by Alexa Davis
"This is insane, Papa. What on earth could you have done to cause this level of anger?" I pressed as I reached out and rested my hand on his arm. Papa turned and looked at me. He raised his hand and I flinched, thinking he was going to slap me for being too nosy; instead, he laid his hand on my cheek and smiled sadly.
"I'm sorry, Maksimka," he said quietly. "I was never a very good father. I left the job of raising you and Kristov to your mother and she did an astounding job of it, considering that she mostly did it alone. I'm sorry I've been a terrible father. I did the best I could, but I recognize now that it was never enough."
"Papa, what are you talking about?" I could feel the fear welling up inside me. After my conversation with Babi, I knew that Papa knew something that he wasn't sharing with me and what he was doing felt suspiciously like saying goodbye. "What is going on?"
"We need to trade with Dementyev, Maksim," he said plainly. Papa looked up at Feliks, who nodded and quickly left the room. I was confused.
"You're not going to meet with that madman, are you?" I asked.
"Yes, I am," he said as he pushed himself up out of the chair and stood towering over me. "A real man takes responsibility for his mistakes and doesn't let the innocent suffer in his place, Maksimka. I am going to go meet with the man and get him to release Miss Wallace."
"But, Papa, if you go meet with him he's going to kill you," I protested. "He has no intention of negotiating or hearing your apology, he simply wants revenge for whatever it was that you did to him years ago. He will kill you."
"He might," he shrugged. "Then again, he might listen to me. I won't know until I try, and I can't leave Miss Wallace there to suffer the consequences of my actions, you know?"
"Let me go with you, then," I insisted. "I can help negotiate the meeting and make sure that he doesn't intend to cause you any harm."
Papa burst into laughter as I spoke. He looked at Feliks, who had returned, and said, "Do you hear him? My son says he will protect me from that maniac Dementyev! I have a good son, Feliks!" Feliks nodded and smiled at me as he signaled to Papa that it was time to leave.
Papa nodded and followed him out to the car where he waved me off saying, "I take care of my own business, Maksim. I don't send my son to take care of what is mine and only mine. But bless you for trying." With that, Papa slammed the door shut and waved goodbye.
#
I ran to my car and hopped in back, telling my driver to follow Papa's vehicle from a distance, and we drove through the darkened streets of Wicker Park. It wasn't long before we pulled up near a run-down warehouse in a seedy section of the city. There were weeds growing several feet high around the place and with all of the trash piled up around the edges of the building, it looked like no one had entered it for a long time.
We parked a discreet distance away and I watched as Papa got out and crossed the parking lot to a door in back. He knocked and stood there for a minute before the door swung open and a hand reached out and grabbed him, roughly pulling him inside. I quickly opened my door and made a move to get out and run across the parking lot, but a hand on my shoulder stopped me.
"Don't do it, Maksim," Feliks said, shaking his head. "Vladimir needs to take care of this himself and if you go blazing in there, it will humiliate him in the eyes of the vory v zakone and his bratán. Let him try to talk some sense into that maniac, Dementyev."
"But you can't let him go in there alone!" I shouted.
"We didn't," Feliks grinned as he patted me on the shoulder. "Your father has been sending moles into Dementyev's organization for years, and most of the men on the inside right now are part of your father's organization, not Dementyev's. We're crazy, but we're not stupid, Maksimka."
"You are all insane," I exhaled. "But what about Lexi? What about her safety? How is she supposed to know who is good and who is bad? And where is she, anyway? I need to find her!"
"We have no idea where she is," he admitted. "Vladimir is going in to see what he can find out about the situation. Hopefully, he can convince Dementyev to release Miss Wallace without having to play his hand, but if he has to, it could get ugly. Your father can’t get what we need, then Miss Wallace may be collatoral damage."
"Collatoral damage? Collatoral damage? You guys are assholes! She’s not collatoral damage! We need to figure out where they're keeping her!" I yelled as I stormed off. Feliks didn’t try to stop me.
“It’s the price of business, Maksimka!” he called after me.
The building was enormous and there was no way to figure out where they might be keeping her without inside information. I ran a hand through my hair as I cursed under my breath and when I looked up, I saw something moving in the weeds on the far side of the building. It stopped and then started again. Thinking it might be a stray animal that had found a way into the building, I wondered if I followed it whether I could find a way in so that I could search for Lexi. Keeping my eye on the moving weeds, I ran around the back of the building and waited to see where the stray would go next.
"C'mon, c'mon, show me a way in," I said in a low voice. At that moment, a small animal came bursting out of the weeds headed straight for me. It looked like a rabid rat, and I backed up prepared to stomp on it if it got too close, but then I heard a familiar chirp. I shook my head, thinking I was imagining things, and I heard it again. There was a small but distinct chirp coming from the rat that was rushing toward me. "Anna?" I called wondering if I was officially crazy. "Is that you, little girl?"
She flung herself at my leg and head butted my foot as she purred furiously. I bent down and scooped up the dirty, wet kitten and held her up to the light. "What are you doing here, little one?" I asked as she reached out and patted my face. "Lexi's here, isn't she?"
Anna chirped and patted me a few more times before I decided to put her down and see where she'd go. She quickly turned and led me to a wall that had a row of windows at chin height for me. I peered into the first one. It was dark and empty, as were the next three, but when I looked into the fourth one, I knew I'd hit pay dirt. Lexi!
"Lexi! Lexi!" I whispered loudly, afraid that if I shouted, I'd attract the attention of the guards on the inside. I was aware that there might be patrols placed on the outside of the building, but I since I hadn't seen any while observing, I assumed that the forces were gathered inside with my father. "Lexi!"
"Max?" I heard a voice call out. "Is that you? Max? Or am I hallucinating?"
"It's me, Lexi! I'm here to get you out! I'm coming!" I assured her as I looked around for something I could use to break the window frame with. I dug through the weeds, coming up with a host of useless items before realizing that there was probably a tire iron in the trunk of my car. I raced back and popped the trunk, grabbed the tire iron, and called to Feliks, "I found Lexi, I'm going to get her out of there!"
"Max, wait! No!" he yelled as I took off running back to the window.
I made quick work of the window frame and soon smashed the glass that kept Lexi trapped inside the room. I reached my hand inside and whispered, "Grab my hand, I'll pull you out!"
Just as I felt her fingers closing around mine, a voice from behind me said, "Oh no, no, Malinchencko. That's not how this works," as a pair of hands grabbed my arms and wrenched them around behind me. I heard Lexi let out a terrified scream just before the world went dark.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
Lexi
As I lay on the floor trying to fight back the tears, I thought I heard Max's voice. I shook my head as I reminded myself that no one had any idea where I was and that there was no way he could have found me. I was imagining things that were never going to happen, and I should simply prepare myself for the moment the crazy blond man came back and slit my throat just to watch me bleed to death. This set off a new wave of tears and I choked back sobs as I tried not to picture my own death.
"Lexi! Lexi!" I lifted my head and listened carefully. "Lexi!"
"Max?" I called back. "Is that you? Max? Or am I hallucinating?" I was
afraid to dare to hope that Max had come to rescue me, but I also knew that it was what I wanted more than anything. Max called back that he was going to find a way to break the window and get me out before he disappeared again. I wasn't sure if I could trust what I thought I'd heard, so I dropped my head and tried to call up all of the happiest moments with Max. Doing this brought images of Anna to mind and again, I began sobbing as I recalled how callous and cruel the man who'd shot her had been.
A few minutes later, I heard Max outside the window pounding on the frame with something metal, and after a few minutes, the window broke and air came streaming in. I looked up expecting to see Max peeking over the edge of the windowsill and instead, I saw a pair of beady eyes and a lecherous grin looking down at me. I recoiled in horror and pressed myself against tightly against the wall.
"Your boyfriend is out cold, little girl," he cackled. "Did you think he was going to rescue his damsel in distress? He's an idiot who deserves to die."
"No!" I cried as I reached out toward window.
"Aw, sit down and shut up, suka," he spat. "No one wants to hear your pitiful wailing."
He disappeared, and I could hear sounds of a body being dragged across the hard ground getting further and further from the window. "Oh, Max," I whispered. "Please be okay." I dropped my head into my hands and began crying silently. All hope was lost. Now, we were both going to die at the hands of a mad man. Suddenly, I heard a small familiar sound. It seemed so out of place here in this dark cold dungeon that I assumed it was my imagination, but the second time I heard it, I looked up to find Anna perched on the edge of the window, looking down at me and chirping. Her fur was wet and incredibly filthy, but she was alive.
"Anna!" I cried quietly. "You're alive!" She chirped and head butted the cement bricks as if to encourage me to join her on the ledge. "I can't get up that far by myself, little one," I said shaking my head. She chirped more urgently as she paced the ledge so I stood up and reached up to pet her. She head butted my hand and began purring, and I began crying again. "I'm never getting out of here, Anna. You need to go somewhere safe and hide. Find a nice family to take care of you. I love you, little girl."
Anna shot me a look as she turned and hopped off of the ledge and disappeared from view. I felt my spirit drop as I watched the window, waiting for her to return. After a few minutes, I gave into the fact that she'd done what I'd asked and had disappeared to go hide somewhere safe. I tried not to feel sorry for myself, but I did. I wanted my life back! I wanted Anna and Max and our happy life at the store and in the penthouse. I didn't want to die on a dirty mattress in a cold, dark room.
"Anna? Max?" I called softly. "Come back! Don't leave me!"
The silence was deafening.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
Max
I came to with my face pressed to the concrete floor listening to Papa and Dementyev arguing. They were circling each other as they yelled at the top of their lungs about old grudges, but I couldn't tell who had the upper hand. I didn't want to alert them that I was conscious, so I lay there trying to get a sense of where we were before I played my hand. I could see the outer walls of the warehouse, and from where I lay, I could see a long hallway that stretched out toward the back of the building. I wondered if that was where they were keeping Lexi.
I started forming a plan as first Papa, then Dementyev, moved close to me. I wasn't sure if they were planning to fight or if this was just part of their Russian drama playing out, but as I watched them circle close to me and then away from me, I knew exactly what I was going to do. When Papa circled around near me again, I quickly tapped his shoe to let him know I was conscious. He didn't bat an eye as he limped back around the circle, but this time when Dementyev circled close to me, I quickly reached out and yanked both of his feet out from underneath him, sending him sprawling to the ground.
"Nu vse, tebe pizda!" Dementyev swore as he tried to regain his footing. I reached out and pulled his feet back, sending him sprawling to the ground again, before I jumped on top of him and began punching him mercilessly. He frantically tried to push me off as he threw wild punches that missed their mark. He was yelling at his men, "Kill them! Kill them! Kill them!" I landed a punch to his gut, and he gasped for air like a fish out of water.
"Stay down!" I ordered as I wrapped my hands around his neck and squeezed.
None of the men moved a muscle as Papa limped over to where Dementyev lay on the ground, looked at him, and then spit on his face as he swore, "Zhopa!" Papa moved across the room before he nodded to the men and they moved in to lift me off of Dementyev and pulled him off the floor. He had a wild look in his eyes as if he didn't quite understand what was happening.
"What the fuck is going on? Sacha! Boris! What the fuck are you doing?" he demanded as the men pulled his arms behind him and secured them with cuffs. "You can't do this to me, Malinchenko! I will not stand for this!"
"Stop your screaming, Dementyev," Papa ordered. His voice had a cold, metallic sound to it, and I shivered as I listened to him speak. "You are a blight on the earth. You are a terrible man, who has done many terrible things. I don't believe you deserve to live, but this choice is not up to me. I'm going to leave this choice up to the people you have hurt. The people you have terrorized. They will decide what is to be done with you. And, once they do, I will abide by their decision; but first, you will receive the tattoo of the krysa. Then, you will leave this city and never return. Do you understand me?"
"You sookin syn!" Dementyev screamed. "You can't do this to me! You can't tattoo me and send me into exile for your own crimes! I won't stand for it, you lying, cheating bastard! Your wife was a whore, and your son was a bastard!"
Papa calmly walked over to where the two men Dementyev had been his loyal followers were holding him. He calmly looked at the other man and he flicked open a large switchblade that I hadn't seen him carrying. The sound of the knife blade reaching its full length sliced through Dementyev's insults and my father pushed the tip against the man's abdomen as he spoke in a voice that only I knew how much anger it contained, "You will never again speak of my wife or my sons. If you do, I will slice you open like a useless sewer rat and will gut and skin you without a thought. Do you understand me, zhopa?"
When Dementyev didn't respond, Papa pressed the tip of the knife into his abdomen with more force and repeated, "Do you understand me?" Dementyev looked at my father defiantly before he spit in his face. Papa made quick work of the man's shirt, then looked the two holding him and said, "Take him to the car. Feliks will take care of the tattoo." Then men nodded and dragged Dementyev out screaming.
I looked at Papa with wide eyes, unsure of how to respond to what I knew what a show of strength that would put him squarely back in charge of the bratán. He smiled at me as he patted my arm and said, "Go find Miss Wallace and get her out of this hellhole."
I turned and ran down the hallway to the only door that was closed. I pulled it open and found a terrified Lexi cowering in a corner. She screamed, "Get away from me!" as I charged in.
"Lexi, Lexi, it's me, Max," I said, abruptly stopping and standing stock still until she could process that it was in fact me.
"Max?" she whispered. "Did you come to rescue me?"
"Damn right, I did," I said as I reached down and gathered her in my arms, lifting her up off of the cold floor. "There wasn't any way I was going to lose my best sales associate to a Russian mobster. It's really damn hard to find good help."
Lexi wrapped her arms around my neck and rested her head on my shoulder as I walked out of the horrible cell and took her to the car. Halfway there she raised her head and called, "STOYA! Anna! Anna! Don't leave Anna behind! She saved me, Max. She found me," she dissolved into tears as she buried her face in my neck, crying, "I thought they'd killed her!"
"She led me to you, Lexi," I said. "Anna found me and showed me where you were. She'd never left you."
"Find her, Max. Don't let her stay out here alone," she cried.
&nbs
p; I took Lexi to the car and then ran back around to the back of the building where I found the kitten pacing and chirping. I reached down, picked her up, and tucked her under my chin as she butted me with her filthy, little head. I smiled as I told her, "Lexi is going to be so happy to see you, little girl." I squeezed her a little tighter and whispered, "Thank you for showing me the way." Her reply was a purr followed by a long stream of drool as I laughed.
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
Lexi
Max's driver quickly spirited us back to the penthouse, where I shed my clothes and sunk into a hot bubble bath. We hadn't said much on the drive home. Instead, both of us had lavished attention on Anna who had walked between us, head butting and purring the whole ride home. Max had volunteered to bathe her as soon as we walked in the door and I'd simply nodded and headed to my room.
Once submerged in the soapy water, I let everything I'd been holding back flow. I sobbed until I felt empty and then I told myself that I had to put it all behind me and move on. I was halfway through my lecture about what I needed to do to reclaim my life and how I needed to stand on my own two feet and not expect anyone to come and rescue me ever again when Max tapped on the door.
"Lexi? I've got a glass of wine and some food for you," he said. "May I bring it in?"
"Sure, come on in," I said after checking to make sure that I was fully covered by bubbles, then immediately felt foolish. Max had seen everything already; why was I hiding?
He entered carrying a small side table in one hand and a tray in the other. He set the table down next to the tub and then slid the tray on top of it before turning and heading back out the door. His hair was wet from a shower, and he was wearing only a loose pair of pajama bottoms and a tank top. He looked more handsome than I'd ever seen him, and my heart thumped in my chest before I remembered what I'd wanted to ask him the whole time I'd been held captive.