Broken Together (20 page)

“Eight
minutes,” Maxim replied.

Kadyn
scanned the diagram again. “How long are you going to be in town?”

“Two
maybe three days,” Maxim estimated. “Why?”

He
met Maxim’s penetrating gaze. “Would you be willing to discuss your economic strategy
with the United States Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates?”

“Are
you offering to arrange a meeting with him?” Maxim countered. His voice dripped
with sarcasm.

Kadyn
nodded, slowly. “Do you recall the missile defense system we were planning for
Poland?”

Maxim
laughed. “How could I forget? Russia threatened to bomb Poland if you installed
that system.”

Lev
leaned forward, thoroughly captivated. “I still cannot believe you abandoned
those plans.”

Kadyn
braced his elbows against his knees. “We’d like to install that defense system
in your region so we can protect Europe against an attack from Russia and Iran.
You need a defense system capable of protecting your eastern border and the
pipeline you’re building to transport fuel into Europe. Seems like a pretty
good fit to me.”

The
smile slid from Maxim’s face. “Putin would attack us.”

Kadyn
shrugged. “Putin is going to attack either way. He’ll bomb the Odessa-Brody
pipeline the same way he bombed the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline in Georgia in
2008. Wouldn’t you like to have that defense system in place before he does?”

Maxim
stood abruptly. “Why would you help me?”

Kadyn
glanced at me before pushing onto his feet. “I’m not making any promises,
Maxim. I’m just offering to arrange the meeting. I was working for Secretary
Gates when we developed the defense shield for Poland. He was livid when that deal
fell through. Ukraine seems like a viable alternative, given your proximity to
Poland. This would allow both of our countries to achieve our objectives, as
long as this system is installed discretely. If Putin were to get wind of
this…” he trailed off ominously.

Maxim
stared at Kadyn for a couple of heartbeats. “The enemy of my enemy…”

“…is
my friend,” Kadyn agreed. “We want Putin contained as much as you do.”

His
eyes locked on me. “And you,
kotyonok
?”

My
heart beat a thunderous score. “I’ll secure the funding.”

Kadyn
pulled me close before Maxim could touch me. “And I’ll arrange a meeting with
the Secretary of Defense.”

 Lev
slapped Maxim on the back. “See? You will make a great president.”

His
eyes remained steadfast on me. “Not without a first lady.”

*
* * * *

Shae
tackled me in the hallway. “Kri! I can’t believe Maxim is running for
president. Like, seriously running for president. And he left the mafia!”

Jase
groaned. “I’ll meet you in your office.”

I
followed Shae into her office. “I know. How crazy is that?”

“I
want in on whatever it is you’re doing for him. Konstantin said you’re trying
to secure funding for the pipeline,” she prattled on excitedly.

I
dropped into the chair across from her desk. “Yes. Oni is researching
legislation on congress.gov now. She’ll have a list of energy and oil bills along
with the names of the congressmen supporting those bills by the end of the day.
I plan to request meetings with those congressmen, but I want to speak with
Senator Rockefeller first.”

She
eased into the black leather chair behind her desk. “What can I do to help?”

“You
can help me generate talking points over our lunch break. I’d like to have
talking points and a one page briefing crafted by the end of the day.”

She
blocked that time slot on her calendar. “Where’s Oni working?”

“At
the house, on my laptop. Brady’s there too. Jase didn’t like the idea of her
staying there by herself while Maxim was in town. He was worried she’d let
Maxim plant bugs or cameras inside my house.”

Shae
rolled her eyes. “Maxim asked Konstantin to establish an internship position
for Oni when he stopped by last night. She’s supposed to begin next week.”

“I
should show her how to access the metro sooner rather than later then.” I typed
a reminder in my phone.

Shae
tapped her pen against the desk. “What did Rafael think of her?”

I
met her inquisitive gaze. “Rafael’s been working twenty-four seven the last few
days, so he hasn’t met her yet.”

Her
pen stopped mid-tap. “Maxim was inside your house, and Rafael wasn’t there?” Her
eyes narrowed. “There’s no way Rafael would allow that to happen. What’s going
on?”

I
forced a shrug. “He’d already committed to this assignment.”

Her
eyes narrowed even more. “We’ve known the date Maxim was delivering Oni for
weeks now. When did he commit to this assignment?”

“In
December.” I hated dancing around the issue, but at least I was still being honest.
“Did Maxim mention what Kadyn’s doing for him?”

“No,”
Shae admitted grudgingly. Clearly, she didn’t want to change the topic.

I
leaned forward and lowered my voice. “He’s helping Maxim secure the pipeline
and their eastern border.”

Her
jaw dropped. “Are you serious?”

I
nodded. “Kadyn’s going to arrange a meeting between Maxim and Secretary Gates.
He thinks the Secretary of Defense might be interested in positioning the
defense shield we developed for Poland in Ukraine.”

“Kri,”
she breathed. “That’s brilliant.”

I
pushed up from the chair. “I’m worried Secretary Gates will refuse to work with
Maxim when he discovers his ties to the mafia.”

“Our
government has collaborated with far sketchier people,” Shae bristled. “Maxim
is pro-democracy, pro-NATO, and he wants to join the EU. Besides, that defense
shield and the pipeline further a lot of U.S. objectives.”

“I
hope you’re right,” I stated sincerely. “I need to finish developing that
simulation for Sierra Leone. Stop by when you’re ready for lunch.”

“Will
do,” Shae called. Her voice followed me down the hall.

*
* * * *

“What
took you so long? You were supposed to be here a half hour ago,” Kadyn growled.

I
tossed my keys on the counter. “We stopped by ZPizza so I wouldn’t have to cook
dinner.” Jase lugged all six boxes in behind me.

“ZPizza!”
Brady cheered. “Please tell me there’s a ZBQ Chicken.”

“ZBQ
Chicken, Thai Chicken, Tuscan Mushroom, Italian, Mexican, and Santa Fe,” I
bragged. I’d pretty much covered all the bases.

Oni
nearly slammed into Kadyn when she rushed into the kitchen. He caught her when
her socks slid across the hard wood floor. She quickly steadied herself. “Oh,
good! You’re here. Maxim called. He’s on his way. Can you review this list of
bills and congressmen before he arrives?” She handed me a stack of paper.

I
set my purse on the counter. “I need wine.”

“I’m
on it,” Brady replied.

My
phone buzzed with an incoming text. I glanced at the message. “Konstantin and
Shae are coming over. Maxim asked them to meet him here. Do I have enough
pizza?”

“Eight
people and six pizzas should be fine,” Jase gritted. “Can I speak with you? Privately?”
He set the pizza on the counter and pulled me toward the stairs. “How are you
going to explain Rafael’s absence for the second night in a row?”

“He’s
still working?” I offered hopefully.

“Maxim
has converted your house into campaign headquarters. Mark my words, you guys
are going to be pulling an all-nighter, if not tonight, then tomorrow night. There’s
no way you can hide Rafael’s absence under these circumstances. Call Rafael. Tell
him to fuel that souped-up jet of his and get over here. Now.”

“It’s
nearly midnight in Portugal,” I objected. “I don’t want to add to his stress.”

“You
call him or I will,” Jase growled.

I
shot him the stink-eye before tapping on my phone. Rafael’s phone transferred me
to voicemail. I took a deep breath and forced a chipper tone. “Hi, handsome.
Please give me a call when you get a chance. Things are getting a little crazy
on this end of the planet. Love you. Bye.”

Jase
nodded his approval before stalking back to the kitchen. I made an attempt to
follow him, but the doorbell rang.

“I
got it.” Kadyn muscled past me.

I
crossed my arms, ticked that I couldn’t even answer the door to my own home.
“This protective custody routine is getting way out of hand.”

“Hey,
Kadyn! Good to see you.” Shae rolled onto her tiptoes and gave him a hug. “Kri,
I hope you don’t mind that we’re crashing your party. I brought wine.”

“Who
needs wine?” Konstantin blustered. He brushed a quick kiss against my cheek before
handing me two bottles of Ukrainian vodka.

“So
you do live here,” Maxim ribbed while shaking Kadyn’s hand. “Were you able to
schedule a meeting with the Secretary of Defense?”

“Secretary
Gates will meet with you at three o’clock on Friday at the Mayflower Hotel,”
Kadyn answered. “He asked me to join you.”

“That’s
perfect. Thank you for arranging the meeting.” Maxim’s eyebrows rose as he
surveyed the house. “Where’s Rafael?”

“Working,”
I answered curtly.

“Your
fiancé’s neglect is unforgivable,” Maxim murmured. I offered him my cheek, but
he grasped my face with both hands and kissed me squarely on the lips.

“Rafael’s
working. There’s nothing neglectful or unforgivable about that.” I tugged his
hands from my neck. “I’m meeting with Senator Rockefeller on Friday. I’d like
you to read through my talking points and issue brief to ensure I haven’t
misrepresented anything. I’m going to review the bills and the list of
congressmen Oni pulled together so we can strategize about the legislation and
the congressmen we should lobby for this rider.”

“We’ll
discuss work when the meal is over,” Maxim rebutted firmly.

We
filed into the kitchen. I stopped short when I saw Brady folding a slice of ZBQ
Chicken pizza into his mouth. “I’m afraid it’s each man for himself.”

*
* * * *

“Kri!”
Patrick’s voice echoed across the cavernous lobby.

“Hey
stranger!” I gathered my briefcase and the restaurant bag from the conveyor
belt before giving him a hug.

Jase
strode through the metal detector clearly agitated. He was used to carrying a
gun, but they weren’t allowed inside the Senate Hart Building.

“Patrick
is a friend from Senator Rockefeller’s office,” I explained. “Patrick, this is
my bodyguard, Jase.”

Patrick’s
eyes widened when he catalogued Jase’s six foot three frame. “Bodyguard?”

“Long
story.” We walked toward the stairs.

Patrick
eyed the sack nestled in my arms. “Jamie said you were meeting with Senator Rockefeller.
Are you buying him lunch?”

“I’ve
got two nigirizushi sets, rainbow rolls, and miso soup,” I recited. “One of the
nigirizushi sets is for you.”

He
nodded his approval. “Sushi. Smart girl. What prompted this meeting with the Senator?”

I
shifted the bag to my other arm. “I’m looking for money just like everyone else.”

He
glanced at me, surprised. “Money? For what?”

“A
friend of mine is running for President of Ukraine. I’m trying to help him win
the election by securing funds to extend an oil pipeline into Poland.”

Patrick
froze mid-step. “You’re doing what?”

I
nudged him up the stairs. “I’m trying to help the government of Ukraine extend
their oil pipeline into Poland so they can improve their economy and lift their
people out of poverty.”

“That’s
a far cry from health policy,” he noted admiringly.

A
secretive smile tugged at my lips. “That it is.”

He
opened the door to the Senator’s suite. “Clearly, we have some catching up to
do.”

I
pulled one of the nigirizushi sets from the bag and handed it to him. “I’ll stop
by your cubicle after I meet with the Senator.”

He
gave me a hug. “Thanks for thinking of me, Kri.”

Jamie
leapt from behind her desk when I neared the Senator’s private office. “Kri! I’m
so happy to see you.”

Jase
took the bag so she wouldn’t squish the food.

I
gave her a hug. “Thanks for getting me in to see the Senator so quickly.”

Jamie
gasped as she grabbed my hand. “Kadyn proposed?”

Jase
and I shared an awkward glance. “No. I’m engaged to Rafael.”

Her
cheeks flushed pink. “I’m so sorry. You must be Rafael.”

Jase
offered a sympathetic smile. “No. I’m Kristine’s bodyguard, Jase.”

Her
jaw fell slack.

I
patted her back. “I’ll be offering the CliffsNotes to Patrick after my meeting
with the Senator. Maybe you should join us.”