know . . .” She looked away, scratched her forehead, shrugged. “That stuff they talked about.”
“Oh. That stuff.” Charlie went back to her list.
“Yeah. I’m . . . I’m sorry if I disappointed you.”
“Disappointed me?”
“Yeah. I have no excuse and I won’t try to make any. I just hope I can—”
Charlie leaned back in the chair and gazed up at her sister again. “I’m sorry . . . what are we talking about?”
Max let out a frustrated breath. “You know, the stuff I . . . stole?”
“Yeah. What about it?”
“I guess I’m confused.”
“About what?”
“I thought you’d be mad.”
“About what?”
“The stuff I stole!”
“Oh.” Charlie tore off the sheet with the list and stood. “I knew.”
“You knew what?”
“I knew about the stuff you stole.”
Max took a step back. “You knew?”
“Of course I knew.”
“But you never said anything.”
“What was there to say?”
“That you were disappointed in me. That you were disgusted. That you were—”
“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!” Charlie came around the table. “I would never say any of that to you because I never felt that way. All three of us have done whatever we needed to do to keep us going. The money you brought in kept us solvent, allowed us to watch out for Stevie when she was in countries where we could never afford to go to without funds. Each of those jobs you took and, by the way, knocked out of the fucking park, kept us alive. How could I hate you for that?”
“So you were aware of every job I did?”
“I think so. Unless you snuck some in.”
Max moved closer. “And what about you?”
“What about me?”
“What were you doing?”
“When?”
Now Max was inches away, her finger pointing in Charlie’s face. “I did all my jobs in the six months I was not looking out for Stevie. So when you were not looking out for Stevie, what did you do? You know, to keep us solvent?”
Charlie handed Max the sheet of paper before going back to her cupcakes. “And make sure you don’t forget the flour.”
* * *
Zé waited by the black SUV Max had pointed out to him before she went into the house to talk to her sister. When she came out the front door, she seemed . . . upset.
“Are you okay?” he asked as she stomped by.
“Get in the car.”
“Okay.”
She electronically unlocked the doors and he got into the passenger side.
“Is it me or is this vehicle excessively large?”
“It was built for bears,” she said, moving the seat up until her chest was practically one with the steering wheel.
“Um . . . maybe I should drive. You know, since my feet can actually reach the pedals.”
He waited for Max to tell him to go to hell or to just laugh at him, but she didn’t do either. Instead, she texted someone on her phone. She got an immediate reply and started the SUV.
“What’s going on?”
“I need to make a stop before the stores.”
“Okay.” She kept gripping the steering wheel, so he asked, “Max, you seem a bit . . . tense. Is everything all right?”
She turned the SUV off and took out the keys. “You’re right. You need to drive.” She handed him the keys.
Zé held them up. “You could have just kept them in the ignition.”
“It’s a symbolic gesture!”
chapter SEVENTEEN
The Bugatti pulled to a stop in front of the SUV and Max leaned forward to get a closer look. She couldn’t believe that her mother would steal a goddamn Bugatti! Why not steal a yacht? Or a private jet? If someone is going to lose their mind about their car being stolen, it’s the guy willing to drop a few million on it!
“Who the hell is that?” Zé asked, but Max was already getting out of the SUV. She was too excited to wait.
As she closed the door, her mother was already throwing herself into Max’s arms. They hugged, holding on tight, neither speaking. What was there to say?
Over the years, once Max had been able to travel without her sisters, she’d attempted to see her mother. Many times. But Bulgaria had a tough penal system and her mother was considered a highly dangerous prisoner. So they’d kept in touch with letters and smuggled-in phones.
So this, this very moment, was the first time they’d held each other in years, and it meant everything to Max.
“My beautiful girl,” her mother said in that growly voice of hers. According to Yang family lore, her mother hadn’t been born with that voice but had gotten it after she and