Page 74 of Avenging Azalea

“Dimitri, this is not the place for talk like that,” Mom scolded and grabbed the wine bottle away from him before he could finish filling the glass. Not that it would do any good. When he was in a belligerent mood, then nothing stopped him from being an asshole.

“Damn you, woman. Mind your place and give me back my wine,” Father growled, but my mother just ignored him.

“I, for one, think that is honorable of you, Titus. It shows a great deal of respect for our family. I appreciate the effort you’re making to ensure an honest and longstanding relationship,” Katerina said.

“Thank you,” I said.

The awkward silence that fell over the room could be cut with a knife, and yet, it was still one of the least confrontational dinners I’d suffered through with my family in a long time. We managed to make it through the entrée without an issue, but I should’ve known that the calm wouldn’t last.

“So, tell me, Dimitri, how is it that your son Nathaniel ended up with an FBI agent? Can you even trust this woman,” Pasha asked.

Fuck are you kidding me?

“That bitch weaseled her way into this family by having a child.” Father’s face was the picture of disgust as I ground my teeth together.

“I met her when she first got here, Father. I couldn’t stand her. She talked back to Dimitri so rudely in his home. I mean, who does she think she is? What is Nathaniel even thinking?”

My glare shifted from my father to Vera as the anger stormed up inside of me. Vera spoke like she had real insight when she didn’t know a damn thing about my brother or Savannah. The dinner Vera was referencing was a couple weeks after Nathaniel brought his wife and son home from Italy and my father had been extremely rude and confrontational all night. Savannah did nothing but defend herself and managed to stay more respectful than ninety percent of the population.

“You don’t have to worry about me getting a Fed pregnant. The only thing I’d stick in her is my gun,” Ronan said.

“Enough,” Mother growled. “Savannah has been nothing but trustworthy, which is more than I can say for the two of you half the time.”

Father glared at her and opened his mouth to speak. I knew he was going to say something rude and degrading.

“Well then, I guess this is as good a time as any to let you all know that I’ve decided to leave Mikhailov Enterprises to partner with Nathaniel.”

That did the trick. Whatever vitriol my father was about to spew shifted to me as he burst from his seat. Ronan followed, glaring at me.

I picked up my coffee and finished it while trying to decide whose head was going to pop off first. They were both equally red, so it was a coin toss. God, it felt good to piss them off for a change and not give a shit.

“You would betray your family,” Father snarled.

“Rich words coming from you. Savannah was shot because of you. You and Mr. Vilanova here have put both of our families at risk,” I said, and their faces paled as they looked at one another. “So, before you go casting stones at me, Nathaniel, or Savannah again, how about you take a long, hard look in the mirror because the only one tearing this family apart is you.”

“What is he talking about?” Ronan looked genuinely confused, which eased my mind.

He thought our father let him in on everything so that he could take over one day. He believed he was somehow privy to all the information denied to the rest of us. Sadly, the only person Dimitri truly trusted was himself. At least Mr. Vilanova had the courtesy to look embarrassed.

“How could you do this? To me, to your brother, and mother? Nathaniel turned his back on us when he brought an FBI agent into the house and had the nerve to call her family. But you…I never thought you would stoop so low,” Father said, ignoring Ronan’s question.

“You’ll never understand, and I’m tired of my words falling on deaf ears. I’m done with this meal, and I’m done with the company. I’ll be moving out of my office tomorrow. If you don’t trust me, then by all means, send a few guards to escort me out, but I’ll never step foot in Mikhailov Enterprises again after tomorrow.”

Glancing around the table, I noticed that Aaron didn’t look shocked at all. Nathaniel had already spoken to him, but my mother looked devastated. Nothing that my father or Ronan said would affect me, but the pained look in my mother’s eyes stabbed me in the gut. Even so, this was necessary. It was time.

Father pointed like that was going to intimidate me.

“You will never be welcome back if you step out that door,” he said, done with the fatherly joking tone of earlier.

Stepping around the table, I grabbed my coat and nodded my goodnight to Vera, who had wisely decided to keep her mouth shut.

“So be it,” I said, walking out of the private room.

“Someone tell me what the hell he was talking about,” Ronan demanded. I paused to hear the answer.

“Your brother always thinks that everything we do is going to get us killed or thrown in jail. He blows everything out of proportion. It’s best that he’s gone. He can’t do what must be done like us,” Father said, and I shook my head.

Nathaniel was right. We were all expendable.