Page 60 of Savage Surrender

“Who the hell is Maxim?”

For a gut-wrenching moment, I thought she was going to tell me that she was two-timing me, that she had another man in her life. As soon as that worry hit me, I dismissed it. I hadn’t been bluffing when I claimed she wanted me. I felt her affection. I saw the truth of what her heart desired when she gazed at me. Those baby blues couldn’t hide everything. She was damned good at being aloof and icy for everyone else, but I’d seen the real her. The true woman with grit and fear. She surrendered and submitted to me when I filled her, and I wouldn’t forget it.

“My younger brother.”

No one ever said anything about a brother.

“Maxim. He’s fourteen.”

“Why is this the first time I’m hearing about this?” I shook my head, ignoring the stupid idea that she could be lying and trying to trick me. The anguish in her voice when she mentioned him couldn’t have been faked.

“Because no one hears about him. My father is ashamed of him and hides him. He’s never accepted him and considers him a waste of space. Max is deaf, and because of the challenges during his birth, he’s always been weak. He’s immunocompromised and deaf, and because of that, my father has always hated him. He’s always seen him as less than.”

“Fuck.” My heart broke for her. If her helping Eva and Lev escape wasn’t enough to show me that she was a compassionate person, this did.

I gathered her in my arms, hugging her and holding her close. Unlike when I captured her in this dark stairwell, I embraced her with my arms supportive around her slim body, my hands rubbing comforting strokes up and down her back.

“Irina…”

She sniffled. “He’s kept him hidden all his life. He’s never been accepted as his son. I have to work to get visitation rights. I have to do as my father says and appease him just to ensure he doesn’t kill him or abuse him.”

“Fuck.”

“My love for my brother is the only thing he has to use as leverage against me. I have to report to him, I have to act as a spy and soldier for him, all to keep Maxim as safe as possible and alive.”

“Yet you risked helping Eva and Lev.”

She lifted her head to face me. “Because I knew I could fudge the truth around how that happened. The Ilyin soldiers were sloppy, and I knew that I could get away with it. But if you are expecting me to go with you and tell Oleg Baranov all I know, there isnoway I can lie my way out of that situation.”

I nodded, understanding so much more now. Why she was so guarded, why she was always calculating her next best move.

“I have been counting down the days until I could kill my father, Vik. I can’t trust that he won’t tire of Maxim and kill him first. Or me. I can’t trust anyone, and as soon as I can, I will kill Igor and run with Maxim.”

“No.” I shook my head and took her hand, urging her to come with me. This stairwell wasn’t an ideal place for saying such things. “You can run to me, Irina. You can trustme.”

“I thought I was trusting Professor Viktor Remi all this time.”

“It was a cover.Iam Viktor. Nothing has changed.”

She walked slowly with me toward the elevator. “Exactly. Nothing has changed. I am still Igor Petrov’s daughter. He will still expect my loyalty to him just so I can make sure Maxim lives.”

“No. You can lean on me to help you. I will fight for us, Irina.” I would remind her every minute if I had to. I’d caught myself from telling her that I loved her in the heat of the moment. I did. But I wanted to confess that later, when we weren’t mixed up in this danger and deception. Right now, I had to get her on board with opening up to me.

“But not Maxim?” she challenged.

“I will,” I promised as we rode up to my floor.

“I will believe it when I see it.” She crossed her arms.

I tilted my head to the side, peering at her confident glower. “What does that mean?”

“I’ll turn traitor. I’ll betray my father and tell Oleg Baranov anything and everything he wants to know—afteryou see Maxim brought to me, safe and sound.”

“Obviously,” I replied as the doors slid open. “If Igor’s control over you is tied to Maxim’s security, that won’t change now.”

“You’ll see to my brother’s safety?” She followed me toward my door.

“Yes.”

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