Page 72 of Sinful Betrayal

“Hey, Pyotr, I just need to know some things about the day Maxim died.” I swallow the lump in my throat.

Maxim might have been an ass, but he was still my brother, and I’m not sure I’m ready to hear all the gory details of his death.

But I don’t have much of a choice if I want to help Anton.

“Like what?”

“Well, you were there, right? It was before my father sent you back to Russia?”

“Yeah, it was the last job I did. Why all the questions, Nina?”

“I’m looking into Anton Koslov for my father, the one who killed Maxim, and I want to make sure I know the full backstory, so any information you can give me would be really helpful. I can’t fail at this, Pyotr. We need to make sure this man pays for murdering my brother.”

Pyotr sighs, and I anxiously hold my breath as I wait for him to tell me what happened.

“It was fucking chaos, but I remember one of their guys getting Maxim in a headlock, and then Mikhail ordered them to stand down once he realized who it was.”

“Really?”

“They thought they could use him as bait, so he and the guy you’re looking into, Anton, tied him up and threw him in a car. They just took off and left the rest of the men to deal with the aftermath. I got out of there as quickly as I could to try and follow them.”

“So, what happened?”

“They took him to some warehouse, and we waited outside as they dragged Maxim inside. We called for backup because we had no clue what we were walking into. For all we knew, it was a set up and there could have been two dozen men inside all with machine guns.”

Did Maxim know at this point that it was all over?

My throat burns with bile as I imagine how terrified he must have been when he realized who took him.

Mikhail Koslov has a reputation for a reason.

“But before backup could even arrive, Mikhail appeared, dragging Maxim back toward the car.”

“He was alive at this point?” I blink.

This isn’t what I was expecting to hear at all.

“Maxim? Yeah, he was alive. Battered, but alive.”

“H-he was battered…” I whisper as I try not to picture the scene that is building in my mind, of what Mikhail might have done to him.

“Broken nose, black eye, nothing serious.”

I almost choke on a laugh as I’m flooded with relief.

“They were likely trying to get information out of him.”

“I don’t understand. How the hell did he end up dead? It sounds like they were trying to keep him alive.”

“Mikhail threw him to the ground and as he was opening the trunk and talking to Anton, Maxim stole Mikhail’s gun out of his pocket and went to shoot Mikhail.”

“Oh, my god.”

“That’s when Anton shot him. I doubt he meant to fire a killing blow but honestly, it happened so quickly. One minute Maxim was alive and then, he wasn’t.”

“Oh god,” I choke.

“Sorry, Nina, I know this must be hard to hear. It was tough to watch. Maxim was a good friend.”

---