Page 106 of Maxim

Kolya laughs as my nemesis writhes in pain.

“Want me to put him down?” he asks with amusement.

“No, that’s my job. Go make sure my malyshka is OK, then call the doc to come and check out any injured.”

“Sure thing, boss.” He disappears into the gloom, leaving me alone with Uriov.

“You should have left my woman alone,” I tell him.

“Why? You took mine from me!”

“I didn’t take her, she wanted to leave.”

“The bitch was carrying my son!”

I nod. “She was, and now he’s a happy kid with a kind stepfather who loves him. All thanks to me. If she’d stayed with you, she and the kid would be dead.”

Uriov loses it. He crawls toward me, dragging the metal trap with him. Spittle flies from his mouth as he begins to rant.

“I will kill you for—”

I’ve heard enough, it’s time to find my malyshka and take her home. The original plan was to lock Uriov in my torture room and make him suffer for as long as possible, but my priorities have changed since meeting Natalya.

She’s more important than exacting revenge. She needs me and I need her.

I fire one last shot. The bullet hits him right between the eyes, snuffing his miserable life out instantly. Honestly, it’s more humane than I would have liked, but needs must. I’m a changed man since I met Natalya. There is some satisfaction to be gained from spitting on his corpse, however.

“By the way, the site is now permanently offline and I’ve emailed a list of all the subscribers to you,” Mickey announces in my ear. He chuckles and I smile. The kid is odd but I can’t help liking him. It’s just as well. We’ll be family shortly.

Once we clean up the mess here, everyone who signed up to view the site will get their just desserts.

Karma’s a bitch, motherfuckers.

Chapter seventy-five

Nat

Every time I close my eyes, I see Beata on the bed, her mouth wide open and screaming. I smell the blood and hear the pop of Kolanski’s eyeball as the metal hairpin ruptures it.

Max tells me he’s dead. I didn’t ask how he died. If it was at my hand, I refuse to feel guilty. The man was evil and he deserved everything he got.

Uriov’s dead, too. Can’t say I feel bad about his death either.

Hot water sloshes out over the tiled floor as Max climbs into the tub with me. He pulls me between his muscular thighs and I lean back against his chest. He made sure the doctor checked me over before we came back to his house. Aside from bruises and a nasty headache, I’m fine.

Jane’s fine too. Physically, at least. Beata not so much. The poor girl will be in hospital for a while. I heard Max say she’s had a complete breakdown, so will likely be moved to a psych ward once she recovers physically. Hopefully, with some professional help, she'll get better. It’s the best we can hope for.

Max left his men cleaning up the farmhouse. Most of Uriov’s men are dead and the rest have gone into hiding. I was surprised to learn I have Mickey to thank for being found. Max told me he showed up and insisted on helping. Apparently, he intercepted a communication about the PlayPen website and realized Uriov had captured Jane and me. He then tracked down the origin of the message to the farmhouse.

Thank fuck he did, as I doubt we’d have been found otherwise. He’s now helping Sasha figure out the network Uriov used to traffic women from the shelters. So far, they have located a property 20 miles outside of the city where some women were being held. And also identified the main players in the trafficking ring Uriov set up.

All of this will form part of the story I have planned.

My original idea was to expose the mayor’s corruption, but the story is so much bigger than that. I can’t wait to get started but first, I need to heal, mind and body, and that won’t happen overnight.

Max’s arms hold me close. His steady heartbeat thumps beneath my cheek. It feels like we’ve been apart forever when in reality, it’s been less than 48 hours.

“I’m sorry,” I say eventually.

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