Page 45 of The Fixer

Shock and horror mingled in Envre reddened, hand printed face.

I flung out my arm to point at Aleksander with a trembling finger. Envre flinched automatically, but I drew no pleasure from it. “Congratulations! Your boyfriend’s perpetual ‘my dick is bigger than yours’ problem hasconsequences! The fucking audacity that beating someone into dust for your ego is going to make them upset! You fucking set me up and threaten me then make me feel like a bug under your heel. You sapeverygood moment I have with a sweep of your hand and you— you—you think I’m not going to snap?”

“Ophelia…” She sounded so sad for me.

A disgusted laugh escaped the dense lump in my throat. The burning in my eyes streamed down my cheeks, and I wiped my snot from my nose to sniffled hard— painfully. My gaze trained on Aleksander standing outside his office door, not a lick of shame or regret glistening under his tightly knit brows. “Your father gave me an out—“

Aleksander’s pupils narrowed into slits now.

I hiccupped a breath, and my lip curled into a sneer. “—because I make you look stupid. You’re about to see exactly how fucking stupid you are. It might’ve been a lie, but if you think I wastryingwhen I cleaned up my father’s idiocy— you’re in for a rude fucking awakening.”

“Ophelia!”

My head snapped to the left and my eyelids twitched.

Sascha stood in the open doorway, his beard bristling and hiding his paleness.

Casting one final glare at Aleksander, I stomped down the stairs as my brain pounded against my forehead with increasing ferocity.

But, even now, in the very back of my mind… the tiniest voice in my head told me that Aleksander had counted on this happening, too. His blank stare— his calm demeanor— it was all because he expected this to happen.I should’ve punched her instead.At least, he probably wouldn’t have thought Envre would get in the middle somehow. Stepping out into the weak sunshine, the slight hairs on my back rose as Sascha followed me, sensibly keeping himself to himself.

“What are you doing here, Sascha?” Pausing just before the gravel lining the driveway, I glanced back as he watched me intently. “Did Malda show up at your hall and order you here?”

“She was worried about you, so I wouldn’t say‘ordered’…I know I shouldn’t trust anything she says, but I believed her when she said she was acting on her own.” Sascha stuffed his hands in his pockets and pulled an uncomfortable expression. “What’s going on, Oppie?”

“That’s a good question.” Aleksander Makovich planned everything down to the second— thesecond. Goosebumps pocked on my arms and down my thighs. “I’ve been behind all this time— trying to catch up. Trying andfailingto get ahead of him. It’s done horrible things to me. Beinguseful… Aleksander has hung that over my head, and I just thought I had to be able to answer any question he had— fix anything he needed fixing.”

“But…?”

Staring at a particularly large pebble, I frowned at Sascha’s gently prodding. Coming up next to me, he still didn’t touch me, but he was close enough to make my goosebumps dense and my arms hairs bristle wildly. Taking a deep, cool breath to douse the fire in my lungs, I closed my eyes as I thought back…all the way back.

Back to when my parents were alive, before I realized I would always be ahead of their mistakes. Back to when my brother was my biggest, baddest enemy. Back to when the name Aleksander Makovich was just an amorphous, looming presence in the background.

“That’s not my role anymore. I got complacent with my parents and their blunders. The obviousness that came with experience. But I have no experience with thesepeople.” Every single thing— every time I blinked— every time Ibreathed— Aleksander Makovich had taken into account. Since the second my parents ceased existing in this world, he’d calculated to the minutia; of course, some of it must’ve been lucky guesses. This was my trial run, and the past few months were years in condensed form.

Aleksander used my greatest fear against me— losing Sascha and this life I had with him. He’d exerted his authority by killing my parents and brother. He’d reminded me that he was always watching me. He’d reinforced our roles as master and servant.

None of that was unique. None of that wasn’t something I’d go my entire life without experiencing. Aleksander was master ofalland appeaser ofnone. There was nothing he wouldn’t do to get what he wanted. And what he wanted was—

“Santino.” Darren sauntered out of the house, a cigarette hanging from his lips, he sparked up to glance at me under the flames. “He’s right. You’re impressive, how fast you figure shit out. It took me years to realize that Vyachaslav can walk circles around me, and I’d never be able to follow it.”

“Are you going to America, too?”

Shaking his head as he took a deep drag of his cigarette, Darren frowned as he held his breath for a long moment. “Not immediately, unfortunately. I’m not supposed to come in until after you’ve done your job. It’ll be nice not to have that asshole brother of Carlyle’s take cut from me, though. You know, I once watched Oran Santino beat a man to death with his bare hands simply because he was frustrated at having to hold a gun? I mean, the guy has probably never shot a gun in his life, but he could kill you without you even knowing it. All the arms I move into the States and Mexico, I have to sell to them, first.” He exhaled through his nose as he spoke. Darren frowned under furrowed brows when he dropped to lounge on the steps. “I didn’t know Aleksander was gonna say that, no offence. I mean you’re hot, Ophelia, but you’re notthathot that I’d go through with that. It’dkillmy business if I was married and unfaithful. These people have the strangest scruples.”

“Do you have a girlfriend or something?” I asked.

Darren reached to scratch the back of his head and ruffle his sleek, dirty blonde hair, lightened by years of harsh sunlight. “More like I’ve been chasing this solid goddess-level beauty for a few years, but all she wants is to fuck me. She’s a model in America, the only reason why I support this shit Aleksander’s doing. The agency she’s with is under one of Carlyle Santino’s shell corporations.”

My brows rose at his downtrodden tone. I knew next to nothing about him, but his actions alone told me a good deal.

Darren shook his head before sucking on the butt of his cigarette. “Anyway, I hope things get better for you, because if youdopull this off with Santino, you’ll be untouchable, and you can have the life you want, Ophelia.”

31

Sascha

Taking Ophelia’s hand in my own, I lifted her fingers to lips before she looked at me for the first time. When Malda came to me, told me Ophelia was in a bad way, I didn’t think it could bethisbad. I knew she was troubled by Aleksander and how incredibly ironclad the man was but witnessing her smacking Envre across the face was… disparaging.