Page 7 of Maxim (The Syndicates #12)

I am trying to keep it together, but all I can think about is Alek and Daryna.

What are they going to do without me? Alek is already too involved in Father’s business.

With me gone, will he be able to keep his head on straight?

Then there’s Daryna. Who will step in when Father becomes angry?

Will he sell her like he’s sold me? I have no doubt that he has no morals.

If she causes issues, he will get rid of her.

He has no need for her after all. Women mean nothing to him.

“Hey, calm down,” I hear from the driver’s seat.

Looking over, I see the man who has bought me.

My master, even if he refuses to let me call him that.

It makes me distrustful of him. Why would he buy me if he was a good man?

He has some sort of ulterior motive. It doesn’t matter.

I need to get back to my siblings. Whatever he wants from me, I will give him until he lets his guard down. Anything for them.

“You’re panicking or something. It’s going to be okay. I won’t hurt you. Breathe.”

I take a deep breath as he asks and realize I was breathing heavily. The thought of my siblings being in trouble had me worked up.

“We are almost home. I will protect you.”

Sweet words from a monster. Is this how they all are? Do they hide behind the sugary sweet facade and attack when you least expect it? At least my father is upfront about his cruelty. I always know what to expect with him.

This man, not so much.

We pull up to an older house minutes later.

It looks well kept, but there are no lights on.

I wait for instruction as Maxim exits the vehicle.

He comes around, helping me out. Placing his hand on my lower back, he escorts me to the front door.

I watch as he uses three different keys to unlock the different locks.

As soon as we step inside, he enters a very long code into the panel on the wall.

His system looks way more sophisticated than the one my father has.

I try to memorize his movements, but it’s no use.

Once he’s done, he leads me further into the house.

“This is your home for the time being. There’s a bedroom down the hall with a bathroom off of it.

There is also a half bath in the hallway.

This is a bachelor pad, so you take the bedroom, I’ll take the couch.

There’s food in the kitchen. If there’s anything you want specifically, say the word and it’s yours. ”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask to go home, but I don’t. This nice guy act is scary, but I’ll use it while I can. Learn his movements until I can escape.

“Do you have any questions?”

I shake my head as I look around the empty place. Sure, there is a couch and a small television, but other than that, it’s cold. No statues or art like my father. No photographs like I would have in my own home. It feels like this place is just a place for him to sleep.

He sighs, moving to my side as he grabs my hand.

“I know you won’t believe me because you have been through trauma that I could never begin to understand. You are safe here. I will never hurt you. I won’t ask you to perform sexual favors on me, nor will I force you to do anything you do not want to do. You are not a prisoner here.”

“Then I can leave?”

The words pop out before I can stop him. I watch him wince. “For the time being, no. One day you will, though. I promise you. For now, the only way to keep you safe is to keep you here. Do you understand?”

Do I understand? I don’t, but I nod anyway.

“Good. Have a seat. I’ll make you a grilled cheese. Is that okay?”

I nod again, not willing to speak as I take a seat on his couch.

“You can turn on the television,” he calls from the open kitchen.

I don’t bother moving for the remote, though. This isn’t my home. I’m not going to let him lull me into a false sense of security only to have him rip the rug out from underneath me. If I have anything to say about it, I won’t be here long at all.

Instead, I study the room as my ears try to catch any noises in the house. When he finally hands me a plate, taking a seat next to me, I ask the question that’s been plaguing me.

“Where are the servants?” I want to ask about guards too, but I felt that would be too forward.

“I don’t have any,” he says, turning on the television.

He flips through channels as I pick at the sandwich he’s brought me. Taking a small bite, I almost moan. It tastes so good. I don’t even remember the last time I ate.

“Hey, don’t eat so fast. I don’t want you to choke. Let me get you some water.”

He stands quickly, going to the fridge. When he comes back, he hands me a bottle of water. I take it, setting it next to me as I finish the sandwich.

When I look up at him, he looks sad.

“I’ll make you another.”

“Oh. You don’t have to,” I say, but he ignores me.

“This isn’t your father’s house. I have no servants. No guards. No cooks or maids. It’s just me and now you. If you are hungry, you eat. You want something to drink, get it. There’s no tiptoeing around or asking for permission. This is your home as much as it is mine now.”

“Stop.” It comes out as a whisper.

“What was that?” he calls out.

“Stop,” I say louder, looking down at my hands in my lap.

I hear him moving around in the kitchen before he comes out and kneels before me.

“Stop what?”

“Pretending to be nice. I know cruelty, but this is worse. I’d rather know the monster now.” I brace myself for the worst.

When his hand touches my face, I flinch.

“I’m not like them. I didn’t want to buy you, Olena.”

“Why did you then?”

“Because if I didn’t, you would have gone to a man who would have raped you and abused you, and I couldn’t live with myself knowing that I could have stopped it. So I bought you and brought you to my home. It’s fucked up, but it’s all I had, Olena. I won’t hurt you.”

I want to believe him, but life has proven to me that there is no good. Only the bad and the worse. I don’t tell him that, though. I only nod.

He gives me a small smile before standing. Then he heads back into the kitchen, leaving me with my thoughts.

I need to get out of here.

Soon.

She’s been pretending to be asleep for an hour now. I only know because I’m stalking her with my phone like a creep. I thought Alexei was crazy for insisting on cameras in every room, but here I am using the bedroom cam to watch my new guest toss and turn.

I fucked up. I shouldn’t have bought her.

I can’t be sorry for it, though. Watching her on that stage, I knew I had to save her.

I don’t know why she called to me specifically, but she did.

I should have taken note of who bought her and passed it along as was our plan, but I couldn’t.

Not when I saw who else was bidding on her.

Now I likely blew my cover.

Nik is going to kill me.

As I have the thought, my phone lights up with a message. I wish it was Nik, but he would never risk it.

No, it’s from Jan.

My office in an hour.

It’s not a request. It’s a demand. One I must heed.

What if Olena was a test?

He didn’t ask me to bring her, though. I can only hope he doesn’t plan to kill me then take her back.

I look at her once more through the camera.

She wants to go home. Maybe not to her father, but she doesn’t want to be here. I wish I could have told her that she was free to leave. Truth is, like it or not, we are stuck together for the time being.

She still thinks I will hurt her. I won’t, though. I’ll do anything to protect her.

Pulling my burner phone out, I send a message to Alexei in code. He will check the feeds and see what I want him to see. He will know to watch over her.

Then I head to the door, punching my code in to lock the house down.

I meant what I said to her. I have no one but me here.

That doesn’t mean the place isn’t safe. Alexei set me up with the top-of-the-line security.

If anyone gets in, it’s because he allowed them to.

Like when Jan had his goons search my place.

We allowed them to break in, then watched their every move.

This is my first invite to his house. I don’t like it, but I have no choice. It’s either go or take Olena and run back to the Bratva with my tail between my legs. That would do us no good.

So I make the drive, stopping by the gate.

“Name?” the guard barks.

“Maxim Boyoko.”

“Drive up to the door. A guard will meet you there.”

I do as he says, driving through the large gates. As I stare at the house, I realize this is where Olena has lived her life. It looks beautiful and elegant, but I know how looks can deceive. I wonder what horrors she lived out behind these closed doors.

As soon as I turn the car off, a guard is at my door opening it for me.

“Right this way.”

I’m not shocked when he leads me to the door where two guards are waiting to frisk me. Then they run a metal detector wand over me. When they are satisfied that I left my weapons in the car, they open the door for me.

“Wait here.”

I stand in the grand foyer looking around. It’s over the top, but I expect nothing less from a man who flaunts his wealth. The grand stairs lead to a second level. It has me wondering if her room is up there somewhere.

Movement at the top catches my eye. A small girl is at the top trying to hide. I wave a little, making her smile. She waves back. Then a young boy’s voice can be heard in a whisper-hiss, making the girl jump.

I look down at my feet to hide the smile on my face. She’s a cute girl. It clicks in my head that this is likely Olena’s sister. Or somehow related to her if she’s living here.

I resolve then and there that I will get that girl out of here too. I won’t leave anyone behind as I take down this man.

“Maxim, good of you to come. You ran out of the auction so quickly that I didn’t have the chance to introduce you to some people,” Jan says in greeting.

I want to wince as I realize I failed those people. I was so panicked by my own actions that I forgot what I was there to do. I feel shame, but I force a smile.

“I apologize. I got the prize I had been eyeing and was ready to get her home. Good of you to offer her up, by the way. I thought there was no way you would let a fine piece of ass like that go. Especially with her innocence intact.”

The words are ash in my mouth, but I force them out.

He chuckles. “I knew the moment I saw you with her that you were salivating over her. Come to my office. Let’s have a little chat.”

“I’m intrigued by why you called me here. Lead the way.”

I follow him down the hall until we reach his office. As I step inside, I see two other men. One is obviously wealthy, like Jan, but the other is a soldier of some sort.

“Maxim, this is Szymon, my second-in-command.” He indicates toward the soldier-looking dude. “The other man is none of your concern. Take a seat.”

My heart races. This is it. This is the head of the snake. The one we have been hunting alongside Jan. It has to be. Why else would he be here and be so mysterious?

“That seems ominous. Did you bring me here to kill me because I bought your daughter?” I ask, taking the free seat.

“Quite the opposite, actually. You’ve impressed us.

We’ve been watching. You enjoy the merchandise, but you do not step out of line.

In fact, you step in when necessary. At first, I worried you had a savior complex.

That you were trying to save Olena, but then you bought her.

I watched as you pulled her from the place.

I saw the terror on her face. You are a young, attractive male who can use his charm but knows when to let the monster inside out. ”

I force a smile. “All part of the act to get them to trust you. Especially the innocent ones. They tend to be tougher to crack. It’s a thrill when they finally give in only to realize that you are the devil.”

Everyone laughs, so I chuckle along with them. I hate it. This part of the job scares me. Each time I pretend to be one of them, I wonder how long it would take me to fully give in. I’d rather put a bullet in my head.

“That’s the attitude I like to hear. Where did you get your depravity from?” he asks.

I quirk an eyebrow. “You are asking when I started viewing women as toys? I’m sure you read my file.”

“Your file is a bunch of words that tell me what others think you are. I want to hear from you.”

This is it. A step in the right direction. I can gain his trust here. I only need to parrot the cover story Alexei gave them. Only, it’s not quite a story. Most of it is true.

“I was born as a bastard to a whore. My father wanted nothing to do with me but knew I would be his heir, so he dropped me off with his father to be raised. I watched the way he treated my grandmother. He taught me everything I know.”

“Where are they now?” he asks.

“Both passed.”

He nods. He already knew that.

“So your grandfather also liked to purchase women?”

“Yes, but his tastes were more simple. He bought hookers from the streets and brought them home. He would sometimes force my grandmother to be with them as well.” Bile fills my throat at the memory. “After he passed, my grandmother continued to serve me until her death.”

“What of your father?” he asks.

“No idea. He never came back, and I never searched for him. I am my own man. I don’t need to live out his legacy.”

Jan chuckles. “You really are cut from the same cloth. I branched out from my family as well. They were simpleminded. Only lived for the day. They didn’t see the bigger picture like me. I took their venture and made it into a global organization.”

“One that is successful, from what I can see.”

“That it is. I’m glad to hear that you enjoy it.”

“Of course. It serves people like us well.”

“That it does. Thank you for the chat. You are excused. Keep your phone close, though. We may have an opportunity for you.”

I bow my head slightly. “I look forward to it.” I stand from the chair and shake his hand.

I turn to leave the room, but he calls out to me, “Oh, and Maxim?”

“Yes?”

“Enjoy my daughter. She’s a handful, but I have no doubt you know how to handle it.”

I force a laugh. “You have no idea.”