I know that was difficult for you to say. He couldn’t help the laughter in his voice. Now that they had children, Airiana was much more conscious of their security.
Ha, ha, ha. I was talking about them. I’m trying to get Benito and Lucia to really think about things before they make a rash decision to stay in the United States with strangers when maybe there is someone in Italy they would be more comfortable with. I don’t want them to go because I think they need us, but it really has to be their decision.
She was giving the children a choice. He was all about choices. He believed in choices, but damn it all, they were kids. What did they know? They could screw up their entire lives with the wrong choice. Don’t drive them off by being so negative. It won’t be that bad. It’s not like I’m going to lock them up.
“We’re staying,” Benito reiterated in his firmest voice. “Right, Lucia?”
Lucia ducked her head, but Maxim caught the glitter of tears. When had he become such a wuss? The child was killing him, just like Airiana. She’d been so brave and tried to take care of her brother and sisters. She had to be scared to death. He remembered that feeling all too well when he’d been taken from his parents and brothers by force.
“Lucia,” he said softly, and waited for her to look at him. When she raised her large, dark eyes to his, he nodded his head solemnly. “I give you my word, I won’t go anywhere. Airiana and I will give all four of you a home and a family. We’ll make this farm safe and fun and a place where you can grow up. We can’t change what happened to you and your brother and sisters. We can’t bring back your parents or little Sofia, but in time, we’ll be a real family and we’ll love one another.”
Airiana came into the doorway, nodding her head, leaning her hip against the doorjamb. “You can always depend on us. I give you my word as well. I know you have no reason to trust us, but that’s the best we can do to reassure you. You either feel the truth or you don’t.”
Lucia nodded. “I want to stay. I feel safe here. I know what you said about the danger, but I still feel safe. I just want to go to sleep for a while and not be terrified.”
Maxim stood up and went to her. He dropped his hand on top of the girl’s head. “I’m home now. No one is going to get past Benito or me.”
“They killed Papa,” she pointed out.
“Your papa was a good man. I’m mean, honey. I hunt men like the ones who killed your papa. They won’t get past me.”
Is it a good thing to tell them that?
It’s the truth, baby, whether you like it or not, that’s who I am.
19
JONAS Harrington arrived at eight o’clock in the morning, and he didn’t come alone. It was the second man Maxim studied. Harrington looked like a man who could handle himself, but it was the other one introduced as Damon Wilder that Airiana was afraid of. Anyone she was afraid of wasn’t welcome in their home, as far as Maxim was concerned, yet she smiled graciously and opened the door to allow both entry.
Maxim slipped into the background, blurring his image just enough so that when he went completely still, he all but disappeared.
“Jonas,” Airiana greeted. “The children aren’t up yet. Apparently they haven’t been sleeping very well and now that we’re home, they can actually rest.”
Maxim winced. She’d used the word we’re and Harrington was quick on the pick-up. His eyes scanned the room and then moved through it a second time much more slowly, as if sensing they weren’t alone. He spotted Maxim standing just in the shadows across the room where he had a clear shot to either man.
“I understand, Airiana,” Jonas said smoothly, “but you can understand the urgency of our business. You were taken from your home, and not too long after, the children arrived, and then we got a message that you were safe. We also understand that a ship was discovered, one with dead men strewn from one end to the other and evidence of human trafficking in the luxury cabins. Strange though, a couple of the cabins were wiped down so there were no fingerprints, no evidence of who had been there.” While he talked in his easygoing manner, Jonas Harrington looked directly at Maxim. Unlike Damon, Jonas didn’t take the seat Airiana offered. “Who’s your friend?”
Airiana’s gaze flicked to Maxim. She smiled, her bright, loving smile that always melted his heart. He didn’t step from the shadows. Airiana started toward him.
Walk around the chairs. Don’t get between us.
She looked startled but obeyed him. When she got to his side, she put one hand on his arm, instead of taking his hand. He was grateful to her for that. She learned fast.
“Jonas, this is my fiancé, Max Walberg. Max, Jonas Harrington, our local sheriff, and his brother-in-law, Damon Wilder.” Airiana performed the introductions.
“Don’t get up,” Maxim said to Damon in as gracious a tone as he could manage. Damon had started to rise. His limp was very pronounced, and Maxim wracked his brain for information on the man. The name was familiar, and it only took seconds for him to recall that Damon Wilder was the United States equivalent to Theodotus Solovyov. “It isn’t necessary.”
Maxim stepped forward as Jonas put out his hand toward him. The moment he came out of the shadows, he saw recognition on Harrington’s face. The man knew he was a Prakenskii. His first instinct was to kill him, the second was to remember this man knew his youngest brother. Somehow the two men were friends. If he could recognize Maxim, he had to know about Stefan and Lev.
“Max Walberg, is it? Strange, but you look very Russian to me.”
Jonas took his hand in a firm grip, but didn’t indulge in petty games to see who was stronger and that told Maxim he was even more dangerous than he appeared.
“My grandmother on my mother’s side was Russian,” Maxim said smoothly. “I had no idea it showed.”
Jonas nodded and stepped back to allow Maxim to precede him to the cluster of furniture. Maxim didn’t move.
Airiana smiled up at Maxim as if unaware of the undercurrent. “Would you mind terribly getting the coffee? Jonas will drink tea, but he does love his coffee in the morning, at least that’s what Blythe tells me.”
Clever woman. I’m marrying a genius, aren’t I? She’d given him the perfect excuse to move away from the men without turning his back.
Absolutely you are.
You don’t need to know whether another man prefers coffee or tea.
Her laughter drifted through his mind, a sweet melody that relaxed him as he glided to the door. “Either of you take sugar or cream?”
Both Jonas and Damon shook their heads. Airiana smiled at the two men as she dropped into a chair. “It’s good to be home. I understand Hannah had the baby last night.”
“A very stubborn baby,” Jonas clarified, his first genuine smile spreading across his face. “Libby delivered, but it took nearly all night. Hannah called her when she first started having signs of labor and Libby managed to make it back fairly quickly. I think Tyson hired a private jet. Sarah was there as well, so it was quite the event.”
“Congratulations. Is Hannah all right? Boy? Girl?” Airiana prompted.
The way the house was built, the sitting room flowed into the kitchen. The large archway leading to the kitchen allowed occupants to be part of the conversation in the sitting room. Maxim was grateful for the design as he could easily keep an eye on Airiana. He doubted that either man was there to harm her, but with Wilder coming along for the police report, he knew Airiana was very uneasy.
“We had a boy. We haven’t decided on a name yet, but we’re working on it. Hannah is fine, but very tired.”
“That’s so wonderful, Jonas,” Airiana said sincerely. “I’m happy for you.”
Jonas leaned toward her. “Thank you, Airiana. Now tell me what the hell happened.”
Maxim winced at the tone. The man was good. Chitchat. Put her at ease. Then go all commanding on her. The teakettle whistled. “Tea i
n a moment, honey,” he announced unnecessarily to give her a chance to collect herself. He shouldn’t have worried.
Airiana sank back into her chair. “Can you believe my birth father had me kidnapped? I’ve never laid eyes on the man. I didn’t even know he actually existed, let alone who he was. It seems my mother met him when she attended the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. You know the story, it happens all the time. He was married. She was young, and he was a superstar in physics. They had an affair, and I was the result.”
It was Damon who leaned forward, his gaze intent. “Who is your father, Airiana?”
“Theodotus Solovyov.”
“Of course.” Damon all but rubbed his hands together. “That explains so much. A brilliant man, Jonas. Absolutely brilliant. You inherited that from him, Airiana.”
Her smile faded. “My mother was brilliant. Whatever my father is, he’s nothing to me. He was willing to turn me over to the Russian government even when I told him I was a citizen of the United States and I wanted to come home.”
Maxim came in with coffee for both men. He handed the steaming mugs to them and then moved behind Airiana’s chair without sitting down on the pretense that he had to get the tea for her. He brushed a kiss on top of her head.
Are you all right? I can ask them to leave . . . politely.
Her gaze jumped to his face and he saw the love there. Amusement filled his mind. Politely? Did you plan on shooting bullets at their feet?
Of course not. Chucking them out the window is a much better solution. No possible hard feelings that way.
She reached up to stroke his fingers and he realized she did need comfort. Talking about her birth father was difficult after all she’d been through. She had to have mixed feelings. He took her hand, his thumb sliding gently over her inner wrist in a slow caress. I’ll get your tea and be right back, baby.
She nodded, and he slipped away. Her gaze collided with Jonas’s.
“The man moves like a cat. Your fiancé. How long have you two known each other?”
“Max? It’s been about two years, on and off. He travels a lot, so we mainly corresponded at first.” Airiana delivered their cover story like a pro. Her tone even held the ring of truth.
“And he’s related to the children? They’re from Italy.”
She nodded and lowered her voice as if the children might overhear. “It was such a tragedy. Their parents and a sister were killed in a car accident. They have no other relatives, so of course Max and I will take them in. Neither of us expected a ready-made family, but we’re both happy to have them.”
“I see.” Jonas’s tone indicated he thought she was feeding him a line of bull, but the paperwork Lev and Stefan had created was impeccable. Max Walberg was the only living relative of the four children.
“Why did your father decide to kidnap you?” Jonas changed tactics. “Why not pick up the phone and call you?”
“I asked him that very same question,” Airiana said. “He claimed he wanted to get to know me, but I pointed out that kidnapping me wasn’t a very good beginning.”
Maxim handed Airiana a cup of tea and sank into the chair beside her. “Solovyov believed a man by the name of Evan Shackler-Gratsos had sent his men to kidnap her. He’s a billionaire. He inherited everything from his brother, but prior to that he was the head of a worldwide motorcycle gang. He’s suspected of murder, drug and human trafficking as well as arms dealing.”
“How would you know all that?” Jonas asked.
“I worked, until a few days ago, for the government, and we were tracking Shackler-Gratsos.” He was careful not to say which government. “We were tipped off by a man deep in his organization that he was planning to grab Airiana, so we were already rushing to protect her. Her father’s men got to her before Shackler-Gratsos.”
Airiana gave a delicate little shiver. “It was very disconcerting to know that my own father had arranged to have me kidnapped. And amazing to have Max be the one to come to my rescue.”
“How handy that you knew each other ahead of time,” Jonas said, without managing to sound sarcastic. He flicked a glance at Airiana, who calmly took a sip of tea and regarded him with a small smile.
“Isn’t it though? I was lucky that he recognized my name and immediately found me. I think if Theodotus had managed to get me to Russia, I would never have gotten home.”
“Where did Max find you?” Jonas prompted.
“I was on a yacht just off the coast of Mexico. My birth father told me his idea was to take the yacht to Colombia, using the time for us to get to know each other, and there would be a private plane waiting to take us to Russia.”
“What happened to your face? And your feet,” Jonas added with a little frown.
Maxim liked him better for that frown. Clearly the sheriff was not a man who liked seeing bruises on a woman.
“There was a Russian aboard, a man named Gorya. I think he was the steward. I had already cut my feet on a glass Theodotus threw—he was a little angry with me—and I went out on the deck to get away from him. Gorya and I got into an altercation and he punched me.” She consolidated the attacks, one from Gorya and the other from Sorbacov’s assassins.
“He didn’t just punch her,” Maxim added. “She has bruises all over where he kicked her as well.”
“Why would he do that?” Damon asked, looking shocked. “He dared to touch the daughter of Theodotus Solovyov? That could get him imprisoned.”
“Or killed,” Jonas added, looking at Maxim.
“I was very uncooperative.”
Jonas frowned. “I don’t understand. Did they expect you would want to go to Russia after being kidnapped?”
Airiana sighed and put her teacup down. “They wanted me to do something for them. They expected me to do it. If I didn’t cooperate, my father indicated, although he didn’t say it outright, I would be forced.”
“And this Gorya was their enforcer?”
Airiana shrugged, unwilling to lie outright. Misleading using the truth is one thing, but I’ve never been good at lying.
You’re doing great, honey. And you aren’t lying. That’s exactly what your father expected from you.
Airiana pressed her thumb into the center of her palm as if her palm itched. Jonas’s gaze immediately followed that small, subtle motion. Maxim couldn’t help but admire the man. He was good at his job. More, Maxim was certain his sheriff’s job wasn’t where he’d gotten his training.
“Why had you suddenly contacted me, Damon? We lived in the same town for a long while, yet you never came near me.” Airiana suddenly went on the attack. “Did you expect me to believe that on the very day I was kidnapped by Theodotus Solovyov for his government it was just a coincidence that you made an appointment to see me?”
“What I have to talk to you about is of vital importance,” Damon said, “but it is also classified and I can’t discuss it with anyone else present.”
“That’s really too bad. I have no interest in anything classified or anything my fiancé can’t hear. Are there any other questions you need answered, Jonas? The children will be waking up soon.”
Maxim could have told her Benito was already awake and listening to every word.
“You’re putting me in an awkward position,” Damon said.
“I know. I’m sorry, but I can’t help you.”
“Can’t? Or won’t?”
Airiana let her breath. “I don’t know. Is the threat real?”
Damon shoved his hand through his hair. “I can say, in the abstract, that yes, it is. I could use your help.”
Before Airiana could reply, Maxim put his hand over hers, to stop her. “If she agreed to try to help you, would your government help in any way possible with her protection? Give us license to do the things necessary here at her home to protect her family? You know as well as I do, that if she does
this thing, she’ll be a target.”
I’m already a target.
So why not get what we need with the government’s approval. If we give them a list and they agree to everything, you’ll know just how valuable you really are to them.
Airiana couldn’t breathe with the rush of adrenaline pouring through her veins. To work again. To talk to people who could brainstorm with her. The thought was just as intoxicating as it was frightening. She could get caught up in that life all over again and neglect the people she loved.
“I have Max. And the children. They need me.”
“We can reduce your work hours, and a good part of it can be done from your home once it is secure,” Damon said. “I’m certain you’ll have every cooperation to make you and your family safe.”
Airiana bit her lip. She glanced at Maxim. “I have to think about it, Damon. I was being honest with you when I told you I didn’t know if I could help you. It’s been a long time since I’ve done any work.”
“On paper maybe, but in your head . . .” Damon trailed off.
“If I do this, Max has to come with me as my bodyguard.”
“No.” Not from Damon, but from Jonas. “He can’t.”
Damon shook his head. “Jonas, anything is doable. We’ll make it work. She’s too important to my work to close any doors.”
“I don’t care what his paperwork says, Damon. I don’t care if the investigators pronounce him American of the year. He’s Russian and his loyalties are to Russia.”
“I have no ties to Russia,” Maxim stated. “Every bridge is burned. I brought Airiana home. My loyalties are to her.”
Jonas jumped to his feet and paced across the floor. “I can trust your word because I know who you are, but not for my country’s security. Airiana, you have to understand, no one, not even you, can take that chance.”
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