“I don’t.” I say, cutting him off.
“Well, I’m feeling generous, so I’ll give it anyway. You’re looking in the wrong direction. Whoever took your sister did so to get to you. To get under your skin. It's why you haven't found her yet. As I understand it, there’s still one person your men haven’t questioned that vehemently hates you. The same person who used to manage this very bar.”
Either I'm going crazy, or everything Dimitri’s saying is making a lot of sense. Clenching my jaw, I look to the side and I glare at him. Studying his expression to see if he's telling me the truth.
“If I were them,” he continues, “she would have been my first stop. Then again, your men have always been strangely attached to her. Perhaps nostalgia has them sparing her from your wrath.”
“I considered Jessie…” I say, trailing off. “But they said it was impossible. That she wouldn't have the power or the means to do it.”
The truth has been right in front of my face all along.It’s Jessie. It has to be Jessie. They eliminated her as a suspect right off the bat, and I was stupid enough to go along with it. I trusted them, and they betrayed me to spare someone they always considered as one of their own.
Dimitri stares at me for a moment before continuing and the look in his eyes is one of pure pity. He feels sorry for me. How fucking sick and twisted is it that a man who assaulted me is the only one willing to help me figure out the truth?
“As I understand it,” he continues, gauging my reaction, “they underestimated her once before and, in doing so, nearly got you killed. Who's to say history isn’t repeating itself?”
I blink back the tears forming in my eyes and visibly swallow. I refuse to cry. Not again, and especially not because of their betrayal.
“They would never let me question her.” I say, staring at the floor numbly as my world caves in. “Even if I confronted them now, I know they wouldn’t.”
“I could arrange that.” Dimitri says, leaning forward to touch my forearm in a kind gesture. “We could head there now and you can get the answers you seek.”
“Why would you help me?” I ask, turning in my seat to face him. “What do you get out of all this?” There has to be something else in this for him. Something beyond helping me for the greater good. After our first fucked-up interaction, he’s been relatively kind to me, but that doesn’t make him a good guy.
“Think of it as my penance for my transgressions against you. I am sorry for my actions and hopefully helping you will prove that.”
I don’t believe for one second Dimitri’s intentions are purely altruistic. But we haven’t gotten a genuine lead in weeks. He’s cornered me alone so many times in the last few weeks that if he truly wanted to hurt me again, he would’ve.Maybe a part of him does regret what happened.
“Let’s go.” I say, glaring up at him. “But I’m driving myself.”
Tristan left the keys to his Maserati here on the off chance something came up. I’d argue that this “something” warranted a drive and frankly, I still don’t trust Dimitri enough to be in a car alone with him.
Jessie’s in jail, but that doesn’t mean she couldn’t have orchestrated Alex’s kidnapping. She’d orchestrated worse in the past, and that was before she had an actual reason to hate me.
* * *
After slippingout of Hell's Tavern in Tristan’s black Maserati, I follow Dimitri through the busy streets of Downtown and make my way to Jessie’s new home, The Caspian County Correctional Facility. It’s nearly 1 AM, but the center of the city is still very much alive and buzzing. Neon lights, packed clubs, and late nite eateries line the entire main strip. We pull up to a red light and I can’t help but stare at the young people dancing and laughing in the streets. They look like they’re having the time of their life and a small pang of jealousy hits me in the stomach.That could easily be me in another life.
The light turns green and as my car moves forward, so do I. There’s no point in thinking about the “what if’s”. I’m not like those kids back there, and thanks to the hand life dealt me, I never will be.
After a few minutes, Dimitri leads us onto a random street far from the road. The tiny alleyway we pull into is sandwiched between two tall buildings and is barely wide enough to fit a car. There isn’t a streetlight in sight and as Dimitri’s car gets swallowed by the darkness, I can’t shake the ominous feeling in my bones. Everything about this feels wrong.
Dimitri pulls his car to stop at the end of the alley and casually steps out. He waits for a few seconds for me to do the same, but when he spots my hesitation, he walks over to my driver's side window.
“Are you planning on getting out?” He asks, crouching down to level his eyes on me.
“Yes.” I answer, glaring up at him. I visibly swallow and stare out at the sign posted in front of the building to our right. Caspian County Correctional Facility. I can’t believe I’m here.What the hell am I doing?
“If you don't want to do this,” he offers, “we can go back. My contact will understand.”
“No. Let's go. I’m just going to ask her some questions, there's nothing wrong with that.”
I’m telling the truth, but it feels like a lie as it slips through my lips. In the back of my mind, I know The Reapers would hate this. Would hate that I've gone behind their back and done this without them.
But it's been over three weeks and I'm no closer to finding my sister, if The Reapers are really helping me, like they swear they are. We should’ve found her by now. Dimitri may be an asshole, but he’s the only one willing to help me.
I step out of the car and dig my heels firmly into the pavement. Dimitri smiles and leads the way to a nondescript door on the side of the building. He knocks on the cool metal three times in succession, and takes a step back, waiting for an answer.
Within seconds, the door glides open and a portly man in his mid-50s opens the door. He’s dressed in a light brown suit with a holster on his hip. His eyes move from me to Dimitri before giving him a glare. “You were supposed to come alone.” He says, looking down at me pointedly.
