Page 61 of Surrender: XXX Maxim
Dima.
“What the hell?” Maxim’s grip loosens over me for a second, revealing his shock. Dima looks back at him with a wink before he whirls on his heel to address the hoard of men behind him.
“So predictable, Danil,” he says mournfully, eyeing the body of the driver nearby. “I mean, I told myself that even you wouldn’t be so dreadfully sloppy. So unimaginative. Alas, I was wrong.”
“Vadim?” Danil’s mouth contorts into a scowl, but he lowers his gun a fraction of an inch. “Have the two mutts reunited? How sweet. The last I heard, you were still selling your ass for treats,dog.”
“That is the nicest rumor I’ve heard floating around about me,” Dima says, slapping a hand over his chest in gratitude. “Now, your plan sounds marvelous and all, but I’m afraid Maxim and I have a previous arrangement regarding the girl.I’veclaimed a moment with her first, you see. Your wayward son will have to find another way to crawl back into Anatoli’s good graces.Adieu—”
“Oh?” Danil laughs. “And you’ll just wave your pretty little hands and make us leave?” He glances at the men around him. “I’ve heard you were a crazy son of a bitch, but you can at least count?” He aims his weapon at Dima’s head. “You were always a sniveling rat, but Maxi here? I’ve heard the stories. Any other day I wouldn’t dare come to you without an army at my back. But the rumors were right. A woman has made you soft, and I can assure you that Bruno—as well as the rest of us—will surely enjoy fucking her. And then there’s Anatoli… I’m sure he’ll take what’s left, eh boys?”
The men around him laugh, voicing suggestions that churn my stomach.
But the loudest laughter of them all spills out like music and comes from none other than Dima. “Come now, Danil,” he says. “You may be the most useless of Anatoli’s pawns, but even you must see it?” He gestures around us. “The girl is the only reason you are still standing where you are. Were Maxim any other man, I’d assume he wanted to spare her the trauma. As it stands, I think he’s merely biding his time to inflict the most…impact.” He brushes his fingers over his heart a second time, his head bowed. Then he raises his hand and cuts the air in a sharp motion. “I, however, have no such qualms.”
Maxim grabs my chin, forcing my face against his chest. “Close your eyes,” he growls.
It’s too late.
Blood goes flying, and Danil falls over, his limbs splayed in unnatural directions. A heartbeat later, his son slumps over as well.
I breathe in, resisting the instinct flooding my veins. I don’t scream. I don’t go numb. I inhale the salt-tinged air, and when I pull away from Maxim, I don’t cringe from the violence at my feet.
I take it all in. Every grisly, horrible fucking bit.
“You can go now,” Dima says, dismissing the remaining men with a wave. They continue to raise their weapons, eyeing each other warily. “Quickly, before I change my mind and have my snipers take out the rest of you. And don’t even consider firing a single bullet.”
The men exchange another round of wary glances. Then, all at once, they turn and pile into the black van. Seconds later, it takes off, its wheels skidding in their haste.
As the vehicle lumbers out of view, Maxim advances a step toward Dima. “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t kill you.”
“This was fun,” Dima exclaims, utterly unconcerned by the other man’s nearness. “We should do this again. I mean, who knew sibling bonding could be such a rush—”
“How did you know?” Maxim demands, his throat cording. “I had ten fucking men on the perimeter. Danil and his shitheads had no hope of getting through.”
“Yes,” Dima concedes with a thoughtful nod. “That is, if Danil didn’t happen to bribe the airport manager into calling in the Feds on suspicion that your plane might be smuggling drugs from a foreign country. A smart move. Too smart. I believe his son came up with it, given the plot of one of his rather amusing video games. Have no fear, I was able to defuse that nasty situation, though it allowed Danil enough time to sneak past your defenses—”
“So, you come to the rescue?” Maxim spits at his feet. “Bullshit. Why? And why not warn Jacob if you were so fucking smart?” He nods to the slain driver.
“Hmm…” Dima slips his hands into the pockets of his jeans and shrugs. The simple gesture makes him look even younger than he already appears. A boy in grown-up clothing—but his eyes portray anything but innocence. “I’m afraid that poor Jacob had to be sacrificed for the sake of research. Call it a hunch.”
Maxim snatches my wrist and nearly drags me to the car he moves so quickly. “Talk in riddles if you fucking want to. You have five seconds to get out of my sight before I have you killed. Thank Milton for that shred of mercy—”
“You’ve killed in front of her before, haven’t you?” Dima wonders as Maxim wrenches open the door to the back seat of the car. It’s covered in blood, and he hisses, wiping his hand on his jacket. Then he slams the door shut and fumbles for the front passenger-side door.
“You were afraid to kill in front of her again. You hesitated, I saw it,” Dima insists. “You had every chance to call your snipers to take out Danil, but youhesitated.” Awe colors his voice as if that simple fact is the most fascinating discovery. “Were you going to wait until the bastard was right on you before you reacted? By then, she certainly would be scarred for life, considering his brains would be in her lap. And you trust him around your child?” His attention turns to me, his lips quirked in an amused grin. “There is so much we must discuss when we finally have our talk—”
“You will never even touch her,” Maxim swears. “Now get the fuck out of my sight.”
“Why do you even want to talk to me?” I’m surprised that the steady, level voice is mine.
“Why?” Dima raises an eyebrow as if perplexed by the question. “To learn you, of course. The woman who fucks a beast apparently in the hopes that he may one day become a house pet. You fascinate me more than the concept of Maxim seeing a woman outside of the role of a warm, wet hole. Yes, we must discuss!”
He laughs as I turn away from him, my face on fire.
“Oh, yes. Though I have been waiting patiently, haven’t I, little Maxi?”
Maxim says nothing. Finally, he gets the door to the car open and shoves me inside it. Then he storms to the other end and claims the driver’s seat while I fumble for my seatbelt.
