by Alexa Davis
I got up and padded into the living room, followed closely by Anna, who was now dry and looking more like herself. I looked down at her and smiled. "What do you say, little girl; want to help me with something really important?" Anna chirped and head butted my ankles as she paced impatiently. I laughed out loud as I leaned down and patted her head and said, "Yes, of course, you can have dinner – or is it breakfast – first!"
I walked out to the kitchen, mixed up a bowl of Anna's favorite tuna and shrimp, and placed it on the mat in front of her. "You're a good girl, Anna," I said as I scratched her head. "A very good girl." She purred as she dug into the food, but she didn't lift her head.
I took a look at the clock on the microwave and realized it was very early morning. The sun would be rising in a short while, so I brewed myself a cup of strong coffee and took it out to the balcony to watch the sun rise over the lake while I planned my day.
I stood and watched as the sun began to peek out above the water. The effect was breathtaking as it slowly made its way into the sky, shining a glowing pink light across the lake that was then reflected out across the shore. As the sun rose higher, the light became brighter and the water began to sparkle as if covered in thousands of small diamonds and spreading out in prisms that danced on the surface. I watched as the sun quickly rose and became a bright ball of light illuminating everything it touched, and I knew exactly what I needed to do.
I quickly called a few of my favorite salespeople at a couple of stores, and despite the early hour, they jumped at the chance to help me get things moving. Then, I called the harbor and found a luxury yacht that could handle a special trip out on the lake. I'd always wanted to own a boat, but it was one of those things that screamed conspicuous wealth, and after Papa's admonishments, I hadn't bought one – but today was different. Today was a new start and a chance to do the things I'd always wanted to do, but never dared.
I knew exactly how I wanted to spend the day, and it wasn't at the store. However, I did have some business to take care of, so I plotted my schedule knowing that I had a few important errands to run before I swung back around and picked Lexi up. I went back to the kitchen and quickly wrote her a note before heading to my room to shower and change. Once dressed, I called my driver and told him my plan as he pulled the car around to the front of the building.
I stepped into the elevator determined to ensure that everything would come out exactly as planned, but first, I had to see Papa.
CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
Lexi
It was light outside when I finally emerged from the deep sleep that had pulled me under after Max and I had satisfied each other's needs. I smiled as I stretched my arm out towards the other side of the bed and was surprised to find it empty.
"Max?" I called as I sat up and looked around the room. "Max, are you out there?"
When I got no response, I flipped off the covers and hopped out of bed. I wrapped myself in a robe and padded out to the kitchen, where I found the coffee pot ready to brew and a note from Max on the counter beside it.
Good morning, beautiful! I'm sorry I'm not here to brew this myself, but I have some business to take care of this morning. The store is closed, so don't go in. I'll be back early this afternoon to take you to lunch, so put on your prettiest dress – or pick one from the assortment that will arrive around 11 a.m. Enjoy your morning, and I'll see you for lunch. Love, Max
I laughed out loud at the thought of Max Malin – Malinchenko – writing a love note to me, but the image was so endearing that I picked up the piece of paper and held it to my lips as I flipped the switch and listened to the water heating up as the strong scent of coffee began to fill the kitchen.
I didn't even try to figure out what he had planned. I just accepted that my job was to be ready when he returned. It was ten in the morning and the dresses would be arriving in an hour, so I decided to drink my coffee as I got ready. As I stood watching the brewing coffee, I lost myself in the memory of the night before and shivered as I recalled the way that Max had drawn out every delicious sensation and made my body sing in his hands. I wanted more of that. And much more.
Lost in my reverie, I didn't hear the elevator bell ring the first time, so when a familiar voice called out, "Lexi? Where are you, girl?" I jumped.
"Viv?" I called as I rounded the corner and saw my best friend standing in the living room weighted down by garment bags and a huge duffle. "What are you doing here?"
"What the hell do you think I'm doing here?" she shouted as she dropped everything on the floor and rushed to embrace me. "My best friend gets kidnapped by a murderous Russian madman and you're asking what the hell I'm doing here?"
"It was awful, Viv," I whispered as I held tightly to my best friend.
"I know, Max told me," she said as she patted my head and gripped my arms. "I was afraid I'd lost you."
"I'm okay," I sighed as I rested my head on her shoulder and let the tears flow. "I've never been so scared in my entire life."
"You want to talk about it?" she asked quietly.
"No, I don't ever want to talk about that lunatic again," I said in a fierce voice. "I want to forget that it ever happened and move on."
"It's okay, Wally," she whispered. "It's okay, nothing bad will ever happen again. Anna has proved that she'll never let anything bad happen to you ever."
"Don't say that," I warned. "She did her best and never left me, but you can't promise that."
"Sure I can," she said confidently as she pushed me back and looked me in the eyes. "I can say that because I have over fifty-thousand dollars worth of merchandise in these bags and nothing bad can happen when you are dressed in an Alexander McQueen or Betsey Johnson gown. Promise."
"Viv, what the heck are you talking about?" I laughed through tears. "Are you insane?"
"Nope, not any more than I usually am," she crowed as she walked over to the pile of dresses that she'd dumped on the floor. "I'm saying that we need to get you ready for lunch with Max this afternoon, so let's take a look at the gems that these ladies put together and see which one you like best!"
"Are you going to tell me what's going on here?" I asked wiping my eyes.
"I've already told you," she insisted. "Now, let's play fashion model with you as the model!"
For the next hour, she had me try on every dress she'd brought with the shoes that she'd gathered from all of the boutiques around town. There were necklaces, scarves, clutch purses, and pashmina wraps to accompany each of the dresses, and after a while, I began to feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices. I looked helplessly at Viv and threw up my hands.
"You decide!" I declared. "I'm tired of trying things on! Each one looks better than the one before it!"
"I know, right?" she said as she bounced up and down on one of the chairs in the living room. "This is the best fashion show ever!"
"I'm serious, Viv," I said, collapsing into a heap on the sofa in a gorgeous metallic lace midi dress that had a blue under layer and a Bardot neckline. I was wearing a gorgeous pair of impossibly high-heeled silver sandals that matched the overlay on the dress. "I don't know what to choose."
"I think you should wear this one," she said holding up a simple teal blue wrap dress that had a subtle black geometric pattern running through the material. It was made of a light jersey fabric that clung to my body in all the right places and had a slit up the thigh that revealed just enough to skin to make it sexy without being tasteless. I nodded. "And, these shoes." She held up a pair of nude sandals that had thick straps across the toes and instep before attaching at the ankle with one more strap. They looked beautiful with the dress and fit perfectly.
I quickly showered and pulled my hair up into a loose chignon at the nape of my neck before Viv came into the bathroom and applied my makeup, all the while scolding Anna, who wound her body around Viv's feet as she danced and chirped. "Get out from under my feet, cat!" she laughingly scolded before bending down to scoop up the small kitten and kiss her head.
Viv let loose a low wolf whistle as I walked into the living room, then she made me walk the length of the room and turn and walk back. She nodded her approval and gave me a thumb’s up just as the doorman rang to let me know that Mr. Malin was waiting downstairs for me.
When the elevator doors slid open, I turned and looked back at Viv. Her wide smile told me everything I needed to know, and I smiled back as the doors slid shut and the elevator carried me down to Max.
CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
Max
I'd spent the morning calling to have everything set up for lunch, and then headed over to see Papa. I wasn't looking forward to the visit, but I knew that the longer I avoided him, the worse it would be when we finally talked. I also needed a favor – one that I wasn't sure he was going to grant, but I had to ask.
When I arrived at Ursus, Feliks warned me in a hushed whisper that Papa was in a bear of a mood, and that I might think about coming back later once he'd had a chance to calm down. I thought about it for a moment and then shook my head. I would take my chances.
"Maksimka," Papa said as he poured two shots and offered me one. Sitting and drinking with my father was the last thing I wanted to be doing, but to refuse would have been an insult that would taint the rest of our conversation and I knew he was just trying to find common ground.
I accepted the shot and we quickly tossed them back before I said, "Papa, what happened?"
"Maksimka, I'm going to tell you this one time and one time only," he said in a weary voice as he rubbed his eyes with one hand. "There are some things that I did while in the KGB and afterwards that I am not proud of. They were things that I should probably spend time in jail for having done, but I did them for the sole purpose of protecting you, your brother, and your mother."
"Papa, I'm not here to condemn you," I said quietly. "I just want to know what happened and whether I need to be worried about you. Or me."
"You're a good boy," he said as he reached across the table and patted my hand. "You've always been a good boy. I never meant for any of this to ever touch you. Kristov knew what he was getting into and I gave him the option of walking away many years ago, but he wanted to be in the life. I swear on the grave of my father."
"Then, why did the two of you work so hard to try and blackmail me back into the fold?" I said through clenched teeth. I could feel my blood beginning to boil as I realized that everything they'd done had been a lie. In fact, I wondered if what Papa was telling me now was also a lie. "I didn't want to be a part of it and you knew that, but you bullied me into coming back. You threatened me, Papa, or have you forgotten that."
"No, I have not," he said as he hung his head. "I will never forget that."
"Why did you do it?"
"There is no easy answer, Maksimka," he said, lifting his head and looking at me in a way that made me shudder. "I did it because I love you. Because I loved your mother and your brother. It was love."
"You have a very sick way of showing love, you know that, don't you?" I hissed. I could feel myself getting angrier and angrier at him as I listened to yet another useless excuse. He wasn't apologizing for his cruelty, he was explaining it away. He was rationalizing it as love, and I wasn't going to buy the lies. "You are a cruel man who has done cruel things to the people who loved him."
The pain in Papa's eyes almost convinced me to stop and drop to my knees to beg for forgiveness, but then the image of my brother lying in his bed with a hole in his forehead swam in front of me and I fought the urge. His death was my father's fault. No matter what he said, it was my father's fault. And, I was finally going to ask the one question I most wanted an answer to.
"Did you kill Mama?" I blurted out. Papa's face twisted into a mask of pain and rage as the words hung in the air between us. He raised his hand and then dropped it into his lap.
"You have no idea how painful that question is," he said slowly. "But the truth is that I did not kill her, Maksim. She was collateral damage in a war that should never have been fought, but I did not kill your mother. I loved her more than I loved myself, and I would have died trying to protect her."
"Then, why didn't you?" came the anguished cry from my lips. "Why did you let my Mama die?"
"I will never be able to give you a satisfactory answer to that question, Maksimka," my father said as he dropped his head into his hands and shook silently. Even in grief, my father was a bratán who didn't let his emotions show. I watched him with tears in my eyes, but I didn't make a move to comfort him. To do that would be to break the code of the vory v zakone, and although I wasn't one of them, I did respect the fact that he was. After a few minutes, he regained enough control to say, "Someday, when you love someone that much, you'll understand."
"I do, Papa," I said. "I do love someone that much."
"Miss Wallace?"
"Yes," I replied. "I want to make a life with her. She matters more to me than anyone in the world."
"Then, you will need this," he said as he reached into his shirt and pulled out a long chain on which hung a thin band encircled with small diamonds. He undid the chain and pulled the ring off of it, offering it up to me. "It was your mother's wedding ring. I bought it for her when we lived in Moscow. I had to eat out of garbage cans for a month after buying it, but I wanted her to know she would always be taken care of if she agreed to marry me."
I took the ring and studied it. It was worn and scratched, but the etching on the inside was still readable. It said, Lyublyu, chest' leleyat. I read the words aloud, "Love, honor, cherish."
"I did, you know," he said quietly. "Despite what you think, I loved your mother more than anyone."
"I'm sure you did," I agreed, trying to find a way to meet him in the middle of our individual pain.
"Go find Miss Wallace and ask her to let you be the one to love her more than anyone," he said with a wry grin. "Women like that."
"Thank you, Papa," I said before I turned and headed out the door and back to Lexi.
CHAPTER SIXTY
Lexi
When I walked out the door of the building, the first thing I saw was Max standing next to the car, holding a huge bouquet of red roses. I gave him a confused look, but then quickly smiled as he explained, "I know it's cliché, but I have always wanted to walk into a flower shop and say 'Give me all the red roses you have!'" I laughed loudly at his silly explanation and then stood on my tiptoes to kiss his lips.
"Why do you always pull your hair back?" he asked as he slipped his hand to the nape of my neck as he gently kissed me before tugging on the pins that held my hair. "I like it down!"
"Well, fine then," I laughed. "I was trying to be professional!"
"Why on earth would you want to be professional on a day like this?" he asked as he ushered me into the waiting car and we were whisked off to the harbor. When we arrived, he popped out of his side and came around to mine, opening the door for me with a small flourish.
"Max, what are we doing?" I laughed as he offered his hand and helped me out of the car.
"We're going to do things that I've never done before today," he smiled. "Today is going to be a day full of firsts."
"I find it very hard to believe that you've never been on a boat before," I said warily.
"Oh, I've been on plenty of boats," he agreed. "I've just never owned one before."
"What?" I exclaimed as he took my hand and pulled me down the do
ck toward a large white vessel docked at the end of the row. "What did you do, Max?"
"I bought a boat!" he said with no small amount of glee. "It's mine!"
"Did you hit your head?" I asked, partly serious.
"I did not," he laughed. "I have spent my life doing everything that was expected of me and never breaking any rules, until I met you. And now, I feel like I want to do things that don't conform."
"Oh, Max!" I cried as we walked toward the boat and I saw that he'd had the bow painted with the name "Anna."
"I thought it was fitting since she's the reason we're both here," he smiled. He helped me up onto the gangplank and held my arm as we walked across the swaying connection from the land to the water. He introduced me to the captain who would be navigating our trip around Lake Michigan and then gave me a quick tour of the boat. It was a grand extravagance, and I had to keep reminding myself that Max was more than able to afford these kinds of toys. We ended the tour back up on deck where a table had been set; as the captain steered us away from the harbor toward the deeper waters of the lake, we were served a lunch like I'd never eaten before in my life.
There were oysters on the half shell swimming in lemon and parsley, a fresh, crisp salad made of the most tender greens and lightly coated in a raspberry vinaigrette dressing that made me want to sing, and the main course was poached salmon with lemon dill fingerling potatoes and fresh, steamed green beans tossed in garlic butter and topped with toasted almonds. Every bite was more delicious than the last and we marveled at the talent of the chef with every offering as we sipped the cold, crisp white wine that the server poured.
When we were finally stuffed to the gills, Max stood up and walked to the back railing and watched the water spread out in rippled waves behind us as we sped across the lake. He held out his hand to me and I joined him. He wrapped his arms around my waist and held me against his chest as he looked into my eyes. I shivered as I held his icy blue gaze, knowing the heat and passion that lay on the other side. I could feel his desire swelling as it pressed against my stomach and I felt my own warmth begin to spread.