Broken Together (26 page)

She
set her pen aside. “That is my primary concern, aside from the expense, of
course. How can we justify funding a pipeline that will be seized or destroyed
by the Russian government? How can we fund a project that will lead to war?”

I
glanced at Maxim. He nodded, so I responded. “We are pursuing a precautionary
measure that will prevent Russia from destroying the pipeline… from attacking
Ukraine and other European countries.”

She
leaned forward, her interest clearly piqued. “I’m listening.”

“Mr.
Markov has spoken with Secretary Gates. He’s offered to house the missile
defense shield the United States developed for Poland. This defense system
would prevent Russia from attacking Ukraine and our European allies. There’s
just one problem.” I paused dramatically. “The Ukrainian government requires a
revenue stream that will ensure adequate staffing, training, and maintenance
for this equipment. This pipeline is that revenue stream.”

Maxim
resisted the urge to smile. “The European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development has offered to loan us five hundred million dollars to extend the Odessa-Brody
pipeline into Poland. We require only two hundred and eighty million dollars to
fully fund this project. Once we secure this funding, we can extend the
pipeline and install the defense shield in a relatively short amount of time.”

Ms.
Dickson’s breath rushed through her lips. She looked as if she’d been sucker
punched. As subtle as the message was, I had clearly conveyed how Maxim’s plans
to install the defense shield were riding on her decision to fund this
pipeline.

Inside,
I was doing the happy dance. While Maxim and Kadyn had identified how critical
the defense shield was to protect the pipeline, no one had really considered
how vital the pipeline was to the defense shield… until now.

Ms.
Dickson appeared to be at a loss for words.

I
handed her my business card. “We aren’t expecting an answer today, Ms. Dickson.
We thought you might like to speak with Secretary Gates before making your
decision.”

She
smiled shakily.

We
stood. Maxim extended his hand. “Thank you for your time. I do hope you will
consider funding this pipeline.”

“Thank
you, Mr. Markov, Ms. Stone.” She escorted us to the front office.

Jase
pushed off from the wall next to the door. He was the only man who wasn’t
sprawled out in a chair with a soda in his hand. “Ready?”

I
shook Ms. Dickson’s hand. “Thank you for meeting with us on such short notice. I
look forward to hearing your decision.”

Maxim
helped me into my coat.

Jase
opened the door.

Quietly,
we filed into the hallway.

Maxim
grabbed me by the waist and spun me up into the air the second the door closed.
He caught me and held me close. “You were… amazing.”

I
giggled, equally elated.

He
gazed up at me. “I knew we would make a good team.”

Jase
yanked me out of his arms. “I don’t care how well the meeting went, you’re not
kissing Kristine.”

“You
would intervene?” Maxim seethed. “Why? Do you fear she is in love with me?”

My
heart beat anxiously. “I’m engaged to Rafael.”

The
elevator dinged. The lone passenger scurried down the hall.

Brady
and Jase wedged between us as we stepped onto the elevator. I tapped Jase on
the shoulder. “I need to speak with him.”

He
moved. An inch.

I
huffed out a breath. “I’m serious, Jase. Please?”

“He
touches you and the conversation is over.” Jase switched places with me.

The
elevator dinged, signaling our arrival on the ground floor. Brady held the
door.

I
stepped through the heavy metal doors. “Does Secretary Gates want the defense
shield in Ukraine?”

“Yes.”
Maxim fell in beside me.

“I
think you should ask him to call Ms. Dickson, to answer any questions she may
have about the defense shield. Make sure he understands how much Ukraine needs
this pipeline. Take the same approach I did with Ms. Dickson. Explain how the
revenue generated from the pipeline will help ensure adequate staffing and
maintenance of the defense system.” I handed him the business card I snagged from
her desk.

“I’ll
request his assistance with Ms. Dickson.” He stopped abruptly. “Are you free
for dinner?”

My
heart skipped a few beats. “Rafael and I are spending the weekend in Portugal.
I’m heading to the airport now.”

He
looked… lost.

I
briefly touched his arm. “I’m sorry, Maxim. I wish you would have told me you
were going to be in town.”

He
forced a shrug. “Another time, perhaps.”

I
glanced at his security detail and mine. “Can you guys give us a minute?” All
four of them had been standing there awkwardly, trying not to listen to our
conversation.

Maxim
nodded when his security team looked to him for confirmation.

“One
minute,” Jase relented. He glared at Maxim. “I’ll be watching you the entire
time.” He typed something into his cell phone as he and Brady walked away.

I
swallowed nervously. “I… um… I want to ask you something, but I don’t want to
offend you.”

He
offered a single, solemn nod. “Proceed.”

“Did
you pursue a relationship with me because of my political connections?” This
question had been eating at me for weeks, ever since the dinner with Rafael and
Oni. I wasn’t sure why, but the thought bothered me. It tainted my perception
of Maxim, and left me questioning how much I could trust him.

Maxim
barked out a rich and boisterous laugh. His eyes darkened when he saw my
expression remained serious. With a single step, he closed the distance between
us. “You believe this?”

“I
don’t know what to believe,” I confessed in a barely audible whisper.

He
remained silent for a very long time. “At first… it was this.” He caressed my
cheek with the back of his hand. His fingers sifted through my hair before he
pressed my palm to his chest. “Your compassion for others breathed hope and
life into my hardened heart.” His fingers pressed into my temples as he framed
my face with his hands. “But this… this is what causes me to pursue this
relationship.”

“My
brain?” I was more than a little surprised.

His
eyes closed when his forehead dropped against mine. “It is the way you think…
the way you view the world… your intelligence, your selflessness, all the good
that is inherently you.”

“What
do you want from me?” I breathed between thunderous heart beats.

“Everything,”
he whispered.

My
heart ground to a complete stop.

Warm,
soft lips brushed against mine. I fought briefly to pull away, but his kiss was
filled with so much longing it shredded every last one of my defenses. I very
nearly drowned as I sank against his chest. Maxim’s lips remained achingly tender,
but they carried a promise… and a very clear threat.

For
within that kiss, Maxim revealed who he really was. He was a man who would fight
for a presidency… who would annihilate an insidious threat… and amass an entire
army… so he could steal my heart.

*
* * * *

“I
tried to tell you,” Jase persisted.

My
face remained hidden behind my knees, which were tucked against my chest. “How
could I be so stupid?” My fingers clenched around fistfuls of hair.

“You’re
not stupid,” Brady argued, “just naïve.” Like that wasn’t the understatement of
the century.

Our
flight leveled off.

All
hell had broken loose when Maxim kissed me. Jase shoved Maxim off me and
punched him in the face. Maxim was furious but hesitant to cause any more of a
scene. Still, the way he looked at me when Brady and Jase dragged me away…

They
were so convinced he would intercept my flight or have it diverted from
England, they drove straight to my house, packed their bags, and stormed the
jet.

I
didn’t argue their decision. For the first time in my life I was terrified of
Maxim, not because I thought he would hurt me, but because I finally grasped
the true depth of his feelings for me. “But I’m in love with Rafael,” I
repeated for the hundredth time.

Jase
shrugged when I peered at him through tear swollen eyes. “I suspect that makes you
even more appealing.”

Kari
set a mug of herbal tea next to me. “This should help settle your stomach. Let
me know when you’re ready to eat.”

I
warmed my hands against the mug and sniffed the steam.
Green tea with mint.
I took a tentative sip. All of the provocative statements I’d dismissed meant
something to Maxim. It wasn’t like he’d hidden his feelings. He laid them out
there again and again. How could I misinterpret that?

“Why
didn’t you take Maxim more seriously?” Brady easily read my thoughts.

The
extravagant plane with the smooth leather seats, the built in chess board, and
fireplace faded away as my thoughts turned inward. Suddenly, I was standing on
the tarmac in Sevastopol, my hands clenched in Maxim’s shirt while the
pillowcase was tugged from my tear streaked face. His eyes sought mine as he
steadied me.
“I’m releasing you from that promise, Kristine. I don’t want
you returning to Ukraine.”

“I
didn’t think he wanted me in Ukraine, not after everything that happened with
the SVR.” The voice that answered was too far away to be mine.

“I
think you should lie down.” Jase walked me to the back of the plane.

I
blinked, thoroughly disoriented. The reel was still moving in my head.
Michael’s plane. The guns. Mirrored lenses. Bullets and blood. My legs buckled
as a strangled sound tore through my chest.

Jase
scooped me up and placed me on the bed. He tugged my heels off, grabbed the
plush brown blanket from the foot of the bed, and draped it over me.

I
curled onto my side while tears poured from my eyes. I shivered beneath the
blanket.

Jase
tapped the remote for the fireplace. “Rest,” he said. He sank onto the floor
next to the bed. “I’ll be here if you need me.”

The
reel skipped. My mind spiraled toward another time, an equally horrific time,
when Rafael stood guard over my bed. “Rafael,” I whimpered.

Hushed
voices.

Firelight…
but which fireplace?

The
room faded in and out of focus.

I
shrank even smaller.

Someone
was sobbing.

I
think she lost a baby.

She
lost so much more than a baby.

The
reel flipped back to the airplane.

There
was a kiss filled with blood.

“What’s
wrong?” a man whispered.

“I
don’t know,” another man answered.

It
sounded like they were standing inside a wind tunnel.

My
eyelids wouldn’t budge.

“Maybe
it’s the PTSD.”

Hushed
voices again.

Darkness
claimed me before I figured out who it was.

*
* * * *

I
sat in a zombie-like state while the wheels skipped against the tarmac. Kari
insisted I buckle up before the plane landed in England. We had to refuel the jet.

Brady
and Jase stared at me while I stared at nothing. Somewhere in the back of my
brain a clock started ticking. The clock was counting down to something. There
was a finite amount of time.
Before what?

My
eyes grew feral when the door opened unexpectedly.

Jase
ripped me from the seatbelt and shoved me to the back of the plane. Brady raced
to the front with his gun drawn.

Kari
yelped when she caught sight of him. “What? What’s wrong?”

“What
are you doing?” Brady yelled. “Why are you opening the door?”

Kari’s
jaw fell slack. She slowly backed away.

“Brady!
What are you doing?” Rafael stepped inside the plane.

Brady
tucked the gun into the back of his pants. “What are you doing here?”

Rafael
laughed. “This
is
my aircraft.” He stopped laughing when he saw Jase
trying to coax me from the floor. “What’s wrong?” He strode toward the back of
the plane.

“We
didn’t know it was you,” Brady answered.

Rafael
looked confused. “Didn’t you get my text message? I texted all three of you.”

“Our
cell phones died hours ago,” Jase gritted. “You scared the crap out of us.”

Rafael
sized Brady up.

He
folded his arms against his chest. “Don’t give me that look. It’s not like we
knew we were taking an overseas trip.”

Rafael
sighed as he knelt beside me. “Kristine, baby, it’s me.”

I
flinched when he caressed my face.