The Hot Lawyer (A Romance Love Story) (Hargrave Brothers - Book #4)

by Alexa Davis

  I wasn't sure how I was going to do this, but I was going to rescue Lexi.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

  Lexi

  Despite the small window, I quickly lost track of how long I'd been the small cement room. I cried myself to sleep in the corner and when I woke up, I saw that the kidnappers had left a tray of food just inside the door. I crawled over to it and then pulled it back to my corner.

  They’d given me some soup that was now cold and a thick slice of rye bread. There was also a cold bottle of water and an apple on the tray, and I laughed a little at the notion that these ruthless kidnappers had somehow decided to provide me with a balanced meal. Suddenly, the memory of Anna in my arms came crashing back in and I dissolved into tears again. These awful men had killed a small, defenseless kitten. It didn't get any colder than that, so I hardened my heart and ate what I could of the food they'd given me. I would keep up my strength and then when the time came, I would find a way to break out. I would save myself.

  As I was finishing my meal, the door swung open and the same blond man walked in, only this time he was carrying a gun. I cringed before I could stop myself and then lifted my head and looked him directly in the eyes.

  "Oh, you are a brave little girl, aren't you?" he said as he moved closer. There was something so sinister about him that I could smell it.

  "Perhaps, I am," I said as I set my jaw and prepared for him to shoot me. If I was going to die, it wasn't going to be cringing in the corner.

  "You think I'm going to shoot you, don't you?" he asked as he moved away and kicked the dirty mattress, causing a cloud of dust and who knows what else to fly up out of it. I felt the food in my stomach shift and I swallowed hard to keep it were it was.

  "I think you're going to do whatever it is that people like you do," I replied.

  "You think I'm a monster, don't you?" he asked as he turned and looked out the door. "You think I have no feelings."

  "I think you're whatever you think you are," I countered. "I don't really care what that is because to me, you're nothing."

  "Oh, little girl," he laughed in the way that adults laugh at children. "You are so very wrong about that. So very, very wrong."

  An instant later, he was squatting down next to me with his hand wrapped around my neck, squeezing off my air supply. I choked and gasped, but his hand tightened and I couldn't draw air into my lungs. His face was inches from mine as he watched me struggle like a fish out of water, and his smile grew wider, but colder as I felt the blackness encroaching around the edges of my sight.

  Instinctively, I reached up and tried to pry his hands from my neck, but that made him squeeze harder and the darkness threatened to consume me. I stopped struggling and began to focus on trying to take a breath. As I calmed myself, he loosened his grasp enough to let a small trickle of air into my lungs, and I almost cried with relief.

  "See, when you're a good girl, I let you breathe," he whispered into my ear as he tightened his hold once again, cutting off my air. This time, I sat completely still and waited as I counted as high as I could go. Soon, he loosened his grip and I blew out what was in my lungs and sucked as much fresh air in as possible expecting him to play this game again. Instead, he let go completely and stood up. "You see how this works, little girl? I have the power to determine whether you live or die."

  I nodded as I tried to slow my panicked breathing and return my pulse to normal. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing he'd gotten to me, but he already knew he had. It was his entire aim. He would unsettle me and make me grateful for his willingness to allow me to breathe. I'd learned this in a psychology class that Josh and I had taken our senior year, and now, I wracked my brain trying to remember what our professor had said about psychopaths who had a God complex.

  "You aren't going to make it out of here alive, you know?" he said quietly. "It doesn't matter what Malinchenko does, I'm going to slit your throat and watch your blood flow down the drain. Like I've done with countless other women before you."

  "Oh goody," I said flatly. "Thanks for letting me know the plan. It's so comforting."

  "Your sarcasm is duly noted," he grinned. "It won't save you, but it will certainly make my time with you more interesting."

  With that, he lifted the gun and pointed it right at me. There was something freeing about staring down the barrel of a semi-automatic weapon knowing that I wasn't going to get shot. "You're not screaming or crying," he said, sounding disappointed.

  "That's because you just told me that you're going to slit my throat and watch the blood go down the drain," I said in a dull voice. "I felt fairly certain that you'd stick to the plan."

  "You're a smart little girl," he told me as he lowered the gun and flashed me a smile that chilled my soul. "This will be so much fun when we get to the end of the road."

  He turned and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Only once I heard the click of the lock turning back in place and his boots echoing in the hallway did I let my tears fall fast and hard.

  "Find me, Max," I whispered to no one. "Please come find me."

  CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

  Max

  Since I'd gotten no answer at Papa's house, I had the driver take me to Ursus, thinking that he was probably there hanging out with his bratán, despite the fact that the doctor had told him to stay home and rest. When we pulled up in front of the bar, I noticed that there were men stationed outside.

  "What's going on?" I asked the one closest to the door.

  "Vladimir is here," he said and then tipped his head, indicating that I should go inside and see him. All eyes were on me as I entered the bar and looked toward the back room. The crowd of men parted as I slowly walked toward where my father sat with his closest advisors. They were all protected by his men, and the one in charge patted me down whispering, "Sorry, Maksim, I have to." I nodded to indicate that I didn't take it personally as one of the other men held open the door to the back room and motioned for me to enter.

  "Maksim," my father said as I walked through the door. "I am glad you're here."

  "Papa-" I began.

  "Enough, I know what's going on," he said holding up a hand indicating that I should listen rather than talk. "Maksim, I know what that sookin syn Dementyev wants and I know what needs to be done. I am prepared to go with you and trade myself for this Miss Wallace. I can't guarantee that she will be safe, but I will do everything in my power to ensure that she makes it out alive."

  "Papa, why is he doing this? What is going on?" I asked as I searched my father's face for an answer.

  "It is an old grudge, Maksimka," my father said. "One that began many, many years ago and one that Dementyev has never been able to put to rest. Now, he seeks revenge for a slight that he thinks is my fault, but really is not."

  "What does he think you did to him, Papa?" I moved around the table and sat down in the chair next to him. "What on earth could have possibly caused him to decide that hurting Lexi would make things even?"

  "Maksim, there are many things in this world that happen in the course of a lifetime," he sighed. "Things that you don't know will have any kind of consequence until years later. And, things that are so small that you don't even notice that you're doing them, but those small things become big things for someone else and years of nurturing the resentment and hurt create a home for the wound to fester and become filled with the pus of rage and anger. Dementyev is trying to lance the boil of his anger, and I am his target. Miss Wallace was an unfortunate bystander in his plan."

  "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 i
t, 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.