In a Broken Dream (The Broken Series Book 4) (32 page)

If
Kadyn and Roger had run into the woods after us, they would have noticed the
notches on the trees. Kadyn was there, at the personal risk seminar, when Cenia
talked about the importance of notching trees. They would have found us. So, if
they didn’t run into the woods, then where did they go? They wouldn’t have left
us willingly. They must have been forced from the scene. Kadyn had taken a
picture of that man with the black truck and hid his cell phone in the garment
bag for a reason.

Images
flitted through my mind. The flashing lights, urging us to turn around when we
were driving down the highway. That Cadillac Escalade with the California
plates seemed terribly out of place. Why were they in such a hurry to get to
that plume of smoke when everyone else was fleeing the scene? The shiny new
truck the man in black was driving seemed out of place too.
Drugs
, I
thought. Someone was making an awful lot of money on those drugs.

My
cell phone fell to the floor with a loud thunk when I jumped up from the hearth.
“The Russian mafia operates anywhere there’s money to be made. Arms
trafficking, drug trafficking, and cyber espionage generate a lot of money in
the United States,” I said, repeating Maxim’s words.

“What?”
Cenia asked. She looked mildly alarmed.

“The
mafia,” I said. “I need to call Maxim.”

Dante,
Maria, and Isabel rushed into the room to see what the commotion was about. I
looked at Dante. “Have you heard anything about the Russian mafia working with
the cartels?”

He
eyed me warily. “There have been rumors, nothing concrete.”

“Can
I use your phone?” I asked Isabel. “It’s an international call, but I’ll
reimburse you. I promise.”

Isabel
pulled her cell phone off the charger in the kitchen and handed it to me. I
picked my cell phone up off the floor and scrolled through my list of contacts
until I found Maxim’s name. I tapped his number into Isabel’s phone and walked
out onto the front porch.

“
Allo
,”
he answered briskly.

“Maxim,”
I began, then burst into tears.

“
Kotyonok?
What’s wrong? What number is this?”

“I
borrowed someone’s phone,” I croaked. I tripped over one of the planks while pacing
across the broken down porch.

“Why
are you crying? What’s wrong?” he demanded gruffly.

I
swallowed my remaining tears so I could recruit his help. “It’s Kadyn. I think
he’s been kidnapped.”

“Kadyn?
The black man who came to Ukraine?” he asked. “What? Are you with him now?” He
sounded irritated.

“No!
Kadyn and I are just friends. We’re supposed to be in a wedding together. We
drove into Mexico with our friends, Cenia and Roger, to purchase some things
for their wedding. There was a gunfight… between the cartels…”

“You’re
in Mexico? Shae said you were in Texas,” he interjected.

“Shae?
When did you talk to Shae? Aren’t you in Ukraine?” I asked, thoroughly
confused.

“I’m
in Virginia with Konstantin. I was hoping to see you while he was visiting
Shae, but Shae said you were in Texas.”

“Oh,
thank God!” I cried. “Maxim, I need your help. Please. Can you come to Mexico?”

“Tell
me everything,” he encouraged softly.

I
sank into a wooden rocking chair and picked at the peeling paint while I explained
everything that happened, every last detail, including the man in black and the
expensive vehicles. Once Maxim had absorbed everything, I asked the only
questions that mattered. “Does the Russian mafia operate in Mexico? Do they wield
any sort of power over the drug cartels?”

Maxim
laughed. “Of course they do. I told you the mafia is involved in every activity
that generates money.”

“Do
you know anyone who works for the mafia here?” I asked a little too
optimistically.

“No,
but it would not be difficult for me to establish a connection,” he replied.

“Will
you come?” I asked breathlessly. “Please, Maxim. I think Kadyn and Roger have
been kidnapped. I need you to help me find them.”

“I
will come on one condition…”

I
bolted out of the chair. “Anything! I’ll do anything. Please, Maxim, say you’ll
help.”

“Anything?”
he inquired teasingly.

“Anything
but sex,” I back-pedaled.

“Deal,”
he said. “Text me the address. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” He immediately disconnected
the call.

I
gaped at the phone.
What did I just do?

*
* * * *

I
studied Cenia. After hours of sobbing, she’d finally fallen asleep in her
father’s arms. Dante had driven down to the service station three times over
the course of the night. There hadn’t been any signs of Kadyn or Roger. The van
and our note were still there.

I
glanced at the clock. It was just after four o’clock. The sun would be up soon.
Rafael wasn’t due to arrive until sometime around eleven. I had no clue when
Maxim would be rolling in. Dante wasn’t happy with me inviting the Russian
mafia into his home, but honestly? I didn’t care. I knew he’d view things
differently if Maria was the one who was missing.

“He’ll
see the logic behind your decision by the time the sun comes up,” Alejandro noted
softly. Somehow, he knew I’d been thinking of Dante. “I think you made the
right decision. I’d do anything to get Isabel back, and I know Cenia feels the
same about Roger. I’d been contemplating confronting the cartels myself.”

My
eyes met Alejandro’s. “Do you think one of the cartels has them?”

He
brushed a lock of hair out of Cenia’s face. “What other explanation could there
be?”

“Will
they kill them?” I asked. A strangled sound caught in my chest.

Alejandro
sighed. “It depends on who has them. The Gulf Cartel will not kill government
officials from the United States. If they have Kadyn and Roger, they’ll ask for
a ransom and eventually release them. If it’s the
sicario
…” he trailed
off ominously.

I
curled my feet under me as I settled into the chair Cenia had claimed earlier.
I was exhausted, but sleeping didn’t seem right, not when Kadyn and Roger
weren’t safe enough to sleep. I kept praying they were free, that they hadn’t
been kidnapped, that they’d find our note, and call Isabel’s phone, but her phone
didn’t ring.

My
head popped up when the dogs began barking outside. Alejandro joined me at the
screen door after lowering Cenia onto the couch. A black sedan pulled off the
gravel road and parked in the driveway between the farmhouse and the barn.

“Is
that him?” Alejandro inquired anxiously.

Maxim
stepped from the car.

“Yes,”
I breathed before running outside to see him. Maxim lost his footing and his
breath when I barreled into his chest. “Thank you,” I sobbed.

“
Shhhh
.
Everything will be okay,” he soothed. He smoothed down my hair and kissed the
top of my head before folding me in his arms.

“Kri?”
Shae asked in a very small voice.

I
peered over Maxim’s shoulder, stunned. Konstantin and Shae were standing on the
other side of the car. I started crying even harder.

Maxim
released me when Shae walked around the car to give me a hug.

“It
was awful,” I cried. “The guns… the blood… they’re gone, and no one knows where
they are.” Konstantin rubbed my back while I sobbed.

I
swiped the tears from my cheeks when Maxim pulled me back into his arms. “You
guys must be exhausted. Let’s go inside.”

Alejandro
met us at the door. “I’m Cenia’s dad, Alejandro. Thank you for coming. I really
appreciate your help.”

“This
is Maxim, Konstantin, and Shae,” I informed Alejandro. “Konstantin works for
Maxim in Ukraine. Shae is a friend of mine from Virginia.”

Alejandro
shook hands with both men before kissing Shae on the cheek. “I’ve moved Cenia
to the back so she can sleep with her mother. There’s another guest room available
if you’d like to get some sleep.”

Konstantin
glanced questioningly at Shae.

She
nodded. “I could really use some sleep, now that we’re here.”

Alejandro
showed Konstantin and Shae to the guest room.

Maxim
joined me on the couch. “You haven’t slept,” he noted softly.

I
shook my head. “I can’t sleep.”

“You
can and you should. You will be of no use to Kadyn or me if you don’t.” He moved
to the far end of the couch and patted his leg. “Rest your head here and let me
hold you for a while.” He turned the lamp off on the end table before draping a
crocheted blanket over me. His fingers gently caressed my back while he coaxed
me to sleep.

Alejandro
locked the front door before offering Maxim a glass of water. Then he settled
into the chair and told Maxim everything he knew about the cartels, Kadyn, and
Roger. Their hushed tones eventually lulled me to sleep.

*
* * * *

The
living room was dark. Someone had pulled Maria’s heavy drapes over the windows.
I had been drifting in and out of sleep, while listening to the quiet but
soothing sounds of someone moving about the kitchen. Maxim had changed our
position while I slept so he could stretch out and rest. I was now curled
between his legs with my head resting on his chest. The steady rise and fall of
his chest had lulled me back to sleep when I woke earlier.

My
breath caught when my brain circled back to the last time I slept next to Maxim
on a couch. I tried easing off the couch.

Maxim’s
arms tightened around me. “I’m not ready to let go of you yet.”

I
peered up at him as I eased back onto his chest. Maxim’s hair had grown out
since the last time I’d seen him. Dark waves accentuated his handsome face. “When
do you think you might be ready to release me?” I asked teasingly.

“When
I am buried six feet under,” he replied with a playful smile. “Now, before I
retrieve the dark horse, may I have a kiss from the fair lady?”

“The
dark horse?” I asked.

“Kadyn,”
he replied.

I
rolled my eyes. “I must be very broken inside.”

His
eyebrows furrowed. “Why do you say that?”

“Because
I really would like to kiss you,” I confessed.

“I
guess that makes me broken too,” he mused.

“You?
Broken?” I laughed. “I don’t think so.”

“I
am,” he insisted. “Everyone is in some small way. If they aren’t, they will be
eventually. It is not a bad thing.”

“I
think it is,” I argued softly.

“It
is through that brokenness that we find courage and strength. It is what
empowers us to do great things,” he persisted.

I
turned his point over in my head. “You, Mr. Markov, say the most amazing
things.” I planted a chaste kiss on his cheek before jumping off the couch.

He
chuckled softly as he rose from the couch. “Surely you can do better than
that?” Maxim captured my arm and drew me to his chest. He hooked his arm around
my lower back and pulled me onto my tiptoes when our bodies met.

“Maxim,”
I breathed. I wasn’t capable of any further response.

His
arms tightened, locking me in place, while his tongue swept possessively through
my mouth. My entire body softened. He deepened the kiss when he sensed my
consent. His hands raked over my back, bottom, and thighs before inching up my
dress.

“You’re
looking well rested,” Konstantin noted, chuckling softly.

Maxim
tensed.

“They’re
stirring back there, or I wouldn’t have interrupted,” he said. “Why don’t you
join Shae and me in the kitchen?”

Maxim
shot Konstantin a scathing look when I backed away. I grabbed Kadyn’s cell
phone off the coffee table on our way into the kitchen. Maxim pulled me onto
his lap when I tried to sit next to Shae.

Konstantin
set two cups of coffee in front of us. “That’s one thing about the Mexicans,”
he observed. “They really know their coffee.” He sat in the chair next to Shae.

I
reached for the mug closest to me. “What time is it?” I asked. The kitchen seemed
a lot brighter than the living room.

“Seven-thirty,”
Shae replied.

I
released my grip on the coffee. “I slept for two and a half hours?” I objected.
Tears pricked at my eyes as I thought about all the things that could have been
accomplished during that amount of time.

Maxim
forced me to look at him. “You were in shock. You needed rest. You’ll think
more clearly now that you’ve had some sleep. Besides, drug lords aren’t open
for business at five or six o’clock in the morning.”

I
swiped at my eyes before reaching for Kadyn’s phone. “I want to show you
something.” I retrieved the picture of the man with the black truck and handed
the phone to Maxim. “Kadyn took this picture after he sent us into the woods.
He hid the phone and the keys to the van inside the garment bag for Cenia’s
wedding dress. I think this picture is the key to figuring out where they are.”