Page 77 of Surrender: XXX Maxim
Something cold and cruel slips into Maxim’s gaze. My breathing stalls. Thoughts sputter into incoherence. There is nothing more beautiful than anger on him. And nothing more fucking terrifying.
“I do not think you want a war, Grandfather,” he warns.
“War?” Anatoli scoffs and leans back into his chair. “You sound likehim.The failed mutt. Is he the one who put this idea in your head?” He bares his teeth, but a muscle in his jaw trembles. He sputters, and a series of heaving coughs render him gasping, gripping the arms of his seat for balance. “Did you come to mock me too?” he wonders breathlessly. “I’m sure he’s told you already. I don’t know how the little bastard learned of it—” Another cough rips from his chest that he struggles to smother into the sleeve of his tailored jacket. “He made sure to send his condolences. But Maximov, I never took you as one to gloat.”
Eyes narrowed, Maxim examines his grandfather, from the worn lines around his mouth, to his pale, papery skin, and the ragged sound of his breathing, audible from here. His upper lip quirks the more he assesses the man who tormented him for years, now barely able to sit upright unassisted.
“You’re dying,” he says finally. Awe colors his tone, mingled with disbelief. “Is that why you’ve been so desperate to bring me to heel? You truly have no one else—”
“And you would walk away?” Anatoli spits back. “No. I know you,boy. I saw it from the first fucking day you came to me, sniveling and weak. You crave the safety of power. You were always desperate for it. That is what set you apart from the rotten chaff. Am I to believe you’ll just walk away?” He chuckles, eyeing Maxim from head to toe with raw, open malice. “No. You were never that foolish. And if you did forsake your name, it would never be for the sake of some whore. The fact that you brought her proves my point.” He scoffs and waves his hand dismissively. “Leave. When I send for you, you come. Alone—”
“Did you not hear me?” Maxim interjects, but his tone is softer. Something in his expression changes the longer he eyes the man across from him. The anger fades, and resignation sets in, hardening the set of his jaw. “I’m no longer yours to command. Keep your bounty if you want. None of your pawns have been able to claim it anyway—”
“And yet you bring her here,” Anatoli points out, his grin smug, his accent thick. “Why else if not to prove where your real loyalties lie? I could always call in another one of my men to deal with her, as Sevastyn did—”
“Why is she here?” Maxim echoes. He extends his hand toward me. I don’t hesitate to take it, moving to stand by his side. “Because I don’t fear you. Dima was right. You’ve lost your power. You’re merely afraid of losing more. The Koslov name was only ever a leash to you—and you no longer have a grip on it.”
His words eerily echo what Dima let slip during our supposedly private conversation. Had Maxim been listening in? Standing here now, I have no trouble deciding on an answer. Of course, he did—though I doubt he heard everything, or he’d be raising hell about Dima’s revelation as the third X. No, like a true predator, he’d eavesdropped only long enough to glean what he felt like he needed to win.
Leverage.
“Is it money you want?” Anatoli chuckles. “You want to broaden your holdings? Fine. End this game, and you can have it.”
“No.” Maxim turns for the door, pulling me with him. “Send your peons after me again, and Dima’s little games will be nothing in comparison to the hell I will bring down on you. Oh, and I’ll ensure you receive your invitation to my wedding.”
He barrels into the hall, tightening his grip on me. As I cross the threshold, I look back to find Anatoli still watching him, his expression unreadable.
“You will come back,” he says. “A dog like you can’t survive off of his leash for very long…”
Maxim stiffens, his steps faltering. His fingers clamp down over mine, nearly crushing them. Right as the pain builds, he relaxes his grip. More than that—it’s like something drains from him all at once. Something dark and twisted that festered within him for so long. He sways, registering the loss of it, only to right his balance within the space of a heartbeat.
Slowly, his chin juts into the air as his posture straightens, stronger than ever. “Goodbye, Anatoli.” He strolls down the hall without looking back.
“You’ll come back,” Anatoli insists. “You will…”
As we exit the house, his laughter chases us, interspersed with hacking coughs.
I watch Maxim as he hustles me into the car, scanning his features for any reaction. Surprisingly he looks…calm. Too calm.
“Is it done?” he asks Tomas, closing the door behind us.
The other man nods. “Mr. Hood is already on the line. He’s managed to track down Danil’s associates, as well as the bank containing Anatoli’s American assets. All that’s left is for you to say the word.”
Maxim’s lip quirks in a lethal smile. “Do it.”
The car takes off down the driveway as Tomas speaks into the receiver of a cell phone withdrawn from his pocket.
“What’s going on?” I ask, glancing between the two men. “What are you doing?”
“I’m breaking Anatoli’s leash for good.” Maxim takes my hand, tightening his grip so that I couldn’t pull away even if I wanted to. “This visit was merely a formality,” he explains, bringing my knuckles to his mouth. He swipes his lips reverently across them, raising goosebumps over the flesh. “I could declare open war, but with this method, I can diminish his influence with little bloodshed. He won’t have the strength to attack me directly. Not now.”
“How?” I ask.
“As we speak, Anatoli’s remaining pawns are being dealt with, piece by piece. He’ll have no choice but to leave the States. And in the process, he’ll be leaving the city tome.”
“It’s done, sir,” Tomas pitches in from the front seat. “Mr. Hood claims that everything is in place. It’s only a matter of time.”
“Good,” Maxim says, inclining his head. “Now, we wait.”
But it’s not that simple. After being around him for this long, I’m able to suspect the truth in what he doesn’t say. He may succeed in driving his grandfather from the country now, but in the process, he completely forsakes any ties to his family.
Does he regret that?
No,his expression warns. Not one fucking bit.
