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"I can help you, Pakhan."

Dmitry eyed the blonde woman. His fingers drummed on the desk continuously. The woman was good at her job, no doubt but she had started to piss him off now.

"I am always here to help you in any way you want…" she suggested seductively. Dmitry would have accepted her offer. The feeling of being high without putting any drugs in his body was a feeling he craved but the woman standing in front of him was someone who shouldn't come closer to him.

Dmitry had hired her for something sacred and he wouldn't let her mess with her work. He sighed and stood up from the chair, circled the desk and moved closer to that woman.

Natalia smirked. Excitement lingered in her eyes as she watched Dmitry moving toward her. She wanted to dance in happiness thinking she had won the attention of the cruellest man in Russia and probably the world.

"Natalia, right?" Dmitry asked in a dark voice, making Natalia swallow in fear. "Yes, Pakhan."

Dmitry sharpened his gaze hearing her slutty voice. Natalia let out a sharp shriek of pain when she felt him gripping her hand tightly. She looked at Dmitry with fear-filled eyes.

Dmitry got into her face. His eyes filled with cold rage. "I hired you to take care of my son's needs, not mine, Natalia."

She swallowed. Her body stiffened and she nodded. "I always do, Pakhan. It's just that when I came to your office you looked tired and I thought about helping you…"

Dmitry left her hand and went back to his chair. "I do not need your help. Now, tell me if there is any progress in my son's behaviour or not?"

She cleared her throat. "Except that he had started eating food on time there is no improvement. He is still shy around everyone and doesn't talk more than a few sentences to me."

Dmitry gritted his jaw. "Then do something to make him talk more. Take care of him, Natalia or you will need a caretaker for yourself."

Her eyes fogged with fear as she nodded. "I am trying my best Pakhan."

"Get lost."

The woman left Dmitry's office without a word. Dmitry sighed leaning back in his chair. He was only thirty but felt older than his age. Orazio was his responsibility and he didn't want to fail him, not like he failed Bella. He was the only thing he had left of hers.

He drowned the whole glass of Vodka and stood to leave for the meeting with the casino heads of Bratva. Anything else could wait but not business. He was in his car when he received a text from his brother.

I hope you won't be too harsh on yourself today.

Dmitry read the message and his nose flared. He gave his brother all the liberty he asked for but he would never allow him to intrude in his work. He was the Pakhan and everyone must remember it.

Don't get involved in my work.
He typed back and sent it to him. Being harsh on himself was nowhere near what Dmitry felt on this date. Five years, it had been that long and his hands still craved for the blood of the man who snatched everything from him. The image of a blood-stained floor flashed in his memory and he jerked in his seat.

He was losing his calm but reminded himself that losing his cool would only make it worse for him. He needed calmness because then he would be able to punish those who were responsible for this burning rage inside him.

When Dmitry reached the meeting area Zachary was already there. With a nod at him he's started briefing Dmitry about the profit reports of various casinos.

Dmitry listened to everything but he was still not calm. The day always brought out his most devilish side. The date was imprinted in his mind. He tried to focus on what Zachary was saying and Zachery told him about a casino head swapping his money. He sighed leisurely, at least he would be able to calm himself with blood today. Dmitry wanted to spill the blood of the man who destroyed him but couldn't. So the casino head would die instead.

He didn't sit on his chair today but walked around the table. His confident footsteps and dark tone was enough for the people in the room to pray for their lives to the third power.

"I see the business is growing well, are any of you facing any trouble under my protection?" Dmitry asked, resting a hand against a casino head who stiffened and shook his head immediately.

"No, Pakhan. Everything runs smoothly. Our business is safe from everything…"

Dmitry glanced at all the thirty members sitting around the vast table.
"Do you all agree with Reece?" He questioned the men and a loud yes sounded from their mouths.

Dmitry walked further and rested his hand on another man's shoulder. "Do you agree with everyone here, Andrea?"

Sweat pickled his forehead, his throat bobbed when he swallowed. He tried not to show his fear but failed miserably. "I agree with him, Pakhan. You protected us all well…" he muttered.

Dmitry pressed his fingers into his shoulder brutally. His eyes turned dark hearing the agonised shriek of pain of the man, "Then why did you swap money, Andrea?" Dmitry asked in a dark voice. His eyes were mercilessly cold and only sparkled when Andrea struggled to free himself from Dmitry's hold.

"Pardon me, Pakhan. I didn't want to do it but I needed the money urgently…" he cried.

Dmitry's eyes travelled to other men there who turned into stones in their chairs. Dmitry grabbed Andreas' nape and started hitting his head on the wooden table without any mercy.

The table shook hard against the force, the polished wood turned red with blood which oozed from Andreas' face. Dmitry didn't stop, he continued hitting him. Eventually, Andrea's cries stopped. The blood ran like water on the desk. His face couldn't be recognised anymore. It was just a pool of flesh and blood. There was still a little struggle in his body and even that stopped after a few seconds. The man was dead.

A man who was sitting across from Andrea threw up on the floor. The stench of vomit filled the air of the room.

Zachary growled at the man. "Clean your sht, Now." He ordered him and the man stood up immediately and cleaned it but the stench was still in the air.

Dmitry roamed his eyes at every single one of the people present there. "This is my kingdom. You all work for me and owe me everything you have. Your money, your life, everything belongs to me. Don't try to act smart because I am smarter than the devil itself. Don't try to go against my words or you won't be alive to see the next moment of the day. Now pay the money and get out of here."

Zachary stepped forward and handed Dmitry a handkerchief to wipe the blood.

"I could have handled him," Zachary said, eyeing Dmitry who shook his head. "The blood calmed my mind."

Zachary understood the words better than anyone else. Only darkness could kill the darkness. Dmitry was trying to do the same but he failed. It could be clearly seen in Dmitry's eyes. He still craved blood and cries of pain.

"Do we have someone in the warehouse, Zachary?"

Zachary nodded. "We have, Pakhan. A few men from Finland and Alaska."

Dmitry's lips tugged upward. He wanted to spend the day torturing his enemies. The Monster of Russia was hungry for blood and it would take a lot of blood to quench his thirst today.

Maya groaned as she rested her head on the backrest of the sofa in her home. "The work is killing me, James. Be a good boy for once and bring a cup of hard coffee for me, please."

James arched his black brows and gave Maya an unimpressed look. "I have no intention of turning into a good boy, Maya. I am happy being a Lazy Ass so do us both a favour and brew a cup of coffee for me too when you brew one for yourself."

She gritted her jaw and stood up. "I don't know why I even bother with you anymore when I know you will never do anything."

"Exactly!"

"You…"

"Don't waste your energy, Dove. I can't waste time hearing your unnecessary and unwanted rants."

"God grant me patience please," she muttered and made coffee for both of them. James smiled. "You are Love."

Maya rolled her eyes and stood up after finishing her coffee. "I am going grocery shopping. We have nothing left in the refrigerator."

He shrugged his shoulders. "Just come soon, I am hungry and craving Pizza. Shall we order tonight?"

Maya bit her lip from inside. The offer was sinfully attractive and she couldn't deny it. She was tired and was not in the mood for cooking after grocery shopping. "Order it with extra cheese. I will be back in an hour."

"Cool," came his reply as he started looking through the menu of the local Pizza joint around the corner.

She was always extra careful when she moved around the intersection. Luckily, she didn't meet the man who ruined her groceries again. She brought everything she needed and was walking back to her house when her eyes went to a cute boy. He was sitting on the bench around the corner near the playground.

Maya ran to the kid and sat beside him on the bench. "Hey Kiddo, what's your name?" She asked sweetly and the boy stiffened. His blonde brows plucked together as he looked at her and moved away from her.

Maya smiled at him. "Don't be scared, kid. Are you lost? Where are your parents?"

The boy only frowned at her. "Can you tell me where your parents are?" She asked again in a soft child-friendly voice. She sighed when the boy didn't reply but then she slapped herself mentally. She was speaking in English. She had been trying to learn Russian for a month now and had mastered a few sentences till now perfectly with the help of her friend Vera but she was nowhere near perfect to converse fluently that too with a kid.

Learning a new language was a pain in the ass!

"gde tvoi roditeli?" (Where are your parents) Maya asked in broken Russian.

The boy turned pale and looked around, he was Scared. "Gde vy zhivete? ty delayesh' zdes' odin?" (Where do you live? What are you doing here alone?)

The boy was close to crying and that was the last thing Maya could see. She pulled out a chocolate from her grocery bag and held it to him. "Don't cry, baby.
Do you want to eat chocolate?" She asked in Russian.

The boy took it from her and ripped the wrapper before eating it greedily. Maya smiled. "Do you want another one…"

The boy nodded. Maya was about to hand him another one when a loud voice sounded making the boy jump in fear. He tried to hide himself behind Maya.

"Orazio! What did I tell you about talking with Strangers?" She scolded the boy in fluent Russian and it took Maya a few minutes to understand what the woman was saying. "If I tell your father about you talking to strangers he would beat you like a pulp."

That was the last thing Maya wanted to hear. What kind of mother is she? Who scares her child like that? She thought and hid the kid behind her.

"Madam, this is not the right way to treat a kid. Can't you see he is scared and hungry too? Instead of taking care of him, you left him alone here…"

Natalia glared at Maya. She had an accent and was talking in broken Russian. "Stay out of my business, I know how to treat my son," she snapped at her and glared at Orazio who was clutching Maya's tunic tightly in fear.

"Come, Orazio!"

The boy shook his head and tried to make himself smaller. Maya stiffened. She could feel him shiver. "I am sorry I can't allow it. He is scared…"

Natalia moved closer to Maya. "Don't make me hurt you." She warned her.

Maya raised her brows in the challenge. "Do whatever you want but I won't leave the child alone with you. He is scared."

Natalia glanced at Orazio. "I am calling your father Orazio," and the boy left Maya's tunic. His eyes glittered with tears as he walked to Natalia and held her hand. "Good boy, here is the chocolate you asked for, eat."

Orazio took the chocolate from Natalia and just like before ate it greedily like before. Natalia glared at Maya with contempt before walking away with Orazio. Something twisted in her chest seeing the boy walking away with his mother but then he turned his head and smiled at her.

Maya smiled too and waved her hand in goodbye. She felt stupid for behaving like a mama bear. It was clear that the woman went to buy chocolates for Orazio and the boy was only scared because she saw him talking to a stranger. But still, a voice in her head shouted that it was not the case and Maya wanted the voice to be wrong.

She sighed and left for her home, still, her thoughts were fixed on the smiling face of Orazio and she hoped to meet him again but little did she know that the wish was going to turn her life upside down…

Please read 365 Days in Dmitry's Cage on R. A. D. I. S. H and join my F. B group Elk Entertainment Reading Group