His eyes were filled with warning. I knew exactly what he was doing. He didn’t give a crap about my sister. He brought her up as a warning to me, and to anyone else at the table who’d ever entertained even the faintest notion that they had a say in their own lives.
“I hear she has a son,” he said with just a hint of a grin on his face.
I didn’t want to answer the man, but I had no choice. I had to play nice.
“She’s well, thank you, Grigoriy.”
“Good. Please, give her my love.”
And, just like that, the deal was done. My company was about to smuggle a ridiculous amount of drugs into America and there was not a damn thing I could do about it.
* * *
“You look exhausted, Max. We don’t have to go out tonight if you don’t want to.”
Angel cupped my cheeks with her delicate hands. I’d stepped out of the shower after scrubbing the presence of Grigoriy and his cohorts off my skin.
“No, I’m fine, my love. I made a promise and I’m going to keep it.”
“How did your meeting go?”
I wondered what Angel would say if she knew who I was with and why. I imagined she would pack her bags and leave–not only Moscow, but my life too. Not that I would blame her.
“It went well. I think I must have eaten too much rich food. My palate has adjusted to American food.”
“Yeah, you look a little gray. I know how to fix that,” she said and poured me a brandy. “Here, get this down your neck,” she winked and handed me the booze.”
“Yes, Doc.”
“There you go. Now, I’m going to change and then I expect the grand tour.”
“You’ve got it, gorgeous,” I said and forced a smile.
Twenty minutes later Angel and I were on our way to dinner. I hired a car that afternoon so that I could show Angel around Moscow at my own leisure.
After dinner, I took her past the house where I grew up. A flood of emotions bombarded me. It was unexpected and I found myself feeling rather nostalgic. Next, I took her past my old school and then to a club where Vlad and I used to party until the early hours of the morning.
“And there you have it, my love. Now you know everything there is to know about me,” I smiled as we were on our way back to the hotel.
“Hardly,” she said. “But it’s a good start.”
I checked my rearview mirror again. We were being followed. Not that I was shocked about it. I knew Grigoriy wasn’t going to leave me to my own devices while I was in his backyard.
The car followed us to the hotel and was there again the next morning when I took Angel out to breakfast. I wanted desperately to stop my car, jump out and tell Grigoriy’s men to fuck off. Obviously, I didn’t.
I was never so ready to leave Russia as I was once Angel, and I were safely on the plane back to America.
“Thank you for sharing your past with me, Max,” Angel said and kissed my cheek. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Angel.”
I can only hope that you will love me when you find out who I really am. I have a feeling you’re going to struggle with that.
19
ANGEL
Two months of bliss. The trip to Russia seemed to be a distant memory and Max and I had settled into a routine as a couple sharing a home.