Page 94 of Maksim

Our eyes are glued together while the rest of me is in a puddle of anxiety on the ground.

Hit. As in hitman. As in danger.

Asher. Bora. Mami.

They’re all in danger.

When the demon peels away, in a hurry to obey Maksim’s commands like the errand boy it’s hard to believe he is, Maksim gives him one last look before going to me. His face has turned white, and when he reaches toward me, he’s hesitant, like he thinks I might bite his hand.

“It’s okay, you’re safe,” he assures me. “I promise, I’m not going to let anyone hurt you.”

I don’t take his hand. Don’t move. I’m frozen in place behind this bush. I never meant to hide from Maksim, only jumped back here when I saw Alik pull up, but now I’m glad I did.

Would Maksim have told me the truth otherwise?

Danger.

Asher.

Bora.

Mami.

I have to get to Albania.

On this thought, my head moves toward Maksim’s car, and I climb to my feet. Leaves and twigs scrape dirt off my dress as I shimmy between the bush and the house, but I make no other move to remove the rest. My mind is numb.

“What are you doing?” Maksim asks, his voice full of worry. And something else. Something… Guilt?

Hit.

Danger.

Wife.

Wife?

What had the demon said? How was it he’d known my family should be cautious?

The wife mentioned interest in your whore’s family before.

Alik knew this?

I blink and stare at Maksim, searching my mind for surprise in his features when Alik told him this. It had been a cannonball to my abdomen, so I hadn’t been paying attention, but I don’t remember surprise.

He wasn’t surprised.

“Did you know?” I ask, so quiet that he may not hear.

But he does hear it. He hears it because he was expecting it. The guilt in his voice is masked when he contorts his lips in a frown, a lie. “Know what?”

“Did you know my family was in danger?”

“Of course I didn’t.” He reaches out to me, but I pull away, taking a step back.

“Maksim,” I whisper with so much disappointment, I can’t muster saying any more.

He hangs onto his innocence for a moment, keeping the mask on, but when he closes and opens his eyes, the gut-wrenching guilt makes everything inside of me tear. I was wrong. Honesty makes nothing better.