How the FBI operated, and whether they did so within the limits of the law was a debate Adria didn’t want to have with Maxim, so she kept her mouth shut.
When it was clear she wasn’t going to say anything, he continued, “I’m not going to lie; it wasn’t hard not looking back. And I swore I would only get involved in the old life if it involved you.”
Now it was Adria’s turn to be surprised. He still felt loyalty to the family, even after everything.
“I cared about your mother,” he said. “And you.”
Images of her father bringing her kicking and screaming into his office came into her mind.
The staff knew what he did to her. They might have lied to themselves. Turned away and told themselves some sort of story, but it was hard to miss the middle-of-the-night visits. Even harder to miss was the time Jonathan, Ivan, and she spent in the office together.
They all knew.
And yet they all had done nothing.
Now he had the nerve to say he cared about her.
He could take that care and shove it so far up his ass that he could taste it on his way the fuck out of here.
She was about to say as much when Eric’s hand brushed her back.
He wanted her to hold back. To wait and see why Maxim had come before sending him packing.
Adria took a deep, audible breath and a long exhale before saying, “And?”
Maxim shifted, and his face took on a pained expression. It was clear he was torn about telling her whatever he was about to.
“Your name came up,” he said in a rush.
“Came up?” Adria asked.
“Your name never comes up. Your father’s back in the day, yes. But nowadays the Federov name isn’t on our radar, but something happened that has your name back in the system.”
Adria took a step forward, her posture less aggressive. If her name was coming up, she needed to know why.
Maxim reached into his pocket, and Eric tensed. Maxim held up his other hand and slowly took out a folded piece of paper.
Adria unfolded it, and her jaw nearly fell open when she saw a photo of Cole. The submissive she had trained right before Bryson, Kaydon, and Seth.
“What happened?” Her voice was full of concern. Why was Cole having his picture taken by the FBI?
This had to be her fault. She knew she should have cut off contact.
“He’s not in trouble,” Maxim said, reading her concern. “He’s up for a high-level job. Top security clearance.”
Adria’s breathing eased.
Cole was up for a promotion. That was great news.
“He put your name down on his application as a character witness.”
Adria couldn’t stop the laugh that came out of her mouth. “Cole put me down as a reference?”
Maxim’s face was a mask of severity. It was clear he did not find any of this amusing.
But a giant grin broke out across her face, and she turned to Eric. “I’m his reference.”
Eric gave her a soft smile and nodded.
