Page 22 of Maxim (The Syndicates #12)

L ast night was a whirlwind in the best possible way.

I feel lighter and relieved that Maxim knows how I feel.

For the first time ever, I felt beautiful and desired the right way.

I know Szymon wanted me and was attracted to me, but when he looked at me, it felt wrong. With Maxim, though, it feels right.

The fact he told me that I’m in charge and he’s following my lead?

That’s…overwhelming. I loved being able to kiss him and feel the way his body reacted to my touch.

I know most people figured that out in high school or maybe even middle school, but it’s all new to me, and I love that he’s the one I get to explore those feelings with.

Then when it was late and we were both fighting to stay awake, he tried to do the noble thing and send me to bed alone.

He didn’t try to push his way in, but when I asked him to stay, he did with zero hesitation.

Maxim crawled into bed with me and held me in his arms all night long.

He curled around my body like he was protecting me from everything that goes bump in the night.

Then this morning, I woke up after the best night’s sleep I’ve ever had, and he was still holding me.

I could feel that he was turned on, and I fully expected him to make a move, but he didn’t. Because Maxim, whatever his actual last name is, is a man of his word.

I love it, and if he doesn’t watch it, I’m going to fall in love with him.

“Okay, I quit,” Thea says as she tosses the yarn onto the coffee table.

“Crocheting not for you?” I tease.

“Hell no, I’ll leave that to you.”

Smiling, I set down my project. Despite the fact neither of us was interested, we tried it anyway. Turns out, I’m pretty good at it. Who would have thought?

“I’m not that good,” I tell her.

“Please, you’ve picked it up in a matter of minutes. You have a really good start to a blanket.” She indicates my little project that I’m actually quite proud of.

“We can try something else,” I offer.

“We will, but that’s not what I want to talk about.”

I turn toward her, giving her my full attention. “And what is it you want to talk about? Oh, let me guess, how you think the dark-haired guy on the cop show is hotter than the blond?”

The other day we stumbled upon a cop show with two dudes who are partners on the force. The way they talk to each other and, well, banter, pulls you in.

“First off, he is without a question the hotter of the pair, but no. I want to talk about the look that you and Maxim shared before he left this morning.”

I feel my cheeks heat, and I look away from her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Thea scoffs. “Please, that man looked like he wanted to eat you for breakfast, and you looked like all you wanted to do was devour his face.”

“I’m not into cannibalism,” I deadpan, making her roll her eyes.

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it. Now spill, girlfriend.”

It would be nice to have someone to talk to. Someone to confide in. Thea is nice and has been patient with me since we met and is the closest thing to a friend I’ve ever had. Surely she won’t assume the worst, right? Assume that Maxim is taking advantage of the situation?

“If you don’t want to, it’s fine, but I’m here if you want,” she says gently.

“No, I want to tell you, but I don’t want you to judge Maxim.”

Her eyes narrow. “Did he hurt you? Did he make you do something you didn’t want to do?”

I roll my eyes. “No, of course not.”

“Then I won’t judge. Remember Alexei and I started out kind of like you and Maxim.”

True, I never thought about that.

“I like him. Like a lot,” I confess quietly.

“Yeah? Does he know?” she asks with zero judgment.

I nod. “I told him last night.”

“What did he say?”

“That he was worried about me only liking him because he saved me or something like that.”

“Ah, he’s worried about Stockholm syndrome. Alexei tried to pull the same shit on me.”

“Yes, that.” I snap my fingers and point at her.

“I told him that it was ridiculous because if I was going to have stock whatever syndrome, it would have been with Szymon, who’s one of my father’s soldiers.

That man was obsessed with me, but I never once thought about what it would be like to kiss him. ”

The corner of her mouth tips up. “How did he take that?”

“He said he was willing to give it a shot. Said that he also has feelings for me and that he wants to go at my pace. That I make the moves.”

“How noble,” she teases. “That’s a good thing, though, right? It’s what you want?”

“It is, but I’ve never…”

“Ah, you don’t know how to tell him what you want or even know what it is you want.”

I shake my head.

“Okay, that’s fine. We can work with this. Can I ask you something super personal?”

“Sure.”

“Have you ever touched yourself? Made yourself orgasm?”

I shake my head again. “No, Father forbid it. It was really important that I stayed intact.”

“Okay, well, first things first, the next time you’re alone, touch yourself. Explore your body and see what it is you like. If you’re too scared to do it, I’m sure Maxim would be willing to help.”

“And the second thing?”

A devious smile crosses her face. “Do you know how to put on a condom?”

“No. They never taught me that because the man my father assumed would buy me wouldn’t want one, or if he did, it would be his responsibility.”

I still remember the sharp words he had for Madam when she offered to teach me. He wasn’t happy.

Thea tips her head back and laughs. “Then how would you feel about a little bit of sex education? All I need is a condom and a banana.”

“Why do I like you again?”

“Because I’m fucking awesome. Maxim is going to fucking owe me once I’m done teaching you my ways.”

I don’t know what the hell that means, but I’m kind of excited to figure it out.

I fucking hate this. Burning this operation to the ground won’t happen soon enough. I thought going into the club and watching was bad enough, but this is worse. I have to kidnap victims. People are going to be scared of me in a way I’m not okay with.

Then at the end of the night I’ll go home and have to put on a brave face like this never happened.

What would Olena think if she knew what I’m about to do?

The only thing that’s giving me any peace of mind is the fact I have trackers to place on them so that Nik and the family can sweep in and save them.

My next victim walks out of a building, and I snatch her as she starts to pass by the alley.

“Don’t! Stop!” she protests before I can cover her mouth. I drag her backward and open up the door to the van and toss her inside. I crawl in, shutting the door behind me. I fully expect her to lash out and attack me, but she doesn’t.

“You realize you aren’t supposed to go with kidnappers willingly, right?” I ask as I take the tracker out of my pocket.

When Thea told me that she had trackers for tonight, I didn’t think they would work. Trackers are usually bulky and easy to find. Not these, though. The Yakuza did a hell of a job developing these.

The woman scoffs. “Please, when the Yakuza calls and offers to pay for your time, you listen. Especially when the job is as simple as it is.”

“Wait, what?”

She reaches out and grabs the tracker from my hand and lifts up her skirt. I avert my eyes as she places it as high on her inner thigh as possible. “You didn’t know? All your marks tonight signed up for this. You don’t have to worry about us fighting back.”

I rest on my haunches and study her. “Why would you volunteer for this?”

She shrugs. “Easy money. That and they promised if we wanted to start over somewhere else, they would put us on the first bus out.”

Huh, talk about a twist that I never saw coming. Then again, if there is one thing that I’ve learned from talking to Haruaki Takahasi, it’s that he’s unpredictable and he doesn’t like losing.

Shaking my head, I chain her wrists to the hook on the floor.

“Sit tight.” I leave her in the back and head to the driver’s seat.

Five more. Just five more.

Over the next couple of hours I grab them, one by one. Four females and one male. They all come willingly as soon as we are out of sight. They take the trackers and place them on themselves, no questions asked.

The Yakuza trained them well, that’s for sure.

I stop the van two miles from the drop and turn to face them all. “Were you all briefed on what happens next?”

“You knock us out for the handoff,” the male says.

“Exactly.”

“Well, then, get it over with, bossman,” the first girl from earlier says.

I chuckle and shake my head. Reaching over, I open the glove box and pull out the handful of syringes and the vial of sleeping agent. I move to the back of the van and, one by one, inject them.

“You probably should have worn gloves,” one of them murmurs before they pass out.

As soon as I know for a fact they are out, I move back to the driver’s seat and head to the drop-off point. When I pull up, Szymon steps out of the shadows.

“You’re late,” he snaps as I get out of the van.

This fucking dickhead. What I wouldn’t do to put a bullet through his skull, right fucking now. If anyone deserves it, it’s him. I should have taken him out just for looking at Olena.

I take a deep breath and hope my mask stays in place. “I’m early, actually. I said I would be here by three, and it’s two forty-five.”

He grunts and crosses his arms. “How many?”

“Six. Five women, one man.”

“You grabbed a man?” he sneers.

“I was given strict instructions to grab a variety,” I remind him.

“You were also told only five bodies,” he points out.

“Consider the man a sign of good faith that I’m willing to go the extra mile.”

He moves to the back of the van, so I follow. I watch him as he opens the door and studies the product.

“No young ones?” he asks, sounding disappointed.

Disgust rolls through me. I was wrong. A bullet would be too nice of a death for this motherfucker.

To think he has unlimited access to Daryna.

I don’t believe in God, but I can’t help but send up a little prayer.

Please, God, protect that innocent child from the likes of him and his friends.

“Hey, you with me?” he snaps in my face.

I grit my teeth as I fight the urge to break his finger.

“Anything else?” I ask.

“No, you’re free to go,” he says, shooting me a dirty look.

I cross my arms. “You don’t like me much, do you?”

He sneers at me. “No, what gave it away? Of course I don’t fucking like you.”

“All right then, let’s air it out. Tell me what I did.” I know what I did, but I want him to admit it.

He starts to pace before turning back toward me.

“You came out of nowhere and waltzed in, no questions asked. Jan embraced you with open fucking arms and gave you a job. You made it right to the end, like that.” He snaps his fingers.

I’m surprised by his words. His jealousy runs deeper than just Olena. Interesting.

“And here I thought you didn’t like me because I have what you want.” I smirk.

“She’s not yours. She’s mine. Always has been, always will be,” he spits out at me.

“Really? Because last I checked, I was the one in bed with her last night,” I say casually.

The words taste like ash on my tongue, but they have to be said.

“You might be her first, but when you slip up and I’m forced to kill you, she will be mine once again.” The vehemence in his tone would scare a lesser man.

“Is that a threat, Szymon?” I joke.

“It’s a goddamn promise.”

“Well then, may the best man win.” I nod toward the van. “You should get on the road. They will be waking up soon.”

“You didn’t dose them to knock them out until morning?”

I scoff. “Of course not. I didn’t want to risk killing them.”

Szymon grumbles under his breath as he marches to the driver’s seat. I stand my ground until he’s out of sight.

Yeah, that motherfucker ensured his death tonight, that’s for damn sure.