Page 37 of Maximus

“He’s a loose cannon. I don’t think he likes the fact Abrasha listens to you.” Max patted her hand.

“What do you mean?”

“You told Abrasha that approaching me could lose him the opportunity for the painting.”

“I did,” she agreed.

“What’s the one thing Abrasha cares for more than anything else?”

“Money,” she answered. There was no doubt about that now.

Max chuckled. “If you hadn’t found out about him, what would your answer have been?”

“Art. Specifically, paintings, and he’s obsessed with theSalvator Mundi.”

“So, it stands to reason he’d warn Sokolov off any approach. This is his way of defying Abrasha.” Max paused on the boardwalk, and they stared out at the Black Sea as waves gently lapped the shore. There was barely a whisper of air moving, and it was heavy with the scent of blossoms from the gardens scattered along the pathway. The moon, now waning, reflected its yellow-gold light across the water and painted a magical scene.

“He terrifies me.” She shivered and laid her head against his arm as she looked out, not seeing the beauty but rather feeling the threat the man behind them constituted.

Max put his arm around her and pulled her tight against him. “He will never touch you again.” His voice, while low, held a threat.

She looked up at him. “Max?”

“Yes?”

“How dangerous are you?”

“There are very few who are more dangerous than I,” he replied as he stared out at the sea.

She dropped her head against him again. “Deadly?” She wasn’t sure if she wanted the answer, but something told her Max wasn’t an arresting entity because arresting Abrasha wasn’t on the table. The thought had been there for some time, and she wasn’t afraid of the concept. The information she’d read about Abrasha … he was a monster.

He turned to stare at her. “Very.”

The golden hue of the moon illuminated one side of his face, leaving the other in darkness. She should be terrified of the ability he held, but that was only a part of him like the shadow on his face. He was a mix of light and dark, and his light outshone the dark when he was with her. He was two people in one. His single word cut through the darkness. It stilled her thoughts and merged them into a crystal-clear realization. Maybe he wasn’t a spy, but he was there to kill Abrasha. His team was there to ensure it happened. They started to walk again toward her apartment, and she found she was comforted by his words and confidence. He was her shield against the coming storm. “Is it wrong to say I’m glad you are? That you’re protecting me?”

He dropped his arm over her shoulder, tucked her close, and whispered, “It isn’t wrong.” They walked farther before he said, “You’ve figured out what’s happening.”

“I believe I have.” She nodded. “I’m sure there’s a reason it’s happening this way.”

“You’ve seen a few of the reasons,” he agreed.

She had. The atrocities were beyond her wildest imagination. “Sokolov?”

He looked down at her and lifted his eyebrow. “What do you think?”

She stopped and stared up at him. “Not because of me.”

Max shook his head. “For his crimes against humanity. As reparation for those who couldn’t protect themselves and were victimized, tortured, and murdered by the monsters both men are.”

She stared at him. “How do you not get lost in all the darkness?”

He smiled. “We are the darkness. We live in the light only because of the people we love.Loveis the beacon that brings us home. Darkness’s destiny has always been bound and controlled by the light.”

She toed up, kissed him, and realized he was, in fact, her destiny. She was his, but in so many ways, he was hers. They completed each other. She would be his light, and together, they were whole.

CHAPTER 17

Max turned off the lights in the apartment after scanning it again to make sure there were no new listening devices or cameras. His cameras were still up, and he reviewed the film from the day in fast forward while Elena closed up the office. But he wasn’t one to take chances. Checking was second nature. He made his way to the bedroom, where Elena was lying under the sheet. The small lamp on the bedside cast a mellow light over her body. Her curves draped with the linen were a siren’s song.

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