Page 24 of Surrender: XXX Maxim
“I should have known it seemed too damn easy,” Maxim hisses. “The bastard knew I was coming. He’s probably in fucking Moscow by now. I should have known Milton would protect that piece of shit… But you are no lazy hack, either,” he adds, speaking to Lucius. “The only way for this to go under your radar was if someonehelpedsweep it under. I paid one of the men off, but I could tell the fucker’s been bought before. Only one man I know is cunning enough.” He strokes his chin, his eyes gleaming murderously.
“Sir?” Lucius inclines his head. “You don’t mean—”
“Milton has always had a soft spot for Vadim. They were in the same batch, you remember? In Europe. Kept like prized rats in a cage to be bought and sold amongst the same fucking ‘clientele’…”
He glowers, staring beyond me, and this car and anyone else. The past surrounds him, and he bares his teeth against it.
“I thought time may have broken that pathetic sense of pity in him. But I was wrong.” A single twitch of his frown betrays just how deeply that fact unnerves him. “When it comes to Vadim, I can no longer trust him.”
“Sir?” Lucius inclines his head. “What would you like for me to do?”
“You have full reign,” Maxim replies. “Do what you must to hunt him down—but don’t kill him. I want you to give him a message.” He laughs in a way that will haunt my fucking nightmares. “Tell him to stop hiding like a boy and face me like a man.”
His voice resonates with more vitriol than usual—even for him.
“Let’s see how the rat reacts when presented with a pile of cheese.”
“As you wish, sir. But Ms. Marconi?” Lucius clears his throat, and Maxim flinches at the subtle reminder.
“Bring her to her family,” he commands, returning his attention to me. “Then take me back to the city.”
“Yes, sir.” Lucius nods. “Right away.”
* * *
Dawn paintsthe horizon as the city skyline looms in the distance. Fair Haven, as a whole, looks surprisingly cold when viewed from here. A lifeless jungle of concrete I’ve been stuck in for my entire life. Before Maxim, I think I would have sold my soul to escape from it.
Maybe I did, shedding my old life and neighborhood for something new.
Glimpsed from the perspective of a brutal billionaire, Fair Haven contains a darkness far more terrifying than the prospect of wasting my life as my mother did. It reminds me of Maxim in a way. Beautiful from afar. Terrifying and cold while up close. Impossible to leave for reasons I can’t really explain.
The fact that our destination is beyond the city limits unsettles me in more ways than one. It’s symbolic, in a sense. I’ve craved my freedom from the place for so damn long…
But as it turns out, the world beyond my home is flat, boring, and devoid of the chaos I’ve grown accustomed to. When we arrive at the property, I assume my family is sequestered in, I’m even more unsettled. No one would ever guess the true owner of the quaint dwelling enclosed by a wrought-iron gate. Hell, add in a white picket fence, and the place would look tailor-made for some rich soccer mom and her brood to inhabit.
Not a crime lord with a preference for penthouses.
The only glitch in the façade is a security booth guarding the entrance, staffed by two men dressed in black. They nod solemnly as the car advances past them, down a paved driveway and up to the front of the house.
“The extra security measures are temporary. As for the house, I admit it’s not my usual taste, but it’s secure,” Maxim explains as I take in the white mansion with black trimming. He must sense the skepticism my expression can’t disguise. “Get some rest. Your family is already settled in. I’ve asked the guards to remain out of sight. Lucius will come by later.”
He doesn’t bother to explain what will happen after that. He doesn’t have to, considering that my experience with his controlling nature is enough for me to fill in the blanks—tonight, we’ll be on a plane to only God knows where. Though, to be fair, in Maxim’s world, God himself sits beside me, so convinced of his own power. Any slight violation of his wishes equates to a mortal sin.
Like daring to question him. “What about their school?”
“The arrangements have been made,” he says, prepared for me. My punishment is his thumb tracing my lower lip as if savoring my rebellion. “As for your siblings, they’ve been told you’re going on a surprise family vacation.”
Surprise. Our first trip from the city ever is anything but a “vacation.”
It’s petty to focus on that point. To be irritated by it. After all, what is a trip somewhere new in relation to a pre-designed wedding dress, or a disposable ring? Petty, fucking concerns. It’s even pettier to needle him for no damn good reason. “What if I don’t want to leave?”
A low sound resonates in his throat. “Don’t.” He meets my gaze directly, his stare fathomless. “You feel comfortable enough to question me. I can respect that. But don’t ever doubt me or my intentions toward you. When you are safe, I can turn my attention to Anatoli without any distractions.”
“So, you’re staying in the city?”
“Keep the car running,” he tells Lucius before exiting the car. To me, his tone is far more curt. Another warning. “Come.”
I trail him up the walkway, allowing him to take the lead. Beyond the front door is a layout similar to that of his previous house. Faint noises from various directions betray the presence of other occupants, awake despite the early hour. Running water. A muffled television. High-pitched bickering over toothpaste.
