Page 21 of Pike’s Redemption

Max leaned back, a satisfied smile playing on his lips. "It was a recent acquisition. A precautionary measure. It’s got all the security features."

Ronnie rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "You and your precautions." Dimitri scowled, but I could practically hear the thoughts rolling around in his brain. He and his brother didn’t exactly have a relationship. What did it mean that he’d bought a house here? It was evident to me, but maybe not so obvious to Dimitri, why he’d done it. Even though we’d only reconnected with Max for the last five years, I knew Max missed his brother terribly. He had difficulty trusting people, and when Dimitri called him this year, he’d been so pleased.

I reached across the table to squeeze Dimitri’s hand. "We get it. We’d have you here for protection and all your security measures, but you have Hollis and Olive here. It’s better if we move. We're not helpless, and we’ll have extra security, too.” Initially, I’d not intended it that way when Ronnie had brought it up. My thoughts had run along a small bungalow, just the two of us, but that was foolish and naive when I looked back on that. It was a fever dream that wasn’t possible, especially right now. Max wouldn’t allow that to happen.

“I don’t like it. You should have told me,” Dimitri grumbled. If I was honest with myself, he looked pretty scary when he was mad.

“I know you don’t like it, and we should have told you. It was disrespectful,” I agreed.

“This is just a ‘better safe than sorry’ scenario,” Max piped up. "Especially with the trouble they’ve managed to stir up."

"Hey, we're not the ones stirring up trouble and running around slashing throats. We’re just trying to get to the bottom of things," I said defensively. That wasn’t cool. “And you're the one who always said to follow the truth, no matter where it leads." That had always been what he’d tell me when I was stuck on a case. ‘No matter what, Natty, follow the truth.’

Max's expression softened. "And I stand by that. But following the truth doesn't mean you have to do it alone. You aren’t an island.” He sent a glare at Dimitri. It was a clear shot at how he left the family. It was evident from the tightening of Dimitri’s mouth that what Max meant wasn’t lost on him either. “We're family. We stick together,” Max said tightly. “We’re stronger together.”

Ronnie and I shared a glance, but our bond was stronger than ever. “That’s true,” she echoed.Ronnie and I both believed in our sisterhood over everything. It had been the dominating factor in all of our life decisions. We had folded Max into our family to include him, but that mantra wasn’t wrong. We were stronger together. I believed that.

Max nodded, his eyes reflecting a mix of determination and love even over his grumpy pakhan exterior. "Good. Now, let’s get you two moved. I've got everything arranged."

“I’m sure you do,” I laughed. I did wish that Ronnie had left me a note or text — something so I could have started getting my things together.

“I don’t really like this, but if you think it’ll help everyone involved stay safe, I’ll go along with it,” Dimitri said. “But there are conditions.” One of his eyebrows hitched up menacingly.

“Do tell, little brother,” Max joked. He was enjoying this with a little too much zeal.

“Security system, cameras, and bodyguards.” He ticked off the items on his fingers as Hollis and Olive returned to the room carrying Luna, her kitten.

“Already handled.” His face went pale as he spied the cat, his eyes wide in horror as he looked at the orange fur ball. I giggled, trying to stifle my laugh at how afraid the big bad pakhan was of cats.

“Look, Uncle Max,” Olive stuck the kitten straight into his face while he lurched as far away as he could. “This is Luna. Hold her. She’s soft, and I’m sure she’ll love you so much. Daddy carries her all around the house on his shoulders. Here.” Olive dumped the kitten straight up onto the shoulders of his fancy suit, and we all lost it.

“It’s cute. Look at all those teeth.” Gingerly, he stood up, the kitten clinging to his collar. Max looked helplessly at his brother. In Russian, he spoke rapidly, “Get it off, Dima. This is torture. Please take the little beast.”

“Fine, but you’ll let me help set the security for Nat and Ronnie.”

“Fine.” The kitten sealed the deal, and Dimitri removed poor Luna and placed the kitten on his shoulders, where it curled around his neck.

Max shuddered, “That’s disturbing.”

?

The house Max had bought was cute. I wasn’t sure there were mansions in Haverboro or Morinrock, but he’d picked a hell of a house. He’d apparently been looking for a home since Dimitri moved here and quietly bought the old farm between Haverboro and Morinrock under an alias. It had been renovated and retrofitted with everything a Bratva boss could need. Granted, it was more than we needed, but it was still beautiful with its stucco walls and courtyards. I could see why the location appealed to Max with the privacy, the desert, and the thick walls, but I like the solitude.

“This looks like it took some time, brat,” Dimitri said with a scowl as he went through the grounds. He slammed cupboards angrily even after Hollis told him to stop and glared at Max for good measure.

“It was a good find, what can I say.” Max shrugged nonchalantly. “Are you cranky that I’ll be your neighbor?” he joked. Max could be pretty funny sometimes, but this seemed new to Dimitri because he looked at him owlishly.

“You’re going back to San Diego, right?” Ronnie piped up from behind us. She’d been downstairs examining the office that Max had promised her was there with computer equipment ready to go. Ronnie’s main specifications were good internet, good internet, and good internet in that order. I would have sworn that the girl was more attached to her computers than anything else.

“Don’t you want to share your office?” he laughed at her. “Not to worry — it’s all yours, Ronnie. I have to return to California anyway. Business. There is no moving until Luca and the other guards arrive tomorrow. They’ll move your things,” Max said sternly. Ronnie rolled her eyes.

“We’re in the middle of nowhere, and we can move our own stuff, right Nat?” She looked to me for support, but I wasn’t sure she was right. Dimitri already had it out with Max about his plans to bring in guards and more Bratva presence, and I didn’t want to rock the boat more than it was already.

I hadn’t given much thought to the idea of us moving to a different house. My mind had been full of my case, the killings, and Pike. The thought of him made me want to call him and find out what he was doing. He was such a different man from anyone I knew, haunted by the past, but at the same time, he seemed willing to open up to me. Most men I had been around were equal parts stoic and closed off. They’d have never shared such private information. It made Pike so much sexier to me — although he didn’t need any more help in that department. I would confess that one of the reasons I’d agreed to move was so that I’d have a little privacy and could have him over. That’d been impossible in the close quarters at Dimitri’s. Even having him out on the patio was an issue since Dimitri saw every move on security cams. Here, at least, I’d have some semblance of privacy.

Hollis and I started a deep dive into the cabinets in the house to see what Max had brought in. He’d said he’d had the house “supplied,” but we weren’t sure what that meant, so we left the men talking as we explored. Shockingly, whoever had been tasked with the chore had seemingly thought of everything from Q-Tips to dry goods.

“Is this an actual job?” Hollis asked, pulling her head out of the bathroom cabinet. “Check this out.” There was a full cart of medical supplies, including what looked like a suturing kit and the necessary medicines, such as painkillers and antibiotics. “Our house is slacking. I need to up my game,” she muttered. This is crazy.”

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