Page 30 of Scarred Ruin

Of course, I’d been a rebellious teenager, refusing not only his rules but almost everyone’s. I’d thought he’d been doing nothing more than spouting off anger for my latest antics, which had included being kicked out of private school and refusing to honor my curfew.

I’d been quite creative in the art of escape. From my room. From the men assigned to protect me even against myself.

Only two years after that when the walls of my secure world began to crash down on me had I been forced to accept that he hadn’t been kidding. He’d become more standoffish at that point, more prone to violent outbursts, a few of which I’d been subjected to enduring.

As he’d begun to unravel, so had my belief that fathers were meant to be protectors, especially of their daughters.

With the ugly memories of the worst moments of my life dragged to the surface, one reason I’d barely slept had been comparing my father to Maxsim. Which was ridiculous of course as they were nothing alike.

Yet sticking in the darkest reaches of my mind was a tickler that perhaps I was very wrong about my assumptions. Even so, I could feel the love shared between Maxsim and Mina. She was indeed his everything, which had made me even more curious as to what had happened with his wife.

I’d found nothing online. Not that I’d honestly expected I would. Men like Maxsim Aristov either hid details about their lives or had them erased.

I suspected much like he did with people who crossed him. While I understood men and their obsessive need for power, what infuriated me was their rigidity about their path in getting there. Yes, I’d been allowed to see a strangely softer side of Maxsim I had a feeling few had been gifted in discovery, but the edge just under the surface was more than just dangerous.

It was deadly.

I’d decided to be on board with the project for very personal reasons. However, I’d yet to make it clear to him that if he was using me as a bargaining chip for another power grab, he could shove the project up his ass.

You bet I’d done a deeper dive on every member of the illustrious trust, learning enough to know all eight involved were powerbrokers within the city and beyond.

Maybe I was simply jaded from growing up with a man who believed women were an asset like stocks or diamonds. Even if that was the case, I’d made a promise to myself while being driven home on Sunday that I would maintain my own sense of value.

In other words, if Maxsim believed I’d fall under his spell or his thumb, he would learn very quickly I was a woman who didn’t mind ruffling feathers.

In the few days since leaving Maxsim’s house and beginning the project, I’d felt a sense of elation and dread in my involvement.

While I had a much better understanding of just how personal the medical facility was to the powerful Russian, I was also aware that at any given time, he could and would be breathing down my neck.

He’d been in the office twice, once to meet the final team members and now to drop off a copy of the first set of approvals.

“He is one gorgeous man,” Julie said as we approached Mark’s office heading for mine. She’d followed me to grab a cup of coffee, my excuse the relatively sleepless nights since the Sunday lunch.

Hers was simply to ogle the man as every other female associate was doing, finding excuses to stroll slowly by our boss’s office more than once.

As we drew nearer to the bank of windows next to Mark’s office door, tiny prickles of electricity lifted on both arms. At the same time, Maxsim turned his head, instantly locking eyes with mine. There was a moment shared that felt entirely too intimate.

“He’s not bad,” I offered. Julie wasn’t buying it, knocking her elbow into mine.

“Well, he must think you’re the peanut butter to his jelly by the way he’s looking at you. Wow.”

“What?” I tossed her a quick look and could still feel the powerful pull to Maxsim. Which I certainly didn’t want to have under any circumstances.

When he’d been in before, I’d slipped out. Thankfully, he hadn’t tried to find me.

“Come on. He’s hot to trot for you, babe.”

“He’s part of the project and I have no intention of being anything but professional around him.”

I moved past the office, purposely turning away hoping he’d get the hint.

“You’ve been quiet, terse, and difficult since Monday. Did they find the asshole who shot you?”

With a heavy exhale, I pushed my way into my office, resisting all thoughts of crushing the coffee in my hand. A burn from scalding liquid wasn’t on my bucket list for the day. I moved around to the other side of my desk, determined to get back to work. “No, the police didn’t catch anyone and I can pretty well guarantee they aren’t even bothering to look.”

“Why would you say something like that?” Julie was tenacious, which was one reason I adored her, but right now, I couldn’t stand the thought of being pushed by anyone.

After my visit to Maxsim’s house I’d plunged into work, taking it home with me every night if I hadn’t stayed late. I’d been so damn furious with Maxsim for discovering my history with childhood cancer, but on the flipside, being haunted by the past had given me inspiration.