Chapter 27 Maxim
MAXIM
Sergei is driving me back to Grace’s apartment so I can pick her up for dinner. Ever the romantic, he got me a dozen red roses for me to give her when I picked her up.
“I think tonight is the start of your new life, Max.” The old man grins, looking at me in the rearview mirror as I straighten my suit.
“I’m ready for it. And you’re still okay about packing up and moving to Ibiza?” I know he was equally as shocked as I was when Grace’s family suggested it.
“It’s time that you move out of home. You’re a grown-ass man,” he jokes which makes me smile. “Of course, I’m fine with that. This old man is surprised he’s lived this long in the profession. Don’t want to push my luck.”
“You’re like a cockroach, not even an atomic bomb would take you out.”
“There’s a compliment in there somewhere I think.” The old man smiles. “I’m proud of you, Max. Your father would be, too.”
“When the hell did we get so fucking sentimental?”
“When you fell in love.” He chuckles.
“Glad I’m getting out of the business, I’ll probably start giving people chances,” I say, with a shudder.
We arrive back at Grace’s apartment, and I’m buzzed in again. Her entire family except her parents who are in Kiribati are waiting for me to arrive.
“Wow, you went all out there.” Mateo grins.
“Looks like he’s trying too hard,” Tomas adds.
“Would you stop it?” Zoe says, hitting Tomas in the stomach. “She’s going to love them.”
“Where are you going for dinner?” Sophie asks.
“George V.”
Brooks whistles. “Guess there’s money in killing people then?”
Sophie throws a cushion at him which makes him laugh.
“I invested my money wisely,” I tell them.
Grace enters the room while fixing her earring.
She looks incredible dressed in a green stain wrap dress that hugs her curves and then dips down the front giving me the perfect view of her cleavage.
Her blonde hair is pulled into a slick ponytail, and she has killer heels on that accentuate her long legs. She takes my breath away.
“These are for you,” I say, handing her the bouquet.
“Max, they are gorgeous,” she says, grabbing them, then inhaling their scent.
“Let me take those for you,” Mackenzie says, grabbing the bouquet from her sister and walking into the kitchen.
“You look beautiful,” I say, finally able to greet her as I place a kiss on her cheek.
“Thank you.”
“Are you ready to be wined and dined?” I whisper into her ear.
“For sure. You’re off to a good start with the flowers. Wondering what other kinds of romantic tricks you have up your sleeve. Never thought an assassin could be romantic.”
Is she sassing me? “Just because I kill people for a living, it doesn’t mean I can’t be romantic.”
Grace chokes on a cough. “I can’t believe you just said that.”
“It’s the truth.”
“Don’t let my family hear you say that. They are still weird about your job,” she whispers.
“Did you not tell them I’m quitting?”
She shakes her head. “You can still change your mind. I want to make sure you are comfortable with the decision.”
“Excuse me, everyone, I have an announcement,” I address the room.
“Is he proposing?” Mateo whispers loudly.
Not yet, but soon I think to myself.
“This afternoon I informed Grace that I was retiring from my job.”
The room erupts into clapping and congratulations for both of us.
“Good move,” Tomas says, clapping me on the back.
“I want to help you all full-time with finding the jewels.”
“Welcome to the team.” Sophie smiles.
“Can we all discuss this when we get back? I want my man to take me out on a date,” Grace grumbles to her family.
We make it out of the apartment, and this time, I pull her to me and kiss her properly. “I couldn’t be happier in this moment.”
“Me either,” she says, linking her hands with mine as we walk down the stairs to where Sergei is waiting for us.
“You’re a vision, Grace,” Sergei says, greeting her with a kiss on the cheek. He holds open the car door for her to get in while I walk around the other side.
“I love Paris.” Grace sighs as we watch the city pass by from the car. “What’s your favorite city?”
“I’m not sure. I’ve never really had a vacation and explored a place before. Usually, I am there to get a job done.”
“You’ve never had a vacation?”
“Never.”
“We will need one as soon as this mess with Dmitri is sorted. Find that island you said you wanted to take me to where I could sit on your face all day.”
Sergei coughs and Grace’s cheeks burn with embarrassment.
“Ignore him,” I say, squeezing her knee. “I like the sound of that. One day soon when everything has settled down. You and I are disappearing to a tropical island.”
My phone buzzes in my pocket and I ignore it as I’d much rather use my lips to taste Grace. But then it rings again.
“Must be urgent,” Grace mentions.
Pulling my phone out of my pocket, my stomach sinks when I see who’s calling me.
“Dmitri, what the fuck do you want?” I answer in Russian.
As soon as Grace hears his name, the smile falls from her face, and an invisible tension slide across her skin. Sergei’s eyes find me in the rearview mirror, and I can see the fury written across his.
“I’ve obviously caught you at a bad time by your tone, but I won’t be long. Do you still have my Gracie?” he questions me.
Grace gasps beside me, and I hold up my finger to my lips indicating for her to stay quiet which I know will be hard.
“Yes, I still have her.”
“Good. I wanted to let you know I’ll be coming to collect her at the Russian Ball in Moscow next week.”
“I wasn’t planning on attending.”
“And now you are. Make sure Gracie is wearing something nice for me, will you? I like seeing her in red, my scarlet woman. Because I’m coming to collect what’s mine, Maxim. I don’t want to be delayed anymore. My patience is running out.” With that, he hangs up on me.
That motherfucking asshole. Thankfully Grace can’t understand Russian, but she heard his voice, and that was enough for her to start to shut down.
“Max?” Her voice wobbles.
Reaching out, I cup her face. “It’s going to be okay. I’m here, and I’ve got you.”
I tell Sergei in Russian to head back to her apartment.
“You’re safe with me, Grace. He will never touch you again.”
She nods, but the tears welling in her eyes tell me that she’s not okay.
Reaching out, I grab and pull her into my arms so I can cradle her to my chest as I stroke her hair, telling her that she is safe until we make it back to her apartment. Picking her up in my arms, I carry her inside and up the stairs.
The entire room falls silent.
“What the hell is going on?” Tomas roars.
“Dmitri called Max and Grace heard,” Sergei explains.
“Let me take her to her room and I’ll explain.”
“I’m coming,” Zoe says as she follows me down the corridor. “I’ll stay with her while you tell the others what’s going on.”
I place Grace down on the bed, and Zoe wraps herself around her as Grace sobs into her chest.
Reluctantly, I leave Grace’s room, and I’m met with a hostile room.
“What the fuck happened?” Brooks questions me.
“He’s requested Grace’s attendance at the Russian Ball in Moscow.”
“Fuck,” Brooks curses.
“What does that mean?” Sophie questions him.
“It’s a ball the Bratva organized so that they could do business while appearing to be legitimate businessmen to the outside world,” he explains as he looks to me for confirmation.
“He’s right. It’s where you go when you want to do an arms deal, buy drugs, hire a hitman.”
“This is something you go to every year?” Tomas asks.
“No. I don’t need to advertise my services.” Not to sound cocky.
“But you could go, and no one would notice,” Mateo adds.
“Yes.”
“We need to talk to Enrique. This might be our only chance to find the jewels,” Brooks states.
“What will Dmitri do if you don’t bring her?” Brooks asks.
“Hunt me down and drag her back kicking and screaming.”
“Are you saying he won’t stop until he has her?” Sophie asks.
“Exactly.”
“We need to do something,” Mateo states.
“I’m not risking Grace.”
“This is our biggest chance at getting him once and for all. I think we need to think about it,” Brooks suggests.
“No. Grace is not going anywhere near that psycho, and I can’t understand how you can suggest that,” I yell at her family. “We need to come up with a better plan than using Grace as bait. I won’t let her do it.”
“Guess it’s going to be a long night then,” Sophie states.
“What’s going on here?” Grace asks, walking into the living room and seeing us all half asleep as we go through a million and one scenarios.
“Come here, my love,” I say, pulling her onto my lap and cuddling her. “Did you sleep well?”
“Zoe kept me company all night,” she says, her voice sounding groggy from crying all night. “Have you not gone to bed?” she asks, noticing I’m still in the suit I was wearing for our dinner date, minus the jacket.
“This was more important.”
“What is?”
“We are trying to come up with a plan to get to Dmitri and destroy that motherfucker for all of eternity without putting you in the firing line,” Sophie explains.
“What are you talking about?” Grace stares at her sister as if she has no recognition.
“Baby, do you not remember why you went to bed last night?” I ask her gently.
“You had a phone call from him, and it triggered me,” she says softly.
“How do you feel now?”
“Better. I think it was a shock. It caught me off-guard and something about that moment triggered my panic attack,” she explains. “What are you planning?”
“He wants Maxim to bring you to the Russian Ball, which is like the Superbowl for the Bratva,” Sophie explains to her.
“Why do you think he wants me there?”
“Probably to show his bosses that he has a jewel, so they won’t kill him,” I tell her honestly.
“Will Elena be there?”
I brush the hair from her face as I kiss her cheeks, then her nose.
“Probably. She’s a jewel, so that would be two for him to barter his life with.”
“Has he found any other jewels?” she asks.
“He hasn’t updated his notes list in a while,” Damon adds.