Page 20 of Maxim (The Syndicates #12)

“G ood morning,” Maxim says as I enter the kitchen.

“Morning.” I walk over to the cabinet and pull out a glass.

“How did you sleep?” he asks as I move to the fridge.

I place my glass under the water dispenser as I reply, “All right. You?”

“Same.”

“How long until Thea gets here?” I ask as I take a drink.

“She’s not coming today,” he says, catching me off guard.

“She’s not, but I thought you had to work…”

“I’m taking the day off.”

“Oh.”

A day off? I never saw that coming. In the entire time I’ve known him, Maxim has been all about the mission. The only time he didn’t leave is when I hurt myself.

Wow, that was so long ago. I can’t even believe I did that. I thought I had lost all hope when I only needed to look at the man I share a home with to find it.

“I need you to get dressed,” Maxim tells me.

“Is someone else coming over?” I look down at my stretchy pants and T-shirt.

He shakes his head. “No, we are actually going on a little trip.”

“A trip?” My heart picks up its pace.

We aren’t supposed to leave. He’s made it known that someone could be watching, and he doesn’t want to risk it.

Maxim smiles as he hands me a pair of shoes that I never noticed. “Are you going to repeat everything I say?”

“I don’t know, maybe,” I mutter, making him chuckle.

“Eat, then get ready.”

“I’m not hungry.”

His eyes narrow, and before he can protest, I turn and head back down the hall. Since I washed my hair yesterday, I know that I’m good for at least another couple of days. Fifteen minutes later, I’m clean and dressed.

“That didn’t take you long,” Maxim says as I walk back into the kitchen.

“I really just needed to wash my body.” I shrug as I move to the couch to put on my shoes. Once they are laced up, I stand. “Ready.”

“All right, let’s go.” As I approach him, he holds something out to me. “And eat this.”

I take the granola bar from him and smile. So much for not being hungry, I guess. I follow him out of the house and to his SUV.

“What are you doing?” he asks when I move to get into the back seat.

“Am I not supposed to sit back there?”

“I mean, you can if you want, but you don’t have to,” he says as he opens the passenger seat door.

“I can sit up front?”

“Yes…”

Before he changes his mind, I jump into the vehicle. He chuckles as he shuts the door. As he gets in and starts to drive, I look around. The seats are buttery soft leather with red stitching. Then on the dash is possibly the biggest screen I’ve ever seen in a vehicle.

This feels like a fantasy. Is this a spaceship?

“You good over there? You’re looking around like you’ve never seen the front of a car before.”

“I’ve never ridden in the front seat,” I confess.

His head whips toward me real fast before looking back at the road. “Surely you’re wrong.”

I shake my head. “No, Father wouldn’t allow it.”

“Huh,” he mutters under his breath as he checks his mirrors.

He drives for a few more minutes before turning into an empty parking lot.

“All right, let’s go,” he says as he shuts off the SUV.

I open the door and jump out.

“I would have opened that for you,” he says when I meet him at the hood.

“It’s all right. I can do it. Now where are we going?”

“Come on, follow me.”

I eye the small bag in his hand and the blanket that’s over his arm. I wonder what he has planned.

We walk down a tree-lined path and I can’t help but look around. It’s so beautiful, and yet not a person is in sight.

Is this place just a well-kept secret, or do people just spend too much time indoors?

“Over here.” He points off to the side.

I follow his line of sight and gasp. A beautiful pond lays ahead. It has lily pads so big they look fake. The quacking ducks make me smile as I watch them swim around.

When Maxim comes to a stop next to the water, he lays out the blanket. “Sit,” he demands as he crouches.

I kick off my shoes and sit on the blanket. “What are we doing here?”

“I figured you were feeling a little cooped up and could use some fresh air.”

“Are you sure it’s safe?”

“As safe as can be. It’s a calculated risk on my end, but one I think you need. No one followed us, so we should be fine, but I’ll keep my eyes open, just in case.”

He knew. I don’t know if Thea said something or if he figured it out himself, but I’m thankful. This is so sweet and more than I would have asked for.

“Thank you,” I say quietly.

“You’re welcome.”

He pulls some treats out of the bag and then moves to sit next to me. “Take your pick,” he says, nodding toward the pile.

I can’t help but smile when I see that he grabbed a mix of sweet and savory treats. Reaching for the individually wrapped package of banana bread, I grab it.

This is so much better than the granola bar.

I open the package and break off a piece. As soon as the flavors hit my tongue, I can’t help but moan.

Delicious.

My skin starts to tingle like someone’s watching me. When I open my eyes, I see that it’s only Maxim, and the way he’s staring at me makes me tingle for another reason.

Cool it, Olena. He’s not interested in you, remember?

“So what do you think of this place?” he asks as he opens a bag of chips.

“It’s gorgeous. How did you find this place?”

“I actually heard some people talking about it at the grocery store. A guy was telling his buddy that he planned to propose to his woman here.”

“So you just asked about it?”

“I did.”

I shake my head and smile. This man. Just when I start to think I have figured him out, he has to go and surprise me.

“Well, it’s gorgeous, and I hope his woman says yes.”

When Maxim grunts in response, I can’t help but smile.

I like his way of communicating. Sometimes he is chatty, and other times he is all grunts and growls.

Maybe I just like him.

“I brought frozen peas so you can feed the ducks,” he says, nodding toward the pond.

“Did you really?”

“I figured it would be something you would like.”

“You’re not wrong. Thank you for thinking about it.”

“You’re welcome.”

We fall silent as we eat and listen to the sounds of Mother Nature. Even though we aren’t doing anything, this is the most fun I’ve had in…well, maybe ever.

“Did I tell you that I saw your sister the other day?”

“Did you? How did she look?”

“She looked fine. Maybe a little lonely, but fine,” he says, making my heart ache.

“I miss her.”

“I know, you’ll see them soon enough. You have my word.”

When I hear laughter, I look over my shoulder. I watch as a couple draws closer and can’t help but tense.

“Easy…” Maxim murmurs.

I look over at him and see that he’s completely at ease.

Shit, have I been locked up for so long that just seeing others makes me think the worst?

She’s happy, and happiness looks beautiful on her. Olena’s always been attractive, but today it’s different. It’s like she’s sunshine personified, and I fucking love it.

I like her, and I shouldn’t. It’s fucked up on so many levels.

The last thing I want is her developing feelings for me just because I saved her or because she feels like she has no other options.

Shit, would it even be possible to turn this around where we started on such messed-up terms? Would she want that?

“This is delicious,” she mutters as she breaks off another piece of the bread.

Out of all the things I thought she would reach for first, I wouldn’t have picked that.

“Have you ever had that before?”

She shakes her head. “No, never.”

“If you like that, you will probably like pumpkin bread too. Especially when it comes with cream cheese frosting.”

She leans forward. “And where do we find that?”

I can’t help but laugh at the seriousness on her face. “I’m not sure. I think usually it’s a seasonal thing, but I can figure that out.”

“What should I try now?” she asks as she dusts the crumbs off her fingers.

“Do you like chocolate?”

“Is the sky blue?” she deadpans, making me laugh.

“Try that,” I say once I get myself under control.

She picks up the container of chocolatey goodness and pulls two out. Wordlessly she hands one to me. Instantly I bring it up to my mouth and take a bite. My eyes shut as the flavor hits me.

“Fuck yeah,” I mutter.

The first time I saw a brownie with frosting, I thought it would be overkill. Why take something that’s already delicious and risk fucking it up? Then I discovered brownies with Oreo filling for frosting and topped with crushed Oreos.

I’m a fucking whore for Oreos.

When I open my eyes, I find that she’s staring right at me with heat in her eyes.

Yep. The interest definitely isn’t one-sided, that’s for sure.

I clear my throat. “Are you going to try it or just hold it?”

Her eyes flutter shut as she takes a bite, and she makes a little noise as she chews.

I wonder if I could have her make that noise again…just with her clothes off.

I shake the dirty thought away. This isn’t the time or the place to be thinking with my dick.

“So, what do you think?” I rasp.

“Delicious. I think I still like the bread more. What’s this?”

“That is a strawberry shortcake bar. I think you’ll like it.”

She sets down the brownie and takes a bite of the bar. “While the brownie is good, I like this more, I think.” She hums. “Thank you for doing this.”

“Of course. It’s been a while since I’ve had a day off, so I thought it was time.”

“But if my father calls, you’ll go.” She nods knowingly.

“If I have to, yeah. You know how it is.”

“I do, unfortunately.”

We fall silent and watch the ducks swim around.

“You know what I realized the other day?” she muses.

“What’s that?” I ask.

“I know what you look like first thing in the morning and what you ate for breakfast, but I don’t even know if you were born here or what your favorite color is.” She looks at me shyly.

“Blue like the ocean, and no, I wasn’t born here. I was born somewhere else,” I tell her.

“But you can’t tell me where?” she deduces.

The girl might not have a formal education, but she’s so smart. Especially when it comes to reading people. Makes sense, since she has had to read people to survive.

“I will. Just not yet. I hope you understand.” I reach out, holding her hand.

“Of course I do. The less I know, the better.” She sighs.

“I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about.” She gives me a small smile.

“What about you? I’d love to know your answers,” I tell her, not letting go of her hand.

“I love yellow, and yeah, I was born here, but we’ve spent a lot of time back in the homeland.”

Yellow. I should have known. Sunshine. Pure fucking sunshine.

“If you could do anything, what would it be?” she asks, catching me off guard.

“This. Well, more like what I do when I’m not moonlighting as a scumbag. What about you?”

The wind blows some of her hair across her face, and I fight the urge to move it for her.

I wonder if it’s as soft as it looks. With the sun shining on it, it almost looks like spun silk.

“I would like to go to school,” she says hesitantly.

I should have guessed that.

“We can make that happen. We can get you your GED, then get you into college. You can study anything you want.”

“You think I could do that?”

“I know you can,” I tell her. “You are so smart without it. You are going to excel at it. We will get your siblings into a real school too. Nik has one he let Ivanna go to. We will find out what it was, unless you want to leave this place. Then we will do our own research.”

“You would leave with me?” she asks.

“I would. At least to get you settled. Then I would follow your lead,” I admit.

She lunges forward and throws herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck.

“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!”

I wrap my arms around her and bury my face in her neck and hug her back. Shit, she feels good in my arms. All too soon she pulls back, and it doesn’t escape me when she shivers.

Shit, the wind is starting to pick up, and when I look at the sky, I see some storm clouds gathering in the distance.

“It looks like it might rain. We should head back.” As soon as the words leave my mouth, I regret them because of the way her face drops.

“Yeah, you’re right,” she says as she starts to gather everything we brought.

Once everything is tucked safely back in the bag, I grab the blanket, and we stand. As we start to walk back toward the SUV, I fight the urge to reach over and grab her hand. When we step into the clearing that opens up before the parking lot, my skin starts to crawl.

Someone’s watching.

Discreetly I search our surroundings. All too easily I find the source. There is a man sitting in a silver car, not even bothering to hide the fact he’s watching us. Either he’s sloppy or he just doesn’t care.

Interesting.

Did her father send someone to keep tabs on me, or is this guy watching us for an entirely different reason?

“What’s wrong?” Olena asks quietly.

“Don’t look, but there is a guy watching us at our ten o’clock. Just act normal,” I say quietly.

We get a little closer to the SUV, and I have to fight back a chuckle. Poor Olena is trying, I’ll give her that, but it’s obvious that she’s uncomfortable. She has her eyes on the ground at least. To an outsider, she would look like a battered wife. To her father? An obedient toy.

That is until she moves closer to me, seeking my comfort.

Fuck.

She’s giving us away.

When we step up next to the car, instead of grabbing the handle, I decide to take matters into my own hands. If this is her father, he will ask me about it. This cannot look like a date.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper.

“Wha—?”

I push her against the SUV as I cup her face and then slam my mouth down against hers.

Strawberries.

She tastes like strawberries.

Nothing about the kiss is soft and sweet. It’s possessive. Claiming.

If there is one thing I’m sure of, it’s that this won’t be the last time my lips claim hers.

All too soon, I pull away. Her lips and the skin around them are red from the claiming and my beard.

God, I can’t wait to see what the redness would look like on her somewhere else.

I rest my lips against her forehead and scan the parking lot. The silver car that was watching is gone, leaving us alone.

“Wh-what was that for?” she asks breathlessly.

For once, I don’t have a good explanation.

“For business and for pleasure. Now come on, let’s get home before it gets dark,” I say as I open the door.