Her Russian

Chapter 20-I Lost Her

Maxim dreaded going back to the compound. For one, Ilia would be on a rampage and he'd already destroyed his study and two, this check from Galina was going to set him off again. And finally he wasn't going to be the one to tell Ilia that Galina had gotten herself a job. He would lose his ever loving mind.

Pulling the BMW into the garage, Max pushed a button closing the door and headed into the house. It was strangely quiet as he neared the interior and he wondered if Ilia was even still there.

As he was walking past the study, he heard mumbling coming from within and decided to check it out. When he opened the door, he was horrified to see the mess that his boss's anger had created.

The glass coffee table was overturned, books were thrown from their shelves, the contents of his desk were strewn from one end of that room to the other and then there was Ilia. On the floor, sitting against the wall, an almost empty liquor bottle cradled in his hands.

"I lost her" he mumbled, not being able to hold his head up. "I let her walk out before explaining anything to her" his words were badly slurred. "I didn't tell her I loved her" Max stopped right there. Oh. shit.

"Damn it, you crazy durachit' (fool)" Maxim uttered under his breath. "Ilia, come on man. You've got to get up. You can't stay like this" Maxim told his friend and boss.

Getting him to his feet was a trick in itself. He was totally and completely blasted. With Maxim helping to partially carry him, he was able to get Ilia to his bed, take off his shoes and pulled up the sheet.

"Sleep it off, Ilia. You need to focus. This is not you" Maxim said as he shut the door. He'd be out of it for a couple of hours, so he called on Erik, Yuri and Sergei to see to the mess in the study and get it cleaned up and restored.

Disappearing into his office, Maxim took his cell from his pocket and dialed a number. "Valeria? It's Maxim. Yeah, we got trouble" he started. The woman, Valeria, said something that made him laugh. "Da, it was a girl. A really sweet girl and he fucked it up. Excuse my language" he told the woman.

She told him that she would be on the next train to St. Petersburg. "Maxim?" she said. "Please take care of my son until I can get there" she implored. "I will Valeria. I promise" he told her. He knew that Ilia would be furious that he called his mother but he didn't give a shit.

Once finished with that, he started to hear loud words being exchanged and went to see what else in the hell could be going on. His fists clinched at his side when he stepped into the hallway and caught sight of the person that started it all. Aleryia.

"What in the actual fuck are you doing here, you suka (bitch)?" Maxim hurled at her. "Now, now, Max" her sugary tone made him want to vomit. "Ilia rang me and told me to come over" she lied.

"Try again Aleryia. Ilia didn't call you, so you can turn around and take your house-wrecking ass out of this house and if you ever come back within these walls, I will make it my personal mission to see you living in Siberia" he threatened.

Throwing her head around, she stomped off mumbling about him being a son of a bitch but he didn't give two shits. After the evening and day he'd had, he was all out of 'giving a fuck' for the moment.

Heading back upstairs to check on Ilia, he remembered the envelope in his pocket. Knocking softly, he received no answer, so he pushed the door open a bit and saw Ilia's sleeping form still in bed, right where he left him and in the same position.

Padding lightly over to the dresser, Max sat the envelope down and turned to leave when he heard his boss mumbling in his sleep. "Galina I'm sorry" his voice cracking. "I have to keep you safe, I have to pretend" he said but his words made no sense to Maxim.

"What in the ad (hell) is going on with you? Huh? What have you gotten yourself into now, Ilia?" Max was beyond frustrated at the thought of his friend and boss keeping something, anything from him.

Determined to get the truth, Maxim purposed in his heart that as soon as Ilia had come out of his drunken stupor, they were going to have a heart-to-heart and he would beat the truth from him if he had to.

Moaning and rolling over, Ilia gagged at the taste in his mouth. God it was horrible. Stumbling to the bathroom, he leaned over the sink, turned on the cold water and splashed his face with it. Then he grabbed his toothbrush and toothpaste so he could rid his mouth of the vile taste of hangover.

Tearing the shirt and pants from his body, he stood under a quick shower, got out, dried off and walked towards his dresser. The white envelope that Max had sat there caught his eye. What in the hell is this? Ilia thought as he opened it.

"Fuck!" he roared as his fist beat down on the dresser. It was a cashier's check, from Galina, for the fifty million dollars that came from Zoya. This is what had started the unraveling of his life, this and that shlyukha (slut), Aleryia. If he ever saw her again, he wouldn't hesitate to put a bullet in her thick skull.

Pulling out black sweats and a tank shirt, Ilia grabbed socks and his tennis shoes. He needed to beat the fuck outta something, so he would head to his gym and hopefully see his way clearly after a good work out.

He passed Erik and Yuri on his way. "Boss" they said respectfully as he passed. "Where's Max?" he snapped. "In your study with Pavel and Roman" Erik responded.

His study was all but put back together, with the exception of the coffee table. He'd destroyed it and it would have to be fully replaced, but he didn't give a care about that at the moment.

"Where in the actual fuck did you get this from?" Ilia demanded, throwing the check on his desk. "From Galina" Maxim answered. "When?" he barked out. "When you were in here drinking yourself stupid" Max bit out.

"Friend or no, I'm still your boss and you will watch how you speak to me, ponimayu (understand)?" he said through gritted teeth. "Yeah, I understand, boss" Maxim gritted out as well.

"How did you come by this?" Ilia asked again. "Galina called me and said she had something for you and she asked me to come by and get it. I was already in the area, so I stopped by. She gave it to me, I told her about Irina's funeral and then I left" he told Ilia.

"Where did she leave it regarding Irina?" he asked. "I'm picking her up at ten" Maxim replied. "khorosho, khorosho (good, good)" Ilia responded.

"Ilia, you should also know that Aleryia showed up here, lying about you calling her. I sent her packing and told her if she ever came back here I would personally make it my mission to send her to Siberia. I can't stand that suka" he muttered.

"Alright, Max. Let's talk" Ilia told him, shutting the door and locking it. "You gonna let me in now?" Maxim asked. His friend nodded. "Yeah because I think I know who was behind Irina's murder and I've been working from the inside, trying to get closer." Ilia let that sink in before he continued.

"They are using Aleryia and I intend to turn her around on them and use her as bait to flush them out." Max shook his head and said "What about Galina?" Ilia pinched the bridge of his nose. "What about Galina indeed" he responded. "By the way, Ilia. Your mom is on her way" his under boss dropped the bomb.

"Great, just what I need" Ilia sighed.