Chapter 21 - Maxim

Stefano was stupid enough to steal one of my cars, and I am quickly chasing him down, tracking his location through the vehicle security app.

“I am going to cut him off,” I speak into the phone.

“We need him alive,” Kiril replies.

“I know.”

“I can see him on the app. How far are you?” Kiril’s voice carries through my speaker.

“Five minutes.” I hang up the phone. I need to focus now. I don’t have time to keep Kiril up to date.

My tires scream as I skid around the corner toward the one-way where I plan to cut Stefano off. I immediately spot my own car as I turn onto the road, and I aim straight for it.

Stefano looks shocked as I drive straight at him.

He slams on breaks, and I spin my car to the side to block his only escape. He loses control of the steering wheel and his car spins off the road, crashing into a light, the front of the car wrapped around it as the engine chokes to death.

Stefano jumps from the driver’s door and runs straight for me as I climb out.

“You think you control everything?” he screams, pushing me against the side of my car.

“Where the hell were you?” I shout back, pushing just as hard.

“Getting out of that prison cell you had me locked in. I told Angelo everything about your plan. I heard it all,” Stefano spits.

“You told Angelo?” I ask, shocked.

“You can’t hide your lies now. Your elaborate setup to try and pull his clients into your corner was exposed.” Stefano flies toward me again, his fists clenched. “You are done, Dubrov. Your family is done.”

“Are you fucking crazy? I was trying to expose the real culprit, you fucking idiot.”

I kick out as he gets close to me and my foot connects with his stomach. A loud huff of air is forced from his lungs as he lands on the road. “Stop coming at me like that,” I shout.

Stefano is winded, and for a moment I just stand there, anger searing through me, staring down at him.

My phone begins to ring, so I glance into my car, where it”s laying on the seat. Paval.

This might be important. A quick glance at Stefano tells me he is down for a while. So I lean over and grab my phone.

“Paval.”

“There was an explosion at the second location.”

“What the fuck?”

“The clients were both killed. The scene is a wreck. But Maxim—”

His voice is tight. Immediately I know something is very wrong. More wrong than an explosion.

“What is it, Paval?” I demand.

“Kiril is just around the corner from you. He is on his way to you. Chiara is missing. She came here to meet the clients in your place.”

Blind rage floods me like an erupting volcano. I throw the phone back into my car, and in two long strides, I am right up in Stefano’s face. He has managed to stand, leaning against my car, but I am about to tear him to pieces.

Without warning or hesitation, I slam my fist into his face. It catches him off guard. His head snaps back and his skull slams against the window.

I hit him again, and blood explodes from his broken nose.

“Where the fuck is Chiara, you fucking animal?” I scream into his face as I grip his collar and repeatedly slam his back against the car.

“What the fuck?” he screams.

I head-butt him, and his nose cracks loudly again.

He slips from my hands, unable to hold himself up, and collapses to the ground.

I start kicking him. Over and over again, my boot cracks against his ribs, into his stomach. He is gasping and choking, his arms over his face, trying to protect himself from the next blow.

Then I feel hands on my back, and I am yanked away from him as I kick and claw to get to him, wanting to fucking rip his limbs from his body. I can’t stop thinking about Chiara. What has he done to her? Where is she? The thought of her hurt, or in pain, has completely consumed me. I am not in control of myself in any way.

“Maxim,” Kiril shouts, locking my neck in a tight grip with his elbow. “You”re going to kill him. Stop.”

“He should fucking die. He fucking did something to Chiara,” I shout back, kicking out, trying to free myself.

In front of me, Stefano drags himself to his feet.

He is covered in blood, clutching at his ribs.

“Fucking let me go,” I scream at Kiril.

“Not fucking chance.”

Stefano leans against the car again, his face strained with agony. His eyes are wide as he stares at me.

“Angelo,” he chokes.

“What the fuck did you say, you fucking asshole?” I scream.

“Angelo,” he repeats. And hesitation runs through me. Kiril feels the change in my body, and he relaxes his hold on me just slightly.

“What about Angelo?” I demand.

Stefano wipes the back of his hand across his face, smearing blood. He spits a pool of red onto the road.

“Angelo knew about the second location.”

“Yes, because you told him.”

Stefano breathes heavily, trying to pull himself together.

“Just fucking listen, Maxim,” he scowls.

I stand angry, dead still, ready to launch at him again.

Kiril steps to the side, ready to stop me again if he needs to.

“You have five seconds,” I snap.

“Angelo is the only other person who knew about the venue change. Because I told him, yes. It had to have been him. He set the bombs.”

“Just a second ago you thought it was me.”

“Yes, I did, but that was until you reacted that way when you heard Chiara was in danger. You would never have sent her there if you knew there was a bomb.”

For a moment we all stand silently. The air between the three of us is charged so heavily that it feels as though lightening might strike the ground between Stefano and me.

“It could only have been Angelo,” Stefano mutters, holding his ribs.

Kiril looks from me to Stefano. “He’s right.”

“It could still have been him,” I shake my head.

“He wouldn’t have had time to organize everything,” Kiril shrugs.

“Fuck,” I shout, turning my back on both of them and walking down the road, pacing to try and clear this black fog of anger and fear. Fear of what might have happened to Chiara, and the horrific dread at the idea that I might have lost her forever.

Both Kiril and Stefano stand quietly, still tense, waiting for me to come back.

“I don’t know what to do with him.” I nod my head in Stefano’s direction, but I am speaking to Kiril.

“Let me help you. Want to find Chiara as much as you do. She is my sister.”

“Stepsister.”

“Fuck off. Family is family. I wouldn’t let anything happen to her,” Stefano snarls.

“We don’t need your fucking help, savage.”

“I am the only one who knows all of the Napoli hideouts. If Angelo took her, he would taken her to one of those places. And if it wasn’t me, and I know it wasn’t me, then it was Angelo.”

“We do need him,” Kiril says, causing my lips to curl into a snarl of anger again.

“And we can’t waste any more time arguing about it. If my sister is still alive, we need to move now.”

Stefano’s words jolt me back into control. If she is still alive. They make me feel ill, but also flood me with hope. If she is still alive, he”s right. I need to move now.

I have no choice but to work with him.

If it is a trap, I will have to figure that out as I go along.

But the truth is, I have long suspected Angelo’s involvement. I just assumed he was working with Stefano. But Kiril is right; Stefano has been under lockdown at my place and wouldn’t have had time to arrange any of this.

“Fuck,” I say again. “Get in the car.”

“I’d prefer to ride with Kiril,” Stefano says.

“Get into the fucking car,” I snap. “You are taking me to the hideouts right now. Kiril, get back and tell everyone else what”s going on.”

Stefano walks around to the passenger side of my car and pulls the door open.

“Don’t get your fucking blood everywhere,” I scowl as he climbs in.

I slam my door.

“Where are we going?”

“Ludov Street. There”s a safe house there. We can try that one first.”

A deep growl rumbles through me as the engine purrs, my foot flat against the accelerator.