Page 15 of Bound Vows (Empire City Syndicate #3)

Andrei

Maya’s hands shake as she reaches for the phone, which surprises me considering I’ve watched this woman slit throats without breaking a sweat.

“Remember the conditions,” I tell her as Alexei connects the secure line from my study. “Five minutes, health and safety only, and any attempt to pass operational intelligence terminates this conversation permanently.”

Maya nods and settles into the leather chair across from my desk.

“Maya?” Max Mastroni’s voice erupts through the speaker with enough fury to rattle the windows. “Maya, is that you?”

“Hello, Max.” Maya’s voice transforms into something softer than I’ve heard since our first meeting. “It’s me.”

“Jesus Christ, where the hell are you? Are you hurt? I swear to God, if that Russian bastard has touched you?—”

“I’m fine,” Maya interrupts before her brother can work himself into a homicidal rage. “Unharmed and well-fed. You know how I get when I don’t eat properly.”

I lean back in my chair and watch Maya’s face as she navigates the minefield of family emotion. Her tone carries just the right blend of reassurance and fatigue.

“Where are you?” Max demands. “Tell me where you are, and I’ll come get you right now.”

“I wish I could, but the situation is complicated.” Maya glances at me before continuing.

“Remember when we were kids and used to play that game where we’d look out the window and describe what we saw when we were upset?

I can see so many trees right now, Max. Like that time we stayed at Uncle Tony’s place upstate. ”

Alexei shoots me a questioning look from his monitoring station, but I wave him off. Maya is passing information, but the reference seems innocent enough. Childhood games and family memories mean nothing to me.

“Trees,” Max repeats. “What else do you see?”

“Big buildings with lots of windows. Kind of like that hotel where Dad took us for Melinda’s sweet sixteen, remember? The one with the view of the park where we used to feed the ducks. Everything looks so small from up here.”

My eyebrows raise as I decode what she’s telling him. Central Park, high-rise building, elevated position. She’s giving him enough information to narrow down her location considerably while maintaining plausible deniability about innocent reminiscing.

“I remember,” Max replies. “Are you being treated well? Do you have everything you need?”

“The accommodations are surprisingly comfortable. Five-star service, if you know what I mean.” Maya meets my eyes while she speaks. “Though I miss home cooking. Remember Mom’s Sunday dinners? The way she used to make that special sauce for the pasta?”

“What sauce?” Max’s confusion carries through the speaker.

“You know, the one with the secret ingredient she never told anyone about. She used to say it was the key to everything.” Maya’s smile doesn’t reach her eyes. “I could really use some of that family recipe right about now.”

The reference to their mother’s cooking seems genuinely nostalgic, though something in Maya’s tone suggests layers of meaning I’m not catching. Alexei frowns and adjusts his headphones, trying to identify whatever subtext is flying over my head.

“Maya, listen to me.” Max’s voice drops to something more controlled. “Whatever they’re making you do and whatever they’ve threatened, we’re going to fix this. Vincent and I have been working with other families?—”

“Max, stop.” Maya cuts him off before he can reveal anything about rescue operations. “Don’t say anything that might make this situation worse for everyone involved.”

“Worse? How could it be worse? You’ve been kidnapped by the same animals who?—”

“Who what, Max?” Maya’s voice carries a warning. “Be very careful what you say next.”

I find myself grudgingly impressed by how she’s managing this conversation. Maya is protecting both her brother and me from inflammatory statements that could derail whatever fragile cooperation might be possible between our organizations.

“The same animals who’ve been expanding into our territory,” Max finishes after a long pause. “Though I suppose that’s ancient history now.”

“Exactly. Ancient history that doesn’t need to be rehashed.” Maya checks the clock on my desk. “How is everyone else? Vincent, Melinda, the baby?”

“Worried sick about you. Melinda cries every night, and Vincent’s been running himself ragged trying to find leads.” Max’s voice carries bone-deep exhaustion. “We blame ourselves for letting this happen.”

“Don’t. This isn’t anyone’s fault.” Maya’s gaze finds mine again. “Sometimes circumstances force us into situations we never expected, and we have to make the best choices available rather than the ones we’d prefer.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means I’m learning to adapt to new realities, just like Dad taught us.” Maya adjusts herself in her chair. “Remember what he used to say about survival? How sometimes you have to work with people you don’t like to protect the people you love?”

“Maya—”

“I need you to trust me on this, Max. I need you to believe that I’m doing what’s necessary to keep everyone safe. Can you do that for me?”

The silence stretches for nearly thirty seconds before Max responds. “I don’t like it.”

“You don’t have to like it. You just have to trust that your sister knows what she’s doing.”

“Time,” Alexei announces, tapping his watch.

I hold up one finger, indicating Maya has a few more seconds to conclude the conversation, though I have no idea why. I should’ve shut this down the second I realized she was passing information, just as I threatened to do, but God help me, something inside me wants to please her beyond all reason.

“Max, I have to go.” Maya’s voice wavers slightly for the first time. “But I need you to know that I’m okay, and I need you to make smart decisions rather than emotional ones.”

“Maya, wait?—”

“I love you. Give my love to everyone else and remember what I said about Mom’s sauce recipe.” Maya reaches toward the phone’s disconnect button. “Take care of yourself.”

“Maya, don’t hang up?—”

The line goes dead, and Maya slumps in her chair with relief. For several moments, the study remains silent except for the soft whir of recording equipment and the distant sounds of Manhattan traffic below.

“Well,” I comment while studying her face, “that was educational.”

“He knows I’m alive and unharmed. That should reduce his desperation enough to prevent him from doing anything catastrophically stupid.” Maya straightens in her chair. “You have what you wanted.”

“I suspect your brother knows significantly more about your situation than he did five minutes ago.”

Maya meets my stare without flinching. “He knows I can see trees and tall buildings. That narrows my location down to half of Manhattan.”

“Along with references to your mother’s secret sauce recipe and your father’s survival advice.” I lean forward with my elbows on the desk. “Childhood memories that carry more meaning than casual observers might realize.”

“Nostalgia makes people sentimental during stressful conversations. I was reassuring my brother with familiar references that remind him of happier times.” Maya crosses her legs and adopts an expression of innocence. “Surely you don’t object to a sister comforting her worried family.”

Alexei clears his throat from his monitoring station. “She passed location intelligence. The park reference combined with elevation indicators will help them narrow the search area considerably.”

“I’m aware.” I keep my eyes locked on Maya’s face.

“The question is whether her cleverness serves our purposes or threatens them. Your brother knows you’re alive, unharmed, and being held in a high-rise building that overlooks Central Park.

That information could encourage him to mount a rescue operation, or it could convince him that negotiation serves his interests better than violence.

” I stand and walk around the desk until I’m close enough to see the gold flecks in Maya’s green eyes.

“Which outcome are you hoping for, Piccola?”

“I’m hoping Max makes smart decisions instead of emotional ones, just like I told him.” Maya tilts her chin up to maintain eye contact.

“Your performance was impressive,” I acknowledge. “Though Alexei is correct about the intelligence you transmitted.”

Maya places her hand on my chest, directly over my heart. “My brother heard reassurance in my voice today. Build on that foundation instead of letting it crumble through silence.”

The warmth of her touch makes coherent thought more difficult than it should be, especially when she’s looking at me with calculation and genuine concern that I find increasingly irresistible.

Before I can respond, my phone chimes with a text message that requires attention. Maya steps back while I check the update from my Philadelphia contacts.

“Good news?” she asks with false casual interest.

“Productive conversations with reasonable people who understand the value of cooperation over conflict.” I pocket the phone and check my watch. “Which reminds me; I have a flight to catch.”

“Of course you do.” Maya stands and heads toward the study door. “I suppose I’ll spend the evening reflecting on family conversations and their potential implications.”

“Maya.”

She pauses at the threshold and turns back toward me. “Yes?”

“Your brother’s voice carried genuine desperation when he heard you were safe.

Whatever else I might think about Max Mastroni, his love for his sister is obvious.

” I move behind my desk and begin gathering documents for my trip.

“Don’t underestimate how far that love might drive him if he believes you’re in danger. ”

“And don’t underestimate how far a sister’s love might drive her to protect her family from unnecessary harm.” Maya’s smile carries both warmth and warning. “Safe travels, Andrei. I’ll be here when you return.”

After she leaves, I finish packing my briefcase while replaying every word of the conversation between Maya and her brother.

The intelligence she transmitted will indeed help Max narrow his search, but it might also convince him that his sister retains enough freedom and influence to shape her circumstances.

Whether that realization leads to negotiation or escalation remains to be seen.