Page 12 of Merciless Queen

I snap my fingers and movement behind me starts. I don’t have to turn to know one of my soldiers is retrieving my leverage from the vehicle. He marches her over to my side, placing himself on the other side.

Maxim shows every emotion he’s feeling the second his wife is positioned in front of him, her wide, terrified eyes begging him to save her. A cloth is tied around her head so she can’t talk and her hands are bound in front of her.

“You know what I want, Orlov. Just a name. Then she’s yours.”

His wife whimpers, jerking against the hold on her.

“She’s asking you to comply, Maxim,” I croon, using his first name to get onto a more personal level. “You wouldn’t allow something like business to end her life, would you?”

In truth, I have no plans to kill her, even if he doesn’t comply. It’s not her fault she’s married to a scumbag and I feel no reason to make her pay the price of his stupidity. Not that he knows this.

Maxim huffs, his anxiety shifting to a glare he thinks I’m affected by. “This is fuckin’ dirty, Volkov. Your father knew his place.”

“His place.”Hard to imagine this piece-of-shit is actually cockier than Papa, a feat I didn’t know possible. “Orlov, you’re toeing a very dangerous line. The Bratva isneversecond, and I’m here to remind you of that.”

Another gesture of my hand, and the soldier brings out his gun, cocking it at the woman’s temple. She whimpers again, tears streaming down her face and into the cloth we have tied around her head.

The threat is clear enough, but to ensure Maxim comprehends how serious I am, I say, “His name, or she’s dead. You have five seconds.”

His gaze darts from me to her.

“Four.”

A blink. A hard swallow.

“Three.”

He shuts his eyes.

“Two.”

Now, my own heart rate kicks up. I was so sure she’d get him to fold instantly. His hesitation tells me exactly how profitable this drug is, and the fact that he wants to retain the control.

“On—”

“Jasha Belov.”

Instantly, my soldier lowers his gun. The woman sighs. Maxim breathes in relief.

And I smile.

“Thank you. You made that harder than it needed to be.” Taking his wife myself, I hand her over. She falls into Maxim’s arms, her head into his neck. He murmurs something to her while keeping his eyes on me. “And if you haven’t figured it out,” I continue, “the Bratva no longer has need for you.”

He ushers his wife to one of his own men, who cuts her bindings and the tie around her mouth and begins to lead her tosafety. Once she’s out of sight, Maxim faces me once more, his mouth in a firm snarl.

“You’re a fucking bitch, Volkov. Using a man’s wife to get your way is dirty. Your father?—”

“—is not here anymore so you’d do well to remember that. Good doing business with you.” I give him my back, gesturing my solider to walk ahead of me.

I realize my one and only mistake so far when Lev’s face flashes white, his gaze on the man behind me, his mouth opening to shout his warning. At the same time, Dimitri’s advice flits through my mind.Never give your back to your enemy. Makes you vulnerable.

The resoundingclickechoes over the otherwise silent lot, soon followed by a few more. Of footsteps coming closer. I slowly turn, hands up, showing him I’m playing by his rules for now.

“You’re too cocky, Vanessa,” he calls out, thinking he’s switched the game around with the use of my given name. “You didn’t let me say what I was going to. Your father understood the value in allies, and now you’ve made us an enemy.”

“Shoot me if you’re so certain that you’ll win then. You’ll probably be rewarded for taking me out.”

Keep him talking. Figure a way out of this.We’re outnumbered, and this is Orlov’s place, so I bet he has people in the surrounding buildings. If this goes to a shootout, I can’t be guaranteed we’ll win.

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