Page 21 of The Bratva's Christmas Bump
The doors close and silence entombs me once again. Toto speaks to me like we’re friends and his words weave through my mindwhile I absently press buttons on the elevator’s control panel. They all light up to my touch, but it doesn’t stop the rapid pull upward.
Should I know who they are? Is Maxim some kind of celebrity? No, not with this kind of attitude. He must be something else. A criminal? Maybe he’s in a gang. That would explain why he has so many people around him who are loyal to him and don’t blink an eye when he kidnaps people.
I bite back a yawn when the small speaker box crackles under my fingers after I’ve pressed every single button. The elevator stutters softly and then comes to a halt. Hope rises inside me that I broke some secret code and the doors will open out onto another floor, but it’s Maxim’s dark penthouse that greets me when they open.
Shit.
I’m so tired.
My parents must be worried sick about me. Then again, they haven’t texted me. Mum might have taken her last comment literally and really not wanted me to go. Pulling my phone from my pocket as I trudge inside, my thumb hovers over theEmergency Callbutton.
If I press it and explain my situation, how quickly will the cops get here? How quickly can they protect me and my family from a murderer? Given Maxim’s all-knowing persona, probably not fast enough. With a deep sigh, I slide my phone back into my pocket. It’s useless until he tells me the new passcode because there’s no way I’d be able to crack it with a guess.
Maxim’s penthouse is dark and quiet. Water bubbles from the small plant-filled pool near the windows and a neon-green lightflashes occasionally from the microwave in the kitchen, bathing the entire lounge in a sickly green light. Low voices rise up from down the hall near the bathroom, and my heart starts to race.
Did Toto drive me around for so long that Maxim is already home? I didn’t hear the elevator woman speak so maybe he doesn’t know I’m here. The last thing I want to do is spook a man with a gun so taking a deep breath, I walk toward the hallway and try to think of something to say. Mostly, I want to sleep, but I’m so strung out that I doubt I will drift off here until I’m past the point of exhaustion.
Creeping closer, the tones become clearer. That’s not Maxim’s voice. Who is that?”
“I don’t care,” drawls the deep, slow tones. “Do you understand how much money I have riding on this? My son should already be there, so why are you calling me?”
Son?
Wait… Igor. Maxim’s father is still here? My stomach sinks as the faces of his two guards roll through my mind and suddenly, a pang lances through my chest. Can I go back downstairs to Toto?
“Listen,” Igor snaps. “I want those Italian fucks dead, you hear me? I’ve given them chance after chance but those guns were fucking terrible. I put down three guards after their hands got blown off due to their faulty equipment, and no money is going to be enough to cover the loss, you hear me? So kill him.”
Silence follows and I’m frozen in the hallway. One wrong move and the floorboards beneath me might give away my presence. The last thing I need is this man thinking I’m eavesdropping on him.
“Oh, him?” A dry laugh escapes Igor. “That Irish bastard was singing like a canary. I’ve got them exactly where I want them. I didn’t spill all my blood over this city just for some Irish twat to swan in one day with a misguided claim for power. He might have the manpower, but he sends his people in like fodder, and I mop the floor with them. So listen, the next time he steps out of line, I want you to take his daughter. Skin her alive and record the whole thing, understand? That should put him in his place.”
Skin her alive?
“Listen, I don’t have time for you to dance around this,” Igor snaps. “I’m too preoccupied with Maxim’s latest fucking project. Did I tell you he wants to marry that girl? This little street rat waltzes in and ruins everything.” A pause. “I’ll kill her before that happens.”
The weighty ring around my finger tells a different story. What the fuck have I walked into? I need to get out of here.
Or at least not get caught awkwardly hovering in the hallway listening to every twisted thing coming from that bastard’s mouth. My thumb strokes over the ring snug around my finger as I creep back down the hall and past the innocent fish bubbling away in their watery haven. Thankfully, nothing creaks to give me away and once I reach the elevator, I touch a few buttons.
“Access denied,” comes the soft, melodical woman’s voice from somewhere above me.
“Now you speak,” I hiss as she announces my presence to everyone else in this damn penthouse. As I turn and walk slowly down the hall, it hits me. Maxim never actually told me how to get in touch with him, or anyone else, for that matter, but I wantto. The thought of facing Igor by myself is a hundred times more daunting after listening to his tirade through the door.
This time as I reach the lounge, the lights flicker on and Maxim’s father strides down the hallway, visibly relaxed until he spots me. His expression sours immediately.
“Where’s my son?”
“I have no idea,” I answer honestly. “He left me some hours ago.”
Igor shrugs on a heavy woolen coat while flanked by only one of his creepy guards, the one with the blue tie, and nods. “Come with me.”
I step aside as he strides past me, assuming he’s talking to his guard, but he gets halfway down the hall and turns back to me. “Don’t make me drag you because I will.”
My racing heart pounds faster and faster. Curling both hands into fists, I swallow around the rising lump in my throat. “Maxim told me to stay here.”
Igor snaps his tongue against his teeth and before I know it, blue-tie has his hands painfully gripping both my arms while dragging me into the elevator.
“Hey! Let go!”
