Chapter Four Delphine

As soon as Maxim leaves the room, I turn my focus to my daughters. They're both trying to be strong, but the tears still slip down their cheeks.

"Are you two okay?" I ask them, sitting down and hugging them to me.

"What's going on?" Shayna asks.

"Who is that man?" Sasha adds.

"He's Hex's father."

"He said you had another son. How is that possible? Why didn't you ever tell us?"

I look down at Sasha and wonder how to answer her question. I've never lied to my children directly. No, my lies have always been lies of omission. Knowing I have to come clean, I take a deep breath and tell them the embarrassing truths of my life.

"That man is Maxim Zoloth. He's a powerful man who fooled me completely. I met him thirty-five years ago when he was in New Orleans on business. We fell in love. Well, I fell in love. I don't think he's capable of loving anyone. He hid his true self well until the day I gave birth to Vladimir and Armond. Hex's lungs didn't fully form, so he had to remain in the hospital. I had complications as well, so I stayed in the hospital with him. When they finally released us both, I discovered Maxim left, taking Vladimir with him."

"Oh my God," Shayna exclaims, giving me a hard hug. "I'm so sorry. You never saw him again?"

"No, I saw him. Maxim made sure of that. Not right away and not for many years. He was five when I saw him again. I was reading a client's fortune when he strode up with Vladimir in his arms. I tried to chase after them, but lost him in the crowd. A year later, he repeated the encounter. This continued for several years. The visits stopped when Vladimir and Hex were teenagers." I break down and just let the tears fall. I hadn't let myself think of Vlad very often over the years. Every time I did, I'd fall into despair and had to drag myself back out again.

"I'm sorry you had to carry that burden alone," Sasha says. "Did Dad know?"

I take my time wiping away the tears as I consider how to answer her question without destroying the memory of her father.

"He knew some of it," I tell her. "I couldn't talk about it. He knew how hard it was for me to think about Vladimir."

We sit for several minutes in silence. I can tell their minds are working through the revelation while I gain control over my emotions. We need to get out of here, and my emotional upheaval isn't helping us achieve that goal.

"Can I ask you something?" Sasha whispers.

"Of course, you can ask me anything," I reply even though I'd rather she dropped the topic.

"You knew who Maxim was. Why didn't you try to get Vladimir back?"

"Because I might have known his name, but I didn't know who he was, not really. Not until I tried to find my little boy. Maxim is a dangerous man with strong ties to the Russian mafia. He's known as the Bringer of Pain. He kills people who threaten him or his organization. But he doesn't just kill them. He destroys them by also killing everyone connected to his target. He's eliminated families for something as small as stealing a rouble. When he learned I was looking for Vladimir, he sent a photo of Hex asleep in his room. Promised to take him, too, or kill him in his sleep if I didn't stop looking. So, I stopped, but I never gave up hope of seeing him again." That came later.

"We need to get out of here," Shayna says, glancing around the room.

We're sitting on a mattress on the floor. It's not dirty, so that's a blessing. Several blankets and pillows lay stacked in the corner. The only other furniture in the room is a table with four chairs. Someone painted the walls a bright white, but left them unadorned. No windows, of course. The room has two doors. One that Maxim went through, so I'm guessing it's the exit. Sasha rises and moves to the second door that leads to a bathroom.

"It's clean. Has a shower and a toilet. They even left us some unopened toothbrushes and three towels. No window." She shuts the door and turns back to us, raising her shoulder up and down. "At least they've given us the basics."

"No food, though," I comment. Although I'm fairly certain I wouldn't risk eating anything they gave us. I consider the food we ordered and my stomach growls in anger.

"We could make shivs out of the toothbrushes," Shayna suggests, hopefully.

I nod, even though I doubt they'd make much of a difference. Maxim took my phone, so no help there. Hex knows Maxim has me, but I don't know if he's aware Maxim has the girls, too. Fear courses through me as I consider Maxim's intentions for them and me. I don't see any cameras in the room, but I can't shake the feeling someone's watching us. Rising, I go into the bathroom and fill my empty belly with water from the tap.

"Hex will find us," Sasha's telling Shayna when I step back into the room. "He won't stop looking until he does."

I nod in agreement, because she is right about her brother. Hex won't stop looking for us. But New Orleans is a big city and I don't know for certain that we're still in The Big Easy. All three of us were unconscious. They could have taken us to another city, into the bayou, or even into another state. I cross the room and try the other door, even though I know it's locked. I'm right. However, seeing the hinges on the door, I consider the possibilities. Going back into the bathroom, I grab a toothbrush package. Opening it, I step up to the door and dig at the pins holding up the door.

Sasha and Shayna gather around me and watch me work. "Do you think that will work?" Shayna asks.

"No, but I'm not sitting around waiting for that bastard to get back." We each take turns, but calling the attempt slow-going would be too optimistic. However, we keep at it. We're all three so engrossed in the activity that we don't notice the door opening until it hits Sasha on the arm.

A young man glances inside and stares at us with surprise. I recognize him as a guard who was with Maxim. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to escape," Sasha snaps at him. "What does it look like?"

He shakes his head at her before beckoning us to follow him. "I'm helping you escape, but we better hurry."

"Who are you and why should we trust you?" Sasha asks.

"My name is Levi. Let's go. We have little time. I can't waste any trying to explain," Levi implores us. When we don't move, he lets out a long sigh. "Shit, you're going to get us caught. Okay, real quick. I owe Delphine, and this is how I'm repaying her. She saved the life of the only person I've ever loved and the only one who's ever loved me. Can we go now?"

I study the man's face and realize I recognize him. I can't place him. But he's right, we don't have time. Once we're away from here, we can pry more information out of our rescuer.

"He's telling the truth," Sasha says, which is enough for me.

"Let's go."

We step into the hallway. I close and lock the door, taking the key with me. At least this way, if someone comes to check on us, they'll have a harder time getting in. Not being able to open the door will slow them down. Hopefully, long enough for us to get clear.

Levi leads the way down the hallway. When we reach the end, he turns and leads us down a set of stairs.

"We're going into the basement?" Shayna asks, doubtfully.

"Not the basement," Levi says.

When Shayna opens her mouth, I shush her. "Do you hear that?"

Because while they're talking, I hear water sloshing against something solid. I can also smell the tangy odor of salt water. When we reach the bottom, I see we're standing on a dock. Two speedboats rock in the gentle ebb and flow of the water. Levi helps the girls into one before coming back to assist me.

"What about the other boat? Should we disable it?" I ask him.

He glances over at the other boat and then back at me. Nodding, he jogs over to the other boat and jumps inside. He reaches under the wheel and yanks on the wires. Not satisfied with this attempt, he turns his focus on the engine.

"Remove the spark plugs," I suggest. He nods before leaning over and yanking out two of them.

He runs back to me and helps me into the boat before taking hold of the wheel. I study his posture and realize that he seems unsure of his next move.

"Here, let me," I tell him, nudging him back toward the girls who are sitting in the middle seats. He takes his spot behind Shayna while I fire up the engine.