Page 66 of Maxim

No, I don’t want to leave Olena alone. A note will have to do.

It would be so much easier if I could just make the call and warn them myself, but I can’t. I’m only supposed to contact them if it is an emergency.

Quietly, I push off the wall and head back down the hall. Once I’m a little ways away, I step louder than I typically would, making my presence known.

I knock on the door, and instantly, Szymon swings it open as he glares at me.

“Am I interrupting anything?” I ask casually.

“No, of course not. Now let’s get back to business,” Jan greets me.

I can only hope the families are making more progress than these people are.

“Good morning,” Maxim says as I enter the kitchen.

“Morning.” I walk over to the cabinet and pull out a glass.

“How did you sleep?” he asks as I move to the fridge.

I place my glass under the water dispenser as I reply, “All right. You?”

“Same.”

“How long until Thea gets here?” I ask as I take a drink.

“She’s not coming today,” he says, catching me off guard.

“She’s not, but I thought you had to work…”

“I’m taking the day off.”

“Oh.”

A day off? I never saw that coming. In the entire time I’ve known him, Maxim has been all about the mission. The only time he didn’t leave is when I hurt myself.

Wow, that was so long ago. I can’t even believe I did that. I thought I had lost all hope when I only needed to look at the man I share a home with to find it.

“I need you to get dressed,” Maxim tells me.

“Is someone else coming over?” I look down at my stretchy pants and T-shirt.

He shakes his head. “No, we are actually going on a little trip.”

“A trip?” My heart picks up its pace.

We aren’t supposed to leave. He’s made it known that someone could be watching, and he doesn’t want to risk it.

Maxim smiles as he hands me a pair of shoes that I never noticed. “Are you going to repeat everything I say?”

“I don’t know, maybe,” I mutter, making him chuckle.

“Eat, then get ready.”

“I’m not hungry.”

His eyes narrow, and before he can protest, I turn and head back down the hall. Since I washed my hair yesterday, I know that I’m good for at least another couple of days. Fifteen minutes later, I’m clean and dressed.

“That didn’t take you long,” Maxim says as I walk back into the kitchen.

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