In a Broken Dream (The Broken Series Book 4) (15 page)

I
motioned for Rafael to join us as soon as my feet found the floor. “I want you
to meet my boyfriend, Rafael.”

My
father clasped Rafael’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Rafael.”

“I
just started a fresh pot of coffee,” my mom announced. “Have you eaten
breakfast?”

“I’m
starving,” I confessed, twining my fingers with Rafael’s.

“I’d
love some coffee,” Rafael replied. We followed my parents into the kitchen.

Mom
poured four cups of coffee and set them on the white and blue tiled countertop
my father had crafted. The man could build and fix just about anything. I reached
for one of the cups and settled into a chair at the breakfast bar.

My
dad pulled two packages of bacon out of the refrigerator. “Do you eat bacon?”
he asked Rafael.

Rafael
didn’t answer. His eyes had snagged on the mountain lion my dad had mounted on
a tree branch that extended out from the far wall in the family room. The
mountain lion looked like it was ready to pounce.

I
chuckled softly. “Rafael loves bacon,” I answered. “He’s not terribly fond of
mountain lions, though. We ran into one yesterday when we were hiking through
Grizzly Gulch.”

My
father glanced up from the square skillet that he used to cook bacon. “Really?
Did she cause you any trouble?”

Rafael
slid into the seat next to me. “No. I think she was more interested in the deer
she’d been stalking. Did you shoot that?” He nodded toward the mountain lion.

I
swiveled in my chair so I could study the family room. I was trying to see the
room through Rafael’s eyes. There was a dead animal mounted on every available wall…
a full curl ram, the mountain lion, and a seven point bull elk. I wondered
where the bearskin rug had disappeared to.

“I
shot her with my bow and arrow,” my father boasted proudly.

Rafael
reached for his coffee. “I’ve always wanted to learn how to shoot a bow.”

My
father smiled, obviously thrilled. “We can shoot the bow after breakfast.”

My
mom was done mixing the pancake batter, so I washed my hands in the sink,
cracked a few eggs into a bowl, and joined my father at the stove. “It’s always
been my job to make the scrambled eggs,” I told Rafael.

“If
you guide me toward the plates, I’ll set the table,” he offered.

My
dad kept one eye on the eggs while I showed Rafael where the plates and juice
glasses were stored. Rafael planted a kiss on my forehead before gathering the
plates.

“Let’s
eat on the back deck,” mom interjected. She flipped a couple of pancakes before
warming the syrup.

We
hauled the bacon, eggs, and pancakes outside and settled in at the patio table,
where we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast. My mom questioned Rafael about his
favorite foods while my dad inquired about his work. Afterwards, Mom and I washed
the dishes so Dad could teach Rafael how to shoot the bow. My parents’ house
sat on a half-acre of land, so there was plenty of room for target practice.

“Why
don’t we go sit in the flower garden so I can deadhead the petunias while we talk?”
mom suggested after we finished drying the dishes.

“Only
if you let me help,” I replied with a tremulous smile. I knew she wanted to
talk about Ukraine. I had offered the briefest possible explanation when I
called from Saint-Tropez, and while this conversation was long overdue, I was
still dreading telling her the full story.

Mom
snagged a plastic bag and a pair of gardening gloves from the garage, before
leading me to the flower bed in the front yard. I thought about how much I
enjoyed working alongside Theron in the garden terrace in Paris and wondered
whether this dark, fragrant soil would prove equally therapeutic.

“If
you aren’t feeling up to talking about it…” my mom began. We knelt alongside
one another in the grass.

I
plucked a dried petal off one of the petunias. “No,” I protested. “I promised
I’d explain what happened in Ukraine when I came back home. But, Mom, I can’t
tell dad. You’re going to have to tell him, because I… I just can’t.”

Mom
sat back on her knees. “It must be pretty bad if you can’t tell your father.”

I
continued grooming the flowers. “I told you how my friend, Shae, and I were
arrested for taking pictures of the Russian naval fleet, how Michael had to pay
all that money, and how Rafael negotiated our release…”

Mom
nodded. She tugged her gloves on, sifted her fingers through the soil, and began
pulling weeds.

I
pushed on with my explanation. “The people who arrested us were from the SVR,
which is essentially the KGB. We weren’t officially arrested by the Ukrainian or
the Russian government, and these people didn’t detain us in a government
sanctioned jail. They took us to an abandoned warehouse.”

My
mom’s hand stalled briefly above the flowers. She glanced at me, but she didn’t
breathe a word.

I
frowned. I couldn’t just jump in at the arrest, I had to back up a few steps. “Rafael
was worried about me going to Ukraine,” I finally confessed. “He felt it was
too dangerous. He wanted to come with me, but I was afraid my colleagues would
look down on me, especially with this being my first trip. I didn’t want to
appear scared or weak, so I asked Rafael to stay behind. He agreed, in an
effort to respect my wishes, but he sent two men from his security firm to secretly
watch over me.”

My
mom’s lips curved ever so slightly. Rafael had just earned some props for
assigning the security detail.

“My
colleagues and I attended a government function our first night in Simferopol. A
man at that dinner became interested in me. He works for the Russian mafia. He had
people following us too,” I continued cautiously.

My
mom shot me an incredulous look. “The Russian mafia?”

“There
are a lot of different organizations within the Russian mafia,” I explained.
“Maxim works at the national level, alongside the government of Ukraine. I know
this might be difficult to understand, but he is very well respected. He’s
trying to reduce government corruption, improve civil rights, and strengthen
the economy of Ukraine. His objectives aren’t aligned with the Russian
government or other organizations within the Russian mafia. They’re aligned
with the government of Ukraine.”

Her
eyes narrowed. “And you believe this… why?”

I
smiled. I could understand her skepticism. “Maxim attends most of their foreign
policy meetings. He’s involved in high level negotiations involving the Russian
and Ukrainian governments, and he introduced me to Prime Minister Azarov, who
subsequently offered me a job.”

My
mom looked thoughtful. “So Rafael and this man, Maxim, had people following
you?” she briefly summarized, encouraging me to continue.

I
nodded. “Maxim tracked us down the second night we were there. He warned me
that the SVR was following us. He removed the listening devices they had
planted in our hotel rooms. He was concerned about the SVR’s interest in me.
The SVR has been known to target Americans. They’re notorious for false
accusations and tortured confessions. Maxim’s entire family was killed by the
KGB, and I think those experiences fueled some of his concerns.”

My
mother studied me intently. Her jaw clenched, but she didn’t voice any more
concerns. She tugged another weed out of the soil, roots and all, as she
shifted her attention to the garden.

I
sighed dejectedly. This was the one area where I was still questioning my
instincts. “Maxim devised a plan. He wanted to start dating. He was certain the
media attention would help keep me safe. He didn’t think the SVR would mess
with me if I was dating him.”

My
mom started cracking up. I knew she was thinking I’d been played. “Why would
the media care who he was dating?” she finally asked.

I
shrugged. “The guy is gorgeous and extremely popular. He’s treated like a
celebrity in Ukraine… something along the lines of Prince Harry or like John F.
Kennedy Jr., back when he was alive.”

“I
don’t understand how someone in the mafia could be so well received by the
media or by government officials,” my mother stated with a disapproving scowl.

“Ukraine’s
just… different, and Maxim isn’t your stereotypical mob boss. He really is a
pretty honorable guy,” I replied.

“So
you agreed to date him?” she interjected.

My
eyebrows furrowed. “Well, sort of. I told him we could
pretend
to date,
but I don’t think he was pretending. He wanted me to stay in Ukraine, especially
after the Prime Minister offered me a job.” My eyes strayed to the ring that
Maxim had given me.

“But
you were dating Rafael,” she argued, completely abandoning the flowers.

I
stared dejectedly at the ring. “I know. I told Maxim I already had a boyfriend.
He spoke with Rafael on the phone. They reached some sort of agreement. Rafael said
he was willing to tolerate the arrangement until he could get to Ukraine, but
he insisted that his security team remain close to me. He didn’t want the two
of us spending any time alone. That’s when I learned Rafael had two men, Ethan
and Brady, following me. Rafael was protecting Prince Harry, who was visiting
the United States. After that assignment, Rafael was planning to fly to Paris
to talk to Michael about our relationship. We agreed he would meet me in
Sevastopol afterwards.”

My
mother looked thoroughly confused. “So you were pretending to date Maxim for what…
a week?”

I
nodded. “Yes. Maxim took me to a very high profile event… a fundraiser for the
children’s hospital, and we attended the symphony with the prime minister and
his wife. He spent some time at the university where I was teaching, took me
out to dinner and sightseeing. My friend Shae began dating one of his friends,
Konstantin. The four of us spent a lot of time together. Rafael’s security
detail and Maxim’s security detail accompanied us everywhere we went. We were
very well protected, and we garnered a lot of media attention. So Maxim’s plan
seemed to be working.”

“So
what went wrong?” mom asked. She plucked a few more weeds.

Tears
welled in my eyes as I reflected on that day. “Maxim had to attend some high
level negotiations in Simferopol the same day my colleagues and I were driving
to Sevastopol, so he put Konstantin in charge of our security until he could
join us in Sevastopol. The local mafia was supposed to meet us at our hotel to
provide some additional security, but they were delayed. Shae and I felt
perfectly safe with Konstantin, Ethan, and Brady, so we decided to visit some
ruins just outside of town. The security guards from the local mafia agreed to
meet us there.”

My
mom stilled, then slowly turned to face me.

“Shae
and I wandered a short distance away from Ethan and Brady while we were talking.
Konstantin was getting some bottled water out of the car. All three men were
attacked when we weren’t looking. We didn’t know it at the time, but each of
them had been shot with tranquilizer guns. All of their legs were broken, and
Konstantin suffered a serious head injury. We thought they were dead,” I
explained hoarsely. My throat was clogged with unshed tears.

My
mom reached for my hand.

“Some
men approached us. We thought they were part of our new security detail because
they were dressed like the mafia. Then they started yelling at us. We couldn’t
see Ethan, Brady, or Konstantin anywhere. The men took our cell phones, and one
of them hit Shae. She had been taking pictures of the Russian naval fleet with
her cell phone. They claimed that was against the law. They grew even angrier
when they found a picture of me with Kadyn and all my military friends in
uniform. That’s when they arrested us. That’s when they accused us of being
spies.”

My
mom swallowed nervously, but she kept her eyes locked on mine. “Is that when
they took you to the warehouse?”

Tears
slipped silently down my cheeks. “I tried to escape but they beat me until I lost
consciousness. By the time I regained consciousness, Shae and I were locked
inside a cell. They beat me again, gave me an injection that made me feel
drunk, and asked a bunch of questions… none of which made sense. They thought I
was a spy because I visited the children’s hospital and the orphanage, because
I was teaching their university students to question authority, because I was
talking to the prime minister and spending time with Maxim.”

My
mom’s eyes flashed angrily. “That’s ridiculous.”

“They
didn’t feed us or give us any water. They sobered us up by throwing buckets of cold
water on us. Then they made us take our clothes off.” I shivered violently.
“They started asking questions again. They shoved a stun gun between our legs,
shocking us every time we didn’t answer the way they wanted us to. They didn’t
care that we were telling the truth. They wanted us to confess to being spies
even though it was a lie.”

My
mom looked completely horrified. Tears welled in her eyes. “Oh, Krissy. I’m so
sorry.”

I
shook my head. “That’s not the worst part, Mom. Maxim convinced the prime
minister and the president of Ukraine to sign the treaty the SVR wanted,
extending the lease so the Russian naval fleet could remain in Sevastopol; and
Michael paid them ten million dollars. These were the conditions the SVR set
for our release. All of the conditions were met when the SVR took us to the
airport, and still they shot Michael in the back. Michael is dead. That’s why I
went to Saint-Tropez, so Rafael and I could bury Michael.”