Page 12 of No Longer Mine (Rags & Riches #2)

Chapter Ten

Dimitri

The wonderful thing about visiting my parents’ upstate mansion was that I didn’t have to pretend.

I didn’t have to be Councilman Dimitri. I didn’t have to play the charming, reform-driven candidate.

I didn’t have to fake interest in people I wanted nothing to do with.

Here, I could be me, snd me was the psychopath everyone in this house had helped create.

I could drink as much as I wanted, speak without a filter, and enjoy the chaos that came with our dysfunctional family gatherings. Nothing ever got out. Sinclair Cristof made sure of that.

Don disagreed. He insisted that if footage of me actually being myself ever leaked, it would only make me more likable. More dangerous. More untouchable.

I wasn’t so sure.

But I was willing to enjoy the night anyway.

Benson was already tapped into the estate’s security, watching everything from his end. Don, on the other hand, was accompanying me in person. I wasn’t sure if it was for my protection or his own curiosity. Probably both.

I strolled into my mother’s grand entryway with a beer in hand.

She was waiting for me, standing poised as ever with a smile that looked almost too bright to be real.

Before I could say a word, she surged forward, wrapping her arms around me.

Her hair curled perfectly around her heart-shaped face, her makeup dusted on in a way that made it seem effortless. It was all part of the illusion.

“It’s been too long,” she murmured, kissing both of my cheeks like I was an old friend rather than her son.

I hated it.

But I smiled anyway. I played along because I knew Father was lurking somewhere nearby. If he wasn’t, she would have already started drilling me about the campaign I’d been ignoring her calls over.

“I’m so happy to have you here,” she said before her eyes flicked over my shoulder. Her expression shifted—subtle, but noticeable. “And who’s your friend?”

Don was standing in the doorway, carrying both of our bags with ease.

I didn’t have to turn to see the way his eyes subtly scanned the grandeur of the estate. No one else would be able to tell that he was assessing the house just as much as he was admiring it. I could tell. I’d spent too much time with him to not notice his small tells.

“This is Don,” I said as he stepped forward.

Ever the gentleman, Don reached for my mother’s hand and kissed it lightly. “Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Cristof.”

She smiled, polite but cautious, before withdrawing her hand. “And you are?”

“My driver,” I said. “And security.”

Mother reeled back slightly, barely masking her surprise. “Security? Here?”

I shrugged. “Formality at this point. I’m not making him drive back home.”

She blinked, processing that, then narrowed her eyes slightly. “He lives with you?”

I took another sip of my beer, unfazed. “Where else would he live? I need protection around the clock.”

Her mask slipped for just a second.

“I didn’t think you were actually serious about this campaign,” she admitted, and for the first time in years, I saw something close to genuine emotion on her face.

Neither did I.

London had already been up in arms over me missing the fundraisers this weekend, insisting I make up for it with wholesome family pictures to soften the blow. I knew the drill. My social media would have to be flooded with perfectly staged moments.

I hated this shit.

“I’m about as serious as one can be,” I said, letting the words hang between us.

Then, something strange happened. She smiled. Not just any smile.

A megawatt smile as she pulled me in for another hug. It wasn’t like any other embrace I’d received from her before. This one was different.

“I’m so proud of you,” she whispered against my ear, holding onto me for a second longer than necessary. “I didn’t think you’d ever find a passion for anything but killing—and here you are, proving us all wrong.”

I pulled away and decided we needed to stay clear of this conversation. “Who all is coming this weekend?”

Audrey and Alexei?

Her eyes softened with sadness. “The usual.”

No Audrey and Alexei. But I knew that, I’d called Alexei on the way here.

I wanted to know for a fact he wasn’t coming because I wanted an out to this mess myself.

But at least Carina was here. But then again, Carina was here, and I knew for a fact she wasn’t happy with my lack of texting or calling her back.

Ugh.

I showed Don to our rooms upstairs and grabbed another beer before deciding to face the music that was my family.

Everyone was around the pool, though with the dropping temperatures, no one was actually in the water.

My parents spared no expense on the pool or the terrace area, which meant there was also a hot tub and a heater in the massive Olympic-sized pool.

Carina jumped from the table and rushed me.

I held my beer up over her head to keep from spilling it on the both of us.

“You’re here!”

Ace remained seated at the table with his sunglasses on.

I couldn’t read his expression, and I didn’t really care to.

Ivan and Griffin were seated beside him.

Griffin shot me an appreciative look, and Ivan ignored all of us.

Once again, they didn’t have any female companions with them.

I didn’t blame them. There was no point in bringing anyone around who you weren’t marrying.

I was sure they had more than their fair share of women back home.

Carina pulled away from me and grinned. Her dark blue eyes reminded me of the ocean, and her dark hair was braided away from her clean face. She was gorgeous, and my brother didn’t deserve her.

“Okay, lets get this out of the way, shall we?”

Ace leaned back in his chair and one leg over the other.

“I am running for New York City Councilman. No, I didn’t tell anyone because I didn’t want to hear it.

I still don’t want to hear it. My driver and security detail is here with me this weekend and he has been tasked, via my campaign manager, to take pictures of us this weekend.

I just want to relax and enjoy my time out of the spotlight. ”

A small grin curled Ace’s lips, and I wondered what it was about. He didn’t just smile. Ivan stood up and slapped me on the back before he walked away. It was the closest thing I would get to a congratulations.

“Glad to hear it, now can I go back inside?”

I frowned. “No one forced you to be out here.”

He walked away and hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “Ace did.”

“Congratulations, Brother.”

“Thank you.”

“Are we going to stay in the dark this entire campaign?” Carina pouted.

I didn’t want to break under her scrutiny— I was already beating myself up for the three beers I’d had on the way here. It was getting harder to ignore her puppy dog eyes.

My eyes flicked between her and her husband. “Probably.”

Carina’s face fell, but she hid it quickly. “You need to loosen up! Promise we will have fun this weekend?”

Her definition of fun and mine were very different.

My head was swimming by the fifth beer, which was rather odd for me. Turns out, in my sober time, I became a lightweight. It was fine by me because when I went home, I wouldn’t touch the stuff again.

But it was also dangerous because all kinds of ideas were floating around in my head.

Unhinged ideas that I’d tried to bury but now were coming up for air.

Like replacing all of the thousands of dollars in wine with boxed shit.

Don liked boxed shit and so we had a full trunk of it—I’d insisted he brought plenty.

Now I was thrilled that he’d actually listened.

I swayed as I walked up the stairs to find my security detail.

He was sitting at his computer, going over surveillance.

He insisted he stay on top of it while we were out of town in case my little friend came knocking again.

He raised his brows at me when I burst into his room. “You need to be cut off.”

“What I need is to replace all of the wine with your boxed shit.”

He rolled his eyes to the ceiling and took a deep breath. “We didn’t bring enough wine, and even if we did, I’d rather it if your father didn’t put a hit on me.”

I frowned. “I can’t do it on my own.”

He shrugged. “I’m here to babysit you and keep you alive. You’ll have to find another accomplice.”

Unfortunately, I knew the perfect person. Griffin was looking through expensive art on his phone when I didn’t bother with knocking on his door. His room was much like the rest of the house, impersonal and detached. It was almost like we weren’t allowed personalities.

His light eyes narrowed at me above his phone. “What do you want?”

“You dragged me into this shit so now you have to make it bearable.”

His eyebrows jumped on his forehead. “Me? Why would I do that?”

“I’ll torture you if you don’t,” I deadpanned.

His eyes widened slightly. I wouldn’t hurt him. Ace on the other hand? Absolutely.

Griffin held my stare, his phone lowering slightly. “You’re drunk.”

“No shit,” I said, bracing a hand on his doorframe. “Now, are you going to help me or not?”

He exhaled through his nose, clearly debating his options. “And what exactly is this brilliant plan of yours?”

I grinned, wide and unhinged. “We’re replacing every bottle of Father’s expensive wine with Don’s boxed garbage.”

Griffin blinked once. Then twice. Then his lips twitched—just barely.

“You’re insane,” he said, already setting his phone down.

“Obviously.”

He sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face. “If we get caught?—”

“We won’t.”

“If we do?—”

“I’ll tell them it was your idea.”

His scowl deepened, but he was already standing up. “Fine. But if I die, I’m haunting you.”

“Fair.”