“Yes,” I grumbled.
Pavel and David exchanged worried glances.
Maxwell shook his head. “How did that happen?”
“I’m not going to explain the birds and bees with you today. She was pregnant and now she’s not.” I left the bar, twisted the top off, and took a swig of vodka. “Get out of my office.”
“This shit is out of hand.” Maxwell walked back to the couch. “What are you going to do about the French now that the baby is gone? Did Emily even know she was pregnant?”
“I told you to leave.”
Maxwell leaned back. “Boris told me something about some racist shit going on while I was gone—”
“It’s being handled.”
I sat up like he was close to shooting me. “Is it? The motherfucker said something about cut off monkey heads.”
I swallowed down some more vodka. The liquid burned. My stomach twisted in disgust.
No. I can’t drink this.
Pissed, I put the bottle down on my deck and paced.
Maxwell didn’t get the hint to leave. “I need to see the tapes—”
I ran my fingers through my hair.
Maxwell softened his voice. “You need help.”
“Do I?”
“This is my thing.”
“Have you figured out what happened to Oleysa?” I’d given him my ex-fuck toy’s murder to solve, sure Valentina had done it, but I wasn’t sure why.
Maxwell sighed. “Yeah. I solved it.”
“Who did it?”
“Valentina.”
I paused. “Why?”
“Ask her.”
I marched over to him. “That wasn’t our deal.”
He rose from the couch. “I don’t remember that.”
David and Pavel stood too.
I stared at him. My fingers itched to choke his thick neck. “Why did Valentina kill Oleysa?”
“I fuck with Valentina, and she asked me not to tell you. It’s her story to tell.”
I frowned. “So, you’re more loyal to Valentina than me?”
“Yes.” Maxwell shrugged. “Sorry about that.”
I was mad, but not with Maxwell. If anything, his loyalty to Valentina was nothing new. My friend Oleg had fallen into the same devotion. He came to Moscow to help me, saw her, and became her lap dog immediately. Of course Maxwell would suddenly have Valentina’s back.
David and Pavel remained standing as they watched us talk.
What are you two going to do? Jump in the middle and stop me from killing him?
I walked off. “Fine. I’ll get it from Valentina.”
“Doubt it,” Maxwell muttered.
I glanced over my shoulder. “What does that mean?”
Maxwell shook his head. “Maybe we should focus on. . .” The man stopped talking, shook his head, and then looked at me in confusion. “Emily was Pregnant?”
I clenched my jaw. “Not anymore.”
“Did the. . .did the whole kidnapping situation make her lose it?”
“The doctor wasn’t sure. He said that sometimes these things happen in stressful situations.”
“Emily has definitely been in stressful situations all month. We had the war with Sasha and Darryl. Shit has happened.”
“Yeah.” I leaned on the edge of my desk.
Maxwell studied me. “You need a hug or something?”
“Get the fuck out of my office!”
Maxwell held his ground. “I’m not going anywhere right now. Not with Emily upstairs and in pain. She just lost Kennedy and Xavier. She doesn’t need to lose a baby while some motherfucker is cutting monkey heads off around her.”
David chose that moment to speak, “I’ll help too. Tell me who I need to talk to. I’ll catch up.”
“I’ll go check on Emily for now.” Maxwell finally left the office.
I called after him. “Emily is asleep.”
“I’ll wait outside her room, until she wakes up.”
“Just sit your ass back down.”
Maxwell returned, but didn’t sit down.
Pavel tilted his head to the side. “What are you about to do?”
“Nothing.” I placed my hands back in my pockets , wanting to get a sip of vodka, but knowing I needed to keep my head clear.
Pavel sighed. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.”
Four men dragged the Devil into my office. He was still dirty and blood-stained. His chains clanked along his ankles and wrists.
Boris entered and stood by the door.
I glared at him. “Go stand by Emily’s door. If she needs something, take care of it. Except if she asks for a gun or knife, then get me.”
Boris nodded and headed off.
Maxwell sat back down.
I ignored the idiot and gave my attention to my men. “Get a big board. Several of them. In fact, let’s go to the war room. This all needs to be on a bigger scale.”
I headed off.
The four men dragged the Devil behind me.
David followed too. Maxwell rushed over and kept my pace. “You’ve got a war room?”
“Why are you following me around?”
“Em told me to watch you.”
“When did she say that?”
He tapped his pocket. “Long ago, but it still stands true.”
He glanced over his shoulder at the Devil. “Maybe you should go back in the room with her.”
“I’ll go where I want.”
“At the bare minimum, you should stay home.”
“As if you could stop me from leaving my house, if I wanted to.”
“I could try.”
“How would you?”
He pointed down. “Shoot you in your leg.”