Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Maksim
Natasha is going to be the death of me.
She looked so fucking sexy in her little nightgown that I wanted to take her right then and there.
I might not be happy about this marriage but at least Natasha is a consolation prize.
She’s pretty and sweet and I do care for her, despite only knowing her for less than a week.
I want to protect her in a way I never have anyone before.
Which is why I couldn’t take her when she offered herself up to me. It would only make her more afraid and the only way our marriage is going to work is if she doesn’t absolutely fear me.
I can’t shake Natasha off my mind, even when I show up at the sight of our incoming drug shipment. The van is tipped over in the middle of the road, in the middle of bumfuck New York. I had to drive hours to get here. All the drugs inside are gone.
The driver has a bullet through his head. Enzo’s leaving a message. He’s coming for our territory.
Fuck this. He needs to be dealt with.
Without asking for Nikolai’s permission – or my father’s – I drive for hours back into the city to reach one of Enzo’s nightclubs he owns. Even though it’s three in the morning, the club is still going strong.
Nikolai would tell me to take a deep breath. Not do anything rash. But I’m tired of following the rules. I did with Natasha and now I’m in a loveless marriage. Enzo needs to know he can’t fuck with us and get away with it.
I’m let into the club with no problems. I spy Enzo in his private VIP booth near the back of the club. Surrounded by women. Drinking and laughing. It’s how I used to live my life before Natasha entered it.
Enzo is young – only a little older than I am. I hate that he’s a handsome guy. It only makes me want to punch him in the fucking face for thinking he can mess with us.
I storm over to the VIP booth but the guard on duty stops me. “Enzo,” I say. “This is a message from Nikolai Volkov.”
Enzo stops flirting with the woman next to him and gives me his undivided attention. “From Nikolai you say? You let a dirty Russian into my club?”
“You’re a filthy Italian. And we’re coming for you. You won’t get Nikolai’s territory. Not over my dead body.”
Enzo looks me up and down like he thinks I’m not even worth his time. “Then I’ll just have to deal with you if you cause me problems. Now get out of my club.”
“You’re not going to kill me?” I taunt.
His lips twitch. “I don’t take care of the trash. Besides, I want Nikolai’s territory. But I don’t want a war. I’ll win over him with strategy over brute strength. You’ll see.”
“You’re not going to win,” I snarl before lunging at him.
The guard grabs me around the waist and pushes me back.
“You’re not going to win, Enzo.” Knowing I can’t get to him in a crowded club, I leave and drive around the city for a while to make sure I’m not being followed.
When I know it’s safe, I return home to find Natasha asleep in our bed. For once, she looks so peaceful.
I trace my fingers along her cheek but she doesn’t wake up. Let her have some peace given everything she’s been through.
I undress down to my underwear and get in beside her. The urge to hold her is strong but I push it down. She doesn’t want that. Do I want that?
I know I never wanted this marriage but… I’m not mad at the idea of loving my wife. It sounds a lot better than hating my wife for the rest of my life.
With a sigh, I force sleep to overtake me so I can find peace too.
It doesn’t take long for my father to find out what I did at Enzo’s club last night.
It’s morning time and Natasha is avoiding me. When she woke up and saw me half naked, she squeaked and jumped out of bed and I haven’t seen her since. She’s hiding out somewhere in the house.
So I’m already in a bad mood from being rejected by my wife when my dad calls at seven in the morning, even though I barely got any sleep last night.
“What did you do?” Gregor demands. “You went to see Enzo? Stay away from him, Maksim. We have a plan to get him to back off.”
“He’s not backing off, Dad. He killed our driver. He stole all of our drugs from this shipment, costing us millions. He’s getting stronger and we have to deal with him before it’s too late. I know Nik wants to break him down but I think we have to kill him.”
“If we kill him, we’ll have an entire war on our hands. It’s not happening. As long as we can keep Enzo at bay, it’s handled.”
“It’s like putting a band-aid over a severed limb. It’s not going to hold forever.”
“It’s holding for now. So don’t fuck up,” he snaps, hanging up on me. My dad always loves getting the last word in.
Between my dad, my job, and now my new wife, nothing is going right. Something is going to break eventually. I just don’t know when.
Natasha
I can only breathe after Maksim leaves the house.
Seeing him shirtless this morning, in nothing but his underwear, caused me to panic.
He’s incredibly handsome that I don’t know what to think about him.
Yet, when I saw all the muscle he possess, it only reminded me of the power he has over me and how he could use it against me if he wanted to.
The doorbell rings. I set my book down on the coffee table, confused. Who’s coming here in the middle of the day? Other than me and Maksim, only Kira and Gregor can reach the penthouse and I’m not sure I want to deal with Kira right now. She’s sweet but she’s a lot.
Except, it’s not Kira I see when I look through the peephole.
It’s Alexandra.
With a frown, I open the door. “Yes?”
“Natasha? I think we got off on the wrong foot yesterday. I thought I could come in.”
“How did you get up here?”
“Maksim never changed the code after we broke up.”
I shiver. For some reason that thought upsets me. Was Maksim waiting for his ex-girlfriend to show up in the hopes of getting back together? No. That’s ridiculous. Maksim told me it was over with Alexandra and I have to believe him. I have no other choice.
“Can I come in?” she asks.
“Sure.” My father always taught me to be polite.
Alexandra waltzes right past me into the apartment and sits down on the couch. “Just as comfortable as I remember.”
I try not to let that sting. Alexandra has been in here before. Most likely she’s slept in the bed I’m sleeping in now.
Most likely she did more than just sleep with Maksim in this very house.
“Did you need something?” I ask her.
She snuggles in deeper. “Just thought we could become friends. You’re married to Maksim now, which is still crazy to believe, and I’m still a part of his life. It just makes sense.”
“Right,” I say slowly. “I’ll be honest. I’m not sure I’m comfortable being friends with my husband’s ex-girlfriend.”
Alexandra narrows her eyes and stands up, towering over me in her heels. “What is that supposed to mean? I came here of my own free will to make an effort with you. The least you can do is be grateful.”
My mind flashes back to the night Maksim saved me from those men in Greece. How he told me I should be grateful to him. How scared I was.
The room feels like it’s spinning suddenly and I back away from Alexandra with a gasp, bumping into the wall.
She scoffs. “What’s your problem?”
I can’t breathe. I’m brought right back to that night. Those men pushing me against the wall. Those men with their smelly breath and their hot hands on my skin. Those men who wanted me to be afraid and I was.
Alexandra approaches me. “What is the deal with you?” She reaches out for me and on instinct, I push her away. I can’t have anyone touching me right now. Trying to attack me again. Trying to hurt me.
“What the hell?” Alexandra hits my arm. “I was just trying to help. You didn’t need to push me.”
The sting in my arm only draws me in further to the darkness. I’m scared. Scared of those men. Scared of Maksim.
Scared of my father and what he did to my mother.
Before I even know what I’m doing, I let out a scream and run forward, pushing Alexandra so hard, she stumbles back on her heels. And then she loses her balance and falls to the ground.
Her head hits the side of the coffee table and then she slumps to the ground… and doesn’t get back up.
The sound of the crack wakes me from my fear and I realize what I’ve done. With a gasp, I check Alexandra’s pulse.
Only to find her dead.
I quickly back away from her body, shaking. The tears spill from my eyes within seconds. I did that. I killed her.
I judged Maksim for killing that man to save my life and yet look at me know. Am I even better? I just killed an innocent woman. It was an accident but her blood will forever me on my hands.
I slump to the floor and hold myself for hours until Maksim returns home. He stops when he sees Alexandra’s dead body on the ground.
“What happened?” he asks, looking at me like I’m a stranger. Well, I am. Maksim doesn’t know everything about me.
“I didn’t mean to,” I whisper. “I’m sorry.” I sob harder, dropping my head into my hands.
Slowly, Maksim approaches me and before I even know what’s happening, he draws me into a hug. For once, I don’t push him away. Instead, I sink further into his arms, clinging to him with all my might.
Maksim doesn’t seem frightening in this moment. Instead, he’s my savior.
“You’re ok,” he murmurs against my hair. “You’re ok.”
“I didn’t mean to kill her. She came at me and I… I pushed her back and she fell and…”
“I understand. I’ll handle this. Don’t worry.”
That tells me Maksim has handled a lot of dead bodies in his past. It doesn’t make me afraid of him. It comforts me that he knows how to help me in this moment.
Maksim tightens his arms around me. “I got you, Natasha. I’m here for you.”
“My dad killed my mom,” I whisper.
He goes still. “What?”
“He killed her. I know it. It’s why I was so afraid when you killed that man. I was worried you’d do the same to me. But now I’m a killer. I’m just like him. I’m just like you.”
Maksim doesn’t say anything for a long moment before he lets me go to cup my face. “I won’t hurt you. Ever. I’m not like your dad. I’m not like my dad. And you’re not like your dad either.”
His words bring me so much comfort that, before I even realize what I’m doing, I lean in and press my lips to his.