34. Maksen
34
MAKSEN
A s I turned on the paved road framed by the tall pine trees, I felt my heart start beating faster in my chest. I could feel my muscles tensing and my palms were sweating more than usual.
The adrenaline was flowing into my veins, and the urge of taking out my knife and cutting myself grew even more.
What I felt was more than I could endure. Every time this happened to me, the only thought going through my mind was harming myself. I could only bear the physical pain, but when the pain came from the inside, I felt like I lost control of myself.
I needed Annalise in my arms right now, and if any of these fuckers I’m going to meet right now had already touched her, tonight was going to turn into a massacre.
The car was moving further into the woods and once I squeezed my eyes to see better, I noticed a high metal fence towering over me. I stopped the car in front of it and the next moment, all I could hear was the sound of the metal door opening in front of me.
I sighed, pushing the gas pedal and driving to the most beautiful garden I had ever seen. The mansion was nothing like I’ve seen before and I had a strange feeling of peace. I’ve never thought that I would feel like this anywhere else rather than my house.
I tilted my head, stopping the engine and getting out of the car. As I took a deep breath in, I noticed the sound of footsteps coming closer to me. I raised my gaze and saw two men approaching me.
“Follow us.”
After one of them spoke, they instantly turned on their heels and made their way inside the house.
I expected them to try and hurt me or even make me obey their orders, but it felt like they knew I would not oppose them. I needed my little Annalise back and they knew it very well, so they took advantage of it.
Once I set foot into the house, my gaze instantly fell on the golden chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The interior was the most beautiful one I’d ever seen and it was for sure a house where I would’ve loved to live.
It was strange that I felt these things in a moment like this.
“Where is she?” I briefly asked as I continued to follow the men.
“No questions, Brown,” the other one said, without even looking back at me.
My nostrils flared as the blood began rushing down my veins. The anger was growing inside me and I didn’t know how much longer I was going to obey their orders.
I needed to save Annalise, but I wasn’t their toy.
In fact, I could’ve just killed both of them and started searching for my girl.
We continued walking down a hallway and the moment we reached a mahogany door, they opened it and let me enter.
I took a deep breath in and as soon as I set foot over the threshold, my gaze met Ender’s. He was sitting on his chair behind the desk, surely looking forward to this meeting. His lips stretched into a grin once the door closed behind me and I instantly felt my body sweating.
“Where is she?” I asked, this time more angry than I'd been a couple of seconds ago.
“I guess I’m not worthy of your greeting, Maksen?” he answered and his fingers started tapping on the wooden surface of the desk.
“You’re not worthy of anything,” I spat every word, taking a step towards him.
He smiled at me and his jaw clenched. “Sit down.”
My foot stomped on the floor as I continued to look him in the eyes. The hurricane of emotion that was ravaging inside my body was scaring me.
I could’ve snapped at any moment. No second thoughts. Just blood.
I sat down on the armchair in front of his desk, fixing my pants and trying so hard not to punch him in the face.
“Where is she, Ender? I’m fucking asking you again and I want an answer right now.”
“You’ll have her if you agree to my proposal.”
What?
I furrowed my brows, looking at him attentively and feeling my jaw clenching at his words.
“I don’t have time for your fucking games, Ender. Where is she?” I replied, the anger growing even stronger inside my limbs. “I fucking need her!”
A smile stretched on his face and he stood up from the chair. He let his hands fall on the desk, supporting his entire weight in them as he pinned me with his eyes.
“I need you to kill Lukyan Makenova. In exchange, I’ll give you all the information you need to discover who your real parents are.”
“My parents are dead. Are you fucked in your head? Tell me where Annalise is or you’ll end up with your brains on the wall just as your son did!”
Immediately I moved to grab him by his neck and push him to the wall behind him. He smiled at me, then took something out of his pocket and raised his hand to my face.
“One more movement and she’s dead,” he said between his gritted teeth.
I looked at the phone in his hand and I saw her sitting on a bed.
She was crying. She had a knife on her neck, ready to slit it in any second. And the man who held the knife had the most mischevious smile on his fucking face.
My gaze started bouncing from place to place, feeling my heart beating faster than ever in my chest. I was going to kill them all.
But before that, I had to play by their rules to save Annalise.
“Why would I believe you?”
“Let me free and I’ll show you.”
I could feel the confidence he had as he spoke and after I let him out of my grip, he took in a deep breath and stepped aside.
He opened the drawer and took out a large hardcover file. I furrowed my brow, looking at it and the moment he opened it, I stepped closer to him.
My fists clenched involuntarily, ready to punch him at any moment.
Calm down, Maksen. She needs you to be calm so you can save her. Your anger won’t do any good now.
“I’ve created the base to an entire organization to save trafficked children. All the girls I’ve ever bought were helped to create a false identity here and were led to the best jobs in the country,” he explained and my jaw fell somewhere on the ground.
“Why should I believe you? What you’re saying to me is pure craziness.”
“You have people to investigate things for you. Tell them about this and you’ll have your answers.”
I couldn’t believe what he was telling me. I’ve always thought about him as being the villain of the story, and now he turned out to be the man who tried to save those girls — just as I was trying to do.
It couldn’t be real.
He was Ender fucking McKnight, the biggest enemy of Lukyan.
What if he was his biggest enemy because he was destroying Lukyan’s plans with his organization?
No. I couldn’t fall for his words.
“He got blinded by the money he made, and he forgot that he was trafficking souls, not just flesh and bones,” he explained, turning page after page.
The pictures of the girls were sticking to my mind as I was looking at them and I could even remember some of them. That’s when Lysandre came back to my mind. I saved her, just as I saved many other girls and God knows how much I tried to hide them from Lukyan.
Did Ender do the same?
Don’t be fucking dumb, Maksen. He’s evil. He’ll say anything he has to say to make you agree with him.
But agreeing with him was the only way I could save Annalise, so I had to believe him for now.
“Are you going to do it?”
His question came out in a more sincere tone of voice than I'd expected.
I looked down at him, then at the file on the desk and a part of me wanted to believe it was true. Then, my rationality came and took control over my mind.
“How do you know where my parents are? They died in a fire.”
His face softened as I spoke, and the pained look he gave me sent shivers down my spine. What the fuck was wrong with him? I felt like I was an abandoned child who just found out he was not actually alone in the world.
But he must’ve been lying to me. Lukyan told me that my parents died in a crushing fire when I was a baby and he took me under his roof. He helped me continue the legacy my parents had and he created the most beautiful life I could’ve ever had — at least, for now.
“They’re alive, Maksen,” he relented, breaking the eye contact we’ve created. “Lukyan lied to you to manipulate you all this time.”
“You’re crazy, Ender.”
I’ve had enough.
I stepped away from the desk and took out my gun. I headed towards the door and when I turned on my heels, I glanced at him and pointed the gun to his head.
“You’re crazy and fucking dead,” I added, biting my lower lip until I felt the taste of iron invading my mouth.
He raised the phone so I could see the screen and the moment he pushed the side button, Annalise’s screams were the only sounds I could hear. I narrowed my eyes and saw the man who slightly cut her neck skin, throwing her into an abyss of pain.
That’s when I lost it.
I fucking lost any crumble I had left of my sanity.
“I fucking agree! I’m going to kill Lukyan! Bring her to me right now!”
I wanted to shoot him, but before I pulled the trigger, I saw the man grab Annalise and leave the room. She was going to be in my arms soon. Safe. And loved.
I was going to kill them all.
Lukyan.
Ender.
And whoever fucking tried to play with me or Annalise. They were all going to pay for everything.
“Before you leave with her, sit down and let my people do something for you.”
The next moment, all I knew was how fast I was pushed to sit down on the armchair. I didn’t even notice when three men bursted into the room. He had some great people under his leadership considering how fast they moved.
One of them pulled my jacket to leave my biceps naked and when I turned my gaze to him, I felt how he pushed a syringe into my flesh. I looked at it confused.
“If you try to take it out, it’s going to explode and rip your arm. If you try to not keep your promise, then it will explode anyway. Your choice.”
Great.
Now I had to discover what the fuck I had in my arm and how I was going to take it out.