I felt as if I’d been asleep my whole life, until Max looked me in the eyes and smiled. Suddenly, I was awake. Max had awoken something feral inside of me. And it was all for him.
10
MAX
Iwas smitten. Angel Harris crept into my thoughts day and night. A schoolboy crush on steroids. I found myself walking past her office even when I had nothing to do on that side of the building. Her smile melted my insides. What was it about the woman that made me feel like I could scale mountains?
Don’t go soft now, Max. You’re a tough guy, remember? You don’t fall in love. You conquer and dash. Don’t be a fool.
I tried to rationalize my feelings for days after our night on the yacht, but it was no good. I was falling in love with Angel.
“What’s going on with you, Max?” Vlad asked me one afternoon while we were playing squash.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re distracted. I feel like I’m talking to a zombie. What’s up?”
“I’ve got a lot on my mind, Vlad.”
“Bullshit. Try again.”
“You weren’t in Moscow with Grigoriy, Cuz. The man is dead set on fucking up my business. If he has his way, we’ll all be in prison by the end of the year.”
“You haven’t told me much about your meeting with him. What did he want?”
“He wants us to move his product.”
“Drugs?”
“Of course. If that son of a bitch has his way, we’ll be trafficking women too. We’re in the shit, Vlad, and I’m not sure how to get out of it.”
“Fuck. That’s heavy, Max. What did you tell him?”
“I asked him to give me some time. But honestly, I don’t know how we’re going to get out of this one.”
“Bastard. This was his plan all along.”
“Of course. I was naive to think that he’d give me a Hail Mary without a considerable price tag attached.”
“I owe you, Max. I’ll do whatever it takes to help you.”
“Thanks, Vlad. I appreciate that.”
“Okay. Enough of this. I’m sweating my balls off. Let’s shower and hit the bar. I need a cold beer or six.”
“Yeah, okay. I can’t focus on my game anyway.”
Vlad and I left the court and hit the showers. Then we went upstairs and made ourselves comfortable at the bar.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Mikhailov.”
“Hello, Craig.”
“The usual?”
“Yeah. Two Frosties, thanks.”
Vlad was talking to a waitress he’d been eyeing out for a while. She was all smiles and giggles as my cousin turned on the charm. I watched as she scribbled something on a napkin. Her number, no doubt.