Page 25 of Be My Vengeance

I’m sorry, did he just offer to get Maksim out of here? I’d thought I was the irresponsible one… Fuck, Gideon is gonna have a heart attack.

Without knowing what insane plan Danny had going on in his head, I simply followed the two of them through an Employees Only door and watched Danny’s six. I didn’t give a shit about Maksim, so if he happened to get shot or stabbed eighty-seven times, so be it.

When the three of us exited to a side alley, I stared at Danny and mouthed, What the fuck are you doing? The nutjob just smiled and shrugged.

“My car is this way.” Danny motioned to the mouth of the alley.

“I have a hotel,” Maksim offered. “Would the two of you like to maybe join me there?”

Without missing a beat Danny answered, “You sure that’s a good idea? I mean those guys were looking for you. Don’t you think they’d find you at your hotel?”

Maksim hummed. “You do have a point. I’m open to suggestions.”

“I’m sorry. Can I just ask? Who were those guys anyway?” They were likely Ivanov security, searching for Maksim to drag him out of the gay club, but it would be suspicious not to ask that if Danny and I were supposed to be average Joes.

Maksim sighed and waved off my question as if it were no big deal. “People who work for my father.”

“Okay…you seem afraid of them.”

Maksim nonchalantly lifted one shoulder. “It’s just best I’m not seen here, so on that note, how about you take me to your place?”

“Great idea.” Danny began walking, and Maksim joined him. What the fuck was he up to?

Once at our vehicle, Danny opened the passenger door for Maksim. “Babe, you’re cool with the back seat, right?”

I glared at him. “Sure, sounds fantastic.”

He blew me a kiss…the motherfucker…and got into the driver’s seat. I sat directly behind Maksim because I didn’t trust him and if he even looked at Danny wrong, I’d snap his stupid neck.

Maksim and Danny started talking about music, shows they were watching…and honestly, if I hadn’t known better, I’d have thought Danny liked Maksim. That sat heavy in my stomach. There was no scenario where Maksim or any Ivanov lived at the end of all this.

I wasn’t sure where Danny was taking us until he turned down Acorn Drive. This wasn’t a property we used very often. It was a one-floor ranch on like, twelve acres of land. The nearest neighbor was a mile away. Gideon had stopped using it once the bear population had increased. Toni had nearly gotten mauled by one in the backyard while he’d been cleaning his hands in the outside shower. After that Gideon had said it wasn’t worth using the place. He couldn’t sell it because we had done some unsavory things there, and Gideon wasn’t risking it. He had mentioned leveling and rebuilding, then selling. He might after whatever happened tonight.

“Wow, you guys are in the middle of nowhere.” Maksim chuckled.

“We like it that way. Neighbors cause so many problems.” Danny hooked a thumb toward me. “And this one can get loud.”

I’d decided that Danny was going to get his ass kicked as soon as we were alone. I couldn’t refute anything and risk Maksim figuring out this was a ruse, so I just laughed.

“What can I say? This guy knows all the right buttons to push.” I leaned forward and squeezed Danny’s arm none too gently.

Maksim turned and bit his lip. “I wouldn’t mind you two pushing some of my buttons.”

I threw up in my mouth. “Careful what you wish for. By the way, we’re doing things totally backward. What’s your name?”

He snorted. “Names I suppose would be good. My name is Mac.”

I hummed. “Short for something?”

He shrugged. “Something. What are your names?”

“I’m Dan, and this is Al,” Danny introduced.

“Dan, Al, and Mac.” Maksim chuckled. “So believable.”

I wasn’t going to correct him; they pretty much were our names. I’d found that when lying, keeping some semblance of truth stopped confusion.

Danny pulled up to the ranch and shut off the car. The outside light was on as were the interior lights. Gideon had all his properties on timers. That way it gave off the appearance that people were there.