Maximus (Guardian Security Shadow World #15)

Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

E lena held the measuring tape as Max took the picture of the canvas. They left all the canvases in the frames until they had the crate to ship them out. It was a shame because she’d love to see who the paintings were by and be able to research the provenance of each one of them.

After closing the last frame, they placed it back on the easel, and she stood back and looked at the horrid painting the frame encased. Sighing, she rubbed the back of her neck. “I wish I could see them.”

Max turned to her and did that little head cock to the left. “You will.”

“How? We’re sending them out of Russia, right?”

He nodded. “I wanted to talk to you about that. My employer was wondering if you would oversee the restoration of the canvases and complete the provenances on each painting, determine who the owner is, if possible, and act as a curator for the paintings until they have been returned to their rightful owners or heirs.”

Her hand dropped to her side, and she repeated what he’d just said in her head, trying desperately to understand how she could do that. “Where would I do this?”

“New York. Where I live.” Max put his hands on her hips. “You’d work for the same people I do. On the payroll. You’d live with me.”

“I’d need a work visa.”

“My employer will take care of all of that.”

She put her hands on his chest. “Do you mean that? Are you serious?”

“I do, and I am.” He smiled. “It would mean leaving Europe. Seeing your parents would become more difficult.”

“My parents.” She felt a sudden shock of cold race through her. “Will they be okay? If Abrasha wants to get back at me, he could cause trouble for them.”

Max shook his head. “He’s not going to take any revenge. That, I promise you.”

She stared at him and could read the certainty in his eyes. “Then I say yes. My mom has friends in New York, so visiting would benefit her twofold. My dad will never set foot out of Russia. His world is the room he works in—it always has been. I’ll visit as I can.”

“And you’ll stay with me.” He pushed her for an answer.

“I will.” She toed up and kissed him, and when she dropped back down, she smiled at him. “Your employer will not be sorry. I’ll do an excellent job for him.”

“I know you will.” He took her hand, and they walked out of the vault. The sound of her phone ringing sent her jogging to her desk, and she answered in Russian, “Yes?”

“Elena, where have you been?” Abrasha snapped in response.

“In the vault, working. Is there something I can do for you, Abrasha?” She looked at Max, who visibly tensed at her words.

“The worthless paintings in the storage room will be shipping out Wednesday next week to my home in Athens.”

“Wednesday? That’s rushing things with the show and everything else happening.”

“Do I need to hire someone else to ship them?”

“No, I can arrange for the carpenters to build the crates and coordinate with the transportation company. Do you want that empty frame, too? I could throw it in the bin.”

“Do not throw anything out. That empty frame will be shipped to Athens, too. Build a crate for it the same as you would for any work of art. Protect them, Elena. They are mine, and I want them cared for as you would for a master’s work.”

“I can and will do that, Abrasha, but I must remind you again the reproductions are horrendous.” She glanced over at Max, who crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the desk. “Do you want me to fly to Athens and set them up in your house?”

“No, that won’t be necessary. I’ll probably just store them there. Hopefully, we’ll use that room for the painting you’re arranging the meeting for.”

“It’s just an introduction at this point. Max did mention the owner may be in the country at that time and would like an invitation to the showing if his and your timelines merge.”

There was silence. “I will make it a point to be at the showing. I believe I may owe you a raise, Elena—very good work. I was concerned when Sokolov told me you were sleeping with this art dealer. I guess you’re using your talents to my advantage.”

She straightened and shook with outrage. Had she heard that right? “ What ?”

“What part of my statement didn’t you understand?” The man’s retort lashed her to the quick.

She ran her hand through her hair and shook her head as she blurted, “How dare you? I am your employee, not someone who would use my body to gain you favors. And why would Sokolov know of my relationship with Mr. Stryker? Why would either of you be concerned? I swear I have never been so insulted in my life.”

“Your outrage is unnecessary, Elena. I don’t care who you sleep with, but I do care that you’re loyal to me and only me. Sokolov watches all of my employees. Your sudden romance was questioned; he has every right to bring it to my attention. He’s an extension of me, and his loyalty is not questioned.”

“But mine is?” She lifted her hand and slapped her leg when it dropped. “Thanks for that. Your question of my character makes all the work I’ve been doing for you so completely unfulfilling.”

Abrasha laughed. “Deal with your emotions on your own time, Elena. Loyalty is rewarded in my world, and anyone who isn’t is dealt with. Make sure you remember who you work for. Get my paintings ready to be shipped and send me the documentation when they’re loaded on the truck.”

“I always do,” she snipped. “And for your information, I have always been loyal to you. I have always followed your instructions even when I don’t understand or think you’re making a mistake with your money. It isn’t my place to question you. My job is to ensure you have the knowledge and connections to obtain the art you want, and I do a damn good job. Tell Sokolov to stay away from me and Max. If he confronts Max, it could cost you the Salvator Mundi . That is the truth. Max Stryker is very influential.”

She glanced over at Max. His position hadn’t changed, and his expression gave nothing away.

“A valid point. I will see you at the showing.” The man hung up, and she slammed the phone down.

“Bastard.”

Max blinked at that. “Please repeat the conversation you just had with your employer as close to verbatim as possible.”

Pushing both hands through her hair, she told him exactly what the asshole had said. “I just can’t believe he’d think I’d use sex to gain favors for him!”

Max stood and walked over to her. “He’s only showing a small portion of his colors to you. He was testing you. If you’d acted anything but outraged, he would’ve known you were lying.”

“Sokolov knows about us and told Abrasha. What has he seen? What does he know about us? I just can’t.” She covered her face with her hands, and Max’s arms enveloped her.

“Sokolov has made a logical conclusion. I don’t leave your home at night and have checked out of my hotel. If he hadn’t told Abrasha, he’d be stupid. And now, we have his word he’ll be at the showing.”

“Can we get the canvases secured in the case and out of here by Wednesday?” She lifted her head off his chest. “Sokolov is watching. God, why didn’t that register? He had a picture of you at the front door of the office. Do you think he has cameras in my apartment? Dear God.” She covered her face with both hands. Had he been watching her? She felt so violated.

He grabbed her hands and pulled them away from her face. “No, he has no camera in your home.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I checked. There are no monitors of any kind except for your internet access. They know what sites you go to and what you do when you’re online.” Max lowered so he was looking directly into her eyes. “I would never let anyone watch us. What happens between us is private; no one but us will ever know what happens in your home. Do you understand?”

She nodded. “You’re sure?”

“Absolutely positive.” When he smiled, all the shame she’d felt evaporated.

“Okay.” She nodded. “Okay. So, we need to move the canvases before Wednesday. How do we get the case in and out without Sokolov knowing?”

Max smiled at her and winked. “Leave that to a magician I know.”

She narrowed her eyes. “You’re talking around things again.”

He nodded. “I am.”

“And I shouldn’t ask questions.”

“Nope,” he said as a smile spread across his face.

“I’m getting good at that.”

“Very good.” He laughed.

“Fine. Keep your secrets.” She rolled her eyes. “I need to make calls to carpenters and the trucking company.”

He tapped her on the butt when she turned around. “Fresh,” she said over her shoulder.

“Absolutely,” he agreed and went to his desk to do something on the ancient-looking computer that could do things she didn’t understand. Maybe it was better she didn’t.

When she finished arranging the carpenters and the shipment of the artwork, it was way past time for dinner. They closed up, she activated the alarms, and they walked hand in hand down the boardwalk to her regular café.

After they were seated at her regular table, they ordered tea and their meal. The sound of diners' conversations was quiet in the background as most people had already had their dinner and left to go to the evening’s activities or home.

Elena laughed at Max’s antidotes about his sister’s attempts to fix him up and the types of women she’d thought Max would go for. “She was a model and didn’t eat. Literally, she drank all her calories, and any energy she got was because she snorted it up her nose.” Max groaned. “My mother drew the line after that and then proceeded to grill Martha on how she knew a person who used cocaine as an energy source.”

“That’s a good question. How did she?” Elena asked as she sipped her after dinner tea.

“Martha’s a photographer, and they’d met during a shoot. Martha had no idea the woman was as dependent on chemicals as she was. Or so she said. I think she was desperate for me to have a girlfriend.”

“She worries about you, true?” Elena asked as he took a sip of his tea.

“Worries about me?” His brow furrowed. “That could be the case, but I think she wants me to be normal, and working with my computer systems in my basement isn’t, at least in her opinion. She once told me serial killers were spawned in that fashion.”

Elena barked out a laugh. “She did not say that!”

“She absolutely did, and it was at dinner with my entire family around the table.” Max laughed. “It’s a good thing she’s the baby of the family because I’m sure if my brothers had said that my mother would have ended them.”

“She sounds like a character.”

“She’ll love you,” Max said. “All my family will.”

She wasn’t so sure. She hoped that was the case, but in reality, what would cause them to love her? She was a stranger. “How could you possibly know that?”

“They’ll love you because I do.” He stared at her and reached for her hand. She blinked at him, and her mouth slackened.

“What did you say?”

He smiled at her and whispered so only she could hear him, “I’m a man of logical enterprises, yet there’s nothing logical about the feelings I have for you. They won’t change any of the facts, but they do change me. You have changed me. I’m falling in love with you, Elena. Please tell me you feel the same way.”

She snapped her mouth shut and nodded. “I do. God, I do. If I admitted it, I thought you’d run away as fast as possible.”

“I’m never going to run away from you. Only toward you.” He lifted her hand and kissed the back of it. She shivered, and her core clenched at the sexy and gentle gesture.

“You should take me home now, Max.” Her whisper was just as quiet but edged with desperation.

He stood and dropped a roll of notes on the table, not bothering to count them for the bill. He extended his hand to her, and they moved through the small establishment and out the door. She wrapped her hand around his bicep and stared up at him. “How am I so lucky?”

He covered her hand with his and smiled down at her. “Luck has nothing to do with what we have. I have to believe it’s destiny. I’m not a firm believer in fate, luck, or destiny, but there’s no logical divination as to why we found each other, how circumstances led me to this assignment, or …”

“Or?” She smiled and looked up at him. His face had turned to stone. “What is it?”

“Don’t look back, but we’re being followed.” He tightened his grip on her hand when she jumped.

A jolt of fear shot through her. “Are you sure?”

“Positive. One man on our left back about fifty feet. I’m going to stop and kiss you. I want you to look discretely and see if you recognize him.”

“I can do that.” She nodded and he stopped, turned to her, and tipped her head in exactly the angle she needed to see the man following her. Max moved a bit and blocked her view.

He whispered against her lips. “Sokolov?”

“Yes,” she responded. Max kissed her and then started them on the way back to her apartment. “Why’s he doing this?”

“He’s a loose cannon. I don’t think he likes the fact Abrasha listens to you.” Max patted her hand.

“What do you mean?”

“You told Abrasha that approaching me could lose him the opportunity for the painting.”

“I did,” she agreed.

“What’s the one thing Abrasha cares for more than anything else?”

“Money,” she answered. There was no doubt about that now.

Max chuckled. “If you hadn’t found out about him, what would your answer have been?”

“Art. Specifically, paintings, and he’s obsessed with the Salvator Mundi.”

“So, it stands to reason he’d warn Sokolov off any approach. This is his way of defying Abrasha.” Max paused on the boardwalk, and they stared out at the Black Sea as waves gently lapped the shore. There was barely a whisper of air moving, and it was heavy with the scent of blossoms from the gardens scattered along the pathway. The moon, now waning, reflected its yellow-gold light across the water and painted a magical scene.

“He terrifies me.” She shivered and laid her head against his arm as she looked out, not seeing the beauty but rather feeling the threat the man behind them constituted.

Max put his arm around her and pulled her tight against him. “He will never touch you again.” His voice, while low, held a threat.

She looked up at him. “Max?”

“Yes?”

“How dangerous are you?”

“There are very few who are more dangerous than I,” he replied as he stared out at the sea.

She dropped her head against him again. “Deadly?” She wasn’t sure if she wanted the answer, but something told her Max wasn’t an arresting entity because arresting Abrasha wasn’t on the table. The thought had been there for some time, and she wasn’t afraid of the concept. The information she’d read about Abrasha … he was a monster.

He turned to stare at her. “Very.”

The golden hue of the moon illuminated one side of his face, leaving the other in darkness. She should be terrified of the ability he held, but that was only a part of him like the shadow on his face. He was a mix of light and dark, and his light outshone the dark when he was with her. He was two people in one. His single word cut through the darkness. It stilled her thoughts and merged them into a crystal-clear realization. Maybe he wasn’t a spy, but he was there to kill Abrasha. His team was there to ensure it happened. They started to walk again toward her apartment, and she found she was comforted by his words and confidence. He was her shield against the coming storm. “Is it wrong to say I’m glad you are? That you’re protecting me?”

He dropped his arm over her shoulder, tucked her close, and whispered, “It isn’t wrong.” They walked farther before he said, “You’ve figured out what’s happening.”

“I believe I have.” She nodded. “I’m sure there’s a reason it’s happening this way.”

“You’ve seen a few of the reasons,” he agreed.

She had. The atrocities were beyond her wildest imagination. “Sokolov?”

He looked down at her and lifted his eyebrow. “What do you think?”

She stopped and stared up at him. “Not because of me.”

Max shook his head. “For his crimes against humanity. As reparation for those who couldn’t protect themselves and were victimized, tortured, and murdered by the monsters both men are.”

She stared at him. “How do you not get lost in all the darkness?”

He smiled. “We are the darkness. We live in the light only because of the people we love. Love is the beacon that brings us home. Darkness’s destiny has always been bound and controlled by the light.”

She toed up, kissed him, and realized he was, in fact, her destiny. She was his, but in so many ways, he was hers. They completed each other. She would be his light, and together, they were whole.