Stolen from the Hitman: A Bad Boy Mafia Romance(82)
“If it does,” Max admits reluctantly, “I think he’s earned it. Honestly, I didn’t expect him to stick around as long as he did. He’s come a long way from the simpering techie who came to me for help at the university. If he thinks he can stomach working for something with as much red tape as INTERPOL, he might just have a successful career ahead of him. I wouldn’t take a job like that,” he’s quick to add with a smile, “but that’s just me.”
I smile, biting my lip, and Max raises an eyebrow at me, knowing I’m holding something back. “What’s that smile for?” he asks, leaning forward and touching my chin lightly.
“Well, you’ve been going all out with the surprises for me on this trip,” I say, looking over to the captain and nodding at him. He nods back understandingly, saying something quietly into his collar microphone with a smile. “Felix has been busier than you thought — I convinced him to help me with one more thing: track down someone who’s a hell of a lot harder to find than you’d think. A little surprise for you that I think you’ll appreciate.”
Max blinks, not understanding until the sound of heavy footsteps coming up the stairs to the deck turns his attention, and his eyes widen as a large man with a stony face and a small smile makes his way onto the deck.
“Andrei!” exclaims Max, standing up and crossing the deck.
“Maksim,” the man greets in return, and I get a little choked up at the look on Max’s face as the two old friends embrace in a tight, powerful hug. “Look at you,” Andrei says, stepping back and looking Max up and down with a warm smile. “France has been good to you, tovarishch.”
“And what has America done to you?” Max says back, beaming. “You’ve got a light in your gaze I didn’t think those dark eyes could harbor.”
“Well, that’s a long story,” says Andrei with a smile, “one that I’d like to have in our mother tongue.”
Before anything else, Max looks over to me and says, “I suppose this was your co-conspirator? Andrei, meet the love of my life, Olivia.”
“A pleasure to meet you formally,” Andrei says to me, and I give a little wave back, wondering if all the men in Russia are mountains of muscle. Max makes his way over to me, sweeping me up as I giggle, and we meet in a passionate, deep kiss. When it finally breaks, he holds my face, looking into my eyes.
“Liv,” he says, “I can’t tell you how much this means to me. How much all of this means to me.”
“I want to tell you all about how much everything you’ve done means to me,” I breathe back, “but we’ll have all the time in the world for that now. I love you, Max.”
“I love you, Olivia,” he says. And after one final kiss, I watch Max head off to the other side of the deck with Andrei to recount old stories and new as our little yacht carries us around the Monaco bay, around whatever new dreams and new life me and Max will be able to build with each other. Free at last.
Glossary
FRENCH
excusez-moi : excuse me
en ce moment : right now
bonjour : good day
À bientôt : see you soon
je suis désolé : I’m sorry
pas de quoi : it’s nothing
merci beaucoup, bonne nuit : thank you very much, good night
que recommandez-vous : what do you recommend
je m’appelle Will, ça va : my name is Will, what’s up
d’accord : okay
oui : yes
deuxièmement : secondly
bien sûr : (colloquial) that’s for sure / of course
petite fille : little girl
merde : shit
famille d’accueil : foster care
Dieu merci : thank god
le fric : cash
pas moyen : no way
absolument : absolutely
saint-merde : (colloquial) holy crap
saperlotte : good heavens
ma chérie : my darling
mon chou : (colloquial) sweetie
RUSSIAN
ozornoy devushki : naughty girls
nakazaniye : punishment
malyutka : little one
uchitel : teacher
malyshka : little girl
suka : bitch
da: yes
nachalnik : boss
izmennik : traitor
dorogoy : slut
stoimost : pay/value
vy znayete : you know
tishina : silence
klyanus : I swear
iskra : spark
khoroshaya devochka : good girl
est' shto est' : it is what it is
mudak : bastard
ruskie svin’ya : Russian pig
lyubov moya : my love
tovarishch : comrade
Captive of the Hitman
1
Mikhail
My cock throbs in my hand as I stare at the page in a glossy magazine. It’s not like I need it. It’s not about her, the sexy woman sprawled along the centerfold. Even jerking off is all business.
My veins pulse as my grip tightens, and I lick my lips as I start to stroke myself. It’s a slow, rhythmic thing, letting the tension gather in my shoulders. I need to feel tense now so that later, I can find the perfect calm I need.