Page 78 of The Russian's Kidnapped Bride
“I did, for better or worse,” Aldo says, unruffled by the chaos unfolding around us still. “We were in talks before you stormed him, then Maxim came crawling to me like a whimpering pup after he escaped your flimsy lockup. He needed firepower, and I needed a foothold in Vegas. With my interest in expansion, we expedited the deal.”
Maxim looks vaguely annoyed by his description, but he focuses on me. “While you were busy searching for me, the Italians were flooding Vegas, giving you the runaround. And now look at you…falling right into our trap.”
A cold hand grips the back of my neck at the realization, and at knowing how narrow-minded my assumptions were.
He managed to mislead us, even if he was an idiot.
Maxim laughs to himself again. “You made it too easy with your pride and your little wife. How disappointing to see just how soft you’ve become.”
Lily stiffens against my back, and I use my free hand to silently reassure her.
I can feel her fear as clear as day, and it only hardens my resolve.
“You’re proud of needing backup? You’re a joke to the Bratva,” I mutter to Maxim, watching as his eyes darken slightly.
He tilts his head, waving his gun recklessly. “Says the one surrounded by his enemies…”
He isn’t wrong. But it doesn’t matter.
They aren’t taking Lily, and I sure as hell am not going down.
Chapter 27 - Lily
My chest is so tight I can hardly breathe. I can hardly hear past the roaring of my pulse.
There are three guns pointed at us—one for each of the three men surrounding us.
Three against one.
Clinging to Mikhail’s back while I try to stay standing on my shaky legs, something in me wishes I had taken that shooting lesson more seriously and developed a collection of my own. If I had even one weapon on me, we’d be at less of a disadvantage.
At least then I’d be useful and not just a dead weight holding him down.
My stomach aches from the suspense, and I have no idea how we’re supposed to get out of this.
We’re surrounded and cornered completely. There’s nowhere to run in this stretch of never-ending containers, and it feels so bleak.
I want to have faith in Mikhail, but the odds are stacked against him to an obvious degree. He can’t shoot three men at the same time, as much as I wish he could.
With my heart squeezing to the point of pain, I can’t shake the dull ache of the unknown. Of not knowing how this will end and being forced to watch it unfold firsthand.
Maxim takes the slightest step forward, making me flinch. He smirks. “It’s funny, isn’t it, Mikhail? You and your brothers always thought I was just a waste of space. Just because you gained the upper hand before and managed to put me in a bind, you thought that was the end of me.”
Mikhail doesn’t answer, but I still feel the way that tension courses through him and causes his shoulders to tighten.
“I’ll admit, it was bad for a while,” he continues, wearing a nonchalance that sends a shiver down my spine. “After escaping your hold, I had to stay underground. I had to hide and be patient while you bastards got to carry on like nothing happened. That was when I realized I couldn’t keep going at it from the same approach…I needed to do something different.”
Something twitches in his jaw, betraying a deep, festering bitterness underneath. “I could’ve scraped up what I had left and tried to build from the ground up somewhere else. But I don’t want scraps. I don’t want to beg for my place at the table…I want to take what I deserve—all of it. And Cattaneo was just the person to help me do exactly that.”
Maxim nods to Aldo, who keeps his expression steady, not giving anything away. “I gave him information and connections. I helped him understand how your family operates, and in return, he gave me men and firepower. We put a plan together, and it all led us here. To this moment.”
Aldo shifts subtly in his place, his chin raised. He’s not remotely as dramatic as Maxim. His gaze is calculated and waiting. There’s a coldness in his stance that makes me wish we were anywhere else.
Silence lingers in the small space between us despite the gunfire and shouting happening elsewhere, and then Mikhail chuckles, sounding surprisingly amused despite the circumstances.
“This grand plan of yours…it’s a bailout. It has nothing to do with any skill on your end,” he says, keeping his tone level. “If you think relying on a shark will get you anywhere in this world, you’ll never make it. You were always bound to fail, Nikolaev.”
Maxim’s gaze hardens, clearly taking that hit to his pride personally. He tightens his grip on his pistol, making me tense against Mikhail again.
