Diamond, p.7
Diamond, page 7
part #2 of Bratva Jewels Series
‘Next time. Thanks so much, I gotta run. You know I’m a busy man.’ He hangs up.
‘I am going to fuck him up. I am going to rip him from limb to limb. I am going to take my time and peel his fucking skin from his body, then throw him to the fucking pigs.’
Sergei gives me a wicked smile.
‘I can’t believe she’s alive. Elena is alive.’ I feel tears fall. ‘Fuck, I need to say sorry to Grace.’
Sergei arches an eyebrow at me.
‘Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m a fucking arsehole.’
‘She’s a good girl, Maxim. I like her.’
‘I like her too.’ Fuck, I like her. I actually, really like her. ‘I need to make this right between us, and maybe we can start again.’
‘You could offer her, her freedom as an apology. She might surprise you.’
A huge smile crosses my face. Yes, I need to make this right.
I give Sergei a big kiss on the cheek. ‘Don’t wait up,’ I call as I rush to her room.
I skid to a halt at her door. It’s closed. After the way I just treated her, I don’t expect her to open it for me. I have some grovelling to do. I take a deep breath and knock on the door.
I’m met with silence.
‘Grace.’ I call. Nothing. Yep, she’s pissed off.
‘Grace, please can I come in?’
I put my ear to the door and don’t hear anything, so I turn the handle and the door opens. All the lights are out and it’s quiet. She’s probably asleep. I move silently through her room towards her bed. I just need to see her.
But the bed’s empty. I switch on the light. Fuck! I race into the bathroom—empty. I run back out into the corridor and look in every single room on that floor, all empty. I rush downstairs and into the kitchen, surprising the staff.
‘Have any of you seen Grace?’
They all shake their heads.
‘Hey, what’s going on?’ Sergei sees me racing around from the library.
‘She’s gone.’
‘What do you mean “gone”?’
‘She isn’t in her room, she isn’t on the top floor, the kitchen staff haven’t seen her.’
‘Maybe she’s gone for a walk to cool off. Check the security cameras.’
We return to my office and turn on the computers.
‘When was the last time you saw her?’ Sergei asks.
‘Probably an hour ago.’
He brings up the computer security footage of the estate from around that time. We look at the different screens.
‘Stop.’
On the screen, Grace races into the garage. She jumps into my Maserati and pulls out of the garage.
‘She stole my car! How was she able to escape without security knowing?’
‘Gio was supposed to take the car into town to get fixed, they probably thought it was him.’
‘Fuck, fuck, fuck! Pull up the GPS locator for the car. She can’t have gotten that far.’
‘She’s just on the outskirts of Pisa.’
‘We need to get her back, Sergei. We need her back tonight.’
He nods. ‘Let’s take the helicopter, we can catch her quicker that way. She’ll have no idea we are following her,’ Sergei says as we head towards the helipad.
16
Grace
I’ve just driven past the leaning tower of Pisa, and if I weren’t running for my life, I would have been able to enjoy the moment a little more. The adrenaline is starting to fade and I am far enough away from Maxim that he shouldn’t be able to catch me, so I pull into a service station and just hope they take pity on me.
‘Buon giorno,’ I say, the only Italian I know.
The service station attendant looks at me but says nothing.
‘Do you speak English?’
He eyes me suspiciously.
‘Do you have a telephone I can use?’
He stares at me again and his gaze drifts to the telephone beside him, then back to me.
‘Please, I’m lost. I need to call my family. I have no money.’
He looks at me blankly. ‘Blow job?’ he asks.
I shake my head.
He shrugs. ‘No phone.’
Fucking cunt. I stomp out of the shop, jump into my car and start crying. There is a tap on the side of the door. A girl is smiling at me.
‘I saw what happened, he’s a dick. Here is my phone, hope it helps. It looks like you might need it.’ She hands it to me, her eyes accessing the luxury car with the shot out windows.
I can’t believe it. ‘Thank you, thank you so much.’
She just smiles and waits for me to use it. I try to remember someone’s phone number and when it comes to me, I press the numbers on the phone. Come on, come on.
‘Hello?’
‘Sophie.’ Oh my god, it is so good to hear her voice that I burst out crying.
‘Grace.’
‘It’s me, Soph.’
‘Oh my god. Mac, trace this call!’ she screams at her partner and our head of security.
‘On it,’ he says in the background.
Sophie bombards me with questions. ‘Are you okay? Did you escape Dmitri? Where are you?’
‘I’m fine. Dmitri doesn’t have me. I’m in Italy, just outside Pisa at a service station.’
‘Mac has your location. He’s getting the jet sorted, then we can rescue you.’
My shoulders relax. I’m really free. A tiny twinge hits me when I think about not seeing Maxim again, but it’s so tiny that I push it aside.
‘Are you safe? Are you hurt?’
‘No, I’m fine, they, um, they’ve been nice to me.’
‘Who? Your kidnappers?’
‘Yes, they helped me. They helped me detox.’
‘Detox?’
‘Yeah, long story, I’ll tell you when I get home.’
‘We should be there in two hours. Do you think you can hang on for that long?’
‘Yes, I’ll be waiting for you.’
The girl taps on the side of the car.
‘I have to go, Soph, the girl wants her phone back, but I’ll be waiting for you, I promise.’
‘I love you, Gracie.’.
‘I love you, Soph.’ Then the phone goes dead.
I hand it back to the girl. ‘Thank you so much.’
She smiles and wishes me luck.
Now I just need to move this car out of sight and wait.
Freedom is so close.
I must have dozed off, as I’m jolted awake by the slamming of a car door. I open my eyes and look around.
‘Hi, Grace.’ Maxim smiles at me, pointing a gun at my face from the passenger seat.
I start screaming, but he lunges and cups his hand over my mouth. I bite his hand and try to push him away. I turn to open the door but Sergei is standing there, a gun trained on me as well. Fuck! No, no, no.
‘I’m not going back with you!’
‘Yes, you are.’
‘No, you’re too late, my sister and her security team are going to turn up at any moment. They know where I am. You’re too late.’
‘Get out.’ Maxim’s voice is calm, but there’s a definite chill to his words.
‘No! I am so close to going home. Please, I am so close.’
‘Sorry, Grace, I can’t let you go. Now get out.’
Sergei opens the driver’s door and I follow Maxim’s instructions. Hopefully Sophie isn’t far. I glare at Sergei as I get out. I can’t believe he’s holding a gun in my face—I thought I could trust him. Fucking criminals.
Maxim moves into the driver’s seat and Sergei pushes me around to the passenger’s side.
‘Get in.’
‘No, please, no. Just let me go home.’
He ignores me. Maxim starts the sports car and the rumble of the engine vibrates through my body. I have no choice.
I get into the car.
‘Put your seatbelt on,’ Sergei tells me and, with a huff, I do as I’m told.
‘Meet you back at the villa,’ Maxim says to Sergei as he zooms out of the service station parking lot. I fold my arms across my chest and contemplate my chances of surviving a jump from a car going this fast, but all my calculations lead back to not surviving.
After what feels like forever, Maxim finally speaks.
‘I’m sorry.’
This gets my attention. I look at him.
‘I’m sorry I didn’t believe you about my sister.’
I go back to looking out the window.
‘Okay, I deserve your silent treatment.’ He doesn’t say anything more for a while. Then, ‘Did you really call your family?’
‘Yes.’
His hand slams against the steering wheel, bumping the horn, which blasts through the darkness and makes me jump.
‘I’m sorry that I stole you away again.’ He looks over at me, but his eyes are too intense and I turn back to the window, though it’s not like I can see anything in the middle of the night.
‘I’ll return you to your family. I just—I just need you for a little longer.’
I keep ignoring him, and finally he understands that I don’t want to speak to him.
Eventually we get back to the villa. I step out of the car and slam the door. I stomp across the crushed rocks, though the front door, across the marble floors, and up the grand staircase, then I slam my bedroom door. I kick off my shoes and get into bed, pulling the cover over my face, blocking out the world. A world I don’t want to be a part of.
17
Maxim
‘She didn’t talk to me all the way home,’ I complain to Sergei.
‘Do you blame her? We just kidnapped her again.’
‘Her family really was coming to get her.’
‘She’s a smart girl, I suspect she’d find anyway she could to connect with them.’
‘Do you think I should let her speak to them?’
Sergei raises a brow at me.
‘You know, after we secure the line properly so they couldn’t find her.’
‘Seems like a big risk.’
‘Yeah, you’re right.’ I’m clutching at straws, trying to get Grace’s attention again.
‘Look, just leave her alone. Give her time, and once she’s ready to talk we can plan how we’re going to get Elena back.’ Sergei claps me on the back. ‘It’s been a hell of a day. Get some rest. Everything will look better in the morning.’
I walk into my bedroom, kicking off my shoes and toeing off my socks. I need a fucking shower. I get undressed and let the hot water hit all of my tired and exhausted muscles. I’m careful of my wound, trying to keep it dry. I let the water run over my back as I press my forehead against the tiles. This day is one for the books: kill three men; get followed and shot; find out my dead sister isn’t dead; discover the girl I kidnapped has escaped; then re-kidnapping her. Maybe I do need a good night’s sleep. I get out of the shower and dry myself off, before putting on my sleep pants. I walk to the internal door and unlock it, just in case. Then I fall into bed and drift off.
‘Maxim!’ Grace screams.
I jump up and run into her room.
She’s thrashing about in her bed. ‘Don’t kill me, please don’t kill me!’ she pleads.
I grab her. ‘Grace, wake up! It’s a nightmare.’
‘No! Leave me alone, you’re the bad guy! Please, don’t hurt me.’
Shit, she’s dreaming of me hurting her. I rake my hands through my hair. I’m probably the last person she wants to see in her bedroom.
‘Max?’ She’s sitting up now, staring at me.
‘Hey. You were having a bad dream. About me.’
‘Yeah, I know.’
‘Oh.’
‘Thanks for checking on me, but I’m okay now.’
I’m dismissed, and she lays down and rolls onto her side. Before everything got fucked up, she would have let me slide in beside her, she would have let me comfort her, protect her, but now she needs protecting from me.
I slowly walk back to bed, and lay down, staring at the ceiling.
I don’t know if I can get Grace back.
In the morning I tell the staff to go back to their quarters—they’re not needed for breakfast. I put together the breakfast I made days ago when things were fine between Grace and me, and then I sit and wait but Grace never comes. I give up on the cold eggs and bacon and throw the food in the bin. I stomp back upstairs, ready to yell at her for not coming down and eating breakfast with me, but I can’t blame her.
I knock on her door, and after a long pause, she answers, drying her hair with a towel.
‘Yes?’ she says curtly.
‘You didn’t come down for breakfast.’
‘I didn’t realise I had to.’
‘I made it for you.’
She shrugs and closes the door in my face. What the fuck just happened? I stomp back downstairs and run into Sergei. He looks hopeful. He shouldn’t be.
‘How is she this morning?’
‘She’s still pissed.’
‘Women. They can hold a grudges.’
Is that all he’s got? No shit. I knew that.
‘I’m off to the range,’ I tell Sergei. I’ve built a special shooting range in one of the sheds on the estate, it’s soundproof, so no one would have any idea it’s here.
I spend the morning unloading as many rounds into the targets as I can, and I still feel anxious.
The door creaks open, and I see Grace stick her head in. What the hell is she doing here?
‘Sergei said you wanted to see me.’
Oh, did he now? ‘Come in.’ I say warmly.
She’s wearing a singlet with leggings, the material moulded to her body so every curve, every dip, is accentuated.
‘Did you do all that?’ She points to the targets. The bullseye on every single one has been obliterated. ‘That’s impressive.’
I shrug. ‘Would you like to have a go?’ The question is out before I even have a chance to work out the consequences of giving a pissed-off woman who hates me, who has tried to escape from my home multiple times, a gun. Yeah, that’s a smart idea. But then her face lights up.
‘Yes,’ she says, stepping towards me. She looks at all my guns laid out in front of her.
‘I think we should start with a Beretta handgun first, then we can work our way up to these bad boys.’ I touch my sniper rifles.
‘And you trust me enough to not shoot you?’ she asks, but I can see the smile she’s trying to hide.
‘Yes.’
‘Maybe you shouldn’t.’
‘Maybe I deserve it,’ I say.
She gives me a look but quickly shakes it away. ‘Okay, show me what you got, Mr Assassin.’
I put the Beretta in her hands and she aims it at the target. ‘Now pull the trigger slowly.’
I steady her arm as she follows my instructions. She misses the target completely because she squeals over the first round, which makes me laugh.
‘I did it, I did it.’ She jumps up and down, a smile on her face. ‘Did I hit the target?’
I shake my head.
‘Are you serious? How the hell did I miss that?’
‘When you squealed, you lifted the gun and changed the bullet’s direction—it went off to the side.’
‘Let’s go again, I’m going to get the hang of this.’
So we spend the rest of the morning learning to shoot.
18
Maxim
‘Okay, last one and then we’ll need to break for some late lunch,’ I say just as my stomach rumbles, making us laugh. Now that Grace isn’t so scared, her shooting has improved. I stand back as she takes aim. Her hand is steady, she is focused, and she does it, she hits the target square in the middle of the bullseye.
She puts the gun down and starts jumping. ‘I did it, I did it.’
I pull her into my arms and swing her around, getting caught up in the moment. When I stop, I put her back on the ground but I don’t want to let go of her. We stand there staring at each other, then I lean down and press my lips against hers.
‘Maxim,’ she whispers against my lips.
I pull away. ‘Sorry, I got caught up in everything.’
She stares at me, and before I know it, she’s pulling my face to hers. Her lips are on mine, my hands are in her hair, her hands are pulling at my shirt, trying to touch my skin. I pull away and throw it off. She smiles, taking in my bare chest, and then our lips are together again. I move her backwards, picking her up and placing her onto the table. Her legs open for me and I push between them. I love feeling her hands all over my body, her fingernails dragging down my back, her hands gripping my arse tightly, urging me closer to her.
‘I’ve missed you, Grace.’
‘Shut up,’ she murmurs, biting my lip.
Fuck, yes. My fingers dig into her scalp as I pull her head back, my lips suckling against her neck, following a trail down to her breasts. The singlet is no barrier against my mouth, and I take a peaked nipple into my mouth, biting it through the thin material. Her fingers grip my hair as she lets out a hiss of appreciation.
‘I need this off.’ I grab the material and rip it from her. She giggles, seeing the singlet in a tattered mess on the floor. She’s wearing a bra underneath and sits back to unhook it before letting it fall to the floor. I gaze at her breasts. Fuck, they are spectacular. My hungry mouth latches onto a breast while my hand massages the other. I love hearing her whimpers, her moans, her mewls of pleasure.
‘More, I need more,’ she gasps, her hands trying to find the zip on my jeans. I help her out and unzip myself, pushing my jeans to my knees, my boxer briefs straining against the erection filling them.
Grace’s fingers slide across the waistband, teasing me. ‘Take them off,’ she commands, and I like it, I like taking her direction.
I pull my briefs down, letting my dick bounce against my stomach. I look up and see her staring at me through hooded eyes, her top teeth sinking into her bottom lip, her dusky pink nipples standing to attention, wanting—no—yearning for more. Her hand wraps around my dick and I sigh at the contact. I’ve thought about this moment so many times, but the reality is beyond anything fantasy could dream up.
‘I am going to fuck him up. I am going to rip him from limb to limb. I am going to take my time and peel his fucking skin from his body, then throw him to the fucking pigs.’
Sergei gives me a wicked smile.
‘I can’t believe she’s alive. Elena is alive.’ I feel tears fall. ‘Fuck, I need to say sorry to Grace.’
Sergei arches an eyebrow at me.
‘Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m a fucking arsehole.’
‘She’s a good girl, Maxim. I like her.’
‘I like her too.’ Fuck, I like her. I actually, really like her. ‘I need to make this right between us, and maybe we can start again.’
‘You could offer her, her freedom as an apology. She might surprise you.’
A huge smile crosses my face. Yes, I need to make this right.
I give Sergei a big kiss on the cheek. ‘Don’t wait up,’ I call as I rush to her room.
I skid to a halt at her door. It’s closed. After the way I just treated her, I don’t expect her to open it for me. I have some grovelling to do. I take a deep breath and knock on the door.
I’m met with silence.
‘Grace.’ I call. Nothing. Yep, she’s pissed off.
‘Grace, please can I come in?’
I put my ear to the door and don’t hear anything, so I turn the handle and the door opens. All the lights are out and it’s quiet. She’s probably asleep. I move silently through her room towards her bed. I just need to see her.
But the bed’s empty. I switch on the light. Fuck! I race into the bathroom—empty. I run back out into the corridor and look in every single room on that floor, all empty. I rush downstairs and into the kitchen, surprising the staff.
‘Have any of you seen Grace?’
They all shake their heads.
‘Hey, what’s going on?’ Sergei sees me racing around from the library.
‘She’s gone.’
‘What do you mean “gone”?’
‘She isn’t in her room, she isn’t on the top floor, the kitchen staff haven’t seen her.’
‘Maybe she’s gone for a walk to cool off. Check the security cameras.’
We return to my office and turn on the computers.
‘When was the last time you saw her?’ Sergei asks.
‘Probably an hour ago.’
He brings up the computer security footage of the estate from around that time. We look at the different screens.
‘Stop.’
On the screen, Grace races into the garage. She jumps into my Maserati and pulls out of the garage.
‘She stole my car! How was she able to escape without security knowing?’
‘Gio was supposed to take the car into town to get fixed, they probably thought it was him.’
‘Fuck, fuck, fuck! Pull up the GPS locator for the car. She can’t have gotten that far.’
‘She’s just on the outskirts of Pisa.’
‘We need to get her back, Sergei. We need her back tonight.’
He nods. ‘Let’s take the helicopter, we can catch her quicker that way. She’ll have no idea we are following her,’ Sergei says as we head towards the helipad.
16
Grace
I’ve just driven past the leaning tower of Pisa, and if I weren’t running for my life, I would have been able to enjoy the moment a little more. The adrenaline is starting to fade and I am far enough away from Maxim that he shouldn’t be able to catch me, so I pull into a service station and just hope they take pity on me.
‘Buon giorno,’ I say, the only Italian I know.
The service station attendant looks at me but says nothing.
‘Do you speak English?’
He eyes me suspiciously.
‘Do you have a telephone I can use?’
He stares at me again and his gaze drifts to the telephone beside him, then back to me.
‘Please, I’m lost. I need to call my family. I have no money.’
He looks at me blankly. ‘Blow job?’ he asks.
I shake my head.
He shrugs. ‘No phone.’
Fucking cunt. I stomp out of the shop, jump into my car and start crying. There is a tap on the side of the door. A girl is smiling at me.
‘I saw what happened, he’s a dick. Here is my phone, hope it helps. It looks like you might need it.’ She hands it to me, her eyes accessing the luxury car with the shot out windows.
I can’t believe it. ‘Thank you, thank you so much.’
She just smiles and waits for me to use it. I try to remember someone’s phone number and when it comes to me, I press the numbers on the phone. Come on, come on.
‘Hello?’
‘Sophie.’ Oh my god, it is so good to hear her voice that I burst out crying.
‘Grace.’
‘It’s me, Soph.’
‘Oh my god. Mac, trace this call!’ she screams at her partner and our head of security.
‘On it,’ he says in the background.
Sophie bombards me with questions. ‘Are you okay? Did you escape Dmitri? Where are you?’
‘I’m fine. Dmitri doesn’t have me. I’m in Italy, just outside Pisa at a service station.’
‘Mac has your location. He’s getting the jet sorted, then we can rescue you.’
My shoulders relax. I’m really free. A tiny twinge hits me when I think about not seeing Maxim again, but it’s so tiny that I push it aside.
‘Are you safe? Are you hurt?’
‘No, I’m fine, they, um, they’ve been nice to me.’
‘Who? Your kidnappers?’
‘Yes, they helped me. They helped me detox.’
‘Detox?’
‘Yeah, long story, I’ll tell you when I get home.’
‘We should be there in two hours. Do you think you can hang on for that long?’
‘Yes, I’ll be waiting for you.’
The girl taps on the side of the car.
‘I have to go, Soph, the girl wants her phone back, but I’ll be waiting for you, I promise.’
‘I love you, Gracie.’.
‘I love you, Soph.’ Then the phone goes dead.
I hand it back to the girl. ‘Thank you so much.’
She smiles and wishes me luck.
Now I just need to move this car out of sight and wait.
Freedom is so close.
I must have dozed off, as I’m jolted awake by the slamming of a car door. I open my eyes and look around.
‘Hi, Grace.’ Maxim smiles at me, pointing a gun at my face from the passenger seat.
I start screaming, but he lunges and cups his hand over my mouth. I bite his hand and try to push him away. I turn to open the door but Sergei is standing there, a gun trained on me as well. Fuck! No, no, no.
‘I’m not going back with you!’
‘Yes, you are.’
‘No, you’re too late, my sister and her security team are going to turn up at any moment. They know where I am. You’re too late.’
‘Get out.’ Maxim’s voice is calm, but there’s a definite chill to his words.
‘No! I am so close to going home. Please, I am so close.’
‘Sorry, Grace, I can’t let you go. Now get out.’
Sergei opens the driver’s door and I follow Maxim’s instructions. Hopefully Sophie isn’t far. I glare at Sergei as I get out. I can’t believe he’s holding a gun in my face—I thought I could trust him. Fucking criminals.
Maxim moves into the driver’s seat and Sergei pushes me around to the passenger’s side.
‘Get in.’
‘No, please, no. Just let me go home.’
He ignores me. Maxim starts the sports car and the rumble of the engine vibrates through my body. I have no choice.
I get into the car.
‘Put your seatbelt on,’ Sergei tells me and, with a huff, I do as I’m told.
‘Meet you back at the villa,’ Maxim says to Sergei as he zooms out of the service station parking lot. I fold my arms across my chest and contemplate my chances of surviving a jump from a car going this fast, but all my calculations lead back to not surviving.
After what feels like forever, Maxim finally speaks.
‘I’m sorry.’
This gets my attention. I look at him.
‘I’m sorry I didn’t believe you about my sister.’
I go back to looking out the window.
‘Okay, I deserve your silent treatment.’ He doesn’t say anything more for a while. Then, ‘Did you really call your family?’
‘Yes.’
His hand slams against the steering wheel, bumping the horn, which blasts through the darkness and makes me jump.
‘I’m sorry that I stole you away again.’ He looks over at me, but his eyes are too intense and I turn back to the window, though it’s not like I can see anything in the middle of the night.
‘I’ll return you to your family. I just—I just need you for a little longer.’
I keep ignoring him, and finally he understands that I don’t want to speak to him.
Eventually we get back to the villa. I step out of the car and slam the door. I stomp across the crushed rocks, though the front door, across the marble floors, and up the grand staircase, then I slam my bedroom door. I kick off my shoes and get into bed, pulling the cover over my face, blocking out the world. A world I don’t want to be a part of.
17
Maxim
‘She didn’t talk to me all the way home,’ I complain to Sergei.
‘Do you blame her? We just kidnapped her again.’
‘Her family really was coming to get her.’
‘She’s a smart girl, I suspect she’d find anyway she could to connect with them.’
‘Do you think I should let her speak to them?’
Sergei raises a brow at me.
‘You know, after we secure the line properly so they couldn’t find her.’
‘Seems like a big risk.’
‘Yeah, you’re right.’ I’m clutching at straws, trying to get Grace’s attention again.
‘Look, just leave her alone. Give her time, and once she’s ready to talk we can plan how we’re going to get Elena back.’ Sergei claps me on the back. ‘It’s been a hell of a day. Get some rest. Everything will look better in the morning.’
I walk into my bedroom, kicking off my shoes and toeing off my socks. I need a fucking shower. I get undressed and let the hot water hit all of my tired and exhausted muscles. I’m careful of my wound, trying to keep it dry. I let the water run over my back as I press my forehead against the tiles. This day is one for the books: kill three men; get followed and shot; find out my dead sister isn’t dead; discover the girl I kidnapped has escaped; then re-kidnapping her. Maybe I do need a good night’s sleep. I get out of the shower and dry myself off, before putting on my sleep pants. I walk to the internal door and unlock it, just in case. Then I fall into bed and drift off.
‘Maxim!’ Grace screams.
I jump up and run into her room.
She’s thrashing about in her bed. ‘Don’t kill me, please don’t kill me!’ she pleads.
I grab her. ‘Grace, wake up! It’s a nightmare.’
‘No! Leave me alone, you’re the bad guy! Please, don’t hurt me.’
Shit, she’s dreaming of me hurting her. I rake my hands through my hair. I’m probably the last person she wants to see in her bedroom.
‘Max?’ She’s sitting up now, staring at me.
‘Hey. You were having a bad dream. About me.’
‘Yeah, I know.’
‘Oh.’
‘Thanks for checking on me, but I’m okay now.’
I’m dismissed, and she lays down and rolls onto her side. Before everything got fucked up, she would have let me slide in beside her, she would have let me comfort her, protect her, but now she needs protecting from me.
I slowly walk back to bed, and lay down, staring at the ceiling.
I don’t know if I can get Grace back.
In the morning I tell the staff to go back to their quarters—they’re not needed for breakfast. I put together the breakfast I made days ago when things were fine between Grace and me, and then I sit and wait but Grace never comes. I give up on the cold eggs and bacon and throw the food in the bin. I stomp back upstairs, ready to yell at her for not coming down and eating breakfast with me, but I can’t blame her.
I knock on her door, and after a long pause, she answers, drying her hair with a towel.
‘Yes?’ she says curtly.
‘You didn’t come down for breakfast.’
‘I didn’t realise I had to.’
‘I made it for you.’
She shrugs and closes the door in my face. What the fuck just happened? I stomp back downstairs and run into Sergei. He looks hopeful. He shouldn’t be.
‘How is she this morning?’
‘She’s still pissed.’
‘Women. They can hold a grudges.’
Is that all he’s got? No shit. I knew that.
‘I’m off to the range,’ I tell Sergei. I’ve built a special shooting range in one of the sheds on the estate, it’s soundproof, so no one would have any idea it’s here.
I spend the morning unloading as many rounds into the targets as I can, and I still feel anxious.
The door creaks open, and I see Grace stick her head in. What the hell is she doing here?
‘Sergei said you wanted to see me.’
Oh, did he now? ‘Come in.’ I say warmly.
She’s wearing a singlet with leggings, the material moulded to her body so every curve, every dip, is accentuated.
‘Did you do all that?’ She points to the targets. The bullseye on every single one has been obliterated. ‘That’s impressive.’
I shrug. ‘Would you like to have a go?’ The question is out before I even have a chance to work out the consequences of giving a pissed-off woman who hates me, who has tried to escape from my home multiple times, a gun. Yeah, that’s a smart idea. But then her face lights up.
‘Yes,’ she says, stepping towards me. She looks at all my guns laid out in front of her.
‘I think we should start with a Beretta handgun first, then we can work our way up to these bad boys.’ I touch my sniper rifles.
‘And you trust me enough to not shoot you?’ she asks, but I can see the smile she’s trying to hide.
‘Yes.’
‘Maybe you shouldn’t.’
‘Maybe I deserve it,’ I say.
She gives me a look but quickly shakes it away. ‘Okay, show me what you got, Mr Assassin.’
I put the Beretta in her hands and she aims it at the target. ‘Now pull the trigger slowly.’
I steady her arm as she follows my instructions. She misses the target completely because she squeals over the first round, which makes me laugh.
‘I did it, I did it.’ She jumps up and down, a smile on her face. ‘Did I hit the target?’
I shake my head.
‘Are you serious? How the hell did I miss that?’
‘When you squealed, you lifted the gun and changed the bullet’s direction—it went off to the side.’
‘Let’s go again, I’m going to get the hang of this.’
So we spend the rest of the morning learning to shoot.
18
Maxim
‘Okay, last one and then we’ll need to break for some late lunch,’ I say just as my stomach rumbles, making us laugh. Now that Grace isn’t so scared, her shooting has improved. I stand back as she takes aim. Her hand is steady, she is focused, and she does it, she hits the target square in the middle of the bullseye.
She puts the gun down and starts jumping. ‘I did it, I did it.’
I pull her into my arms and swing her around, getting caught up in the moment. When I stop, I put her back on the ground but I don’t want to let go of her. We stand there staring at each other, then I lean down and press my lips against hers.
‘Maxim,’ she whispers against my lips.
I pull away. ‘Sorry, I got caught up in everything.’
She stares at me, and before I know it, she’s pulling my face to hers. Her lips are on mine, my hands are in her hair, her hands are pulling at my shirt, trying to touch my skin. I pull away and throw it off. She smiles, taking in my bare chest, and then our lips are together again. I move her backwards, picking her up and placing her onto the table. Her legs open for me and I push between them. I love feeling her hands all over my body, her fingernails dragging down my back, her hands gripping my arse tightly, urging me closer to her.
‘I’ve missed you, Grace.’
‘Shut up,’ she murmurs, biting my lip.
Fuck, yes. My fingers dig into her scalp as I pull her head back, my lips suckling against her neck, following a trail down to her breasts. The singlet is no barrier against my mouth, and I take a peaked nipple into my mouth, biting it through the thin material. Her fingers grip my hair as she lets out a hiss of appreciation.
‘I need this off.’ I grab the material and rip it from her. She giggles, seeing the singlet in a tattered mess on the floor. She’s wearing a bra underneath and sits back to unhook it before letting it fall to the floor. I gaze at her breasts. Fuck, they are spectacular. My hungry mouth latches onto a breast while my hand massages the other. I love hearing her whimpers, her moans, her mewls of pleasure.
‘More, I need more,’ she gasps, her hands trying to find the zip on my jeans. I help her out and unzip myself, pushing my jeans to my knees, my boxer briefs straining against the erection filling them.
Grace’s fingers slide across the waistband, teasing me. ‘Take them off,’ she commands, and I like it, I like taking her direction.
I pull my briefs down, letting my dick bounce against my stomach. I look up and see her staring at me through hooded eyes, her top teeth sinking into her bottom lip, her dusky pink nipples standing to attention, wanting—no—yearning for more. Her hand wraps around my dick and I sigh at the contact. I’ve thought about this moment so many times, but the reality is beyond anything fantasy could dream up.
