Page 56 of Scarred Ruin

“However, you must be aware he obviously cares about you if he’s gone to the trouble of hiring bodyguards. Why, I’m not sure, but there must be a reason.”

She was going to keep digging until I gave her a decent answer. I closed the lid, finished chewing, and leaned over. “He’s Bratva, Hope.”

“Russian mafia.” Given our earlier conversation, she wasn’t surprised.

“Yes, and from what I’ve read, one of the most brutal types of crime syndicates in the world.”

“So he’s the supreme leader?”

“Oh, he’s in charge all right. He doesn’t go anywhere without being surrounded by guards. His house is like a fortress.”

“So you’ve been to his house.” She lifted her gaze less than subtly.

Mine was less than friendly in return. “Yes, I was taken to his house so I could officially meet Mina. His daughter. She survived the same cancer my sister died from.”

Now her face fell. “Oh, wow.”

“Yeah, wow. It’s all too complicated. I can’t stop thinking about Callista. As it is, the situation is far too complicated and I don’t have the mental bandwidth to handle his possessive behavior.”

“That’s understandable, but he is good looking even if he lives in the gray area.”

She had a way of stating the obvious that always made me laugh. “There is no gray to the man. His world is all black and white. He’s dangerous. Who knows how many terrible things he’s done.”

“He walks free amongst us and has enough of a heart to spend his own money on trying to cure children with cancer and other horrible diseases. Yes, put a stake through his heart and call him done.”

“You’re not suggesting I should look away from his crimes?”

“Are you so certain he’s committed them?”

Hope could also cut through the bullshit with a dull spoon and be successful. “Fine. No. But how did he make his money?”

“Have you read anything about Black Diamond Logistics?”

“I’ve been a little busy.”

“Well, I’m not going to share with you his list of notable clients. That’s easy to read about in Fortune Magazine or the other half dozen articles written on his company. Maybe instead of pigeonholing him as the big, bad wolf, you should discover who he is as a man.”

“Weren’t you the person who warned me about the criminal element in this city even before I was shot by one of the many enemies Maxsim has managed to accumulate over the years?”

“A girl can change her mind.”

“You’re incorrigible. Eat your lunch. I have work to do.”

We purposely avoided the topic for the next few minutes, Hope chatting about a couple of patients she’d had recently. I’d listened yet my thoughts had consistently drifted back to Maxsim one too many times. At some point in the near future, I’d need to interact with him since during my sleepless nights I’d created a dozen images he needed to either approve or have me toss aside.

I couldn’t ignore him forever. What bothered me tremendously was how my body worked against my mind. With every thought, whether about business or the night we’d shared, my core had become overheated.

When we were finally finished, I noticed Hope had been quicker to her feet than I’d been, perhaps since I’d been lost in thought. I thought she’d been headed to the trashcan, which was only a few yards away. It took me a couple of seconds to realize she was walking directly toward the blond soldier.

Oh, no.

By the time I’d caught up with her, she was too close for me to stop her verbal assault.

“Hi, I’m Hope. And you are?”

The man appeared larger in his suit than he had in jeans, close to Maxsim’s height. He was older, at least by ten years, but completely buff, the seams of his suit stretched where they shouldn’t be because of his bulking muscles.

As expected, he didn’t respond at first, looking over her head, which was easy to do since she was a few inches shorter than I was.