Chapter 10
Chapter
Ten
NIKOLAI
T he knife slices across my arm, but I don’t scream. I never scream.
Not even when I got my scar.
After wiping the blood off the knife, Maxim tosses the bloody towel on the ground. “You’re not an easy man to hurt, Nikolai. You never seem like you’re in pain.”
“If it’s pain you’re looking for,” I say through gritted teeth, “then you’re going to be disappointed.”
“We’ll see about that.” He drags the knife down my other arm. Blood drips onto the ground.
“If you keep going like that, there’ll be nothing left of me for you to torture.”
“I know what I’m doing.” Another nick to my arm. I don’t even flinch.
“Where did you learn to do this anyway?” Making conversation helps. The truth is—I’m in pain. Serious, fucking pain. Maxim has been slicing and dicing away at me for hours now. I just need to make it through this. I made it through before with Anton. I can do it again here.
The only difference is I don’t give a flying fuck about Maxim.
“A biker who knows torture,” I continue. “It’s unusual.”
“When Lev was president, he liked to bring men here. Those who got into trouble. Those who needed shaping up. I learned from him.”
“Where are we, anyway?” It’s just a cement box with one door. It could be anywhere.
Maxim smiles, but there’s no humor to it. “Why would I tell you that? Thinking of escaping?”
I tug on the cuffs around my wrists, but they don’t budge. “I’ll make it out of here, Maxim. I always survive. Don’t underestimate me.”
He gets right into my face and points the knife close to my eye. “You may be powerful, Nikolai Petrov, but you’re just a man when all is said and done. And all men die.”
He drags the knife across my scar.
And for the first time, I flinch.
Anton sliced the dagger across my face. It burned. It was the worst pain I’d ever felt.
I fell back onto the hot Texan earth as I stared up at my second in command. “What are you doing?” Blood seeped into my mouth.
“I’m taking over, Nik. It’s finally turn. My time to be in charge.”
Jose was still hiding next to one of the gun vans. Why didn’t he run?
Anton turned to him, gun out. “Come over here, Jose. I need help.”
Jose looked between the two of us and then dashed for the driver side door, but Anton shot a round into the earth by Jose’s feet, stopping him.
“I said I need help.”
Slowly, Jose walked over.
“Get him in the car,” Anton ordered.
With Jose and the driver’s help, they forced me to stand and shoved me into the car. Blood seeped down my face, staining my white shirt. That was all I could think about—how I would never wear this white shirt again. It was ruined for good.
The driver got into the front seat.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked him. “Why help Anton betray me?”
He didn’t respond.
Out of the window, I watched as Anton shot Jose in the head. Then I watched him set fire to the vans containing all our guns.
“What are you doing?” I growled as Anton got into the passenger seat, keeping his gun trained on me. “You just wasted millions of dollars.”
“I’m not doing things your way anymore, Nik.”
The driver started the car and pulled away from the crime scene. Border patrol would find the two men and the burned guns. It would be all over the news. The only good thing would be it wouldn’t fall back onto me. Anton wouldn’t want to get caught in the crosshairs.
“By wasting money?”
Anton shrugged. “Not everything is about money.”
“Bullshit. You run on money, Anton.”
“Not your money, Nik. I want a fresh start when I take over New York.”
I didn’t react. I went quiet and bided my time, ignoring the searing pain on my face.
I still didn’t act, not even when we reached the private plane we came in on. Not even when Anton forced me inside it. Not even when we landed back in New York.
Not even when he took me to his home. His basement was designed to be a torture chamber. Knives and guns and whips and even fucking chainsaws. Anton was a bit of a madman. It worked for me when he was on my side. Now that he wasn’t, it was the first time I’d ever felt fear in my entire life.
The driver lifted my hands up to handcuff them to the wall.
And that was when I acted.
I kicked him in the balls, sending him straight to the ground. Anton, who was too busy looking at his knife collection and getting cocky, didn’t turn in time before I barreled right into him.
I landed on top of him and grabbed his wrist, twisting it until he dropped the gun.
He sat up and bit into my ear. My fucking ear.
I roared as he pulled back, blood dripping from his lips. Then I grabbed his head and smashed it against the ground.
He went still.
I stumbled upright and grabbed the gun, aiming it at his body. Anton still wasn’t moving. I should have shot him right then and there, but I hesitated. Maybe it was stupid sentimentality on my part. We had worked together for years. I’d trusted him.
I’d thought of him as a friend.
But he’d betrayed me.
And yet, I still couldn’t shoot, so I left.
I continued to stumble through his mansion. Pass the gaudy statues he had everywhere. Pass the poor maid just trying to do her job. She screamed when she saw me and went running up the stairs. Not my problem.
I didn’t stop until I was in the foyer and saw myself in the large gilded mirror on the wall.
I finally saw my face.
The cut was jagged and long. It ran across my face from left temple to my right jaw. Blood kept dripping from it and falling into my eyes. It made my vision red.
I was no longer a handsome man.
And I was no longer a forgiving man.
Anton had hurt me in a way no one ever had before. His betrayal cut deep. I knew at that moment I would never trust anyone ever again.
I left the house, leaving the door wide open and a blood trail in my wake.
I became a new man.
I became a monster.
AVA
The moment I leave the train station, I wonder if I’ve lost my mind.
Maybe I should just turn around and head back inside, get a ticket and go to New Haven. Start my life again. Leave Nikolai. He’s not worth it.
It doesn’t matter if my body responds to him. It doesn’t matter that when he looks at me, all I feel are butterflies. It doesn’t matter if he’s all I have.
I can make a new life for myself.
But my feet keep moving and moving and moving until I’m standing before Dimitri’s club. If anyone knows where Maxim might have Nikolai, it would be Dimitri.
He did just help me with my father, to his credit.
But will he help me with this?
I make my way through the busy crowd of people dancing the night away. They’re all having the time of their lives. I’m jealous. I wish I had the ability to be carefree.
Maybe someday.
I see Dimitri upstairs in his private booth, but I stop when I see my father walking down the stairs. He’s still here.
And he sees me right when I see him.
“No,” I say, holding my hands up. “You’re not going to take me again.”
He’s limping without his crutches. Honestly, it’s satisfying to see. After all he did to me, I want to see him in pain. I want him to know the pain I’ve felt—that he put me through.
“What are you doing back here? That stupid?”
I flinch. “I don’t have to explain myself to you. Just get out of my way.”
“You don’t get to tell me what to do, girl.” The moment he tries to grab my arm, I shove him to the side.
He falls to the floor, and the people around us all react differently. Some give me dirty looks. Some reach down to help my father. And some continue to dance like a man falling to the ground is no big deal.
I rush past him up the stairs to Dimitri. I ignore his bodyguards and walk right up to his private group. A blonde is on his lap, sucking on his neck. His eyes are closed. It’s such an intimate thing that I avert my gaze until I remember: Nikolai is in danger right now. Who cares about being polite?
“I need your help,” I tell him.
Dimitri slowly opens his eyes and nudges the blonde off his lap. “Back so soon? Couldn’t stay away?”
“I’m not here for you. I’m here for Nikolai.”
He sighs. “Of course, you are.”
“Where is he?”
“I already told you,” he says, standing up and guiding me away from his private booth. “Maxim has him.”
“But you have to know where.”
“Sorry. I don’t.”
I stare at him for a moment. “I don’t believe you. You work with Nikolai. You know. Because how else did you know Maxim has him in the first place?”
“You’re a smart little cookie, aren’t you?”
“Don’t call me cookie.”
He smirks. “For a moment there, you sounded just like your husband.”
I’m not sure to take it as an insult or a compliment. Either way, it makes me uncomfortable.
“Fine,” Dimitri says. “I have an idea of where Maxim would have taken him. But it’s not like you can just stroll on in there and save Nikolai. You’re just one girl.”
“Just tell me where you think he is.”
He scratches the side of his face. “Well, since we blew up their clubhouse, not there. But there are a few other places The Knights tend to hang out. Maxim would have probably taken him to one of those places.”
“Give me the list.”
He makes direct eye contact and doesn’t look away as he snaps his fingers at one of the bodyguards. “Bring me a pen and paper.” The guard walks away.
Dimitri and I look at each other—him smirking and me glaring—until the guard comes back with the requested items.
Dimitri scribbles a list onto it and hands it over. “Good luck.”
“No thanks to you.”
“You’re getting bolder. Braver. Not the scared little girl I met a couple of weeks ago.”
“There’s no time to be scared in this world. That’s something Nikolai taught me. That’s something you taught me.”
He crosses his arms, looking smug. “Me? I’m touched I taught you something.”
“Yes, you did. You taught me not to trust assholes.”
The smirk slips from Dimitri’s face. “As I said, brave. And stupid.”
“I thought I was smart.” I leave him looking dumbfounded as I head back downstairs. It’s a good feeling.
I need another gun since my father stole the one I stole from Nikolai.
“Where does Nikolai store his guns?” I ask Edmund as I walk through the front door.
He stares at me slack jawed. “You’re back. Of your own accord.”
“Just tell me, Edmund. Surely you know.”
“Why do you need a gun?”
“Because Nikolai has been kidnapped, and I’m going to save him, but I need protection. So just tell me.”
“Mrs. Petrov, I have to say, this doesn’t sound like a smart idea.”
“Of course, it isn’t. If it was, I would already be back at Yale. But for some reason … I can’t leave knowing he’s in danger. So, just tell me where he keeps his guns.”
“I know he has one in the library. It’s behind Frankenstein .”
“Thank you.”
“Ava.”
I glance back. “What?”
“He doesn’t deserve you, you know.”
“I know.”
“So, why try and save him? Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad someone’s going to try. But why you?”
“Honestly? I have no idea.”
The truth is I have some idea. I just don’t want to voice it out loud.
The gun is much heftier than the other one I found under the couch. This one is almost too large for my hand, but I grab it anyway. I need some amount of protection if I’m going to go through with this crazy plan.
I go to the first place on Dimitri’s list.
It’s a rundown bar in a sketchy part of the city. I can feel people’s eyes on me as I enter. This isn’t a place for a girl like me.
But I need to save Nikolai. He’s the devil I know, and without him, this world will eat me right up.
I walk up to the bar, which is sticky when I put my hands on it. I immediately remove my hands. The bartender, an older grizzled looking man, eyes me over.
“Are you sure you’re in the right place, sweetheart?”
No. “Yes. I’m looking for Maxim.”
He stares at me blankly.
“Maxim … the biker?” What was his last name? “Baranov.”
The bartender’s eyes widen slightly. “What’s a slip of a thing like you doing looking for him?”
“Uh, he has something I need.”
“I bet,” he scoffs.
It takes me a moment to realize the bartender thinks I’m talking about sex. That only makes me think of the night in the bathroom when I touched myself before Nikolai. It’s haunted my dreams since then.
“I just need to talk to him,” I say, recovering from the insinuation.
“About what?”
“Does it matter? Do you know where he is or not?”
He shrugs. “He ain’t here. Sorry.”
I grip the sticky bar. “But do you know where he is at this exact moment?”
“No clue.” He tosses a dirty rag over his shoulder. “Now, are you going to order or what?”
I leave after that.
The next place is another bar—even dirtier and, somehow, in an even sketchier part of town. I grew up in my father’s luxury apartment. Then I lived in a relatively safe area in New Haven, close to campus. I’ve only ever known safety.
I’ve never seen these parts of New York.
And after this is done, I don’t want to.
The bartender at this new bar is younger and cute, but he gives me the same answer. Maxim isn’t here, and he doesn’t know where he is.
I sigh and start to leave the bar when a man says, “Hey, pretty girl. You looking for Maxim?”
I turn to the man. He’s in his forties at the youngest with shaggy hair and brown stains all over his shirt. Not to sound rude, but this is not the kind of man I would ever speak to.
But right now, he may be able to give me the answers I’m seeking.
“You know where Maxim is?”
“Don’t bother the girl, Slug,” the bartender shouts.
The man, Slug, waves a dismissive hand as he takes his baseball cap off and runs his hands through his hair. “I’m not gonna hurt the girl.” He gives me a grin I don’t like.
“You’re not going to hurt me, right?” I slowly start to back toward the door.
“Pretty girls like you shouldn’t come into places like this. Who knows what danger you could get up to?”
“Do you know where Maxim is or not?”
“I do. And I’ll tell you for a price.”
I’m going to regret asking … “What price?”
He reaches out for me, and I jerk away with a scream, swatting at his hand.
“Slug!” the bartender shouts then looks at me. “I would just get out of here.”
Good idea.
The next place on the list is the last.
It’s not a bar at all but a house. It takes me going from subway to subway to reach it. The house is small and run down. It needs a paint job, and the garden is covered in weeds.
I push open the chain link fence and walk up to the door. With a deep breath, I knock.
A man opens the door. His youth takes me by surprise. He can’t be older than … well, me.
“Oh,” he says, staring at me wide-eyed. The second thing I notice about him is his leather vest. It’s the same as the one I saw on Maxim.
“Is Maxim Baranov here?”
“Oh,” he says again. “Nope. Sorry.” He starts to shut the door, but I slam my hand against it.
“I don’t believe you. Is he here?”
“What’s going on out there, Colin?” a man shouts, approaching the door. He’s older and has spots on his face. The grin he gives me is salacious, and I hate him immediately. “Hello there.”
“She’s looking for Maxim,” Colin explains.
The man’s grin turns into a frown. “Why are you looking for Maxim? He fuck you and leave?”
I blush. It still amazes me that after everything I’ve been through, I can still blush. “No. I just need to talk to him. If he’s here, please tell him that …” I inhale deeply. “Tell him Ava Petrov is here to see him.”
The man grunts. “Never heard of you.”
“I’m Nikolai Petrov’s wife.”
Colin and the older man exchange a wide-eyed look.
“Shit. Colin, go get Maxim.” When Colin only stares, the man shoves him. “Go get him.” Colin scurries away.
The man leans against the doorframe, looking me up and down. “Man, that fucker is one lucky man, having you as a wife.” He whistles. “I wish I could get a woman like you. I’m Sal.” He holds out his hand like I’m actually going to take it.
When I don’t shake it, he awkwardly lowers his hand.
“So, tell me, how did Nikolai charm you? I mean, the man has got an ugly-ass scar across his face. What woman would want that?”
“It’s not ugly,” I say. Why do I keep defending Nikolai? I should be in New Haven by now.
Yet I’m here, trying to save him.
Sal grunts again. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to offend.”
Yes, he did, and we both know it.
It’s at that moment Maxim appears, Colin standing awkwardly anxiously next to him.
“Ava,” Maxim says. “This is a surprise.”
“Is my husband here?”
Maxim shares a look with Sal before opening the door wider. “Why don’t you come inside?”
“No. I want my husband. You have him.”
“See, that’s going to be a problem since he blew up our clubhouse and killed a lot of our men. We have a right to him.”
“No. No one has a right to another person.”
“So, then why are you here, trying to save him? He bought you, if my understanding is correct.”
I flush again, but I don’t avert my gaze. Showing weakness will only hurt me. “Do you have him?”
“Come inside, and we can talk.”
I take a step back. “Why can’t we talk out here?”
“Ava, I won’t hurt you. I could have done it before, and I didn’t.”
“But that was when you wanted peace with my husband. Now, you’re angry and torturing him. You might use me against him.”
Sal whistles. “She’s smart; I’ll give her that.”
“Ava,” Maxim tries again, “I won’t hurt you. You have my word. I don’t use women in my schemes, trust me.”
“I have no reason to trust you.”
“True. But I haven’t hurt you yet.”
“You could try.” I pull out the gun from my back waistband and point it at him.
“Shit,” Sal says, ducking behind the door.
Maxim doesn’t even seem fazed. “You’re not going to shoot me.”
“Why not?”
“Because then my men would hurt you, and I’m the only one standing between them and you. And then you definitely won’t get your husband back, and you’ll only end up hurt. So, shooting me wouldn’t be a smart move. If you want your husband back, let’s talk.”
My hand wavers on the gun, and Maxim sees it.
He lunges forward and grabs the gun from me before I can pull back. I tense, waiting for him to shoot me, but he only tosses the gun into the yard. “See? I told you I won’t hurt you. I have no desire to hurt women. Now, come inside.” He opens the door wider for me.
I’m quickly losing, and this is my only option. So, I step inside.
Maxim shuts the door behind me, plunging me into the darker living room. The place smells like beer and pot, and the decor is nothing to write home about. There’s only two men sitting on the stained, white couch—Colin and Sal. That makes me feel slightly better. At least I’ve already met them. Colin can’t look at me while Sal keeps giving me suggestive eyebrows. I shudder.
“Why did you come here?” Maxim asks, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms.
“To save my husband.”
“From me?”
“Yes.”
“How did you think that would work? By killing me?”
“No. By talking.”
Maxim smiles slightly and inclines his head. “I’m listening.”
“Clearly, my husband did something very bad.”
“He killed my men. Blew up our home.”
I try not to show any emotion on my face, but it’s impossible. “I’m sorry. I know he’s a monster.”
“So, then, why are you trying to save him?”
“I have no idea. I just am. And I’m asking you to let him go.”
“Let him go,” he states.
“Yes.”
He shares a chuckle with Colin and Sal. “Why on earth would I do that?”
“Because … because I can make him promise you peace.”
“And how would you do that?”
“You let me see Nikolai, and I’ll convince him to give you peace.”
“And if you can’t?”
“Then you can kill him,” I say even though my entire body hates the words leaving me.
Maxim raises an eyebrow. “Ok. But why do I even want to make peace with Nikolai any longer? He’s shown I can’t trust him.”
“Because Nikolai has allies.” I have no idea if he does. I’m just assuming he does, given how powerful he is. “They’ll come for you. Or they’ll treat you like a dog the way Nikolai did. Either way, you won’t have any more power than you already have. The only way for true power is if you align with Nikolai.”
“That only works if he treats The Knights like equals.”
“Then I’ll get him to treat you like equals. Think about it, Maxim. It’s the smart move. Use Nikolai to your advantage rather than killing me.”
“He’ll never agree. He’s too fucking stubborn.”
“He hasn’t talked to me yet. Let me try. I know you want peace. I can see it in your eyes. You think, that if this works, it could be a smart idea. So, let me try.”
I’m pleading for the man who bought me. What kind of person have I become? Nikolai will hurt other people—unless I can get him to stop.
And if he were to stop, he could be a husband I could see myself caring for one day.
Maxim stares at me for a long, long moment. Then he nods once. “Fine. Follow me.”
He leads me down a hallway to a door at the end, which leads to a set of stairs, which leads down to a single door. When Maxim opens the door, I see Nikolai, his hands in cuffs chained to the ceiling.
He’s bloody and bruised and barely recognizable.
But he recognizes me. “Ava?”
“Hi,” I whisper.
Nikolai looks between Maxim and me. “What are you doing here? What is she doing her?”
I step forward. “I’ve come to save you.”