Page 5 of Embrace of the Russian Tiger

Everything was about to change.

“Mikhail,” I whispered, my voice barely audible. My mind raced, trying to piece together why he was here. Why now?

He stepped inside without waiting for an invitation, his eyes scanning the small room before they settled back on me. “It’s time, Anna.”

The words hung in the air like a death sentence.

I took a step back, my hands trembling at my sides. “Time for what?” But deep down, I already knew. Maxim. It had to be about Maxim.

Mikhail’s face softened just a little, but the hardness in his eyes didn’t fade. “Maxim found out. He knows you’re alive.”

I felt the ground tilt beneath me, the room closing in. Maxim knew. After all these years of hiding, of trying to build a new life, he knew. He was coming for me.

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “No, I’m not going back.” My voice wavered, betraying the fear that clawed at my chest.

“You don’t have a choice, and neither do I, Anna,” Mikhail said quietly, his eyes locked on mine. “He sent me to bring you back to New York.”

The panic surged inside me. I had been running from that night for so long, and now it was catching up to me. But I wasn’t the same girl I had been back then. I wasn’t going to be a victim again.

“I don’t care,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest, trying to hold on to whatever strength I could muster. “I’m not going back. I don’t owe him anything.”

The world stopped.

Mikhail’s face hardened. “You don’t have that option, Anna.”

Tears pricked at my eyes, but I blinked them away, refusing to let them fall. I wasn’t going to cry. Not now. Not in front of Mikhail. I wasn’t that weak girl anymore.

But even as I told myself that, the fear remained. Maxim was coming for me. The man who had haunted my nightmares for years, the man who had killed my father and spared my life. Why did he want me now? What was his plan?

I hated that part of me—the part that was curious about him, the part that wondered what kind of man he really was. I had seen his ruthlessness firsthand, but I had also seen his pain. I couldn’t forget the way he had spoken of his sister that night, the raw emotion in his voice when he had talked about protecting her. He had loved her fiercely, and that had resonated with me in a way I didn’t want to admit.

But that didn’t mean I could trust him. And it certainly didn’t mean I wanted to go back to New York with Mikhail.

“I’m not going,” I said again, my voice firmer this time. “You can tell Maxim that I don’t care what he wants. I’m not his to control.”

Mikhail’s eyes darkened. “You don’t have a choice, Anna. If you don’t come willingly, he will come for you. And believe me, you don’t want that.”

I swallowed hard, my heart pounding in my chest. I knew he was right. Maxim wasn’t the kind of man who let things go. Hewas relentless, and if he wanted me, he would find a way to get me. No matter what.

But the thought of facing him again, of being pulled back into that world, terrified me. I had spent years trying to escape it, trying to build a new life. And now, it was all crashing down around me.

“I hate him,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “I hate him for what he did.”

Mikhail’s expression softened. “I know. But hate isn’t going to save you from him. You need to face this, Anna. You need to go back.”

I closed my eyes, trying to breathe through the fear, the panic. I didn’t want to go back. I didn’t want to face Maxim. But deep down, a part of me knew that I couldn’t keep running.

I wasn’t sure if it was the fear that was driving me, or the curiosity. But either way, I knew that my time here, in this quiet, peaceful life, was over.

I opened my eyes and nodded, my voice barely more than a whisper. “Fine. I’ll go.”

Mikhail’s face was unreadable as he nodded, but I could see the relief in his eyes. He didn’t say anything else. He didn’t need to.

CHAPTER 4

The silence in the room was deafening, broken only by the soft click of the door as Mikhail stepped aside to let Anna in. I didn't turn immediately. I wanted to savor this moment, the anticipation thrumming in my veins.

I should have been indifferent. Cold. Detached.

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