Page 67 of Married to the Bratva

My eyes dart to Grandma, who shakes her head slightly, her lips trembling. The helplessness in her gaze twists something deep inside me, but I force myself to stay calm.

“What do you want, Evan?” I ask, my voice icy.

“Isn’t it obvious?” he says, leaning casually against the counter. “I figured I’d pay you a visit. You know, for old time’s sake. We didn’t get to chat at the cabin, what with your asshole husband trying to kill me.” He gestures around the room. “Nice place, by the way. Cozy.”

My blood boils, but I keep my expression neutral. “What do you want from me?”

“You, of course. You’re the key to that little treasure trove Maxim’s sitting on, aren’t you? Had to go and stop Dimitri siphoning off the money, didn’t you? Ruined all my fucking plans, that did.

“Then you get the location of the cabin and I have to stop work again.”

He grins. “But if you can work that hard, you can’t be far from decrypting the fucking thing, can you? So you forced my hand.”

He scowls, pushing off the counter and stepping closer. “Here’s the deal, Sophie. You leave your cellphone with me. You go back to Maxim’s house, unlock that file in the next hour, and then send me the money to the account on this piece of paper.Then I’ll forgive you for your betrayal and we can forget this ever happened.”

I want to tell him he’s insane but I manage to bite my tongue as he continues talking. “Agree to that and I let dear old Grandma here live a long and happy life.

“Better than the unmarked grave Maxim will leave you in when he’s done with you. No need to divorce him. Two hundred mil’ pays for a fucking good hitman. And then we’ll put all of this behind us and carry on as before. Become man and wife. What do you say?”

Never show fear to your enemies. That’s the other thing Maxim taught me.

“And if I can’t get it unlocked in the next hour?” I ask, my voice steady despite the panic clawing at my chest.

“Then Grandma dies.”

49

SOPHIE

Maxim is in his study, seated at his desk, phone pressed to his ear. His eyes snap to mine the moment I walk in.

“Yes,” he says into the phone, sounding more cheerful than I’ve ever heard him. “You’ve made the right decision, Andrei.”

He ends the call and leans back in his chair. “Congratulations, your acting paid off. I could almost forgive you for stealing one of my cars. You?—”

I cut him off. “Evan has my grandma, and he’ll kill her if I don’t unlock that file and send him the entire two hundred in the next-” I glance up at the clock, “-sixteen minutes.”

The words hang in the air like a blade poised to drop. Maxim’s expression doesn’t change, but the temperature in the room seems to plummet.

He leans forward, resting his forearms on the desk, and the intensity of his gaze makes it hard to breathe.

“How do you know this?” he asks, his voice dangerously calm.

“I went to her apartment,” I admit, forcing myself to hold his stare. “She called me, asked me to meet her there. When I got there, they were waiting for me. Please, you have to help me.”

I break off, my throat tightening. Maxim’s jaw clenches, and for a moment, he looks like he might explode. But instead, he exhales slowly, the sound more menacing than any outburst could be.

He stands, his movements slow and deliberate, like a storm gathering strength. He walks around the desk, stopping just a foot away from me, and I have to tilt my head back to meet his gaze.

His hand comes up, cupping my chin with a grip that’s firm but not painful. “Do not mistake me for a man who lets anyone take what’s his,” he says, his voice a growl.

The words send a chill down my spine, but I don’t look away. “So you’ll help me?”

“Of course I’ll help you,” he says, his thumb brushing against my jaw in a gesture that feels tender. “No one takes from my wife without paying the price.”

He pulls out his phone, dialing with swift precision. His jaw is tight, his movements sharp as though each second wasted chips away at his control. He speaks into the phone before it even has a chance to ring.

“Status on Rook’s Hollow guard detail?” His voice is clipped, a blade wrapped in velvet.

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