Page 44 of Embrace of the Russian Tiger

The car ride was silent, the tension between us thick, suffocating. I sat stiffly, my mind racing, still trying to process everything that had happened in the last few hours. I could feel the weight of Maxim’s presence beside me, the raw energy he carried with him making it impossible to relax.

My hands trembled slightly in my lap, the adrenaline still coursing through my veins after what I had witnessed. Maxim had killed Nikolai—brutally, efficiently—and part of me knew it was justified. I should have felt relief. Nikolai was a monster. He had been involved in Katya’s death, and if I had learned anything about this world, it was that monsters didn’t deserve mercy.

But watching Maxim do it, seeing the cold, controlled way he had taken Nikolai’s life, made it harder for me to reconcile the man I was beginning to feel something for with the ruthless mafia boss sitting next to me.

I hated him for what he’d kept from me. I hated that he had thrown me into this chaotic world without warning, without giving me a chance to understand. But despite all that, there was a pull—something deep and undeniable that drew me to him, even now.

"Anna." Maxim’s voice was low, cutting through the silence like a knife.

I didn’t look at him, my gaze fixed out the window as the city lights blurred past. "What?"

"You’re angry," he said, his tone careful but with an edge of impatience. "I get it. But you need to understand?—"

I whipped my head around, cutting him off. "You don’t get it, Maxim. You have no idea how I feel right now. You lied to me. You kept me in the dark."

His jaw clenched, his hands tightening around the steering wheel. "I did what I had to do to keep you safe." Maxim’s eyes flashed with anger, but he kept his voice calm, controlled. "If I had told you about the will, you would have been a bigger target than you already were. I couldn’t risk it, Anna. Not until I had a way to protect you."

"Protect me?" I scoffed. "You don’t get to decide what’s best for me, Maxim. You don’t get to control my life like this. And you need to admit, you wanted my assets! You wanted Rossi’s assets as much as Nikolai!”

“I would have to be a fool in order to not want those assets, Anna. I can admit that much. But the minute I saw you, I decided to keep you in the dark, just to keep you safe. And fuck the assets. Do you understand? If I only wanted the assets, I would have them by now. Don’t you think? I wasn’t trying to control you—I was trying to protect you. I do not know any other methods, and that was mine.”

“You are so full of it!" I snapped, my voice rising. "You’ve been controlling everything from the beginning. You kept the truth from me. You used me as a pawn. And now you expect me to just... what? Trust you?"

Maxim’s grip on the steering wheel tightened, his knuckles turning white. He didn’t say anything for a moment, his jaw tense, his eyes hard.

"I didn’t want this for you," he finally said, his voice quieter but no less intense. "But this is the reality now. You’re Rossi’sheir, and whether you like it or not, that puts you in danger. It’s not only Nikolai that will come after you now. The only way you’re going to survive is if you let me help you."

I swallowed hard, the weight of his words settling over me. He was right. As much as I wanted to run, as much as I wanted to leave this nightmare behind, I knew I couldn’t. Not without his help. Not without knowing what to do with the power I now held.

But that didn’t make the betrayal sting any less.

"I don’t know if I can trust you," I whispered, my voice cracking with emotion.

His eyes flickered with something I couldn’t quite place—regret, maybe. Or guilt.

"I know," he said softly. "But I didn’t lie to hurt you. I did it to protect you."

The words hung between us, heavy and suffocating. I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe that everything he had done was for my safety, that he hadn’t just been manipulating me to keep control. But it was hard to shake the feeling that I had been a pawn in his game, just like everyone else.

When we finally arrived at his mansion, the tension between us was so thick it was almost unbearable. The car came to a stop, and without waiting for him, I pushed open the door and stepped out, the cool night air hitting me like a slap to the face.

Maxim followed me inside, his presence like a shadow, looming over me. I could feel his eyes on me as I made my way toward the stairs, but I couldn’t look at him. I was too angry, too hurt.

"Anna," he called after me, his voice laced with frustration. "You need to understand?—"

"I don’t need to understand anything," I snapped, turning around to face him. "I need space. I need time to think."

Maxim’s expression hardened, but there was something vulnerable in his eyes, something he was trying desperately tohide. "You don’t have time, Anna. This world doesn’t wait for anyone."

"Then let me breathe!" I yelled, my voice echoing through the hallway. "I can’t keep doing this, Maxim! I can’t keep being pulled in different directions. I need... I need to figure out what I want. What I need."

For a moment, he said nothing, his eyes locked on mine. And then, in one swift motion, he crossed the distance between us, his hand gripping my arm firmly but not harshly.

"You want space?" he growled, his voice low, dangerous. "You want time? Fine. But you can’t ignore what’s happening, Anna. You can’t pretend this isn’t your reality now. If you want control, you need to step into it. You need to embrace it."

My breath hitched, my heart racing as his words washed over me, as his touch burned through me.

"I’m offering you everything," he continued, his voice softening but no less intense. "I’m offering you power, protection... everything you need to survive. But you need to stop fighting me."

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