Chapter 4
MAKSIM
Nikolai leans against the wall of my office, arms folded. My younger brother is like the leaner version of me. He’s got Bratva tattoos on his hands and over his neck. His hair is dark, with only a few touches of silver coming in. His eyes are the same blue-gray as mine.
“You didn’t need to twist the blade to make him sing?” he says.
I shake my head. “He believed me when I told him we were going to keep him and his family safe.”
Nikolai nods. “Good, our word means something.”
I make a hmm noise as though I agree, but I don’t tell him the truth. He agreed to speak to us because Lia vouched for me. My brother doesn’t know about my hungry secret, the hours spent watching Lia on the security footage, the break she gives me from this life.
Nikolai’s phone goes off. His face twists anxiously. Which is odd. He’s normally like stone. You’ve got to be, in this life.
“Everything okay?”
“Women troubles,” he grunts, then puts his phone away. “So, what’s the damage? That phone can’t give him everything.”
“But it’s a risk to our empire. You know that.”
“Half a key doesn’t open a lock,” he says. “Unless we messed up. Left info on the phone by mistake. Or there’s some metadata they can use to gain access to other parts of the business.”
“Exactly,” I reply. “That’s my fear.”
Nikolai smiles, cocky. “Careful, you don’t want people to know you experience fear. It’d be bad for business if this wretched city learned Maksim Volkov was human after all.”
I laugh grimly. He’s right. When you’re at the top, you have to be stone. Which is why Liora Quinn is so dangerous.
“Is Anton arranging the security for the family?”
“As we speak.”
“That’s one hell of an expense.”
“I gave my word,” I growl, and that’s the end of it.
“What’s the next move, then?”
“The signal has dropped on the phone. They’ve probably got it inside a Faraday bag. Joel said a tall, pale man approached him yesterday, then picked him up after the end of his shift and threatened his family.”
“Tall, pale. That sounds like Conrad’s man… what’s his name?”
“Eli Flemmings,” I mutter.
“Yep.” Nikolai nods. “So, it was Conrad then. First, he shoots you, but does it like a sneaky, pathetic little coward so he can maintain deniability. Now, this. Well, he can’t deny this.”
“I need more protection arranged,” I tell him.
“For who?”
I turn, looking at the photos on the wall. Nikolai and I as boys, covered in mud. Later, as teenagers, standing beside an MMA cage, sweaty and bloody and grinning like madmen. I can’t look at him when I talk about Lia. He’ll know I care far more than I should.
“Liora Quinn, a nurse at the hospital,” I say. Then a thought occurs to me. What is this… guilt? That’s a new feeling. “Actually, hold off. I need to handle something first.”
“You got it, boss,” Nikolai says in a joking tone.
I turn back to him, flipping him the bird. He knows I hate when he calls me that. He’s one of the only people who doesn’t treat me like the king.
“We’ll handle this, brother,” he says, grinning. He’s been hot and cold lately, anxious, erratic, then back to his usual self like he is now. Women troubles… another reminder that I need to keep my head on straight. “We can’t let Conrad goddamn Vale control the flow of information in this city.”
“Amen,” I snarl.
I sit outside the hospital, drumming my fingers against the steering wheel.
As usual, my security team remains at a distance.
Watching, waiting. Perhaps even hoping for something to go wrong so they have a chance to use their skills.
Our game in Washington DC isn’t like other cities.
We don’t fight as often as they do. Our weapons are electronic, in the dark, dirty corners of the political elite.
When I see Lia leaving, my stomach knots. I’m forty-five, and I’ve spent my entire life not really living. I’ve been able to thrive because of this distance. I work, I train, visit the shooting range, and I work some more.
That’s why the CCTV has been so appealing.
A private passion, watching her from afar.
The tics in her expression, the fervor with which she cares for her patients.
And yeah, I’m a hot-blooded man, a hot-blooded beast, some might say…
her body too. Curvy in all the right places.
Making my hands twitch as I imagine sinking them into her perfection.
She’s startled when I come up behind her and call her name. She spins, her keys poking through her fingers. When she sees it’s me, her first instinct is to smile. That does more to me than she can ever know.
“Joel called,” she murmurs. “Apparently, there’s a car sitting outside his house. The men work for some big security agency. I looked it up. You own the agency. Among other things.”
“I gave you my word,” I tell her. “He and his family will be safe until this is over. That’s why I’m here.”
I approach, aware of how quiet the parking lot is. There’s that look again. She clenches her jaw. It’s like she’s fighting some kind of internal battle. I know the feeling.
“I need to arrange the same protection for you,” I say.
“Okay, fine.”
I breathe a sigh of relief.
“But only if you tell me what’s going on,” she adds.
The relief came too soon.
“You know what’s going on,” I grunt. “You stood up to a bad man. Now, there’s a chance he has it out for you. My job is to keep you safe. That’s all you need to know.”
“You’re wrong,” she says. “Why was that poor young man hit by a car? What’s so important about the phone? Who are these bad men? And who are you, Maksim? Online, it says you own a bunch of businesses. But I’m not stupid.”
“I would never call you stupid,” I say earnestly.
“You came in with a gunshot and a fake name.”
And she cared for me. She spoke to me like a regular guy. Just like she is now, without fear, without nerves. Or, if it’s there, she’s hiding it well. Burying it deeply. That just makes me want to peel back her layers and get to know the real her… not the version I’ve watched on my computer.
“So, who are you? I’m guessing some kind of crime boss.” When I tense up, she takes a step forward, almost closing the distance between us entirely. It takes everything I have not to reach forward and sink my hands into those tempting hips. “I’m right, aren’t I?”
“I can’t tell you anything. Except that you might be in danger and I’d never forgive myself if something happened to you.”
She looks shocked by my words, tilting her head at me. “Why?” she murmurs.
I shake my head. “Just—just know that you’re protected.”
“What if I don’t give you permission?”
“I’m not going to let anybody hurt you.”
“Again, why?” she says, with more insistence this time.
“Do you want to be caught in the middle of this?” I snap. “I’m trying to keep you safe.”
“And I’m trying to go home after a long shift. Anything else?”
“Your number,” I say. “So I can call if anything goes wrong.”
“Nope. Are we done?”
For a long moment, we just look at each other. She’s got that tempting challenge in her eyes, the sass and confidence off the charts. I’m torn between impressed and furious.
“Sure,” I say, turning away. As if I don’t already have her number. I just needed a legitimate reason to have it. But if she wants to play this game, that’s fine with me too. “Have it your way.”
I walk away, smirking again, feeling as if we’re at the start of something… which is a dangerous thought for a man in my position. For me, and for her.