Chapter 15 Maxim
MAXIM
“Maxim,” Sergei calls out to me as he sticks his head through my office door.
I’m staring at the picture of me and my sisters.
“I’m guessing Grace told you. How are you feeling?” he asks, taking a seat beside me.
It’s been one hell of a morning.
“Pretty fucking betrayed, Sergei.”
“Don’t worry, Dmitri’s time is up,” Sergei reassures me.
“I don’t give a fuck about that little weasel. I’m talking about Grace.”
“Grace? Why? Because she was caught snooping through your drawers? I told her you wouldn’t be too pleased about that.
But she didn’t care. She thinks she has you wrapped around her little finger.
And I didn’t think she did. I mean, I knew you liked her, but I didn’t realize you had fallen for her,” Sergei says, rambling on.
“Falling for her? She betrayed me and used my dead sister’s memory to do it.”
“What are you talking about, Max?”
“That she would use my sister to get back to her family. Asking me to call her sister to confirm her ridiculous theory that Elena is one of the jewels,” I say, shaking my head at the absurdity of her lies.
“Max, she’s telling the truth. I didn’t think so at first then I pulled a gun on her, and she didn’t change her story.”
“You pulled a fucking gun on her?” I say, raising my voice at him.
“I needed to know because like you, I accused her of using Elena and Anna’s memory for something like that.”
I look at him and see the belief on his face. “You’re serious?”
“Of course, I fucking believe her. There’s no way in the world she
could have guessed who she was. She asked me about the photo, told me it was Emerald, and I told her she was wrong. That that was your sister and your sister died, along with my daughter. But she didn’t believe me—she was adamant that the girl in the picture was Emerald.”
I shake my head; I still don’t believe it. There is no way that after four years, my sister is rising from the dead right under my nose. Just no way.
“Maxim, she’s telling the truth.”
I slam my fist on the desk. “No, you want to believe it’s true, but it’s not, there’s just no way.”
“Why? Why can’t it be true? There were no bodies found, Max.”
I keep shaking my head. “I wish to God it were true, Sergei, but don’t you think it’s a weird coincidence that the girl we kidnapped knows where my dead sister is?”
“She said Elena is a jewel.”
“Wouldn’t we have run into her by now? We would have heard something.”
“Grace is the first jewel we’ve met in all our years dealing with the Bratva. Do you think they would place us in the same room as her?”
I still don’t believe it. My heart can’t cope with the thought that Elena might be alive.
“What about Anna?”
He shakes his head. “She hasn’t seen Anna.”
“See, that right there is a lie. If they were alive, there is no way in
hell they would leave each other, no way.”
Sergei places a calming hand on my good shoulder. “You need to
talk to Dmitri. Apparently, she’s friendly with him.”
My stomach sinks. There’s no way in hell Elena would be friends with a man like him.
“Call him. Clear this up.”
I look down at the photo, remembering my last call with Dmitri and the woman’s voice. Could that be the reason I started having nightmares again?
An uneasy feeling settles over me. Flashes of my sister Elena filter into my mind.
She’s been gone for four years, and I try to keep memories of her alive, but it wasn’t until I heard that woman’s voice that I realized I couldn’t remember what she sounded like.
I shake the uneasy feeling away. I would give anything to see her again, see both my sisters again.
My parents were devastated by Elena’s death.
They lost my youngest sister, Alexandra, to drugs.
Then a year later, Elena was washed away at sea, presumed drowned.
My sisters’ deaths ripped my family apart, especially happening so close together.
It was cruel and unfair, and my parents were never the same again.
They divorced a year after Elena’s death, going their separate ways, and haven’t spoken to each other since. Shit, they hardly even speak to me anymore. Dad’s still running with the Bratva in Russia, and Mom, well, she’s married some rich guy who lost his wife and now has a new family to love.
The picture in my hands was taken not long before Alexandra died. I run my fingers over my sisters’ faces, the ache in my chest returning. I allow myself this moment to let grief consume me before I put the photo back in the desk drawer, along with their memories.
Then I pull out my phone and call Dmitri.
Sergei gives me a small reassuring smile as I put the phone on speaker.
“Max.” Dmitri picks up the phone as if we are old buddies.
I take a couple of calming breaths.
“What can I do for you? How’s my Gracie going? Hope she isn’t causing you any problems. If she does, tie her up and spank her, the bitch loves it.”
My body stills, my hand curls into a fist and I’m seconds away from murdering this fucker.
Sergei places that same calming hand on my shoulder and gives me a tight squeeze.
Focus, Max.
“You don’t need to worry about Grace. I have her under control.”
“That’s my man. That bitch is great in bed, isn’t she? I told you.” He chuckles.
“We’re not here to chat, Dmitri. We have some intel on one of the jewels,” Sergei says, cutting in for me.
“Sergei, my man. That’s great. Give it to me. These bitches are like searching for a needle in a haystack.” The fucker laughs again as if we are all old friends.
I’m going to take great pleasure in murdering this man.
“We’ve found the location of a jewel named Emerald.”
The line goes quiet, but I can hear Dmitri’s breathing pick up. Then he says hesitantly, “Oh, yeah?”
“I heard that she wasn’t far from you.”
“Really, where?”
Sergei types Dmitri’s phone number into my computer system and
it takes seconds to pinpoint his location.
The fucking little scum bag is in ... “London.”
I hear Dmitri swallow. “Damn, I am so close. I’m in Paris. She’ll probably be gone by the time I get there. So close, yet so far.” He chuckles nervously.
“Do you have any information on her?” I ask him, hoping he can give me something.
“Like what?” he asks suspiciously.
“Where did you find her? What’s her background. My ear is close to the floor, and I know many people in this world. It might help me pinpoint this intel I’ve had to see if we have the right girl. The bosses won’t be pleased if you bring the wrong one’s home, will they.”
“Right, you’re right. I appreciate your help, man. All I know is that Nikolai found her at a party in The Hamptons one summer.”
Sergei and I look at each other, and that is all the information I need to know that Elena is alive, and this motherfucker has her.
“How long ago?” I ask, keeping my voice steady even though I am shaking with anger.
“Like four years ago I think.”
“That’s great. I’ll get on narrowing that info down for you,” Sergei cuts in.
“Thanks, man. I appreciate it,” he says, and you can hear the relief in his voice.
“Maybe when you’re in London next you’ll get her.”
“Next time for sure. I’m on a hot trail of another jewel in Paris. I should have this one locked down in twenty-four hours, and then I can head to London and find Emerald.”
“We’ll be in touch.” I hang up the phone not waiting for him to reply. “I’m going to kill him. I’m going to rip him from limb to limb. I’m going to take my time and peel his fucking skin from his body, then throw him to the fucking pigs.”
Sergei gives me a wicked smile.
“I can’t believe she’s alive. Elena is alive.” I feel tears fall. “Fuck, I need to say sorry to Grace.”
Sergei arches an eyebrow at me.
“I was a mess yesterday thinking she betrayed me going into my office and then coming up with the story of Elena being alive. I thought she wanted to escape again. I blame the fucking bullet wound for my crazy mind.”
“I did the same thing. That’s why things are a little tense between us. Even after everything we’ve put her through, she still hasn’t escaped. I can see that she cares for you, Maxim.”
“I like her.”
Sergei nods. “I see that. I think she’s good for you.”
“She’s too good for me.”
“This life is a lonely one, my boy. If there’s a woman who understands your job and loves you nonetheless, then never let her go.”
“She doesn’t deserve to live her life like we do, constantly looking over our shoulders. With fucking bullet holes in us,” I say, raising my sore shoulder.
“Then maybe it’s time to hang up your guns.” Sergei smiles.
“And what, live happily ever after? I have too many enemies.”
“There are ways. There are always ways to get out of this business,” he explains.
“Yeah, via a pine box.”
“Maybe it’s time to let Grace go for the time being. The mission’s changed. We need to get Elena back and find Anna. I know in my heart that she isn’t dead, too.”
“What happens if I let Grace go and she doesn’t come back?”
“She will,” he adds confidently.
A huge smile crosses my face. “I need to apologize to my girl.” I disappear out of my office and make my way to her bedroom.
I take the stairs two at a time unable to hold back my feelings for this woman.
I know I’m going to have to get on my knees and beg for her forgiveness as I was horrible to her this morning.
I skid to a halt at her door. It’s closed. After the way I just treated
her, I don’t expect her to open it for me. I have some groveling to do. I take a deep breath and knock on the door. I’m met with silence.
“Grace,” I call. Nothing. Yep, she’s angry. “Grace, please, can I come in?”
I put my ear to the door and don’t hear a thing, so I turn the
Handle, and the door opens. It’s quiet in here.
I move silently through her room toward her bed.
I just need to see her. But the bed’s empty.
I move to the bathroom, nothing there either.
I check her closets, and they are still full of her clothes, so she is here somewhere in the house.
I run back into the corridor and look in every single room on that floor, all empty.
Then I rush downstairs and into the kitchen, surprising the staff.
“Have any of you seen Grace?” They all shake their heads.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Sergei asks, seeing me race around from the library into the next room.
“She’s gone.”
“What do you mean “gone”?”
“She isn’t in her room, she isn’t on the top floor, the kitchen staff
haven’t seen her.”
“Maybe she’s gone for a walk to cool off. Check the security
cameras.”
We return to my office and turn on the computers.
“When was the last time you saw her?” Sergei asks.
“Probably an hour ago.”
He brings up the computer security footage of the estate from
around that time. We look at the different screens.
“Stop.”
On the screen I see Grace race into the garage. She’s in there for a couple of beats before my fucking Maserati rolls out of the garage.
“Fuck!” I curse as I slam my fucking fists onto my desk. “She’s run, she’s fucking run.” I pushed her too far this morning.
“How was she able to escape without security knowing?”
“Gio was supposed to take the car into town to get fixed, they probably thought it was him.”
“Fuck, fuck, fuck! Pull up the GPS locator for the car. She can’t have gotten that far.”
“She’s just on the outskirts of Pisa.”
“We need to get her back, Sergei. We need her back tonight.”
He nods. “Let’s take the helicopter, we can catch her quicker that
way. She’ll have no idea we are following her.”