Page 70 of The Prizes We Win
“Shut up, bitch.” Max’s demeanor is starting to go from calm and arrogant to nervous and pissed off real quick. And as much as I want to snap at his neck for calling her that, I know we’ve struck a nerve.
Casually, I sit in the chair on the other side of Luca’s desk and look back at Joe. My smart girl immediately picks up the hint and moves toward the desk. “What’s wrong? Can’t handle it when a girl calls you out?”
“You whores need to learn your place,” he spits.
“That what happened with Anya? She needed to learn her place too?”
His eyes follow Joe as she moves to stand behind me and casually places her hands on my shoulders. “Where is she?” He presses the gun further into Clara’s temple, and a terrified sob slips past her lips, but again, I don’t react.
“Just like I told you during our last little meeting, I’m not telling you where she is, Maxy.”
“She was mine first you know?”
I turn my face up at him. “What?”
“Anya. She was mine first. That is until good ole Papa decided the heir to the Bratva needed a wife and that Aleksandr would be better suited for her. He took her from me and I was just supposed to be okay with it?!” Maxim’s voice gets louder and angrier with every word, but Joe and I continue to play our part, as she begins to rub her hands across my chest. “And then when you all killed him I was suddenly good enough? Good enough to lead? Good enough for her? And what is she? She’s nothing but a stupid slut. She proved that when she justwentto Aleksandr. So that’s what I treated her as.”
“Jesus fuck,” Luca groans. “Are you serious? All of this shit was about a fucking woman?”
“No. Not for Papa at least.” My eyes spot it. His hand slowly starts to relax against Clara’s temple. “All that mattered to him was that you took Aleksandr. But that’s not all that mattered to me. Because all they did to me my whole fucking life was take. And it’s about time I took something back.”
“So what?” I ask before I grab Joe’s hand and kiss the back of it. Then, I lead her around the chair to sit across my lap, listening as Maxim’s breathing grows heavy at the sight of our affection. I run my hand up and down her thigh as I continue to question him. “I mean what did you think was going to happen, Max? What did you think was going to happen when we showed up here? You killed all your back-up. It’s five against one.”
Maxim’s fingers flex around his gun and he swallows harshly.
Joe barks out a laugh. “Wow, you were right. He really is psychotic isn’t he?”
“Not to mention idiotic,” Seb mumbles.
“And you killed your dad, Max. The great Andrei Novikov. Do you really think the Bratva is going to respect you now that you’ve killed him?” I’m again met with nothing but a look of panic and silence. “I mean sure, you got lucky that Ms. Clara was still here working late when you dipshits broke in to lure us here but again… what’s the plan, Max?”
He backs the barrel of the gun away from her a fraction more. “I-I-I just was so sick of being his—his fucking whipping boy.”
“Max, what’s the plan?”
Max looks around the room at all five of us staring at him, while Clara’s wide eyes bounce from me to Dante then back to me.
“I don’t think he has a plan, Honey,” Joe whispers loud enough for him to hear.
“I don’t think he does either, Sweetheart.”
“Shut up.” His stare bounces around the room as his brain finally begins to catch up with what he’s done.
“I think you’re in a real pickle here, Maxy,” Joe adds before I gently tap her thigh. Taking that as her cue, she slowly gets up from my lap and makes her way back over to Seb and Luca behind Dante. Max doesn’t even notice.
“I think you let your anger finally get the better of you, Max. But you know what? That’s okay.” His eyes dart to mine. “Because mine’s about to get the better of me too.” Maxim’s face pinches in confusion. “Isn’t that right, Big Daddy?”
The moment his nickname leaves my lips, Dante pulls the trigger, sending a bullet right through Maxim’s right shoulder. Clara lets out an ear-piercing scream as Maxim drops his gun and falls to the ground in pain. I jump over Luca’s desk and give the chair Clara’s sitting in a good push. The wheels go rolling to Dante as he sprints toward her. Despite knowing she’s safe with Dante, her immediate reaction when he lunges for her is to panic. Dante stops and Joe moves around him, brushing his arm lightly with her hand as she goes. Carefully she pulls the tape off of Clara’s mouth. “Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”
“N-no. I-I’m okay. Just get me out of here.Please.”
Slowly, Dante comes to the other side of the chair. Opening his knife, he cuts the rope from around her wrists and torso. Joe helps Clara stand and wraps her in her arms.
Luca makes his way over to me, grabs Maxim’s gun off the floor, and tucks it into the waistband of his pants. Maxim continues to moan endlessly on the floor before trying to get up. In one swift move, Luca lands a hard and fast punch right into Maxim’s nose.
Maxim tries to retaliate, but he’s nowhere near quick enough, and, despite my calm composure until now, I’m just crazy enough. I grab his face with my hand and raise my knee to it. Immediately I feel his already broken nose shatter from the force of the hit.
“Get her out of here,” I tell Luca quietly. “She doesn’t need to see this. Have her take Clara to her office.”
