Page 90 of Maksim
Her eyes find mine, and when she smiles, I find myself smiling back, my nerves calmed.
“I’ll take you for a ride if you want,” Zinovy offers. “Your brother trusts me.”
I don’t miss a beat. “No, I don’t.”
Another round of laughter, but when it quickly dies off, I follow the others’ gazes to the back patio door.
Anthony Gruco, a capo for the Italian mafia and the only criminal I’ve let around Anya, steps onto my patio with his wife, Bailey, on his arm. Her growing bump peeks out from beneath a tray she carries, and when Anya sees her, she jumps from the chair and skips that way.
“Bailey!”
When she reaches them, she grabs the pan, shoves it at Anthony, then wraps her arms around the glowing mother-to-be.
My brothers are not nearly as happy to see them.
“Elira,” I say, holding out my hand and ignoring the glares I’m thrown. “Come on, I want to introduce you.”
She stands and takes my hand, letting me lead her to people who are the source of my never-ending string of punishments. And the reason Elira was forced upon me.
The other night when Elira and I were laying in the back of an old farm pickup in what used to be my living hell, I was struck with a feeling of contentment so strong, if I’d been standing, I would’ve doubled over.
I remember tensing and hoping she couldn’t tell what was happening or the effects she had on me. I’ve felt love and the crippling weight of vulnerability it brings, but I’d never felt what she made me feel in the back of that truck. I let down walls I didn’t realize had anything on the other side of them and felt things I didn’t know I was capable of.
I laid there the entire night, thinking of what led to this and what life could have been if things went differently. Elira fell asleep after some time, but I knew I’d never be able to sleep on that farm. My mind was so wound in the morning, I didn’t feel the exhaustion until well into the day. I just kept thinking.
What if Nikita hadn’t gifted Elira to me? Forced me to take her?
Every time I thought of it, it made me sick. It made me hug her tighter, it flared protectiveness that was fresh and new.
I’ve asked myself hundreds of times if my relationship with Anthony Gruco was worth the trouble it caused. In truth, it only grew because Anya took to Bailey so intensely.
Now I know, without a doubt, it was worth it.
“Hey.” Bailey smiles and spreads her arms for a hug when I approach.
I lightly wrap my arms around her and glimpse her bump when I pull away. “You’re getting fat.”
“So are you,” she jokes dryly as she nods to Elira. “It looks like you’ve gained about a hundred and twenty pounds.” Her face lights up as she holds out her hand. “I’m Bailey, nice to meet you.”
Elira cups a hand over hers warmly. “Elira. And you look beautiful.”
“Thanks.” Bailey rubs her stomach. “I puked on your lawn, but other than that, I feel pretty great.” She pats her husband’s arm. “This is Anthony, the driver.”
“Jesus Christ.” He rolls his eyes, then smiles at Elira. “Pleasure to meet you, Elira. Maksim’s told me a lot about you.”
“He has?” she asks, not sounding convinced. Her eyes dip to the pan. “Oh, please, let me take that.”
“They’re cannolis.” Bailey peeks over at the Russian criminals glaring at us and crosses her arms over her chest.
“Yay!” Anya claps and takes the pan from Elira before trotting away to set it on a table.
“Probably not a crowd pleaser here, but Anya’s favorite.” Bailey shrugs, timid all of a sudden.
“Ignore them,” Anthony says before I get the chance to. He takes his wife’s hand and leads her to the others while Elira and I follow, ready to defuse the potential conflict.
It isn’t that the Italians and Russians are enemies. Not officially.
But with a Pakhan like Nikita, it’s hard for organizations to work together. For us, for Nikita, everyone is an enemy.