Is this destiny?

"Hmm…", Maksim hummed while thinking how to make it believable while mellowing down his father's determination to get his hands on Sarah.

The good thing is that Sarah is not in his father's hands (yet), the bad thing is that his father believes that the source is from the Lebedev family and reliable. 

Maksim took a minute to come up with a good response.

"Maybe Olga is from an organization that is in the way of Lebedevs and if we get rid of her, that organization will turn against us. She is already here, so they are watching us, however, there is a chance that she is here to observe if we can work together, and if we take her out any possibility of cooperation will be destroyed. Or maybe the person from the Lebedevs gave you this with ulterior motives." Maksim gestured toward the photos on the desk. "All these don't mean much because photos can be digitally altered, but if these are genuine photos, it only shows that this is a girl of many talents. There are so many options I can think of, but no matter what it is, it does not make sense that she is a spy from the Lebedev family and that they sold her out. Not when she is already in and her cover is not compromised."

"My thoughts exactly.", Simeon said after some time.

"Do you know who the source is? What if someone gave him fake information?"

"He is high enough to make this information reliable and he came in person."

Maksim regretted not meeting with his father as soon as he called. He lost his chance to meet that rat in person! "Did you call me an hour ago to join you for that meeting?"

"No. I met with him outside the base and I called you when I got back."

Maksim understood that his father knows who the person is but does not want to tell him. Well, it's not the first time. His father would often give him bits and pieces and wait for Maksim to assemble the whole picture. It was an exercise of Maksim's deduction skills and a way of his father to prepare him to take over his place one day.

Maksim sneered. "If the source is high in the Lebedev family, that only makes this more suspicious. If it's a small guy who found out this by accident and wants to jump ships, that is one thing. But someone high in their ranks, betraying their spy who managed to infiltrate our base and reach the finals of the tournament that potentially can give them access to our internals… Tsk… If that is true, my first guess is that the goal of them exposing her is for us to clean up their trash, probably something related to their internal power struggle, and it's big enough for them to give up on whatever their spy can discover. Are we going to allow them to use us?"

Simeon was amused. The more Maksim spoke in a roundabout way, the more Simeon was convinced that his son is interested in the girl. Is he in love? Simeon wondered, how far will Maksim go with this? Well, there is only one way to find out. "What do you suggest?"

"We should get an understanding of what we are dealing with. Finding out her identity and confirming the information about her will come first. Didn't you contact your sources in the Lebedev family?"

Simeon confirmed. "Yes. I asked them for the information on the spies they sent to us in the last month, but it's taking longer than usually because Lebedevs had big changes in leadership recently. Several Elders got replaced and their subordinates were dismissed as well. Everyone is extra-careful in order not to attract attention to them. Until I hear back, we should do on our side what we can."

Maksim's teeth clenched at the thought that his father wants to interrogate Sarah. "If we accept that she is so capable for the important Lebedev to come and expose her personally, she will not talk if we capture her, and we might risk of her harming herself in order not to reveal information she knows. I suggest we hold her close and keep an eye on her until we confirm for whom she is working."

Simeon's knowing smile revealed his teeth. "I assume you are on it."

Maksim confirmed. "You already noticed that I'm watching her, so… my curiosity increased. I will come up with something that appears top-secret and let her get a peek. Then we can monitor her until she reports to her handler."

Simeon approved. "I will leave that to you."

Maksim was surprised that his father agreed so easily and he wondered what his plans are. "We are not going to allow Natalia's group to leave, right?"

Simeon confirmed. "Correct. In order not to be suspicious, we will arrange two-day training for everyone who made it through the tournament. I believe that will give you enough time to test the girl and gather more information. After that, we need to make a decision on what to do with the girl and the other two."

Maksim stood up and his hand hovered over the open folder with Sarah's photos, silently asking for permission to take them. Simeon waved, indicating to Maksim that he can take them, and Maksim happily walked out.

In the hallway, Maksim released the breath he was holding.

When he saw that his father showed interest in Sarah, Maksim's heart stopped beating and he feared that he will lose his chance to get close to the most interesting woman he ever met.

In all honesty, Maksim does not care if Sarah is from the Lebedev family or Interpol or any other legal or illegal organization, actually, that only makes the chase more interesting. He already knows that she is special, and he looks forward to finding out how special that is.

The power struggle between organizations (or within the Voronin family) never interested Maksim. As much as he is concerned, they can all kill each other.

He enjoys the perks he has as the son of the Grand Master of the Voronin family, but it does not go beyond that. He hopes that his father will have a long and healthy life so that he does not come into a situation where he needs to take over as the Grand Master.

Many are eyeing the position of the Grand Master as something supreme, but Maksim only sees that high seat as a role that will shackle him to this base and force him to make decisions about people he never saw in his life. If his father ever paid real attention, he would know that Maksim is not interested in that boring game.

Maksim rarely comes to the main base of the Voronin family. He prefers any of his numerous villas and vacation houses where he can move freely and enjoy life.

Maksim came to the main base because of the tournament, unaware that he will bump into his Divna. As an unexpected bonus, he got his father's permission to keep an eye on her. Closely.

Of course, Maksim knows that his father will not allow him to move without supervision. Someone is always watching, and he is always being evaluated as the next heir. He does not care about that position, but now… he will use it to protect what he wants. For the first time since Maksim can remember, he found a woman who excites him and she might be his match or more… And he will be damned if he lets his father ruin this for him.

Maksim put his right hand in his pocket and clutched the empty holster that used to hold his tactical army knife; the one that now belongs to Divna. Her vicious glare directed at him as she pressed the knife against his neck is still vivid in his mind and it's making his heart speed up.

Maksim went into his office and plopped on the sofa. He looked at the photos and checked the other side only to see that they are empty. In order to be useful in these situations, the photos would normally have a date when the photo was taken with some information on location, or names, but these have nothing.

The lack of information on the photos told Maksim that the rat-person knows Sarah personally and that he is playing it safe, in case she becomes aware of this betrayal. Maksim would love to see Sarah punish the person who backstabbed her. That fire full of madness in her eyes is irresistible.

Another thing that Maksim found suspicious is that only Sarah is exposed as the one from the Lebedev family. Sure, she is amazing, but Aiden showed skills way beyond average and there is no way that he is a simple person. How is it possible that he is being treated as non-important? Even the photos are showing only Sarah. It definitely points to the fact that Sarah is the thorn in the eyes of the people who exposed her.

Well, Lebedev or not, she is a special woman and as such, someone will come to dislike her. But to expose her like this, in the middle of the infiltration mission where if she is caught she will be tortured… this is done by someone who truly hates her.

The question now Maksim has is, what to do with Sarah? He would love to warn her about this and score some points with her in the progress. However, that would risk his father catching him in doing so, and also… it might give her a reason to leave.

No matter what, he has forty-eight hours to make his move.

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