Chapter 6
MAKSIM
Iwatch her walk across the park, moving through shadow.
She doesn’t look scared anymore. When I first texted her, her shoulders tightened.
Tension twisted through me when I saw how anxious she was.
I wanted to rush across the park, pull her into my arms, glide my lips to her cheek, and kiss her as gently as a man like me can.
I’ll never let anyone hurt you…
I’ve had eyes on her since the last time we saw each other. Trusted men ensuring she’s safe. Each time they gave me their reports, I itched to make her life better. She works, visits her mother, works, visits her mom… and that’s it. She’s running herself into the ground. She deserves a rest.
I should focus. I’m a Bratva boss, not some woe-is-the-world bastard.
Lia impacts me more profoundly than any other woman previously has.
Which says a lot about me. Maybe. Considering most of our interactions have been one-sided through CCTV footage.
She walks confidently out of the park, though I know that’s just a fa?ade.
She’s probably terrified. I follow, moving quietly through the shadows.
I saw the man following her into the park, but now I’ve lost sight of him.
There’s no way that Conrad is going to send his men to kill a civilian in a hospital parking lot.
I stay in the park, looking across the street as she climbs into her car.
Maksim: Don’t leave yet.
She sits behind the wheel, checks her phone, then throws her hands up as though annoyed.
Lia: What do you want me to do, exactly? Just take your word that you want the best for me? You could be the danger!
Maksim: I’m dangerous, I won’t lie. But I need your help. Stay where you are. Sooner or later, this coward is going to show himself. No one is going to hurt you.
I almost add ever. But that would be taking it a step too far. I’m not sure what you’d call this feeling. Infatuation. Obsession. Fixation, maybe. All I know is that my blood is boiling at the thought of anyone daring to hurt her or even think about hurting her.
Lia: What happens if I just drive away, Maksim?
Before I can send another text, she follows it up with another.
Lia: This is my punishment for not giving you my number, isn’t it? All this mysterious crap.
Maksim: If you leave, you’ll be safe. If you stay, you could help me get to the bottom of this mess.
Lia: Help one bad guy beat another bad guy? What a privilege.
I smirk. She’s got her defenses up even now. Her shield of sass, pretending like this isn’t affecting her. I admire that. I admire her.
Maksim: I am who you think I am. But no, this isn’t a punishment.
Lia: You know I was crazy for ever trusting you to begin with? You gave me your word, and I acted like that meant something. But that was insanity. I had no reason to believe you. I HAVE no reason to believe you. If I was sane, I’d just drive away.
Maksim: If you were sane?
I’m constantly scanning the parking lot, the street, from my place in the dark. I can only assume that Conrad’s man is doing the same. He might even be in a vehicle, waiting for her to leave.
Lia: I’m a nurse who voluntarily works sixty-hour weeks. So, yeah, IF. This isn’t exactly fun, you know.
I quickly text Anton.
Maksim: Hospital parking lot. Only intervene if it looks like I need help. If the mark survives, take him. He could be useful.
Then I text Lia again.
Maksim: You’re doing a great job. I know you’re scared, but this will help me get the people who threatened your friend and ran that man off the road. And yes, this will help ME, but you don’t have to do it for that reason.
I watch as she reads the text. Her shoulders tighten and then relax.
There’s something dangerously intoxicating about watching her from a distance, just like through the CCTV.
It’s like I’m there but not there. With her but not with her.
It’s the only safe form of connection—if that word means anything here—for a man like me…
Which makes me a hypocrite for insisting on taking on this job myself.
But I need it done right. If someone hurt her and I send one of my men…
I’d never forgive myself. Worse—for my guard—I’d never forgive him either.
Finally, I spot a hooded figure stalking across the street. I move slowly. Then Lia leaps from her car and waves her arms at the man. Her voice carries across the street.
“You think I’m scared of you?” she yells. “I’ve been through worse than a standoff with a lowlife like you!”
I admire her even as I wish she would’ve stayed in the car. The man jogs toward her. I move faster, rushing until I’m right behind him. He turns when he hears me. His face is in shadow, but I recognize Eli Flemmings, Conrad’s ghost-faced fixer.
His hand goes to his pocket. My instincts kick in. Thirteen years of sambo, a Russian martial art similar to MMA. I leap forward and punch him in the face, grab his shirt, and kick out his leg so he falls to the ground. I collapse on him, establishing control.
He bellows when I grab one of his arms and twist it with an Americana. His shoulder makes a loud pop as it dislocates.
He roars out in pain. I keep pressure on him.
Lia rushes to the other side, diving on his legs, laying herself across them to stop him from thrashing.
“What are you doing?” I growl, though a delirious grin on my lips.
This fierce, beautiful woman might be just as crazy as I am.
“Helping,” she hisses. “You got a problem with that?”
A moment later, a car pulls up, screeching to a stop. Anton leaps out, one of my most trusted generals. He’s bald on top, covered in swirling tattoos, with a short beard. He takes out a gun and presses it against Eli’s head.
“No more struggle,” Anton growls in a heavy Russian accent. “Time to go.”
Content that he’s got it under control, I stand. Lia bolts to her feet and stares in disbelief as Anton drags Eli into the trunk of the car and drives away.
She turns to me, shock on her face. Her eyes are glistening like she’s holding back tears.
I don’t plan it. I probably don’t have any right. But I’ll be damned if I’m going to leave her there looking like she’s on the verge of tears.
I take her shoulders and pull her against me. She lets this happen for what feels like a long time. It’s probably only a second or two, but it means a lot. She wraps her arms around me and pulls herself in. But then she pushes me away.
“What the hell is going on?” she hisses.
“Not here,” I grunt. “We need to leave. Now.”
“But—”
“Do you want more trouble at work?” I demand. “It’s a miracle nobody saw us.”
She looks around the parking lot, her mouth falling open in shock when she realizes I’m right. It’s like she didn’t remember where we were until I pointed it out.
She moves toward her car.
I quickly step into her path. She stares up at me, expressive eyes full of fire and pain. But there aren’t any tears clinging to her anymore. She just looks angry.
“I thought I had to leave?” she snaps.
“With me,” I tell her. “We need to go to your place. Check if they’ve pulled anything there. My only goal here is to keep you safe.”
“And that means hugging me, does it? That means pretending you’re a good guy?”
“I’m the guy who just saved your life,” I snarl. “The word you’re looking for is thanks.”
She folds her arms. Softens for a moment. Then grows hard again. “Don’t hold your breath,” she says. “Maybe I’ll thank you in a text.”
“Smartass,” I grunt, then gesture at her to follow me.
When she hesitates, I move to take her hand. She snatches it away.
“I am smart,” she says. “But you’re the ass.”
The laugh takes me by surprise. It’s been a long time since I’ve laughed with anyone except for my brother. She walks at my side, looks at me, then starts laughing too.
“You’re crazy, and you’re making me crazy,” she says.
I grin. I want to tell her I know the feeling. I want to tell her she’s made me crazy dozens of times over the past few months, when watching her was the only release I got from this dark world.
How can I say that? How can I ever tell her the truth?
But dammit, lying to her hurts badly.