Chapter 25

Maksim~

S omething was wrong with Katja, but I didn't know what. Granted, the woman was under a lot of stress, but this was something more. Though I had agreed to give her some space after the other night, it was beginning to feel as if she was purposely avoiding me, and the part of me that didn't trust easily wondered if she had changed her mind. It also had me wondering if she'd been playing me this entire time. What if her decision to ‘double-cross' Nikel had been the plan all along?

At any rate, after passing me over in favor of work for the third time, I had ordered her to accompany me to Erato's, not giving her much of a choice. While I understood her not wanting her grandfather getting suspicious of her all-nighters, he would understand her going out with her friends on a Friday night, so she'd had no excuse when I had extended the request. In fact, the only reason that I hadn't pushed it before tonight was because Artur had assured me that she really was working, often working late nights from home. Apparently, Katja was good at her job and was often sought after.

Nevertheless, unlike the other times, instead of sending a car for her, I'd had Jurik drive me to her house, so that I could collect her myself. The plan was to speak with her grandfather soon, so it was time to quit treating her as if she were an option. Things had changed between us, and as soon as Morocco got back to us with whatever he could find, I was putting a guard on Katja, then we could begin making plans for a small ceremony since her grandfather was unable to get around easily.

So, after collecting her, I'd had Jurik drive us to Erato's, hoping that the crowd would tempt Nikel to come out, believing that he wouldn't be seen. Once a year, Erato's had a ladies' night, and it was basically a buffet for anyone looking to get lucky. With Nikel believing that Katja was a bratva whore, I was really hoping that he'd be stupid enough to come out. Most members of the bratva knew what he looked like, so we had eyes everywhere tonight, though nothing was guaranteed. Truthfully, I regretted not contacting the Sartoris before now, and that was all Katja's doing. Had she never come into the picture, we'd still be trying to figure this shit out on our own.

Regardless of whatever may or may not happen tonight, it was apparent that something was going on with Katja, and I was tired of waiting for her to tell me willingly. From the second that she had opened her front door to me, she hadn't uttered a single word, and now she was sitting next to me, silent as a tomb, answering my questions with only a nod or shake of her head. She had even declined a drink, not even asking for water. She was simply sitting next to me in the VIP booth, staring at her purse like it had the answers to all of life's mysteries.

"What is troubling you, Katja?" I finally asked. We were alone in the booth, so it wasn't a problem to speak freely.

"The same thing that's been troubling me for weeks," she lied.

"Look at me when I am speaking to you," I ordered.

When she slid her bright-colored eyes my way, I almost regretted asking her to do so. She was looking at me like I was a stranger, and I didn't like it. It was nothing like when she let me inside her, and I was surprised by how quickly her distance was pissing me off.

"Now, I will only ask once more," I warned her. "What is troubling you?"

"Usually, my grandfather is resting when you summon me," she said, and whatever she was about to say, I hoped that she wasn't lying, something that could easily be proven or disproven by one phone call to Artur. "He and Artur were in the kitchen tonight when I walked out of my bedroom, and when he saw the way that I was dressed, he grew suspicious."

"What did you tell him?" I asked, already knowing that I was going to call Artur.

Her jaw ticked before saying, "Well, since I very well couldn't tell him that Maksim Barychev was picking me up because I agreed to be his whore, so that he wouldn't kill me for betraying him with a man that was clearly out of his mind, I told him that I had a date with a guy that I met during my last field call." Though she probably wasn't lying because she knew that the truth was only one phone call away, there was still something off about her story. "He wished me a good evening, and I guess I'm just tired of lying to the only person in the world that loves me."

It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her that her grandfather wasn't the only person in the world that loved her, but even I knew that it was too soon to tell her something like that. Even if it was true, there was no way that she'd believe me, and why should she? This entire situation was a fucking mess, and we were no better. Luckily for me, Morocco Carrisi was good at his job, so I knew that we'd have something in a day or two.

"If you would like, we can leave," I said, offering a bit of an olive branch.

"Why?" she asked, her jaw still ticking. "Aren't we here for the same reason that we go anywhere? Aren't we here for Klive? Aren't we here to draw him out?"

"There will be other opportunities to draw him out," I replied evenly, confident that Nikel's patience was running low.

Her amber-colored eyes flashed with annoyance. "And have all this be for nothing? Every second that he roams free, my grandfather isn't safe-"

I grabbed her by the chin, squeezing it in between my fingers. "That will be the last time when you will suggest that I cannot keep your grandfather safe, Katja," I told her. "Artur is one of our best, and Nikel would have to kill him first to get to your grandfather."

"You say that like it's not possible," she fired back. "All it takes is one bullet that no one sees coming, and since it appears that Klive is always one step ahead of you guys, there's no real guarantee that Artur can keep my grandfather safe."

Her truth stung, and the man in me was having a very difficult time taking the hit without burning the entire city to the ground. Nothing was more crippling to a man than his woman telling him that she didn't feel safe with him, and that's essentially what Katja was telling me as she worried about her grandfather. She didn't trust me to protect her or her family, and that knowledge was emasculating as fucking hell.

I stared into her troubled eyes as I said, "No harm will come to your grandfather on my watch, Katja. I give you my word on that."

"How about you save your energy for finding Klive, instead of spouting off promises that you can't possibly keep," she spat, and the venom in her voice was real.

I squeezed her chin tighter in between my fingers. "What happened?" I hissed. "And do not tell me that the vitriol dripping from your voice is because of your concern for your grandfather. I will tolerate a lot from you, Katja. However, lying isn't one of those things."

Instead of answering me, she arched a brow as she asked, "Do you really think that it's wise for people to see Maksim Barychev arguing with his whore?"

I wanted to strangle her.

"Besides, the last thing that I need is for Klive to think that I'm ruining things between us," she went on. "If he really is watching, I'm supposed to be playing the part of meek arm candy to gain your trust, remember?"

While I was furious and wanted to argue her point, she wasn't wrong. The plan was for me to be falling under her spell enough to become vulnerable, not to engage in public fights, something that everyone knows that I'd never engage in when it came to an easy piece of ass.

I let go of her chin, then casually leaned back in the booth. "This conversation isn't over," I told her. "We will continue this discussion once we get home."

"I don't understand," she said. "What difference does my mood make? As long as I'm here, doing my part, who gives a shit about how I'm feeling?'

"Watch yourself, Katja," I warned. "I've already spoken to you about how you will address me."

Fire flashed in her eyes, and I had no doubt that she'd shoot me dead if she were quick enough to get her hands on any one of my guns. Now, I wasn't sure if that fire had always been there or if it was a result of having lived on her own for so long, but there was no doubt that Katja Volkov did not appreciate a man correcting her, and that was something that we were going to have to work on if we didn't want to end up killing one another.

At any rate, before she could say anything, Karik was approaching our table. "Bratok, I need a moment."

Not sure if this had to do with bratva business or Mindy and her family, I looked over at Katja, then said, "I'll be only a moment. Do not leave this table."

"What if I need the restroom?" she asked flippantly.

"Then you fucking hold it," I hissed, not caring that Karik could hear our exchange. "Do not leave this goddamn table, Katja. Do you hear me?"

"Perfectly," she bit out.

Praying that she wasn't going to make me kill her in a room fool of people, I stood up from the table, then followed Karik to find a private corner, though that was kind of hard to do in this crowd. Still, people knew better than to bother any members of the bratva.