It was for love of family that he’d come here for the diamond in the first place. And when Max told me he loved me too, my heart believed him.
He ran his thumb across the fullness of my lower lip and I felt the delicious warmth of desire flood through me. “Ana, oh Ana…,” he breathed, touching his lips to mine. “I wanted the stone, only the stone. But I hadn’t met you yet… and once I had…” He was so close, so warm. “Everything started to change then.” He took my hands in his.
“I know you, Ana, and you know me. There aren’t any lies between us now and there never will be again. I promise you that… There’s nothing I won’t do, Ana, to keep that promise.” He pulled me into his arms and I could feel his strength, his intensity. I looked into his eyes and saw nothing but the truth. That, and a reflection of the same naked desire growing inside me.
“Ana,” his voice was deep and harsh as he pulled me close, crushing my breasts against the steel of his chest. “I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life,” he said, running his hands up the length of my back to the base of my neck. I felt heat pooling deep and low inside me as he kissed me, working the tender flesh under my ears with his thumbs. I reached up, tangling my hands in his hair, giving in to my own need. I loved him, and I wanted to trust… to believe. I needed his hands on me, his body against mine again. I needed to feel the way only Max could make me feel…
I kissed him hard, all the tension inside me unleashing at once. I gasped, as he peeled my sweater off, leaving me exposed, vulnerable. I ran my hands under his shirt, over his hard muscled back as he dropped his mouth to my tight nipples, catching at them with his teeth through the lace of my bra. Then he slipped his big warm hands inside the bra cups, lifting my breasts out completely, so they sat high and mounded, pushed tight together by the lace and the straps. He cupped my ass in his hands and lifted me onto his lap. Wrapping my legs around him, I felt the long, hot length of his cock, still restrained by his tight jeans, against my thin, wet panties. I was shaking with need, but he left my panties on me, tearing instead through the lacey fabric with his fingers, to expose only my desperately hungry pussy. I felt more vulnerable than if he’d stripped me bare naked…
“My god, Ana…,” he breathed into me, “I could touch you like this forever… just like this…”
I unbuttoned his shirt as he kissed me, reaching for the front of his jeans, my fingers clumsy. I wanted his skin on mine and I needed the rock hard length of his cock inside me. But most of all, I needed to feel the Max I knew, the man I loved. I pushed everything out of my mind but the familiarity of his body and the safety I’d felt in his arms. Right now it was the only thing that mattered…
We broke apart, gasping as Max’s phone rang, the shrill sound cutting through the heat between us. Breathing hard, he put a hand gently to my cheek and then crossed the room to answer. I watched as his breathing slowed, then stopped altogether as he listened. His eyes had never left me. I saw his look intensify as he nodded. “I’m leaving now.” He put the phone down as I came closer, to look up into his eyes. My heart was still pounding, but for an altogether different reason now.
28
Max
“No, Ana, it’s not up for debate. You’re staying with your sister and that’s final. There’s still some of the drug in your system and you’ve only had a few hours sleep.”
“And you’ve had none, Max,” Ana shot back, pulling her sweater over her head and rummaging for a missing shoe. “The Strastnyy is still my responsibility and you’re not leaving here without me.” She grabbed my arm, her small hand surprisingly strong. “I’ve left a note for when Ally wakes up. I have to do this, Max.”
My hesitation lasted only a split second. I caught her to me, kissing her forehead hard, then pulling on my jacket and stuffing my phone inside. I felt Ana’s gaze we headed outside, and I shoved my gun into the back of my waistband. “What did they say, Max… Do you know where the diamond is? Have they found Savvin?”
I tucked Ana into the car and went around to climb in beside her. “It’s a longshot… something that Sergei said that reminded me.” I took her hand, holding it tight as we headed out fast. “He has contacts who’ve been working here for years and we have safe houses, mostly in more rural areas. Some are used fairly regularly… others have been mostly abandoned, sometimes for years at a time. I remembered there was one in Virginia, that had been abandoned more than a decade ago. Even Sergei’s men wouldn’t have bothered to check it…”
“And you think he’s there?” I could hear the excitement in Ana’s voice, her mind working. “It’s close enough to the city… to the museum.”
“Ana, there are a hundred places he could have gone. And the only place we know for sure that he isn’t, is the museum. We’re watching that, and he hasn’t gotten close… at least not yet.”
Ana looked out the car window as the sun was rising, washing the pink out of the morning sky. “What if Savvin’s not there, at this safe house? Where do we look next?”
I brought her hand to my lips, unable to find the answers. “We likely won’t find anything, Ana. But there are a lot of men working on this and they will find him. Savvin’s putting our entire family at risk, by trying to pull off a fucking job this size on his own. He may not have the codes he needs, to get into the museum unnoticed.” I squeezed Ana’s hand in mine. “And without them, he may be capable of anything, to get what he wants.”
Ana had settled into a deep sleep only after we’d been on the road for nearly two hours. It was a relief to see her finally getting some rest. I could only imagine how hard these last few days had been on her. I brushed the hair back from her forehead. I wanted all this to be finished. I wanted Ana safe and happy. I wanted to be able to begin, making it up to her.
I was driving on instinct now… well off the main highway. It had been years since I’d been here last. The area was overgrown, desolate, yet somehow familiar. I drove until I could see the front of the house and pulled off. Locking the door behind me, I left Ana sleeping in the car and headed in on foot.
The house was quiet and in ruins. As I moved in, I could see the roof sagged and one wall leaned precariously outward. The front door appeared to be closed tight, but as I got closer, I could see broken glass littering the ground below several of the windows. I crept in, keeping behind the trees and shrubs as long as I could, and reached for the gun at my waist. I was silent as I moved around to the north wall, peering in over the jagged remnants of glass left in the window frame, unsure as to what I might find... Adrenaline hit the instant I saw them.
Inside were the stripped down bodies of two men, blood mixing into the dust around them.
“My whole life they’ve underestimated me, Max,” Savvin’s voice rang out sharply behind me. “But you, most of all.” He pushed the cold steel of his gun into the base of my skull. “Drop the fucking gun, and turn around… nice and slow.”
He kicked my gun away hard, and shoved his under my jaw as I turned. His blue eyes were shot with red and he was breathing fast, through his mouth.
“You know, I never did like you, Max,” he panted. “You were the Sergei’s fucking little prince.” He shoved me back with his weapon until my back hit the wall of the house. Then he searched me fast, smiling as he tossed my phone in the dirt and crushed it with his heel.
“You were all I ever heard about, Max… when I was growing up. Like some kind of paragon I could never live up to. Even my own fucking family. It was always you. Kozlov’s fucking golden boy…”
“Savvin,” I began…
“Shut the fuck up, Max,” he shot out through clenched teeth. “I’m sick of your shit. It’s time you fucking listened to me.” He reached into his jacket pocket and brought his hand out, fist closed. Then he opened it so close to my face that I couldn’t see anything for a moment, but the blinding flash of color and light.
I watched as the pendant danced before me, struck as I always was, by the pure beauty of a diamond. The white, pear shaped drops spark
led in the sunlight, shooting flashes of color. And above it shined the dark, scintillating, almost violet blue of the Strastnyy herself. The Passionate Diamond. Anton and Catherine’s own Blue. I held my breath, watching as Savvin shoved it back into his pocket, back into darkness. I looked into his face, and for the first time saw the man was lingering on the edge of madness.
“I’m the one who got it, Max. Not. Fucking. You.”
“I’ll take it home to Sergei, and then I’ll take your place. There’s not a fucking thing he’ll deny me, when I come home with the entire goddamn collection. Those jewels should all be back in Russia… not just this one.” He put his hand over his pocket possessively. “I’m the only goddamn man here with the fucking balls to make it happen.”
“Now it’s you Max, gonna be my right hand man.” He used the barrel of his gun to push me ahead of him. “And I’m not fucking waiting any longer.”
We were headed for the back of the property where a black van sat, Central Security Services in discrete gold lettering across the door. He opened the driver’s side, and put his weapon to the side of my head, pushing me in. “You’re driving to Hillyard, now. I got the codes from that prickless shit Collins, and you’re going to do everything I fucking tell you to do, Max. This time I’m the one going home as the damn hero…”
“Fuck you, Savvin,” I ground out, as he climbed in behind me, gun to my head. “We were sent for the Blue and you’ve got it. Take it the fuck back to Sergei, but there’s no way in hell I’m helping you with the rest of this shit.”
I turned around to face him, and watched him as he dropped the barrel of the gun away from me… and down toward the floor of the van. I saw her terrified eyes and felt my heart stop in my chest.
“That’s where you’re wrong again, Maxim. You couldn’t be more fucking wrong.”
29
Ana
Max’s face froze when he saw me, tied and lying behind him on the floor of the van.
“I never needed you to pull this off,” Savvin said, his voice low and frightening. “Not Ally, not Stuart… once he’d given me this.” He held up a slip of yellow paper. “I can’t believe you left that little fuck alive, Max, but I fixed your mistake. It was a fucking pleasure to kill him.”
“It was Ana who was the key all along, Max. She was all I needed. She has the codes to get us into the underground vaults, and this,” he said, tucking the paper in his pocket, “was just the last piece of the puzzle. Courtesy of your gutless boss, sweetie.” Savvin bent low, too close to my face and smiled, his eyes travelling downward… “You were gonna fuck our way in, Max, but this works just as well.” He aimed the gun at my face.
“Start the engine, Max. You two are in this now, right to the fucking end.”
Max turned the key without taking his eyes off me and I could see the rage building inside him. He knew, just as I did, that Savvin was right. We were in it to the end. And Savvin was the one calling the shots. He had been ever since he’d broken the car window as I slept, and dragged me out…
Max was silent as he pulled the van back out onto the road, but I knew his mind was racing. He would do anything he could to stop Savvin. And that was exactly why Savvin had taken me…
I was the one thing, other than the Blue, that Max would do anything for.
I watched Savvin’s face as he rode shotgun, his eyes darting between me in the back, and Max as he drove. The gun in his hand never moved. It was trained on me, as he barked out an occasional abrupt instruction to Max, shattering the brittle silent. I could see the muscles standing out in Max’s neck and jaw, his knuckles white as he gripped the steering wheel. I knew what it was costing him, to obey Savvin’s orders. I kept silent, terrified of setting Savvin off… and of drawing even more of his attention to me.
His eyes gleamed as I bounced and swayed, helpless against the movements of the van. I knew he wouldn’t kill me… at least not yet. He needed me to get him into the vaults first. But I turned cold inside, thinking of what he’d be capable of then. He wouldn’t hesitate to hurt me once he had stolen the collection, and I could see in his eyes what he wanted to do... not out of desire for me, for the need to torture Max as fully as he could. I turned away and closed my eyes, sick that I had become a weapon. A way for Savvin get back at Max for a lifetime of resentment. He would kill me in the end… and Max too, if he could. I pulled a long, shaky breath, trying to calm churning in my belly as the van carried us relentlessly on.
I could hear the traffic increasing around us as we got closer and closer to the city. We couldn’t be too far from the museum now and Savvin’s smug patience was disappearing. He was anxious and standing beside Max, shoving the gun into his ribs.
“Take us around the back,” he said to Max. “She’s gonna take us in through the employee entrance,” Savvin said as he reached for me, pulling me roughly by the arm until I was on my feet beside him.
“The place will be empty. I had Stuart arrange for the museum to close at noon today. Right before I put the bullet in his brain,” he said, looking at his watch and licking his lips. “The cameras were automatically disabled five minutes ago. We have one hour, with no one watching,” he said, his eyes shifting to me…
He pulled me along with him to the back of the van, reaching for a bundle of dark clothing and a pair of caps with gold emblems on the front. He shrugged into the black coveralls and threw the other pair in Max’s lap. “We’re doing this in broad fucking daylight, Max, not creeping around in the dark,” he sneered. “Hundreds of millions in gold and diamonds, and no one’s even going to blink an eye.”
Savvin held the gun on me, as Max pulled the van into the narrow alley behind the museum and parked next to the entrance. Killing the engine, Max pulled on the uniform Savvin had given him. His green eyes glittered coldly, as his eyes strayed to Savvin’s hand gripping my shoulder. Only the gun at my neck was stopping him from tearing Savvin to pieces. I could read it in his eyes. Then Savvin waved the gun at Max, pushing us both towards the van’s back doors.
“Fast and simple, Annie. You’re getting us underground with no delays, no fuck ups,” he growled close to my ear. We slipped on the gloves he gave us, and then put on a pair of his own.
He picked up a large black duffle, heavy with equipment from the security service and shoved it at Max. “I get us into the right vault with Stuart’s code and you fill the fucking bag. I want it all Max, every fucking piece.”
Savvin stood behind me and wrapped a strong wiry arm around my waist, pulling me tight against him, almost lifting me off my feet. He pushed his gun hard into my back and I gasped. “Don’t fuck this up Max. I promise you… you won’t want what’s left of her if you do.”
I punched in the code with shaking fingers, and in seconds we were headed for the elevators. Another set of numbers to allow access, and we were moving fast, our footsteps echoing in the long, empty corridor. Savvin held me tightly to him, my skin crawling at the sensation of his body pressed against mine. Max was ahead of us. He pushed the button for level three, the one that stored the Imperial collection. For a moment, I was surprised, wondering how he’d known. And then I remembered… He would know every inch of the museum as well as I did. Maybe better.
“Are you alright, Ana?” Max asked, as the elevator took us down, the concern in his eyes softening the tension in my chest. I could feel his gaze warming me, giving me courage. “Are you hurt?”
I smiled unsteadily and shook my head. Savvin pulled me tighter, forcing me out the doors as they opened, pointing his gun at Max. “Shut up and move,” he snarled. “You fucking know where we’re going.”
The lights came on in sequence as we moved, down the narrow halls, left… then right. We stopped at the dead end, at an unmarked steel door, under a bulb that burned unsteadily. Savvin kept the gun trained on Max, gripping my arm and forcing me to the small keypad over the doorknob.
“Do it,” he ordered through his clenched teeth. I could feel his hand shaking as he twisted my arm. “N
ow.”
I punched in the last code I knew, my fingers cold and numb. This one gained our entry to the anteroom. “Empty the fucking bag here,” he shot toward Max, who went down on one knee, dumping the tools in a heap.
There was one more set of numbers that would open the last door, the door that stood between us and the Russian jewels. It was a code that changed daily, and ensured that no single employee would ever have sole access to what was inside. It was the code Stuart had given to Savvin… before Savvin had killed him in cold blood.
“Move.” He shoved me to where Max stood, keeping his gun on us both as his fingers flew over the keypad. Max’s hands spanned my waist protectively. We watched together as the sweat dripped from Savvin’s face and he finished the long sequence.
No… fuck no... NO!” he screamed out as the pad buzzed and flashed red. “If that goddamn little prick gave me the wrong fucking…,” he ground out, as he dug into his pocket and pulled out the yellow paper Stuart had given him. A black ribbon was tangled in it, threading through his fingers.
Even the dull light given off by the dying bulb overhead was enough. The diamond flared to life, shooting brilliant color as it twisted and turned, dangling from its thin ribbon. I caught my breath, frozen by the cold blue beauty of the one thing, the only thing, that every one of us wanted…
The paper fluttered nervously in Savvin’s hand as he focused, punching in each number slowly, carefully. He had to know, just as I did, that a second wrong entry would disable the keypad.
“Shit, SHIT!… So help me, if that goddamn little prick fucked me over…” He reached the last digit and his eyes burned as he looked up at us. I felt Max’s hand tighten on my arm as Savvin pushed the last button.
“NO!!” he roared, as the keypad flashed red one last time and went dead.
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