Chapter 14 - Mikhail
Lily leaves the bed, bare feet hitting the floor like the whole building is on fire.
Regardless of how quiet she tries to be, attempting not to wake me, my eyes are already open—somewhat hazy, but open. For the first time since that night at the club, I feel genuinely content.
She moves quickly while wearing my shirt as if trying to pretend like last night didn’t happen, like we didn’t give in once again.
But I know better than that.
After our stint in the office, we barely made it back before her dress was pulled off and tossed over the ottoman at the foot of the bed, where it rests still. Her hair and makeup are a mess, smeared and tangled from where I had been.
And even so, despite the evidence of what we did to each other, she’s trying to remain composed like it were just another mistake. Like her body wasn’t saying something completely different last night.
She wanted me, and she gave in. It was mutual.
And now, I’m not wasting that high. Pleased with myself, I bask in the aftermath, unhurried in every movement, while I lean on an elbow and watch as she digs through the shopping bags she hasn’t moved to the closet yet.
Her brows are pinched in concentration while she tries to find something academic, apparently coming up short.
“You’re going to be late being that picky,” I say knowingly.
Lily jolts in place before forcing out a breath. “Jesus Christ.”
“Close, but not quite.”
Unamused by my grin, Lily shakes her head and continues rooting through the bags before pulling out a fresh blouse, tags, and all.
Unfortunately, she isn’t going for any tight black dresses today. Not while she has to be Lily, the med student again.
“I have class,” she mumbles as if I don’t already know that.
“And I was kidding. You’ll make it on time,” I tell her, trying to be vaguely serious at least. I sit up and stretch my arms over my head. “You don’t need to worry—not while you’re my wife.”
“Is that supposed to be comforting?” She asks bitterly, shuffling into the clothes she has chosen for herself.
As tempting as it is to sling something scathing back at her, I don’t say anything. Instead, I lift a brow in her direction.
Her hostility doesn’t sting in the slightest. Not today.
Not while the scratches on my back are still fresh, and definitely not after feeling her warm, desperate breath against me for quite some time.
I’ll let her pretend she hates me because it doesn’t matter.
We crossed a familiar line last night, and there’s no turning back for either of us.
She can act like I’m her enemy, but her ecstasy didn’t lie.
When I stand and stretch some more in only my boxers, I catch her glance in my direction, and I can’t fight back that smirk on my face.
She looks away quickly, but her attraction is no secret. Neither is mine.
“The car will be waiting downstairs when you’re ready,” I tell her, grabbing my phone from the nightstand before walking by her. “The driver knows where to go, and your new security detail will be on standby.”
Lily pauses at this, giving me a skeptical glance. “And they’re just going to follow me around all day?”
I hum, not missing a beat. “Yes. You’re my wife, so get used to being guarded.”
I can see the urge to argue shifting through her features, but she holds her tongue.
Instead, she grabs her bag and leaves the room, leaving a cold front behind.
It’s fine…she’ll thaw again soon enough.
***
By midmorning, I pull up to one of our smaller warehouses on the city outskirts, finding Nikolai and Ivan in the basement with a few others. They have a man tied to a chair in the center of the room, lip split and bruising like an apple.
Already, it smells like sweat and blood, and there’s plenty of tension in the air from the interrogation being well underway. It’s a familiar thing, even if I’m not usually the one breaking hostages. That’s more of Nikolai’s gig, and Ivan’s when he needs to let off some steam.
He’s one of Maxim’s old loyalists, and apparently, our men had been busy last night. They found him digging where he shouldn’t have been, and that was enough to land him here.
The last rats we offered didn’t have much to offer us, but we’re nothing if not resilient.
So, another will have to do.
Moving down the stairs, I meet Nikolai’s gaze while he approaches. “Still quiet?”
He scoffs, irritation aimed at the rightful target. “Very much so…and smug.”
Well aware of what that will mean for us, I exhale and push my sleeves up. “Just like they always are before they finally squeal.”
Despite being restrained with nowhere to go, the captive chuckles before erupting in a wet cough. He turns his head and spits blood onto the floor. “More Lukovs for backup. Always so eager for answers. Desperate for the upper hand and terrified of the tables being flipped.”
Walking over, I keep my expression neutral while I look down at him. “Yet you’re the one tied to a chair. You’ll be desperate soon enough.”
“You might think you’ve already won, but you haven’t seen half of it yet,” he grits out, not giving up that defiance despite his predicament. “Maxim’s coming, and he has plans. Big plans.”
“He has plans, does he? Or are they merely concepts?” I return, reaching up and backhanding him, forcing his head to the side sharply.
He groans, then tries to school his features. After a moment, he pulls in a breath to steady himself again.
“I’ve heard that same thing said again and again.
There’s always a master plan, yet it never reaches execution.
It sure as hell won’t in our city,” I mutter, looking him over with obvious disdain.
“You and all the other fleas hide behind Maxim’s name, but where does that get you?
Stuck in a basement and beaten senseless by a Lukov. ”
He sneers at me. “You think you’re untouchable. But Maxim came from the same grit you did, and he knows everything. He sees everything. He’s waiting.”
“Maxim doesn’t know shit,” I snap back, making him jump slightly in his chair. “He sure as hell isn’t anything like us. He doesn’t wait…he runs. Like a coward.”
Despite his disadvantage, the hostage grins red. “When he comes back, you’ll wish your dear Pakhan had shot him dead when he had the chance.”
I already do, but I keep that fact to myself.
Losing track of time, I have no idea how long the interrogation goes on, but even with a face looking more like minced meat, he doesn’t offer us anything useful. No locations, no other names, and no plans. Nothing.
Maxim’s men have stronger mental fortitude than I’d ever like to give them credit for.
Between my brothers and me, our fists are bruised and bloody, and the floor is tainted like a murder site.
Eventually, I straighten and wipe my forehead on my sleeve. I glance at Nikolai. “We’re done here for now.”
The hostage sits slumped in the chair, heaving in shallow breaths, while he looks unrecognizable. Even if he’s ready to speak, he’d have a hell of a time trying to.
“You sure?”
I nod, murmuring, “Let him sit in it. The ache should loosen him up soon enough. And if not, just kill him.”
Even if Nikolai still looks willing to continue, he nods, and we eventually leave the basement behind.
As much as I want to crack the hostage, I know he won’t yet, if ever.
Many of Maxim’s men are loyal to a fault for whatever reason, even if the shots he calls famously get them killed faster than anything.
I don’t know what it is about him, but when they choose his side, they aren’t gaining anything but an early grave.
Still, that doesn’t mean I can’t use the hostage later, or put an end to it if I’m feeling merciful.
While the warm air up top moves between us, my phone buzzes in my pocket. Pulling it out, I glance down at my screen, finding a message from the driver.
“She arrived. All secure.”
That’s one good thing at least.
I take a breath and type back my acknowledgment.
“Is your new bride back in class?” Ivan asks, putting a teasing emphasis on that word.
Nodding, I send the text before slipping my phone away again. “As promised.”
“Do you think she’ll try to bolt?” Nikolai asks, looking a bit more skeptical.
Without needing to think about it, I shake my head. “No, not now. She’s too smart to toss her future away like that.”
They both cock their brows at me, but Ivan asks, “You think she’s coming around?”
I hum, not fighting my grin. “I know she is.”
Later, I watch as the city passes by through my tinted windows, and I don’t even notice at first that I’m not even listening to music.
Instead, I’ve been cataloging everything in my head.
Overall, I feel good, and I don't want to let go of that confidence. Lily is mostly staying in line and is unable to completely deny her pull to me. I can feel Maxim’s trail getting warmer, and the rage I’d otherwise be feeling towards the situation has been quieted by the memory of Lily’s touch.
By the feel and taste of her, so fresh in my mind.
I can still feel the way she trembled for me, and I can see how perfect she looked while coming undone in my arms.
It’s a greedy thought, but I just want more. I need to feel her surrender regardless of what it takes.
And if I have to go through every last one of Maxim’s dogs to keep those moments in my future, then so be it.
Lily can deny it all she wants, but what’s between us is real, and I don’t plan on letting her forget it.