Is this destiny?

Sarah internally cursed her luck. What's up with his timing? But then… he was probably watching her from somewhere and waiting for his chance to approach her when Aiden is out of sight.

Sarah plastered a smile on her face and turned to see the familiar cocky grin.

"Maksim…"

Sarah told herself not to be nervous. She expected this.

"Can we have a word?", Maksim asked but Sarah knew that she does not have an option unless she wants to cause a scene, and causing a scene here is not an option. She is trapped.

"Sure. Tell me…"

"Not here.", Maksim said and glanced at Jasha and Kolya who were too afraid to say anything.

Jasha and Kolya watched Sarah walk away with Maksim and they cursed their luck. They told Aiden that they will watch over Olga (aka Sarah) in his absence, but they know that Maksim is not a person they can stand against. Maksim is someone with a position in the Voronin family; they still remember Maksim's murderous glare when he warned them to keep their mouths shut after the event… and Jasha and Kolya are still alive because they know when they meet someone they should not cross. Well, they don't want to cross Aiden either, but Aiden is not here while Maksim is, and delayed punishment sounds better than the instant one.

Sarah went with Maksim upstairs and he led the way into one of the rooms that looked like an office.

It was a small room furnished with two tall file cabinets, a desk, and a chair. 

"Why are we here?", Sarah asked with impatience in her voice when Maksim closed the door.

Maksim sat behind the desk and powered up the laptop that was on the desk. "What do you think?"

Sarah shrugged. "Other than you want to provoke Alex, nothing else comes to my mind."

Maksim smirked. "You have something that belongs to me."

Sarah understood that he is talking about his knife. "It is mine now."

"You are playing with fire."

"So are you.", Sarah said arrogantly. 

Maksim narrowed his eyes at Sarah. "I can have you killed."

Sarah stifled a laugh. "Maybe. But then… who is to say that I won't kill you first?"

"You have guts to talk back and I wonder if you have skills to support that."

"You won't know until you try me."

Maksim stared at Sarah and she equally returned his stare, silently challenging him.

Maksim took a phone out of his pocket. "I need a minute."

He gestured toward his phone as if he needs to take a call or maybe make one because his phone didn't make a sound or vibrate.

Sarah watched him walk out of the office, leaving her behind.

The file cabinets had locks, and one of the locks still had a key in it. 

'How reckless...', Sarah thought. 'Aren't they concerned that I will take something from it? With the key inside, I don't even need to bother with picking the lock in order to see what is inside.'

She stalked to the other side of the desk and frowned at the sight of an unlocked laptop. Her eyes fell on the USB stick that is plugged in, and her hands were itchy to take it and to put her hands on the keyboard… but she didn't. Is it possible that Maksim is so reckless to leave all this just like that? It looks easy. Too easy. What's up with the timing of that phone call? Is he setting her up to get in trouble so that he can have a reason to imprison her?

Sarah moved her fingers slightly and instructed Eve to copy contents of that laptop and the USB drive without leaving traces. With Eve in the house, Sarah does not need to touch any electronic device physically as for the contents of those file cabinets... it's probably not important.

Outside, Maksim was looking on his phone at the live feed from the camera that is placed in the office behind him. He saw Sarah observing the laptop and then moving to the side without touching it. He exhaled in frustration. "How stubborn…"

Maksim returned and found Sarah standing in front of a window and gazing into the darkness with her hands crossed over her chest. She was unmoving, beautiful. He looked at her with a complex expression.

"You should leave. Alex will be back, and we don't want him to get the wrong idea."

Sarah's eyebrows shoot up. Since when Maksim cares about Aiden's feelings? But she didn't object. This is her ticket out.

She gave a small nod to Maksim and walked out.

Maksim balled his hands into fists.

He thought that he had this figured out… Maksim's plan was to trap Sarah: she will open that file cabinet or use the laptop and he will catch her red-handed. That will be his excuse to take her to one of his houses as a prisoner and there he will warn her about his father and tell her to leave. He even had the route planned so that she can leave without being caught.

Unexpectedly, she didn't fall for it. He can't warn her here, his father is watching and if he sees that Maksim is working behind his back, not only will Sarah be caught, but Maksim as well. After all, for Simeon, everything is a test, and Simeon is already angered because Hong managed to slip from the base without being detected.

Maksim had mixed emotions. On one side, he regretted that he missed his chance to get Sarah out, and on the other he admired her for not falling into his trap. She is smart and he can't help but admire her more.

Downstairs…

Sarah joined Jasha and Kolya. The two men looked at her like they are seeing a ghost.

"Are you OK?", Sarah asked them.

"You are back.", Jasha stated the obvious.

Sarah frowned. "Did you think that I eloped? Or…?"

"No. No…", Kolya said with haste. "We are glad to see you back and… unharmed."

"Why would he harm me?"

Jasha and Kolya exchanged glances and smiled awkwardly.

"Did I miss something?", Aiden's voice traveled from the back, and a second later Sarah found herself enveloped in his scent as his arms circled around her waist.

"Nothing important. Jasha and Kolya did their best to keep me safe while you were away." Sarah smiled at two guys who were visibly relieved.

Well, she didn't lie. They did their best. The fact that their best was not good enough is another story.

She glanced at Aiden. "How did your talk go?"

"It was fine. Elder Sergey said that if I want, I can request a different location. He will support me."

Sarah understood that Elder Sergey does not agree with whoever assigned Aiden to South America and that he wants to get Aiden under his wing. After all, Aiden showed that he is very capable, and any Elder would be wise to have Aiden as his soldier. Unfortunately for them, Aiden is taken, and his loyalty is unshakeable.

"That is good. The location of your assigned base is hot and humid, and it seems to be in a remote location. Something closer to a big city would be better so that I can go shopping.", Sarah said in a whiny voice while getting into her Olga persona.

Aiden smiled dotingly. Even if she is spoiled rotten, he would still love her. "I will talk to Elder tomorrow before class and see what he can do. I think he likes me."

Sarah pouted. "No one likes you more than I do."

Aiden chuckled. "That is true."

Kolya and Jasha diverted their gazes from the couple and looked at their shoes. This public display of affection was too much for them to handle.

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