Touching Rune

Chapter 3-1

Chapter Three

Present Day New York City

“You know it helps if you tell me when you plan to deviate from your plans before you do, don’t you?” Dimitri Mihailov told the man sitting across from him in exasperation. “As head of your security, I need to know this so I can plan accordingly.”

Sergei Vasiliev didn’t look up from the tablet he held in his hand. His brow was creased and the scar that ran from the corner of his left eye across his cheek pulled as his lips tightened in displeasure.

Dimitri sighed and waited. He had known Sergei long enough to recognize when his friend was upset. They had grown up together on the streets of Moscow. Dimitri had been the brawn during that time while Sergei had been the brains.

A lot of things had changed since their youth. Their combination of brute force and brains had worked in their favor. Both of the men’s assets were in the billions, though few realized that Dimitri was the second part of the Vasiliev-Mihailov dynasty. He kept a lower profile which allowed him to move unnoticed behind the scenes. A fact that had helped in their acquisitions over the years. Neither one of them would ever forget the poverty of their youth. It was a distant shadow to them now, but the scars left behind were a powerful reminder.

Time had changed them both. Sergei was no longer a scrawny boy. The tight fit of the black cashmere sweater he wore emphasized the thick muscles under it. He had filled out as he grew older until he was almost as powerful as Dimitri. A long scar marred the left side of Sergei’s face, a constant reminder that even having wealth did not guarantee safety. Guilt pulled at Dimitri. He had almost been too late to save the one man he knew trusted him.

“Knock it off, Dimitri,” Sergei growled out in Russian. “I can feel your guilt radiating off you. For the last time, it was not your fault.”

“I should have increased the security around you,” Dimitri grunted out. “I knew there was a threat. I should have done more.”

“I knew there was a threat as well,” Sergei said with a deep sigh. He turned off the tablet and looked at Dimitri’s face that was partially hidden in the shadows as he sat back against the limousine’s rich leather. “You warned me. I was the one who chose to ignore the warning. Do not blame yourself for my own stupidity, Dimitri.”

Dimitri snorted. The thought that anyone, including Sergei, could ever use the word stupid and his friend’s name in the same sentence was ludicrous. Sergei was constantly referred to as one of the smartest men in the world in the major business magazines.

Dimitri gazed out the window at all the holiday decorations and the crowd of pedestrians bundled up against the chill in the air outside. He didn’t say any more on the topic. It was an old argument that neither one of them won. Dimitri continued to feel guilty and Sergei became more cynical about the world.