Chapter 32
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Maksim
I realized early on that patience isn’t my strong suit. I never had that higher virtue, the one that lets you analyze, wait, and strike when the time is right. After another week in Chicago, I feel like I’m about to snap.
For years, I’ve been telling myself to wait.
For years, I tried to comfort myself that his turn would come.
The monster who forced me to lock myself away inside my own head whenever anyone touched me would pay.
But now that we’re this close to claiming that damned inheritance, whatever patience I had left is gone.
I need Luna to shut down that device and I need it now. If she doesn’t, I might start throwing grenades just to vent my frustration.
Rationally, I know my nerves are shot because of Akim’s call: he spotted Ivan in the garden, having lunch with a so-called “friend.” The thought of him living comfortably, not bleeding for every soul he’s wrecked, makes something inside me boil.
“We’re talking to Luna today,” I snap at Julia, not bothering to hide my edge.
And that’s another problem—my path to Ivan’s death apparently has curly hair, glasses, and, lucky me , my twin brother glued to her side.
Of all the women in the world, he noticed her?
I watched Roman drift through life ignoring everyone, barely glancing at women.
Now he’s hauled Luna into his world and keeps her close.
I wanted to storm in and drag her out, but Victoria’s in that house. If anything happened to her during a grab-and-go, I’d never forgive myself. So I waited.
But I’m done waiting. That’s why I’m parked in an SUV with Julia, watching from a distance as Luna rides with two of Roman’s men. My hands grip the steering wheel so tightly it's a miracle it hasn't cracked. This is our first real shot—she’s finally left the property. We can’t waste it.
“?Qué carajo…?” Julia’s voice yanks me out of my head. I follow her gaze and see a convoy of SUVs closing in, trying to ram Luna’s car off the road.
Julia’s already tapping at her tablet, pulling up info with her usual speed. Within a minute, she mutters, “Irish.”
No more waiting, I guess . I watch as Luna’s car gets shoved, flips, and a cold spike pierces my chest. No way fate is this cruel—not now, not when revenge is within arm’s reach.
Briefly, my mind flickers to Roman. If he’s brought Luna into his home, into the same space as our sister, she means something to him. That alone makes me hit the gas.
Julia loads her submachine gun, pulls on her mask, and we jump out, stopping just a few yards from where Luna’s pinned against the pavement by a man trying to drag her away. This isn’t a hit, they want to take her.
Julia must see it, too, because she opens fire, giving me the cue to unleash hell.
“COME WITH ME!!” Julia’s shout finally gets Luna attention, but she hesitates. Why isn’t she moving?
“It's you they want, Luna. If you're not here, they'll leave. Come on!”
I don’t know if it’s Julia’s tone or the realization that more SUVs are on the way, but, at last, Luna scrambles to her feet and bolts for our car. I slide behind the wheel and focus straight ahead. Julia’s in control—always is.
“Are you hurt?” she asks, voice low but steady.
“My shoulder’s killing me,” Luna gasps, pain and adrenaline mixing in her breath.
“May I?” Julia says, her calmness and kindness so natural it disarms anyone, even Luna, who tenses but lets Julia check.
“Your shoulder is dislocated,” Julia announces, and I meet her eyes in the rearview mirror for just a second.
Luna inhales sharply, then whispers, “Do it.”
The road ahead is clear. Julia glances at Luna, pride and respect shining through, before snapping her shoulder back into place with a crack.
“Better not to expect it,” Julia says the words I’ve used a hundred times, but on her lips, they taste like something new. I want to kiss her for that, but this is not the time.
And of course, the peace can’t last.
“I need to call someone,” Luna blurts out.
Yeah, I can guess exactly who she means; the same man who’s probably losing his mind right now trying to figure out where she’s gone.
“When we get to safety, I promise you can call whoever you want,” Julia replies, gentle but firm. I want to tell her there’s no way Luna’s calling Roman before she helps us get access to her old firm, but I keep silent.
Luna spends the entire ride scowling at the window, lost in her own head. When we finally reach our headquarters, some of our soldiers approach the car, but I shoot them a look sharp enough to keep them away.
The last thing I want is to scare Luna even more—being snatched off the street by two strangers is bad enough.
Julia calls her inside, and I watch as Luna, wide-eyed, scans the place, taking in the computers, the security, every detail.
She wears her emotions right on her face; I can see the moment she realizes this whole rescue mission was for her.
I pull off my mask. She stares, stunned, but I don’t waste time on greetings. “I wouldn't have wanted us to meet like this, but we need to have a discussion without my brother intervening.”
Normally, I’d laugh at her expression, mouth slightly open, eyes huge, but Roman’s probably tearing Chicago apart to find her, and we don’t have much time.
“Does Roman know?” she asks.
“That I exist?”
The way she looks me up and down, I know she’s shocked. Compared to my twin, I look like I dropped out of a biker gang, while he’s always polished in a suit, looking every bit the millionaire who takes holidays on the French Riviera.
“No,” I answer, honestly. “No, although I sense the long-awaited meeting will be soon.” I gesture to the couch, hoping we can get through this quickly.
“I'd prefer to stand and to know why the hell I'm here,” There it is, a spark behind the bookworm glasses, a fire that makes everything about her more interesting, and finally I get why Roman noticed her.
“Max, you're wasting time,” Julia cuts in, all business.
“How much time?” I ask without looking away from Luna.
Julia’s eyes flick to her phone, then back to me. “Maximum two hours, I'd say.”
“Luna, I need your help, and I won’t take no for an answer.” I try to keep my tone light, but she’s not buying it. “At your former job, you worked for ErestonLabs, correct?”
She just nods.
“I need you to get into their system and deactivate a device.”
She freezes as she puts the pieces together, but instead of blowing up, she says quietly, “I don't work there anymore.”
A small, dark smile tugs at my lips. There’s steel in her voice. Maybe convincing her won’t be so hard after all.
“No, but your digital signature is in the system.”
She realizes it, and it shows in her eyes. “That's why you need me. You can't add signatures to the system, but you can use existing ones. But the problem is digital traces will remain. They'll know it was me.”
“Julia will take care of cleaning up after you. Nobody will know it was you, but I need your fingerprint for authentication, and more importantly, to modify the correct code lines so someone won't have that device active anymore.”
She weighs her options, turning it over in her mind. Her next question sparks something sharp in my chest.
“Who is this person and why do they have to die?”
“Someone who should have been in hell for many years already, but apparently even Satan doesn't want to breathe his air,” I grit out.
“I need more than that,” she says, chin lifted.
The fire in me burns hotter. We’re so close, so close to ending these horrors, and she’s standing in my way.
I can’t take it. My hand finds itself around a keyboard, which smashes against the wall. I storm up to her and grip her throat, not hard, just enough to make her meet my eyes. She tries to push me off, but she’s got no chance.
“I don't think I made myself clear, Luna. This isn't a request. You will modify those code lines even if it has to be with a gun shoved down your throat. Clear?”
“I won't kill someone until you tell me what they did,” she spits back, and I feel my vision blur with rage.
All I need is a few lines of code to save thousands of lives. Why can’t she see we’re not the villains here? We just saved her life. I don’t have time to explain Ivan’s entire empire.
“Maksim, what the hell are you doing?” Julia shouts, and her hand on my arm pulls me back to myself. I release Luna, forcing myself to step away. I’m not a monster. But sometimes, after all these years, violence feels like it’s built into my bones.
“My adoptive father,” I finally tell Luna.
She’s still wary, but before I can say more, Julia jumps in for me.
“This man trafficks people, Luna. And by people I mean five- to six-year-old girls who end up being sold to the most depraved minds. Boys who are beaten and starved until their entire soul breaks and they can be molded however they want.”
All those kids flash through my mind, begging, screaming and pleading for me to save them. All the times I shut down, locked the world out just to survive their cries.
Luna looks at me now and there’s no mistrust left, just pity and that, somehow, stings even more.
“I don’t need…,” but before I can finish she opens her mouth again.
“Why haven’t you done it yourself?” she asks, and at least now her voice isn’t hostile.
It takes me a second to find my words. If I want her help, I have to give her something back.
“That monster runs one of the largest multinational companies in Russia and Eastern Europe. He has branches in oil, gas, and weapons. If he dies, I'm his only heir.”
“But not if you kill him,” she says, and I catch the flicker of understanding in her gaze.