Chapter 31 Grace
GRACE
Elena links her arm with mine, and we walk toward the bathrooms as we make our way through the tables. She’s humming as if she doesn’t have a care in the world. My heart is beating out of control—I need to relax.
We reach the bathrooms, and I go into a stall and lift my gown to sit on the toilet. Then I remember the spy shit I’m wearing. The boys will hear me pee.
“Cover your ears, you don’t need to listen to me pee,” I whisper into my diamond collar.
I can hear chuckling in my earpiece.
“You have thirty seconds of going dark that’s it, pee fast,” Damon says.
I let out a breath and quickly pee before they turn the audio back on.
“Time’s up, princess,” Damon declares.
I step out of the stall and start washing my hands.
Elena joins me moments later.
“It’s so good to see you,” she says, pulling me in for a hug.
I tell myself to relax as I put my arms around her and hug her back like I would an old friend. Once the hug is over, she steps away and looks me up and down. “Can I ask you a question?”
She can probably hear the thundering of my heart and is wondering why I’m so nervous.
“Sure.”
“I don’t understand why you’re back here. I thought Sapphire rescued you?”
“Tell her the truth,” Brooks whispers in my ear.
“The man that I’m sitting with, Maxim.” I watch carefully to see if she reacts to his name, but there’s nothing. Has she been brainwashed? Is she suffering from amnesia, like Zoe did? How does she not know who Maxim is?
“He kidnapped me.”
Elena sucks in a gasp. “I’m so sorry, Diamond.”
“Actually, I’m not.”
She looks at me, confused.
Then the wives from our table walk into the bathroom and glare at us.
“Maybe we should go somewhere else to talk about this?”
“Whores,” one of the women says in Russian.
“We’re no different from you,” Elena says. “At least we aren’t stuck
with those men like you all are. Did you not see the two handsome men we have on our arms? I think we whores did good with them.”
The wives’ eyes flare with hatred.
“Come on.” Elena grabs my arm and pulls me out of the bathroom before the wives can retaliate.
“Well, that was kind of intense,” I say as I follow Elena down a corridor, not sure where we’re going.
“They’re just jealous, they settled for the first rich guy they met and now they’re stuck with bald jumbos for husbands.” She giggles, and it feels genuine like I’m hanging out with a girlfriend. “Come, let’s talk out here where we won’t be interrupted.” She opens the French doors to the gardens.
I have an uneasy feeling about this like I should be going back to the table, but I follow her, hoping the boys will look after me if anything happens.
Elena points to a stone bench nestled in the manicured gardens, and we take a seat. Silence swirling around us.
“The man you are with …” she starts, staring out into the darkness. “Does he treat you well?”
If I didn’t know who she was, I’d think she was a friend concerned for me. But maybe she does know exactly who Maxim is.
“Maxim is a good man.”
“Even though he kidnapped you?”
“Yes. After everything that happened with Nikolai and Zoe, sorry—
Sapphire. I went and saw someone, you know, to deal with everything that happened to me, to us. I was having nightmares every night, thinking Dmitri would come and take me again, bring me back into this nightmare.”
“And he did, didn’t he?”
“He sent Maxim because we would know Dmitri’s face. I—” I take a deep breath. “I was addicted to Xanax, and when Maxim took me, I went into withdrawal. This stranger, he sat with me for a week while I detoxed from the drug. He may have stolen me, but he saved me as well.”
Elena’s eyes widen, and I can see pain cross her face. A single tear falls down her cheek.
“Are you okay?”
She nods. “I’m glad he didn’t hurt you.”
“He would never hurt me.”
“You care about him.”
“I love him.”
“You love him?”
“Shut up, Grace!” Brooks screams in my ear, but I ignore him.
I lift my hand and show her my ring.
She grabs it and stares, taken aback, but I need her to understand that … I don’t know, that she can trust me and tell me who she really is. It’s right there on the tip of her tongue.
“Oh my god, Diamond.” She pulls me into her arms, hugging me tightly. “I can’t believe you’re engaged; this is—this is amazing.”
When she pulls away, she is crying.
“Hey, what’s the matter?”
“I’m so happy for you, after everything.”
“Thank you,” I say, unsure.
“But how are you going to leave the jewels? The Bratva is not going to let you go.”
“I know, we haven’t thought that far yet, not until ...” Fuck it, I’m telling her. “Not until you come with us.”
She looks shocked, and her emerald eyes narrow.
“Why would I come with you?” Her voice is tense.
“Because I know who you are, Elena.”
“What the hell are you doing, Grace?” Brooks growls in my ear.
Elena stands up abruptly and starts pacing. She looks anxious.
“How? How do you know about me?”
“I saw your photo at Maxim’s place.”
She roars in frustration. “Shit, shit, shit!”
I don’t mean to laugh because it’s not a funny situation, but how
can she not realize Maxim knows who she is?
“You haven’t changed that much.”
She looks at me, and I can see the confusion on her face.
“He knows it’s me, doesn’t he?” I nod.
“Fuck.” She paces again. “I thought he wouldn’t put two and two together.”
“He knows who you are and seeing you with Dmitri ... it’s killing him.”
“There’s so much going on, Diamond, so much.”
“My name’s Grace, and you can trust me. I mean, we’re practically family.”
She stops her pacing and looks at me. “You are, too.” A smile widens across her face. “I’m glad that in this fucked-up world, he was able to find someone.”
“I’m glad I found him, too.”
Elena grabs my hands. “I can see that you love my brother. I want to tell you, Grace, I do, but ...” She lets go of my hands and paces again as though she remembers something.
She digs in her bag and pulls out a notepad and pen.
She starts scribbling on it, turns the notebook over, and points to her chest as I read the paper.
CIA.
Oh, shit!