Page 56 of Married to the Bratva

“Maybe I should have stayed home.”

He shakes his head. “Since Dimitri is no longer in my employment, I need a tech wizard to handle whatever we find there.”

My fingers tap restlessly on the armrest, my secret inside me growing louder with every mile.

I’ve been trying to tell him all day, but the timing never feels right. Not that I think there is a right time to drop that kind of bomb on a man like Maxim.

The words are always there, hovering on the tip of my tongue.Maxim, there’s something I need to tell you.But before I can force them out, his phone buzzes, shattering the moment.

He presses a button on the steering wheel, and Nikolai’s voice fills the car. “I’m here. No signs of movement at the perimeter. One car parked up, registered to Evan.”

Maxim nods, his focus shifting entirely. “We’re about twenty minutes out. Don’t go in without me.”

“Got it.” The line clicks off.

The silence returns, thicker than before. I swallow hard, clenching my hands in my lap. Maybe this isn’t the place or the time. Maybe there isn’t a right place or time for something like this.

The road narrows, the trees closing in around us as we get closer to the coordinates. Maxim’s grip on the wheel tightens, his jaw set. Even when he’s calm, there’s always an energy to him—coiled and ready, like a predator waiting to strike.

“Stay close when we get there,” he says, his voice leaving no room for argument. “He could be armed.”

I bristle at his tone but nod. “I’m not planning on wandering off with him, thanks.”

“Good,” he says simply, and for a moment, I think I see the faintest trace of a smile. But it’s gone before I can be sure.

As the SUV slows to a stop, my heart pounds harder against my ribs. The trees around us seem darker now, the air heavier. Ahead of us is a simple log cabin.

Nikolai emerges from the bushes, nodding our way. Maxim signs with his hands as the two of them approach the place. Nikolai moves around to the back door and Maxim waits out front for a few seconds, trying to peer through the closed shutters. “Ready?” he whispers to me.

I nod back to him and he immediately kicks at the door. It explodes inward, and for a split second, all I can hear is the deafening crash of splintering wood. Then the shouting starts.

“Get down!” Maxim snarls, shoving me behind him as he draws his gun in one smooth motion. The look in his eyes is pure ice, his body tense and ready for a fight.

Evan is in there, working frantically at a laptop. Around him are at least six men, each of them armed to the teeth. They look like they’re holding him hostage.

“What the fuck?” Evan shouts, scrambling behind the men, tucking the laptop under his arm. “How did you find me?”

Nikolai bursts in through the back door and then everything happens at once. Maxim shoves me hard to the floor, bullets ripping through the air where I was standing a moment before. Nikolai fires, killing the man about to shoot Maxim. My ears ring from the sound of gunfire, and I scramble for cover behind an overturned table.

Maxim is already moving like a predator, fast and lethal. He takes down the nearest man with a single, precise shot to the chest before pivoting to fire at another. His focus is absolute, his movements fluid, and for a second, I’m frozen, watching him in awe.

“Sophie!” he shouts, tossing me a gun from inside his jacket. “You know what to do. Start shooting.”

The gun feels heavy in my hands, but I force myself to steady my grip. One of the men rushes toward my position, and I squeeze the trigger. The shot echoes in the cabin, and the man drops, clutching his leg with a scream.

“Nice shot,” Maxim mutters, finishing him off with a bullet to the head.

“Don’t sound so surprised,” I snap, the adrenaline sharpening my tone.

Evan screams, “Will someone please kill those cunts before they kill me?”

“Behind you!” I shout, spotting a man creeping up on Maxim’s blind side.

Maxim spins, his gun raised before I’ve even finished speaking. The man falls, and Maxim glances at me, his expression unreadable. “Well spotted,” he says simply.

The cabin is a warzone, the air thick with smoke and the acrid smell of gunpowder. Evan’s men fall one by one, but the fight is far from over. Evan’s nowhere to be seen.

One of the men throws a flashbang into the center of the room. The blinding light and deafening noise leave me disoriented, my vision swimming.

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