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Relief washes over me when I realize he’s alone.
“To what do I owe this pleasure?” Dimitri Kastellanos, Aria’s brother, smirks, though his body language is a little guarded.
I peek at the bulge poking out behind his shirt. Good boy. He came strapped.
“I need to talk to you about something important. Something pertaining to you.”
He crosses his arms. “I took a huge risk in coming here to meet you—this better be good.”
I stifle my smirk. For a kid who just got roped into the mob, he sure has some balls. I’m impressed.
“It’ll be worth your while. Just know that I’m only looking out for you.”
Dimitri furrows his brow. “Why?”
“We have a common interest,” I say, not wanting to mention Aria’s name out loud.
After a moment, his eyes light up in realization, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “Ah. So, you’re the friend she went to see the other night.”
I don’t deny it. “Your father is planning on giving his estate and control of your family’s clan to your sister’s fiancé.”
Dimitri stills, and I observe him as he processes the information. “Poutánas yos,” he swears and starts to pace back and forth, muttering under his breath. “How sure are you?”
“One hundred and ten percent.” I open the small compartment in my bike and pull out a manila folder, slapping it down on the seat. “We have your father’s will to prove it.”
“Fuck!” Dimitri shouts, his fists clenching.
He turns and punches the back window of his car. It cracks. Wow. He’s strong as fuck for an eighteen-year-old.
“That motherfucker has been playing me. He’s been forcing me into the business, even though I explicitly said I wasn’t interested. All of this to keep up appearances when he’s going to abandon me as his heir,” he seethes.
I can empathize with his frustration.
“That’s probably why he found a replacement. He knows you want nothing to do with the clan, so he can’t count on you to do his bidding when he steps down,” I explain. “Do you have any idea what he’s up to?”
“No, and I want to keep it that way. The less I know, the better.”
I agree. “But we still can’t let him give your family over to Andrew.”
Dimitri nods. “So, what’s the plan?”
Dimitri is a good kid.
And even though he says he wants nothing to do with mob life, it suits him. He’s got the attributes, the drive, and now, the motivation.
We spend the next hour talking about his upbringing, until our conversation becomes filled with gaming jargon and inside jokes that only we understand.
Xander rolls his eyes for the umpteenth time. He doesn’t get it and doesn’t share our enthusiasm. Xander is the only hacker I know who doesn’t like video games. Weirdo. I catch his eye for a moment, and he smirks, shaking his head. “You guys and your games,” he mutters, half-amused, half-exasperated.
We steer back to the matter at hand, Dimitri explaining how Philip always had plans for him, ever since he was a kid. The typical “you turn eighteen and get initiated into the mafia” plans.
Despite having other goals in life, Dimitri decided to follow in his father’s footsteps, for the time being, just to get him off his back. He never wanted to take over for the Kastellanos clan, especially given that they aren’t a prominent family with a Godfather. But now, things have changed.
“I’ll do it,” Dimitri says. “I’ll have the initiation.” The last task he must do to become a valuable member of his clan. Once blood is shed, he will be made.
“Are you sure?” I ask him.
He nods. “Philip won’t take me seriously unless I do. And if he doesn’t believe that I’m serious and have had a change of heart, he won’t trust me with the business and any information. And I won’t let a stranger oversee my family.”
