Although his lips quirked, he remained staring straight ahead. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Just none of them are around here, huh?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Are you allowed to say anything but yes or no to me ?”
Once again, his lips quirked. “Thepahkaninformed me to provide protection, not companionship, to you until he returns.”
I furrowed my brows at him. “What is a ‘pahkan’?”
“Our leader.”
My mind began to spin. “Wait…Maksim is thepahkan?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I brought my hand to my forehead. “Holy shit.”
I wasn’t about to give treatment to just any Bratva member–I was treating theleader. While not much else about my predicament scared me, that fact did. It shouldn’t have, but it did.
Considering Maksim didn’t scare me, I don’t know why his position did. I hadn’t been wrong when I surmised he was very powerful. But this seemed like an entirely other level of power.
Maybe my fear came because I felt more responsibility than before to deliver the best treatment I could. It also made me appreciate his backstory even more.
Curiosity got the better of me, and I asked, “How long has Maksim beenpahkan? I mean, he’s awfully young for such an important position.”
Oleg’s jaw ticked, and I could tell he was torn about talking to me. So, I decided to switch tactics. “Look, I know he told younot to be my companion, so I will tell him I was lonely and forced you to talk to me.”
A nervous laugh burst out of him. “That would be even worse.”
“Why?”
“He’d have my balls for letting a woman gain power over me. He might even demote my position.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Ugh, it sounds like Bratva is full of misogyny.”
His dark brows creased. “I know not the meaning of that word.”
Waving my hand, I replied, “It’s okay.”
Since I didn’t want anything to happen to Oleg, I decided it was best to cut our conversation off. Not to mention, I wanted to stay on good terms with Maksim myself. Especially now that I knew he was the leader of Bratva.
“Right. Well, I think I’ll go take a dip in the pool.”
Relief flashed in Oleg’s blue eyes. “Yes, ma’am.”
I brushed past him out of the living room and started for the massive staircase to change into my swimsuit. Thankfully, I’d known about the pool when I went home to get my things, so I tossed in one of my more demure suits.
When I entered my bedroom, Voxie raised her head from her cocoon of blankets on the bed. Sweeping my hands to my hips, I shook my head at her. “Just when I think things can’t get any crazier, I go and find out my patient is the boss of the Russian mafia.”
Voxie’s response to my somewhat life-altering news was to yawn and lay her head back down. “What do you know,” I muttered to Voxie as I went to dig my bathing suit out of my suitcase.
***
After a swim, I tried relaxing in the hot tub, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t turn my mind off. I’m sure no one who found themselves in my current dilemma would be able to totally unwind and relax. Finally, I gave up and watched a True Crime podcast on my phone.
When the sun started going down and my skin was officially pruned, I got out. I donned one of the fluffiest robes I’d ever come in contact with to go back in the house. When I entered the backdoor, Oleg met me. “Dinner is ready in the dining room.”
