Chapter 14 – VALENTINA
Fourteen
VALENTINA
With Cole, things were…neutral. Maybe neither of us cared enough to force hard conversations. We let the pieces fall where they were meant to. I’m sure that’s why we lasted so long. It was easy. Easy to stay out of each other’s way. Easy to come to agreements about things that didn’t really matter.
Easy to let go.
But with Maksim, things aren’t that simple.
There’s so much beneath the surface, so many things unsaid, feelings stuck in limbo, tension so thick I can taste it.
I hate being upset with him. It makes me want to scream, to claw my way back until everything between us feels right again. He holds this power over me, I can’t understand, and one I can’t seem to fight.
So I give him what he wants—my full attention. My…submission.
“This is new to me,” he begins. “And you’re right.
You’re not the same person I left behind.
Maybe that’s why I don’t know what to make of you, Valentina.
” His hand lingers against my chin, anchoring me there.
“But I do know this—everything you just said, about leaving and forgetting, about erasing it all like it never happened? That’s not something I can do either. I’m sorry.”
He’s saying so much without saying anything at all.
But what do I expect? A declaration of love?
Is that even what I want? Of course not.
Maybe I just need to step back. Take a breath. Enjoy his company for what it is—and the chance to know him again.
A smile breaks across my lips, and I sigh. “Theodore is a horse.”
Maksim’s eyes narrow in disbelief. “A horse?”
“Yeah.”
“A fucking horse?” he says flatly.
I nod, grinning. “I’ve been visiting him every year since I was ten. But I don’t ride him anymore.” My laugh fades as I think of Teddy. “He’s old. He deserves to live out the rest of his life in a field, not walking endless circles with kids on his back, getting his ribs kicked.”
“How much?”
My eyes snap back to his. “What?”
“How much for the horse?”
Warmth spreads through my chest at the intention behind his question.
“His owner won’t sell. I’ve tried.”
Maksim smiles at me for the first time in days, and my heart stutters. “But I haven’t. I can be persuasive. I have my ways.”
“Oh, you mean flashing those baby blues and that pleasant little grin you wear all the time?”
His amusement lingers, but something in his expression darkens. “Trust me, Kolibri. I don’t get what I want by smiling.”
I know what those words mean. The quiet part he’s not saying. But all I can focus on is the way my nickname rolls off his tongue. And does the sound make me instantly wet?
Fuck, yes, it does.
So much for taking a step back.
“Come on.” I tug his arm, needing to divert my thoughts before I drown in them. “Teddy’s always near the back, by the water blaster race.”
“Isn’t that where I won you that hummingbird?” he asks, beating me to the memory before I can conjure it myself.
“You beat Uncle Silas, didn’t you? Though thinking back on it, I have my suspicions he might’ve let you win,” I say with a wink.
“That’s cold.” He presses a hand to his chest, feigning a wounded ego. “Don’t do that. Don’t ruin it for me. I was proud of myself.”
I snort, unable to hold back a laugh at his attempt at being funny. I like it—this side of him.
When I steal a glance, I catch him watching me, and suddenly it feels like my skin is being set on fire one inch at a time.
God, I’m so fucked.
“Maksim, you don’t need to run from me.”
The words we’re family lodge in my throat. Because maybe, yes, as a whole, we look out for each other. We know the darkest secrets that set us apart from the rest of the world. But that word doesn’t fit here. Not with him.
I step off the elevator and into the hallway, groaning at the ache in my arms and legs after all the walking I did at the fair.
But I’ll be damned if I ever let Maksim know I was in pain—especially after he warned me I would be, and I waved him off.
Can’t let him know he was right. Gotta keep him on his toes.
Speak of the devil. I pull my vibrating phone from my pocket.
Maksim: I’ll drop your new friends off tomorrow.
My cheeks burn picturing the big, tattooed Russian mobster with his arms full of stuffed animals, prizes he won for me to prove a point, or so he says.
Of course, Maksim had insisted on coming up, but he was already almost three hours late for that meeting with his agent.
I didn’t want to hold him up, so I played my “loyal servitude” card and made him drop me in front of the building.
He owed me big anyway. And I also needed an excuse to see him again sooner rather than later.
I’m just starting to type a reply when a shadow by my door makes me jump damn near out of my skin.
Hand reflexively going to the gun at my waist, I freeze just long enough to see a familiar face leaning in the frame.
“Papi! Fuck, you could’ve gotten yourself killed.”
“Good reflexes, baby, bad situational awareness.” He pushes off the wall, eyes on me. “Vali, don’t ever hesitate.”
I roll my eyes and dig through my bag for the key. “And what, shoot you? Mom?”
“Or Maksim.”
My gaze snaps up. “Not funny.”
He plays it off lightly, but there’s something in his eyes that tells me he’s not entirely joking.
I lean my crutches against the wall and wrap my arms around him, breathing in the familiar cologne that always means safety and home.
“Out late tonight?”
“Went to the fair,” I say, resting my chin against his chest, eyes lifting to his.
My initials are inked on the side of his neck, and I always make a point to look when I’m in his arms. The view has changed over the years.
The once neatly trimmed dark stubble along his jaw is now a fuller beard, streaked with salt and pepper. Still as handsome as always.
“On crutches? I thought you’d skip it this year.”
“Ugh, not you too.”
I pull away and unlock the door. Hermes and Apollo bound toward me, goofy grins and wagging tails, before moving on to greet their second favorite person. Dad steps inside behind me and secures the door, like he’s done a hundred times before.
A pained groan escapes me as I try to lower myself onto the barstool. I don’t need to look at him to know the exact expression on his face.
“Don’t say a word. Let me at least catch my breath before one of your lectures.”
He shakes his head, hands lifted in mock surrender.
“All I need to know is that you’re okay.”
“Nothing a hot shower and a warm compress won’t fix.”
Dad goes quiet, absently scratching Apollo’s head, but it’s obvious there’s more on his mind—a reason he’s here this late.
“Papi,” I prod gently. “Something you want to talk about? What brings you by?”
“Do I need a specific reason to visit you? Is it too late or something?”
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it. You’re always welcome here.” I lean forward, trying to catch his gaze. “But I can see something’s on your mind. The sooner you tell me, the sooner I’m showered and eating Fruit Loops on my couch.”
That earns me a chuckle, but still, he doesn’t look up.
My dad has never been one to dance around words. He’s a straightforward, no-bullshit man, often without a filter, or maybe he just doesn’t care enough to have one. Which makes his hesitation now unnerving.
Without thinking, I reach for the ring around my neck, thumb brushing the signet face, the Ares emblem. To the world and to the organization that once claimed him as one of their best, Derek Cain is a ruthless and dangerous former assassin.
But to me, he’s just my dad. The most important man in my life.
“Vali,” he finally says, his tone gentle. “Be careful.”
“Be…careful?”
He exhales heavily. “I know you’re not a little girl anymore. But you’ll always be my girl.”
“I know that.” I reach for his hand, and he sandwiches mine between his. The emotion in his voice burns a lump in my throat.
“And I can’t stop you from making certain choices…at least not any that won’t get me into trouble with your mom,” he adds with a hollow laugh.
“What’s this about?” I ask, though deep down I already know. His showing up this late, the way he’s circling the truth. It has Maksim written all over it. But I need to hear him say it. Need to understand his why.
“Maksim has a lot of ghosts, baby. And he’s made even more enemies. I don’t want you caught up in that shit.”
“Maksim is family.”
My dad’s blue eyes cut into me. “You know he’s not.”
“That’s not fair.” I push to my feet, ignoring the stab of pain. “What do you have against him? What happened with his father wasn’t his fault. He was just a boy.”
My voice trembles, betraying me. Maksim’s past claws its way to the surface—the abuse, the blood, the life carved into him by violence. Atrocities my father set into motion. And still, after all these years, he refuses to let go of this stupid grudge.
“None of that matters to me. You think I’m that unreasonable?”
“Then what is it? You came here to tell me to be careful of Maksim.”
He stands. “Because he’s not good for you.”
A bitter laugh escapes me. “Unbelievable. For one, Maksim and I are just friends, making up for lost time. And two, I don’t really think you’re in any position to judge.”
The words sting even as they leave my mouth. I love my father with everything I have, and I never want him to think I see him as anything less than the man I admire most, despite his past. But I can’t just sit here and let him dictate my choices.
He hadn’t liked Cole either, but that was different. Back then, it was as if he already knew our time was doomed to burn out. Aside from the occasional death glare, he’d kept his distance.
Does he sense something different in Maksim?
When our eyes meet, I see the hurt there, and it kills me.
“Papi,” I murmur, squeezing his hand. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
He offers me a fragile smile and pulls me in. “I know.”
I press closer, nuzzling against him and whisper, “Te quiero.”
I like to think he learned Spanish because of me. It was our thing when I was a little girl. I’d read and speak to him in Spanish, quiz him every night, and only laughed at his accent when he wasn’t around. The memory tugs a smile from me.
His chest rumbles with a soft laugh, like he’s dipping into my thoughts too, and his arms tighten around me. “I love you, too. Always.”
Mom told me how distraught he’d been after my accident, restless with what-ifs. Maybe it was all finally coming to a head.
“Hey. I’m okay. The worst is behind us.”
He cradles me, nodding slowly. We let silence settle until he kisses my hairline and frames my face. “I’ll see you at Silas and Leni’s this Friday.”
I nod, already picturing the family dinner and the chaos waiting for us there.
“I think it’ll be a good opportunity for you and Maksim to talk things out.”
He presses another kiss goodbye and heads for the door, but stops with his hand on the knob.
“No.”