Twenty-One
Ava
Aurora splashes the bubbles in the tub, giggling with pure delight. I stroke her rosy cheeks, a little jealous of how carefree she is. She scoops up handfuls of suds with both tiny hands and crawls right into my lap.
“Mama, let me make you a crown!”
I tilt my head with a soft smile, letting her build her masterpiece on my damp hair. She piles a clump of bubbles on top and pats my cheek gently.
“You’re so pretty, Mama.”
Her finger brushes my lip, and even though it’s the gentlest touch in the world, my split lip throbs anyway. I take her hand and pull her close.
“Thank you, my sweet girl.”
We spend another half hour in the oversized tub, splashing, laughing, forgetting everything else for a little while.
It’s the first time I’ve truly laughed in a week.
Now that the cuts on my face and hands are starting to heal, and my daughter’s tucked in beside me every night with no threats hanging over us, I’m easing back to normal.
Though I doubt the battered faces and broken bodies of those poor women will fade from my mind anytime soon. God, Daliah and the horror they unleashed on her because I won, April and her husband, the nightmares from that pit, I’ve got to leave it all behind me. For my girl. For myself.
After I dry Aurora off and tuck her in, I slip into jeans and a T-shirt, then head down the grand staircase of Carlo’s estate.
Spotting Emily in the living room makes me smile softly, and I make my way over.
A stack of papers is spread out in front of her, and she’s poring over them carefully.
When she sees me, she sets them aside, concern flickering in her eyes.
“Is something wrong?”
“No, not at all. Mind if I sit with you?”
Her brows lift. “Of course not, darling. Tea?”
I settle beside her. “I’d love some.”
She pours two cups from the porcelain teapot on the table and hands one to me.
“Did Aurora fall asleep easily?” she asks gently.
“She plays with the boys so much during the day that by bedtime, she just crashes.”
She flashes a sweet smile and clinks her cup against mine. “To their nanny, the one who somehow survives our little earthquakes.”
I chuckle softly and take a sip of tea.
“Did you change your bandage?”
I lift my hand and nod. She studies my face. “Your cuts and bruises look so much better. I doubt they’ll leave a mark.”
This woman’s got a heart of gold. I pause for a second, then let out what’s been sitting heavy on my chest.
“Thank you, Emily. I don’t know what would’ve happened to me if it weren’t for you and Carlo. You took care of my daughter like she was your own, and Carlo pulled me out of that hellhole.”
She smiles warmly. “We’re family, Ava. No need to thank us. I’m sure you and Maxim would’ve done the same for us.”
At Maxim’s name, my brows draw together. It’s been seven days since the rescue, and I’m still waiting for him to show up so we can go home, but that coward’s been hiding from me. What’s he waiting for? Sooner or later, I’ll find him… and he’ll get exactly what he deserves.
Emily picks up on my shift in mood. “You’ve got every right to hate him. The men we share our lives with… they don’t do moderation. Everything’s extreme, zero or a hundred. They love too hard, and they hate just as hard. They trust deeply, right until they think you’ve betrayed them. That’s when…”
She closes her eyes and draws a long breath, like she’s reliving something awful.
“You’ve been through it too, haven’t you?” I ask quietly.
Her eyes open slowly. “Yes. I was punished for something I didn’t do.
My relationship almost broke beyond repair.
I tried to walk away from the man I loved, just like you…
but in the end, Carlo and I realized we couldn’t live without each other.
That realization came at a heavy price, though.
One I hope you and Maxim never have to pay. ”
Her words leave me a little lost. “I don’t want to leave Maxim.”
Her eyes widen. “You don’t?”
I shake my head. “No. Of course not.”
The surprise in her gaze makes me explain.
“When I was trapped in that house and saw his father, I realized something. Maxim might seem cool and magnetic on the outside, but deep down, he’s just like me, a shattered mirror trying to hold the pieces together, clinging to the illusion of being whole.
A little boy who doesn’t trust anyone, who doesn’t believe someone could love him enough to stay.
We’re alike in so many ways. Both from broken families.
We watched our mothers die. We hate our fathers for it. ”
A bitter smirk twists my lips as I add, “And like him, I’m a killer too. A broken puzzle only he can make whole.”
“But... but Carlo said you were screaming in the car that you never wanted to see Maxim again. You said you hated him.”
A disbelieving laugh slips from my lips. “I was drenched in blood from head to toe, beaten to a pulp, and had just killed a man, and it was all because of Maxim’s stupidity. Of course I said I hated him. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want him anymore.”
I see the color drain from her face, and unease coils tight in my stomach. What is it? What is she hiding from me?
“Sorry, Ava,” she murmurs. “I need to take an important call.”
She grabs her phone and starts to rise, but I catch her hand. “Please, Emily. Tell me what’s going on. If something’s happened, I deserve to know.”
She chews on her bottom lip, hesitating, then exhales sharply. “Those idiot mobsters... Maxim’s fighting in a death match tonight.”
My eyes go wide. I have no idea what the hell a death match is, but the name alone tells me it’s nothing good.
Before I can ask, she explains, “It’s a fight to the death. Two men enter the ring, only one comes out alive.”
My throat tightens. “You mean...one of them has to kill the other?”
She nods.
Horror floods me as I leap to my feet. “Where? Where’s this happening?”
“In the casino basement.”
My body moves on instinct, every muscle ready to bolt to that damned casino. “Then I’m going there. Right now. If anyone’s going to kill that stupid bastard, it’s me, not some other asshole.”
I turn to go, but she grabs my arm. “Wait, Ava. We can’t just go. Not unless Carlo gives the order.”
I stare at her in desperation. She picks up her phone again, dials, and steps away from me, murmuring under her breath. A few minutes later, she turns back and sets the phone on speaker.
“Carlo wants to talk to you.”
His voice fills the room, calm but unyielding. “The tickets for this fight are sold, the bets are placed. There’s no backing out. Sit tight at home and wait for Maxim to win. Then you can tell him how you feel.”
I snatch the phone, disbelief flooding my voice. “What the hell does money matter when his life’s on the line?”
His tone hardens. “This isn’t about money. It’s about honor. If Maxim bails at the last second, he’ll have to pack up and leave Italy. He’d be branded a coward. And that’s not who he is. Even if I, as his Capo, ordered him to quit, he wouldn’t.”
I swallow hard against the lump in my throat. “Then let me go talk to him.”
“The rage you lit in him with your words, that’s his edge. You really want to take that away and send a lovesick fool into the ring instead of a raging beast?”
A tear slips down my cheek. “I can’t lose him.”
“You won’t. I’ve got full faith in Maxim. He’s my right hand, my brother. If I wasn’t damn sure he could win this fight, I never would’ve let him step into that ring.”
My voice cracks as I plead. “Tell your men to bring me to the casino. I swear I won’t go near him until it’s over. Just... let me be there. Please.”
A beat of silence hangs before the order comes, “Come alone. Emily stays home.”
***
It’s been over an hour since I’ve been stuck in this goddamn fancy room in the casino, waiting for someone, anyone, to end this torture of silence and uncertainty.
If it weren’t for the massive guard Carlo stationed at the door, I’d have already torn this place apart and found that secret basement myself.
God, Maxim’s even dumber than I thought. How can he throw himself into danger like this without a single thought for me or Aurora? I still haven’t forgiven him for the last time he broke me, and now he’s gone and done this.
The thought of life without him claws at my chest. I keep seeing flashes, his face covered in blood, his body limp and lifeless. This man is wild, cruel, infuriating, but I can’t lose him. I can’t live without him.
Desperation drags me to my knees. I clasp my hands tight over my chest and pray to God that Maxim makes it out of this mess alive.
The same God who saved me from my father, who brought Maxim into my life, who blessed me with Aurora, who pulled me out of that hellhole.
I beg this great God to show me mercy one more time, to bring Maxim back to me alive.
Finally, the door swings open. The giant guard does a double-take at me on my knees but quickly pulls himself together and motions for me to follow.
I rise to my feet. “Is the fight over?”
“Yeah.”
I’m terrified to ask the real question. My hands are slick with anxious sweat.
“Is he… alive?”
He smirks. “No one can kill Maxim.”
I close my eyes, and with the deep breath I draw, a quiet peace settles through my veins.
***
The basement isn’t anything like the word suggests. It’s lavish, luxurious, and smells incredible. We pass through mirrored hallways until we reach a door marked Locker Room. The guard leaves me there and disappears down the corridor.
I lift my chin and step inside.
Maxim’s there, leaning his bare back against a metal locker, dressed in nothing but athletic shorts.
His hands are still wrapped in blood-stained tape.
There’s a gash above his temple, dried blood trailing down to his jaw.
A bottle of liquor dangles from one hand, a cigarette burns between the fingers of the other.
The moment I see him alive, still breathing, a wave of relief washes over me.