“I’ll be back.” I pull away reluctantly. “Take care of our boy.”
“I will.” Kat offers me a dazed smile. “We’ll be waiting for you.”
After sitting outside of the first address for an hour, I quickly come to the conclusion that this isn’t where Maxim is hiding out. The house is owned by his ex-girlfriend’s father, but so far, all I’ve seen are an older couple and a bunch of rug rats running around the place.
I text Kat to check in, and she responds promptly as I drive to the second location. It’s a run-down single-level home squatting in the Elmwood neighborhood, and while it isn’t the place I’d choose to call home if I could help it, it definitely looks more like Maxim’s speed.
For two hours, I stare at the peeling paint and front yard full of weeds. At first glance, it doesn’t even look like anyone actually lives here. But there’s a garbage bin on the sidewalk and letters in the mailbox.
The problem is, I can’t stay camped out here all day. It’s past five already, and I don’t want to leave Kat and Josh alone for much longer. At the very least, I need to be back by bedtime.
I grab my phone and pull up a Google search for some local bars in the neighborhood. If there’s one thing I know about Maxim, it’s that he likes his whiskey. I doubt that’s changed. The man was a sloppy fucking drunk.
It’s the only lead I have to follow as I drive around the area, scoping out a few of the local bars. The first three turn up nothing, and I’m already considering it a lost cause. But there’s one more on the list, and when I pull into the parking lot, it seems like exactly the kind of place where he’d hang out. It’s barely a shack. A business hanging on by the skin of its teeth in a city that depends on drunks like Maxim to keep it afloat.
I park the SUV and walk inside, and every head at the bar turns to study me when I take a seat. As I suspected, these are all locals. The beer is cheap, and the stale peanut shells on the floor feel like home to many of them. But I don’t see Maxim. At least, not right away.
The bartender asks me what I want, and I tell her nothing. When I stand to leave, that’s when I see the bathroom door swinging open down the hallway. It’s not a well-lit area, so I can’t make out the guy’s face until he stumbles into the glow of one of the neon signs. Just about the same time recognition sparks in my brain, he notices me, and the sneaky bastard pivots on his heel and bolts back down the hallway.
Son of a bitch.
I don’t know if anyone else has even noticed, but right now, I can’t be fucked with worrying about that as I take off after him. He slips out the rear exit door, and it slams shut in my face before I reach it. He’s ten, maybe fifteen steps ahead of me when I stumble out into the alley and catch him sliding around the corner.
It’s dark, and I can’t see for shit when I go after him. But I don’t have to see to know the sound I just heard was him cocking a gun.
“I don’t want to shoot you, Lev.” His voice is the only proof that it’s actually him. In the dark, I can barely make out his form huddled near the dumpster.
“Then don’t,” I tell him. “I’m not here to fuck up your life. I just want to talk.”
“Fucking talk,” he snorts. “Right. Is that what Vasily told you to say? And I’m supposed to swallow that bullshit?”
“I’m not here for Vasily.” I take another hesitant step forward. “I’m here because of Vasily.”
“Step the fuck off,” he clips out. “Or I’ll blow your goddamn brains out. I don’t care.”
“You know me, Maxim.” I sigh. “You’ve known me since I was practically a kid. All I’m asking for is a few minutes. One conversation. Then I’ll leave here, and you’ll never have to see me again. Vasily will never know.”
“Sorry, kid,” he murmurs. “But whatever bullshit you’re trying to sell me today, I ain’t buying. I know he wants me dead. I’m not stupid—”
“He wants me dead too.”
A cavernous wall of silence fills the space between us as he digests my confession. Honestly, I don’t know if there’s anything I can say at this point to make him believe me. He’s been on the run for years, constantly looking over his shoulder. I’m sure the paranoia is getting to him, and I can’t blame him for that. I’ve only been at it for a few days, and I already feel like I’m losing my goddamn mind.
“He wants to kill the mother of my son.” I force the words out. “Maybe my son too. Fuck if I know. It’s just me against his army. I started a fucking war, and I don’t know if I’ll even survive the week. That’s why I’m here. I need your help.”
For a few long seconds, he doesn’t answer me. And I’m dead certain he’s going to tell me to fuck off again, but instead, he steps out into the light and gestures me back into the alleyway.
“Show me proof. I’m not going to listen to anything you tell me without proof.”
“Proof?” I repeat.
Christ. What the fuck can I show him?
Slowly, I retrieve the phone from my pocket, careful not to make any quick moves. Maxim watches me with calloused eyes and a face that’s aged well beyond his years. He’s only in his mid-fifties, but he looks closer to seventy right now.
“This is a picture of my son.” I turn the phone screen so he can see it. “And this is his mother. Hopefully, one day, my wife. If we survive this week.”
“Those could be anybody.” He shrugs. “Sorry, kid, but I can’t help you.”
“You can talk to her,” I tell him. “Just give me a second.”
Maxim watches me carefully as I dial Kat. To my relief, she answers on the second ring.
“Lev, is everything okay?”
“Yes, sweetheart.” I turn on the speakerphone. “I’m here with an old friend. And I just need you to do something for me, okay? I need you to tell him in your own words what happened with Vasily.”
The other end of the line is quiet for a pause until she releases a breath. “Are you sure this is safe?”
“It is,” I answer. “Please, just tell him. Everything in your own words.”
Kat comes through for me, starting slowly. Explaining how we met. How she got pregnant and went on the run. How I found her, and then everything imploded. Inevitably, her story leads back to everything that happened at the safe house in Philly. When she’s done, she wraps it all up with a simple sentence. “And that’s pretty much where we’re at now.”
Maxim is quiet, and I can’t read his expression. But I’m hoping that he’ll believe Kat, even if he can’t believe me.
“I’m going to hang up now,” I tell her. “I’ll be back a little later, okay?”
“Lev.” Her voice fractures. “Please be careful.”
“I will,” I assure her. “We’ll be back together before you know it.”
We both end the call, and I move my attention back to Maxim. He reeks of whiskey, but despite that, he seems to have his faculties in order.
“If what she says is true, it sounds like you’ve really gotten yourself into a bind, kid.”