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I felt like I almost had the wind knocked out of me listening to Andy speak. “What the actual fuck,” I said, louder than I meant to. Adrik stopped his pacing as well. We all just stared at Andy for a moment, completely dumbfounded at how evil this man really was.
I suddenly had a thought. I looked at the guys and turned to look at Adrik, saying in Russian, “We need to make sure the police don’t release his picture. He’s going to run if it gets out that we know what he looks like. Sal will get him out of the city.”
Ivan nodded. He got up and walked out of the office, his fingers dialing a number on his phone as he walked out. Andy had a renewed sense of worry on his face, since he couldn’t understand what just happened. “Don’t worry, Andy. Your life is safe,” I said. I couldn’t muster a smile, but I tried to say it softly enough that he wouldn’t hear my anger.
We were silent for a moment as we waited for Ivan to come back into the office. If the police had already released his picture, we would have to move quickly. If they hadn’t, we had a little more time. If Dr. Moretti believed he was still anonymous, he would be easier to catch.
Ivan walked back into the office, somewhat relieved. He said, still in Russian, “We’re good. They haven’t released it. They’re not going to now either. Jason asked if he and Ryan could come with us when we go get him, though.” He had a small smile on his face.
We all audibly exhaled. I looked at the guys. “Guess we’re not going to the house today after all.” They all chuckled while Andy still looked like he was barely keeping control over his bladder. I looked at him, curious. “What did you need before this revelation, Andy?” I asked him in English.
He looked at me, a deer in the headlights look. “It’s not important. It can wait.”
Normally, I would have gotten that information out of him, but right now, I didn’t care. I nodded, standing up. I walked around Adrik’s desk. He was still standing in one spot. I could see he was fighting to keep control. His jaw was clenched, his hand in a tight fist at his side, his shoulders tense, every muscle in his body flexed. I found myself oddly turned on as I walked to him. I chewed on my bottom lip, without realizing what I was doing. He glanced at me, clearly recognizing the look on my face. It was what he needed to calm down. He smirked at me as he pulled me to him quickly. Viktor had called Andy to him, finding out the location of the house and any other details he knew about, so they weren’t necessarily paying attention to me and Adrik. I saw Adrik glance in their direction briefly, then one arm pulled me to him by my waist, the other hand on the back of my neck as his lips crashed into mine. He kissed me so passionately that I just about couldn’t breathe. He stopped, pressing his forehead to mine. His breath was heavy as well. “I needed that. I need you, solnishko,” he said, still trying to catch his breath. “To keep me from destroying everyone.”
Andy told the guys everything he knew, then hurriedly left the office. He looked like he didn’t want to be in the office any longer than he needed to be, given the reaction we all had when he identified Dr. Moretti. The guys were in deep discussion about a plan for what to do about Dr. Moretti.
Viktor’s phone rang. He answered it, a puzzled look on his face. He looked at me, now on the couch in Adrik’s lap to try to help him remain calm. He ended the call, saying, “Someone is here to see you, sestrichka. They’re in the lobby.”
I looked at him, completely confused. “Who is it? Nobody comes to see me.” I felt Adrik’s arms tighten around me.
“He said it was a guy. Tall, blonde hair. He said he knows you.” Viktor said.
“It has to be Max. He’s the only guy outside of this room that would know me and know where to find me. Although I don’t know why he would be here, unless he broke up with Tori,” I said.
Misha and Andrei stood up. “We’ll take you down to see him,” Andrei said. This wasn’t going to end well. Neither of them had any love for Max.
Adrik, who was already struggling to keep his cool, let his hatred for Max finally come out as he said, “I don’t want him up here, but I won’t keep you from seeing what he wants.” I tried not to laugh. I turned to look at him. He saw the amused look on my face, which caused him to soften just a bit. “What? That guy is a fucking moron. There. I said it.”
I couldn’t keep it in. I laughed. “I mean, you’re not entirely wrong,” I said, kissing his lips.
On the elevator down to the lobby, I pulled my hands inside my sleeves again. I sighed. “As if this week couldn’t get any weirder.” I leaned back against the wall of the elevator. I felt Andrei’s hand pulling me off the wall, so he could wrap his sizeable arm around me. I leaned against his shoulder, thankful for the comfort as I watched the numbers on the elevator descend. Right before we got to the lobby, I looked at them both. “Just promise me you won’t kill him in front of everyone because I can almost guarantee there’s going to be some dumb shit that comes out of his mouth.”
They both smirked at me. “We’re not savages, spider monkey. He won’t see it coming when it happens,” Andrei said, his mischievous grin across his face.
As we walked off the elevator, I could see Max surrounded by three guards. He looked horrible. He also looked pissed, which surprised me. “Huh,” I said as we walked closer. Misha picked up on it as well and stepped closer to me.
“Hi, Max,” I said as we walked up. Andrei nodded to the guards that were standing with Max, indicating that they were free to go.
“Was that really necessary? Like I can’t just come see you? Don’t they know we’re friends?” he asked, a clear edge to his voice that I didn’t appreciate. Misha and Andrei both tensed next to me.
“Are we though, Max?” I said, my anger from earlier still right at the surface. “How many times have you fallen off the face of the earth because the latest girl you’re fucking was jealous of me, even though she had no reason to be? Is that why you’re here now? You finally broke it off with Tori and you remembered that I exist again?” Andrei and Misha both glanced down on me, surprised at my response, but both trying to hold in smiles.
Max was slightly stunned at my response. I crossed my arms across my chest, waiting for him to answer. He glanced at Andrei and Misha, then looked to me. “Do they have to be here?” he asked.
“YES,” we all said at once.
He took a small step back. “What do you want, Max?” I asked, now losing patience.
“I saw Chen the other day. He said you came to him asking questions. I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” he said.
I laughed. “That’s not why you’re here, Max. Don’t play the protective friend card when you haven’t bothered to reach out since you started dating Tori, not even after I warned you about her. Now, what do you want?”
Misha glanced down at me, recognizing the look on my face. “You better get on with it, dude. She’s losing patience, which means I’m gonna lose my patience, which means Andrei’s gonna lose his patience, and the rest of the people in the lobby aren’t ready to see that happen today. Help them out by getting the fuck on with it.”
Max looked at him, wide-eyed, then looked at the floor. “You were right,” he said quietly.
My anger wouldn’t let me feel sorry for him. “I’m sorry, what was that?” I asked.
