16. Aria #2
I see him before he sees me, his face carved from stone. But when his eyes find me, I see something I’ve never seen before.
Real, genuine fear.
His brother almost died. For the first time, Nikolai is facing the reality that Maksim is mortal and he could have lost him. But when he looks at me, the fear transforms into cold fury. He crosses the waiting room in long strides and stops in front of me.
“This is your fault,” he hisses, his face white with rage.
I stare at him, unable to process his words. “Excuse me?”
“My brother has been chasing your conspiracy theories for weeks. Someone must have found out he was investigating Alexander and decided to eliminate him.” His eyes are chips of ice. “A good man is dead because Maksim was distracted by your lies.”
“They’re not lies!” I’m trying to keep my voice down for Daniel’s sake, but rage is flooding through me. “Alexander did this! I told you—”
“You told me a lot of things. None of which you can prove.” He turns away dismissively. “A man is dead and my brother is in surgery because you couldn’t keep your paranoid delusions to yourself.”
“Alexander threatened to kill my children!” I’m standing now, even though it means disturbing Daniel. He stirs but doesn’t wake. “I tried to warn you but you wouldn’t listen!”
“Because you had no proof!” Nikolai snarls, his voice raised, and several people in the waiting room turn to look. “You still have no proof and it’s your word against my man’s.”
“Then how do you explain the bomb?” I ask, my voice trembling with fear and rage. “How do you explain someone trying to kill Maksim right after he started investigating Alexander?”
“I don’t know. But I know it’s not the elaborate conspiracy you’ve convinced yourself exists.” He looks at me with something close to disgust. “Stay out of my way. And stay away from my brother.”
He walks away before I can respond, leaving me standing there with my sleeping son in my arms and fury burning in my chest.
Maybe he’s right. Maybe if I’d never told Maksim, if I’d just stayed quiet like Alexander wanted, maybe this wouldn’t have happened.
I shake my head. No. Alexander threatened me and my children. He would have come for us eventually, regardless of whether I talked or not.
This was always going to happen.
I just wish Len hadn’t been the one to pay the price.
Three more hours pass.
Daniel wakes up and asks if Maksim is okay before asking for water. I give him water from the fountain and tell him the doctors are still working.
My back is throbbing where the glass cut me, but I don’t care. I don’t care about anything except getting through the next minute, and the next, and the next.
Finally—finally—a doctor emerges. He’s in his sixties, with gray hair and kind eyes, and when he looks at me, he’s smiling slightly.
“Are you Maksim Sokolov’s family?”
“Yes,” I breathe. “I’m—we’re his family.”
“The surgery was successful. Mr. Sokolov is stable.” He sits down beside me, and I nearly collapse with relief.
“He had three broken ribs, extensive shrapnel wounds, and a concussion. We removed all the foreign objects we could find, stitched the lacerations, and stabilized the ribs. He’ll need several weeks of recovery, but he’s going to survive. ”
“Can we see him?” I whisper, swallowing down the lump in my throat.
“He’s being moved to a private room now. Give the nurses about thirty minutes to get him settled, and then yes, you can see him.”
Thirty minutes feels like an eternity. Daniel is bouncing with nervous energy, asking questions every thirty seconds. Is Maks awake? Will he be okay? Can we bring him home today?
I answer as best I can, trying to keep my own anxiety from showing. When they finally let us in, I have to stop in the doorway for a moment. Because seeing him like this—pale, bandaged, and hooked up to monitors and IVs—makes it all real in a way it wasn’t before.
Maksim is in a hospital bed. Maksim, who’s always been so strong and invincible, is lying there looking small and broken.
But his eyes open when we enter and when he sees us, he smiles. “Hey.”
Daniel doesn’t wait for permission. He runs to the bed and tries to climb up, but a nurse moves to stop him and I step forward.
“Daniel, you can’t—” I start to say but I’m interrupted.
“Let him,” Maksim says hoarsely but firmly. “Please.”
The nurse hesitates then steps back.
Daniel climbs up carefully, mindful of all the wires and tubes, and presses his face against Maksim’s chest. “Thank you for not dying. You promised you wouldn’t leave us.”
Maksim’s arm without the IV comes up to hold his son. “I’m not going anywhere, solnyshko. I promise.”
“You got hurt.” Daniel is crying again, clutching his father. “There was so much blood and the car was on fire and I thought you were dead.”
“Shh, I’m okay. I’m right here. Feel my heartbeat?” Maksim presses Daniel’s hand to his chest. “I’m alive. I’m not leaving you, Danya.”
I stand at the foot of the bed, watching them, and my heart is cracking open. This is my family. This is everything that matters.
And Alexander tried to destroy it.
Maksim looks at me over Daniel’s head, and his eyes are soft despite the pain.
“Are you okay, moya? The baby?”
“We’re fine. We’re all fine.” I move closer and take his free hand. “This is my fault. If I hadn’t told you about Alexander—”
“Stop.” His grip tightens on my hand and he fixes me with a piercing look. “This is Alexander’s fault, not yours. You were trying to protect our family and I was trying to protect you. We’re all alive. That’s what matters.”
“Len isn’t alive.” My voice breaks and I turn my head to swallow back tears. “He’s dead because—”
“Because Alexander planted a bomb. Because Alexander is a traitor and a murderer.” Maksim’s voice is fierce despite the pain medication making his words slightly slurred. “Not because of you. Never because of you.”
Daniel has fallen asleep against Maksim’s chest, exhausted from crying. Maksim holds him carefully, mindful of his broken ribs.
“I should move him,” I say. “You need to rest.”
“No. Let him stay.” Maksim’s eyes are already drifting closed. “Need to…need to feel him. Know he’s safe.”
I watch my son and the man I love fall asleep and I’ve never felt more protective or more terrified.
Because Alexander is still out there.
And he’s not going to stop until we’re all dead.
An hour later, I’m sitting in the chair beside Maksim’s bed when the door opens.
Nikolai enters. But his expression is different than before. It’s not filled with rage but carefully controlled. I stiffen. Something has changed.
“We need to talk,” he says shortly.
I glance at Maksim and Daniel, both still sleeping. “Not here.”
We step into the hallway. I close the door quietly behind me and turn to face Nikolai.
His jaw is tight, his hands clenched at his sides. When he speaks, his voice is light but I can hear the fury underneath.
“We found the maintenance worker who planted the bomb. He was hired through encrypted messages and paid through offshore accounts.”
I hold my breath, waiting.
“The accounts trace to Cyprus and Marseille. The same accounts Maksim showed me. The ones I dismissed.” His eyes meet mine, and there’s something like regret there. “The accounts are controlled by Alexander.”
The vindication feels hollow. A man is dead and Maksim nearly died, but at least Nikolai believes us now. Yay us.
“We went to bring Alexander in for questioning.” Nikolai continues, anger radiating off him. “He’s gone. Apartment empty, phone disconnected. He disappeared within an hour of the explosion.”
“Because he knew you’d trace the payment,” I say quietly.
Nikolai nods. “The maintenance worker said he was told to target the primary vehicle specifically and make sure the bomb killed everyone inside.” His expression darkens. “Only someone close to the family would know Maksim’s routines that well.”
He looks at me for the first time since dismissing my accusations weeks ago.
“Tell me again. Everything you witnessed eight years ago. Every detail. And don’t you dare leave anything out.”
So I do. I recount it all—the warehouse, the execution, overhearing the conversation about moving against Nikolai, the Corsican connection, the Cyprus accounts. This time, Nikolai listens without interrupting and dismissing me. This time, he doesn’t call me a liar.
When I’m done, he’s quiet for a long moment, eyes searching mine.
“He’s been planning this for years.” It’s as close to admitting he was wrong as Nikolai is capable of. “And I gave him access to everything. Every meeting. Every decision. Every weakness in our security.”
“He told me if I said anything, Daniel would have an accident,” I say quietly, shivering as I remember Alexander’s words. “That I would lose this baby.”
Nikolai’s expression hardens into fury. “He won’t get the chance. We’re going to find him.”
“He won’t stop coming for us.” Fear floods through me and I wrap my arms around myself, suddenly cold. “As long as I’m alive, I’m a witness. And Maksim is a threat. Alexander has to eliminate us to be safe.”
“Then we find him first.” Nikolai looks at the closed door, at where his brother is sleeping. “And we end this.”
The promise in his voice makes me shiver again.
Alexander Morozov tried to kill Nikolai’s brother. Now he’s going to learn what happens when you threaten the Sokolov family.