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Maxsim

Thump.

The sound tickled my mind, willing me to swim up from the depths of the abyss I was in. When I cracked open my eyes, I winched from the brightness, stirring enough to feel the burning ache shifting from one side of my head to the other.

Something wet jarred the hell out of me and I almost lashed out while a blur of darkness drifted across my face.

“Shadow.”

Thump. Thump. Thump.

His single woof was jarring enough I opened my eyes wider than before. Daylight was streaming in through the bank of doors, the sun bright enough to be blinding. I’d passed out for a change. All that I’d accomplished was a massive head and neck ache.

I sat forward, running my hands through my hair while watching Shadow stretching. “I know. You need a walk.” If it weren’t for fulfilling his needs, I’d do nothing but work and pass out.

He was bright eyed this morning, his tail lifted high. When he issued another deep woof, I glared at him. “Fine. I’ll take you out.” By the time I stood, he was so happy he jumped on me, his paws pressed against my chest. “Since when did you get so huge, buddy?”

His tail was swinging in circles like a helicopter. Someone woke up energized.

“Alright. Off. Let’s go.” I was at the back door about ready to pop the lock when my phone rang. He wasn’t giving me any time to answer, clawing at the glass. “Calm down, bud. I’m trying.”

By the point I managed to get the door open, I’d reached for my phone. He almost knocked me over in his quest to get outside. I moved onto the deck to keep an eye on him as I answered.

“Maxsim Aristov.”

There was a slight delay before a voice chimed in. “Maxsim. I need⁠—”

The truth was the phone call had struck a nerve. I was well aware that there was no person on the other end, but I launched into them anyway. “Whatever the fuck you think you’re doing, it’s not going to work. I will hunt you down and when I do, you will wish you’d never laid eyes on me.”

How fucking insane that I felt better after yelling at little more than a bot. I stormed toward the railing. There had to be a way of tracing the fucking line. While the fury simmered and my thoughts revolved around the actions I’d take when discovering the responsible party, I suddenly realized Isabel’s voice had stopped mid-sentence.

As soon as I’d started to speak, the voice had stopped. I stared down at the black screen on my phone for a few seconds before running my thumb across the surface and maneuvering to the call log. The moment I noticed the call was attached to an actual number, my muscles stiffened.

The screen flashed with another incoming call.

From the same number.

Perhaps things were about to become very interesting. “Maxsim Aristov.”

“Mr. Aristov. Please don’t hang up this time. This is Genevieve Parker. Isabel’s sister.”

Her voice was exactly the same. Every inflection. Every syllable and how she enunciated the letters. Exactly. The. Same. “Yes, Ms. Parker. What can I do for you?” My words were clipped.

She took a deep breath and if I didn’t know better, I’d say she was nervous.

Or she was giving another performance of the year? What were the odds she’d been hired to portray her sister? What little I’d learned about the woman had provided me with barely enough details about her to form an opinion.

She’d been married for less than two years and had kept her husband’s name. From what I could tell, she hadn’t spoken with Isabel for at least six years if not longer. She also had almost no money, facing bankruptcy twice.

Both reasons were damn good ones to pretend to be her sister. Everyone had a price, including family.

“I need to speak with you,” she said. There was some sense of urgency in her voice.

“Go ahead.”

“In person. It’s very… important that I do.”