Page 2 of Conquer

One

Adrian

“Find out what she knows.”

Maxim handed me a small black-and-white picture, but I didn’t need to look at it who “she” was.

I also didn’t have to look at Maxim to understand how serious this was, but I did, met his always-icy gaze.

The moment I’d hoped to avoid for more than two years was here.

“What am I looking for?” I asked, fighting to keep my voice level, disinterested, though I was anything but.

Maxim frowned slightly, assessing me.

I had done this for him before, many times, and there had never been a question of what, certainly not why, just as I almost had.

Asking such a thing undoubtedly made Maxim even more suspicious than he already was, but I needed to know. Because though I had done this many times before, before it had never mattered.

Now, nothing else did.

“Why did you ask that question, Adrian?” Maxim said.

Despite how desperately I needed to know what he was after, what he suspected, asking had been a mistake. I’d piqued Maxim’s curiosity, something that could turn out to be a very bad thing.

“This could be a delicate situation. I want to know how you think I should handle it,” I said.

Which was the truth.

If things went wrong with this woman, it would draw attention and lots of it, so the question was only reasonable.

But I still felt so wrong asking it, doing what I was doing.

I owed Maxim my life, and I was betraying him. And all for a woman I’d never even spoken to.

That betrayal sickened me. Wasn’t at all softened by the fact that I had no other option. Because as much as I owed Maxim and the Syndicate, I couldn’t let anything happen to her.

“Yes,” Maxim finally said, “this is delicate. I don’t want to draw more attention than necessary, which is why I’m entrusting this with you, Adrian.”

It was a rare spoken compliment from Maxim, something that only put me further on edge. He wasn’t one for effusive praise, but he also didn’t overlook a job well done. So, was he testing me or simply telling the truth?

I didn’t know—something I both hated and tried to avoid. Not an option here, so I’d just have to fly blind and hope for the best.

I nodded my agreement, and after looking at me for another long moment, Maxim continued.

“It may be nothing, but I don’t want to take a chance. She was the last person to pursue anything close to a real investigation of Santo. If she suspects something, I need to know it,” he said.

“Don’t you have contacts who can tell you what she knows?” I asked.

Maxim’s influence was vast and certainly extended to the state investigator’s office. That he wasn’t using it had to be significant.

“I have access and sources, but my gut says something is off here, so I want to proceed with caution,” he said.

And that was the end of the conversation, which was probably for the best. Maxim’s gut was right. Something was off, and that something was her. Which meant I had to do something to keep her from Maxim’s attention, and in doing so, betray the only family I’d ever known.

I knew that Maxim wouldn’t behave rashly. I’d only seen him do so once, when his wife Senna had been threatened. But I also knew if he found the woman to be a problem, he wouldn’t hesitate to eliminate her.

Or have me do so.

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