension in Alex’s tone. “No, I’m coming with you.”
He was tempted to tell Alex to fuck off, but now was not the time or place for an argument so he tried to keep his tone even as he said, “I need you to stay here and get everything ready for her arrival. I need you to make sure my woman is as safe as possible.”
If he had any questions about Alex’s feelings for Rya, his brother’s next statement cleared it up. “If you’re bringing her into our family she is our woman.”
“Listen to me very clearly, Alex. Rya is my woman. If you cannot understand that I will not allow you around her.”
Alex swore softly, then sighed. “I understand. Forgive me. She reminds me of Jessica, but she is not. I promise you I will not step over the line with Rya, but I do care about her and it is bringing back many bad memories for me. Please, let me help you keep her alive. You are my brother, Dimitri, and the thought of you suffering like I have is abhorrent to me. I want you and Rya to have the long, happy life together that I almost had and I will do whatever I can to make that happen for you. I will not lie, Rya is very beautiful, but she is yours and I understand that. I would never do anything to try to come between you, but I will do everything in my power to keep both of you safe.”
Gentling his tone, all too aware of Petrov listening, Dimitri said, “I understand. I’m going to get what I need for the trip, while I do that I need you to contact Maks and send him to protect Rya until I can get there. He’s in New York, correct?”
“Yes. I’ll pull him off his assignment.”
“Thank you.”
Petrov spoke up. “Tell Alex to call me in an hour. You can have my place in the same building that Ivan is living in with his fiancée. It will help Rya adjust to have another American woman she can talk with, and Gia is lonely. It will do her good to have a friend from her native country. Consider it my early wedding present.”
Startled, Dimitri looked up at Petrov. “Are you sure? It might be dangerous to have Rya near Ivan and Gia.”
Petrov nodded. “Rya has my protection, and having both of you living near Ivan will send a strong message. Besides, you know I designed the security for the building and it is safer than a fortress.”
“Thank you.” Dimitri spoke into his phone to Alex. “Did you hear that?”