Page 92 of The Crimson Lily
“We gave them something they wanted, and they stayed out of our way.”
I nod distantly, remembering the events of last night little by little. William’s furious and consternated glare remains imprinted in my mind. I really did the unexpected, that’s for sure. I glance at Maksim, searching for a little spark of pride in his eyes. I did good, smuggling that tracker with me. I hope Maksim recognizes that.
“Russo?” Giovanni pokes, retracing his steps and heading for the exit.
Maksim reluctantly follows. “Fine,” he sighs.
I tail them both. “Can I join?”
They both examine me with frowns, probably wondering if I still have all my senses. It’s not going to get pretty down there; Ican sense it. Maksim isn’t going to give William a good time, far from it.
But I want to see it. To be honest, part of me wants to see what Maksim’s going to do to him. I have flashbacks of Mr. Zhang, back in Paris, and of Maksim’s fists the first day we met. His eyes, the way they glow as he does his work, I want to see my Belarusian man in that savage state again.
“Actually, that wasn’t a question,” I conclude, bobbing my head side to side like a teasing cobra as I pass both of them and slither into the hallway.
Giovanni shrugs, and Maksim chuckles at me. The latter bears the gaze of a man who could exclaim: “Cute!” I like those eyes. Blue gems of delight. He follows me closely as Giovanni catches up with me and proceeds to lead the way. Maksim’s hand makes its way down my back, settling there, possessing me. I couldn’t be happier he’s here, reunited with me.
Three floors below is a hollow block of concrete down a dark hallway. One flickering lamp lights the room where William sits, gagged and cuffed, on a crude wooden chair. Two men open the reinforced prison door and let Maksim, Giovanni, and me into the room.
I gasp inaudibly when I see the amount of blood on William’s face. It’s like his nose is missing, crushed into his bones by Maksim’s fists last night.
When he sees me, William snickers and spits on the floor. “How could you?” he muffles, unable to speak with the cloth in his mouth.
I cross my arms, making eye contact and not losing it.
Giovanni steps in front of me. “Hi, William, it’s me again,” he greets, exaggeratedly hospitable. He even claps once in his hand.“Perhaps you recognize my friend here.” Giovanni spins on his heels and lets Maksim pass him.
William maintains his gaze on me; he couldn’t care less about Maksim.
“Maybe it’ll be easier for you to talk to him,” Giovanni continues. He then turns to me and leans closer to my ear. “You don’t want to see this,bella,” he warns with a stern whisper. “We know how the Russians do it. It’s not…enjoyable.”
I bite my lip in apprehension. “I want to see,” I swear.
Giovanni frowns for a split second before giving me anas-you-wishshrug. He exits the room and leaves William alone with Maksim and me. The door clicks behind me, and my spine stiffens.
Maksim doesn’t even look at me. He comes to a standstill before William, so my cousin is forced to look at Maksim’s crotch instead of me, and removes the gag.
“I already told your friends,” William immediately blurts. It’s as if he’s chewing his own words. “The whole Syndicate knows of the dagger’s key, and they know how to decode it! I gave themeverything—The Crimson Lily, everything!”
“I doubt that,” Maksim declares.
William coughs and cackles at the same time. “Do your worst.”
Maksim doesn’t wait. One sudden movement and I see William’s head cock to the left, a jet of spit ejecting out of his mouth. I step to the side to see more. Maksim now has his big hand around William’s jaw and seems to be clenching the bone. William howls a shriek that makes me shut my eyelids and purse my lips compulsively.
One, two, three—I count five loud thumps and bones breaking. William grunts and spits blood or vomit at Maksim’s feet. One last knee to the chest with his claws in William’s shoulders and Maksim is done.
“Is that really all you can do,pidor?” William expels muffled yelps, coughing and coughing some more.
Maksim turns around, and our eyes make four. He has a vile and sharp grin on his face, one I’ve never seen before. His eyes are no longer blue and have passed the threshold of silver. I swear they’re white.
In the dimly lit room, my eyes catch a sharp object in Maksim’s hand. The reflection of the light shooting into my eyes is what draws my attention to it. A knife or a razor blade that my Belarusian man holds between his fingers.
Maksim turns back to his target and seizes William by the collar, holding the blade to the side of his face.
“Did you really give the key to anyone else?” Maksim asks, his voice dark, but his timbre serene.
William looks up, not being able to see much through the blood and tears over his face, though he can see Maksim’s face and the scars of what he did to him but a few nights ago.
