“My mom wants to stick around and help out,” I say, changing the subject. “I love her to death, I do, but she’s treating me like I’ve got one foot in the grave. Arguing with her is the last thing I need. And she’s already got her hands full with Madden and AJ. I don’t want to be a burden.”
I feel the heat of his presence at my back, and my belly reacts accordingly.
“Val, you’d never be a burden to Eva. You know that.” His voice is close—too close. “What are you looking for? Let me help.”
“Something—and that’s precisely it!”
When I turn, he’s closer than I expected, and I have to tilt my head to meet his eyes. My tongue darts over my lips without thinking, and his gaze follows the movement.
“If you’re not busy,” I say softly, “maybe you can help me get used to this new life. Reach things on the top shelf now that I can’t climb chairs and all that.”
He exhales, eyes steady on mine. “I think I can do that. I feel…partially responsible.”
With an eye roll, I turn back to the wooden crate and keep digging. “You’re not doing this out of guilt, Maxy. And if itwereyour fault, you’d have been laid out on that street right next to your driver.” I chuckle. “Remi and I are close. There’s nothing she wouldn’t do for me and vice versa.”
“I believe it. She pulled a knife on me when she thought I’d hurt you.”
I laugh under my breath. Yeah, that’s Remi.
She and I have gotten into our fair share of shit. Things we’d never confess out loud to anyone outside the family. No one would understand.
Would he?
I already know the answer. I can see the ghosts behind his eyes. The ground he’s gained, the power he’s built, all paid for in blood and sacrifice. Every connection, every victory, came with a price. I know how this all works.
“Found it.”
I pull the stuffed hummingbird from the bottom of the crate. The scent of old cedar clings to the frayed fabric, and the once-bright colors are now dulled with time. But it’s just as beautiful as I remember.
“It’sMaxy,” I say, twisting back to face him.
His smile stretches as he reaches for the most cherished relic of my childhood. He won it for me at the state fair when I was two. It was my first memory of him. And I clung to that little hummingbird for years…and to him even longer. Before Remi, there was only Maksim. I was his little shadow, no matter how much it annoyed him.
I can’t remember the exact moment the bird became my constant, only that it never left my side. Especially after he did.
“I can’t believe you still have this,” he murmurs.
“Of course. It was my favorite.” I take a step closer. “MyMaxy,” I echo, my voice dipping into that same smoky tone from earlier.
His eyes lift from the bird to me, and he chuckles. But the faint twitch in his jaw tells me there’s something he wants to say, and maybe something he won’t.
“Kolibri.”
His thumb grazes my cheek, my pulse thrumming at the sound of that old nickname, one I hadn’t heard in years until that day at the hospital.
Using his forearm for balance, I rise onto my toes and press a kiss to his jaw, letting my lips linger just long enough, then I whisper,
“Welcome home, Maksim.”
Seven
MAKSIM
Loyal servitude.
The idea of being at a woman’s beck and call should unsettle me, yet I find myself restless, eager, even, to see her again. Talking to Valentina, being near her, is…disarmingly easy. Too easy. I shove the thought aside and step off the elevator onto her floor. A quick nod to the security camera overhead, and I can’t help but wonder if Derek’s watching. The idea makes me smile as I move past.
The door opens before I can knock. Valentina stands there, bright-eyed, her hellhounds flanking her. Both alert and silent, noses twitching as they take me in, still slightly wary of my presence.
