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He stands, but before he can move away from the table, Hex surges forward and grabs him. I see his hand slip a tracker into the man’s pocket, while Maxim’s men rush forward. Hex doesn’t release his grip until he’s had his say.
“Hurt them and I’ll destroy you.”
Hex releases the man after giving him a push. Maxim stumbles but rights himself. He glares at Hex before turning and striding off, his goons surrounding him. We watch them until they drive off.
“I planted two trackers,” Hex says.
“I got one.”
“I got one, too.” Abra adds.
“I got another,” Zip says as he joins us.
“Call Pirate. Make sure he’s tracking the bastards.”
CHAPTER FOUR: DELPHINE
As soon as Maxim leaves the room, I turn my focus to my daughters. They’re both trying to be strong, but the tears still slip down their cheeks.
“Are you two okay?” I ask them, sitting down and hugging them to me.
“What’s going on?” Shayna asks.
“Who is that man?” Sasha adds.
“He’s Hex’s father.”
“He said you had another son. How is that possible? Why didn’t you ever tell us?”
I look down at Sasha and wonder how to answer her question. I’ve never lied to my children directly. No, my lies have always been lies of omission. Knowing I have to come clean, I take a deep breath and tell them the embarrassing truths of my life.
“That man is Maxim Zoloth. He’s a powerful man who fooled me completely. I met him thirty-five years ago when he was in New Orleans on business. We fell in love. Well, I fell in love. I don’t think he’s capable of loving anyone. He hid his true self well until the day I gave birth to Vladimir and Armond. Hex’s lungs didn’t fully form, so he had to remain in the hospital. I had complications as well, so I stayed in the hospital with him. When they finally released us both, I discovered Maxim left, taking Vladimir with him.”
“Oh my God,” Shayna exclaims, giving me a hard hug. “I’m so sorry. You never saw him again?”
“No, I saw him. Maxim made sure of that. Not right away and not for many years. He was five when I saw him again. I was reading a client’s fortune when he strode up with Vladimir in his arms. I tried to chase after them, but lost him in the crowd. A year later, he repeated the encounter. This continued for several years. The visits stopped when Vladimir and Hex were teenagers.” I break down and just let the tears fall. I hadn’t let myself think of Vlad very often over the years. Every time I did, I’d fall into despair and had to drag myself back out again.
“I’m sorry you had to carry that burden alone,” Sasha says. “Did Dad know?”
I take my time wiping away the tears as I consider how to answer her question without destroying the memory of her father.
“He knew some of it,” I tell her. “I couldn’t talk about it. He knew how hard it was for me to think about Vladimir.”
We sit for several minutes in silence. I can tell their minds are working through the revelation while I gain control over my emotions. We need to get out of here, and my emotional upheaval isn’t helping us achieve that goal.
“Can I ask you something?” Sasha whispers.
“Of course, you can ask me anything,” I reply even though I’d rather she dropped the topic.
“You knew who Maxim was. Why didn’t you try to get Vladimir back?”
“Because I might have known his name, but I didn’t know who he was, not really. Not until I tried to find my little boy. Maxim is a dangerous man with strong ties to the Russian mafia. He’s known as the Bringer of Pain. He kills people who threaten him or his organization. But he doesn’t just kill them. He destroys them by also killing everyone connected to his target. He’s eliminated families for something as small as stealing a rouble. When he learned I was looking for Vladimir, he sent a photo of Hex asleep in his room. Promised to take him, too, or kill him in his sleep if I didn’t stop looking. So, I stopped, but I never gave up hope of seeing him again.” That came later.
“We need to get out of here,” Shayna says, glancing around the room.
We’re sitting on a mattress on the floor. It’s not dirty, so that’s a blessing. Several blankets and pillows lay stacked in the corner. The only other furniture in the room is a table with four chairs. Someone painted the walls a bright white, but left them unadorned. No windows, of course. The room has two doors. One that Maxim went through, so I’m guessing it’s the exit. Sasha rises and moves to the second door that leads to a bathroom.
“It’s clean. Has a shower and a toilet. They even left us some unopened toothbrushes and three towels. No window.” She shuts the door and turns back to us, raising her shoulder up and down. “At least they’ve given us the basics.”
