Page 35 of The Fixer

“When I went to Saint Petersburg to see Aleksander and Levrenti fight, Levrenti was genuinely upset… Aleksander was almost haughty. At least, if he tried to hide it, it would’ve been more convincing.” I turned to Malda as she stifled a laugh, but my lips dragged down in a frown. “I’m separating my home and work life, Malda, and I would appreciate it if you’d respect that.”

“I apologize. I was under the impression you and Sascha share thoughts in real time.”

Exhaling through flared nostrils, I had nothing to say. This mess with Aleksander. It interfered with my life with Sascha, and I couldn’t let it happen again. I’d actually, actively tried to push him away— to get him to break up with me.

And for what? A game. To Aleksander, everything and everyone was a game he could master. Clenching and releasing my jaw, I turned back to the stove to flick on a burner, covering the flame with the pan. “Aleksander is replacing every important position with his siblings to create a monopoly. If he doesn’t want me involved in that, I’ll back off. But… what happened can never happen again. I won’t let him control my personal life. That goes for Vyachaslav as well. I’ve served Makovich for 6 years, and I’ve served them well. My family was obliterated by them. I foster business with Ukraine for them. I will fix whatever they want me to fix, Malda… but when I’m home,I am home.Believe it or not, Sascha and I don’t tell each other every, single, little thing.”

“I do believe that. I also believe firmly that you make Aleksander look bad because you’re too good.”

My heart stuttered at this—so, that’s why she’s here.Makovich wants me out of the way because I embarrassed them. Lyov— Aleksander— Vyachaslav… there was a reason that fixers like me were restrained on such a tight leash.

Malda sighed heavily. “I’m here as your friend, Ophelia. You’re going to have the chance to leave, and if you value your personal life so much, I think you should consider it. Eventually, everything you know will catch up to you.”

“Right now, I’m going to settle my family’s affairs…the literal and the figurative ones. I have someone coming to pick up the cars in a few hours. Sascha and I are looking at our options for this house. We haven’t made any decisions about our future, yet. I’m not in a position to clearly consider anything the Patriarch offers me.” Snatching the meat off the counter, I ripped open the plastic with a sharppop.

Malda remained quiet at my declaration.

All the while, my mind was in a fury.Why is this coming up now? What’s Aleksander’s plan, and where did I fit in it? What does Vyachaslav know that he is so afraid of that he’d offer me a secure out?

Most importantly… going to America was a convenient excuse to cover up the fact that Aleksander or Vyachaslav ? or both of them, together ? were planning something here in Russia that I couldn’t be privy to.

“When Aleksander runs for his first political office…” The tension in the air thickened, my voice knifing through it as I glanced over my shoulder. “I’ll probably vote for him. That’s not for another year or two, at the earliest. So, whatever he has planned has nothing to do with me, yet. The secrets he hides… I’ll stay away. I’ll shut down my investigation and go back to simply being our diplomat to Ukraine. But only if he does something for me in return.”

“What do you want?” Malda ground the question through her teeth.

Now I knew I’d hit the nail on the head. Aleksanderwasrunning for Prime Minister, eventually. “If I manage to fix the relationship between us and Santino… Erik is the one that goes to America, not me. Russia… Moscow is my home. I’m not leaving it.”

24

Ophelia

“Who the Hell are you?” Even as I posed the question, I knew the answer.

The woman on my doorstep was noticeably pregnant. Her long, dyed blonde hair swished over her shoulder when she jerked her head, her eyes big and wide. Licking her lips, she seemed to have the intentional unintentional sensuality down packed. “You’re Martin’s sister, right? They told me h-he…”

Arching a brow when she trailed off, I cocked my head. Irritation simmered in my veins; I was in the middle of consoling my dad’s poor mistress and trying to convince her to take a check.That’s right… either she’s the best actress in the world, or she’s genuinely upset as well as stupid.

“Umm, can we talk?”

The inquiry brought my mind back to the woman standing in front of me, and disdain tingled down my spine. She hadn’t even told me her name and my gut didn’t like her. “Does this act really work on people?” Summoning all my knowledge of all that I’d read in not only my father’s emails, but my brother’s as well, my brows drew tight.

She paused— or more like froze.

I leaned on the doorframe to cross my arms over my chest. “Why would I be stupid enough totalkwhen you intentionally got pregnant? I mean, I get it. Martin was rich and pretty stupid, and almost every outcome was a win-win for you. That’s the key word, though…was. He’s dead. I am not going to do jack shit for you or that manipulation tool in your belly.”

“He’sthe one tha—”

Holding up my palm to quiet her, I ground my teeth. Unless Martin raped her, she was complacent in getting pregnant, too. She couldn’t shift all the blame onto him; there wasn’t much of a way to play victim now, since he was dead. “I don’t care. Goodbye.”She didn’t even introduce herself. Jesus— what was wrong with people? Shutting the door on her, I frowned at the pristine tile directly under my feet. A few years down the line, and she could’ve easily portrayed Martin as a deadbeat father; he left her after promising he’d support her! What about her baby? Clothes, food and school, oh my!

Running my hands up along my cheeks and combing my hair back, I took a stabilizing breath. Making my way back to the kitchen, my mind turned to the woman whose name Ididknow.

Gregoria, an American in Russia for her job, who began an affair with my father about four months ago. She was young, butsovibrant and upbeat that it hurt my eyes to look at her. Entering the kitchen, even with the lights on, Gigi was the brightest thing in the room.

“I apologize…“ My English sucked, but I was better at English than Gigi was at Russian.

Smiling at me, the shadows played in her green eyes.

I’d bet this was as close to death as she’d ever come. “I don’t know what I can do. Throwing money at people is kind of my… best skill.”