Page 50 of Merciless Union
Moving carefully to the door, I open it a crack. “Hello?”
“Mrs. Petrov,” a familiar voice says. “It’s Stepan. Stepan Pasternak. May I come in?”
“Um …” I look around the room, searching for … I’m not sure what. Maybe something to protect myself with. My gut is screaming at me not to let him in. “My husband isn’t here. So maybe you should come back another time?”
He laughs in a way that makes the hair on my arms stand up. “It’s ok. I can come in and wait for him.”
“My guard? Where is he?”
“Oh, he’s right here.”
I frown. “And he just let you get this close to the door?”
“I don’t think he really had a choice,” Stepan says in a darkening voice.
I gasp as the door is pushed open and step back, watching as Stepan enters the penthouse. He has a gun pointed at my guard. Fortunately, the guard isn’t dead. He may annoy me, but I wouldn’t wish for him to die.
“What are you doing?” I demand.
Stepan closes the door behind him, locking it. “I just wanted to visit you.”
“My guard can enter whenever he wants, you know, in case of emergencies.”
“Oh? Is this an emergency?” he advances toward me, holding up a set of keys. “Besides, I don’t think your guard will be joining us without his key.”
“You stole it?”
He shrugs. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I? I wanted to get in, so I got in. Make sure to tell your husband that. If I want something, I get it.”
I stumble backward, my legs hitting the awful couch. “And what do you want?”
“You.”
He reaches out for me, but I jump back, putting the couch between us.
“Why do you want me?” I hate how shaky my voice is.
“Because your Maxim’s.” He says it so simply. “And I want everything he has.”
“And you thought coming here, where he lives, where he could show up at any moment, would be a smart idea? He’ll kill you if you try to put your hands on me.” Or so I hoped. With how tense things have been between us, I’m not sure if Maxim cares enough for me to save me.
“Then I won’t touch you.” He sits down on the couch, motioning for me to sit across from him. His gun is still in his hand, and I’m acutely aware he could kill me at any second.
Over this past week, I wondered what dying would be like. I felt some peace at the idea, knowing I could join my mother. But standing here, with a scary man holding a gun, I’m realizing I don’t want to die at all. I want to live. I want to be happy.
So I do as Stepan tells me. I sit across from him, trying to appease him, anything that will spare my life, at least until Maxim returns. When will he return?
“Good,” Stepan says. “Now, tell me everything I need to know about your husband.”
I stare at him. “What?”
He sighs, waving the gun around. “Yourhusband.” He says it like I’m stupid. “Tell me his weaknesses. All of them.”
My hands are shaking. I stuff them into my lap, trying to remain calm. “Why would I tell you that? If you wanted to kill me, you would have already.”
“I don’t want you dead, dear girl. I want you for myself.” His eyes rake over me, making me feel dirty. “But that doesn’t mean I won’t hurt you. So to make this easier on yourself, just tell me any of Maxim’s secrets. Any of his weaknesses.”
I narrow my eyes. “I can tell you one thing.”
