Page 41 of Surprise Quadruplets for the Mob

The sound of a door slamming somewhere in the house makes both of us jump, and while my first thoughts are of my kids—hoping they’re still sleeping, hoping they’re safe—I also wonder who is slamming doors and stomping through the house in the middle of the day.

“I should get back to work.” Nadia hurries out of the room and I’m left peeking around the corner, expecting to see Maks come stomping up the stairs.

Instead, I look over the railing and see one of his guys, Alyosha, stalk through the foyer to Maks’s downstairs office. A minute later, Maks, Lev, and someone I don’t recognize enter follow through the front door and follow Alyosha straight to the office as well.

I should go back to my room. I should check on my babies. I definitely shouldn’t do any more snooping.

But I seem to be having a hard time talking myself out of all the things I shouldn’t do these days.

Tiptoeing down the stairs, I move closer to the closed office door and press myself against the wall so I’m out of sight, but can still barely make out their raised voices.

“Not a high-value target,” I hear one of them say.

“Lucky we caught him, though,” someone else, maybe Lev, joins in.

“Bastard put up a hell of a fight,” a third voice grumbles.

But Maks’s unmistakable deep, rumbling voice is the clearest of all. “See how tough the motherfucker is when we break his fucking kneecaps and start chopping off his fingers.”

I gasp, clapping a hand over my mouth to keep quiet. Oh my God. I don’t know who they’re talking about, but it’s obvious they plan on torturing someone they’ve captured.

Is it someone they’ve kidnapped? Is it a member of a rival family? God, how have I managed to get myself caught up in all this?

And why am I still here?

The reality of Maksim’s situation, of his life, rolls over me in that moment. I keep letting myself forget the violence of his line of work, lulling myself with fantasies and all the softness he shows me. But I can’t let myself forget, Ineedto remember it always. For the sake of my babies.

Their voices seem to be coming closer and I can hear another set of footsteps echoing down the long hallway to my right. I need to get out of here. If they catch me eavesdropping on them…I don’t even want to think about what might happen. I don’t think Maks would hurt me. Not intentionally, anyway.

I sure as hell don’t want to put that theory to the test, though, and I head straight to my room before anyone can find me where I shouldn’t be.

Chapter 20

Maksim

Afluorescent lightbulb flickering overhead casts long shadows on the wall behind the son of a bitch who’s sitting tied to a chair in front of me. One of his eyes is swollen shut and his lip is busted, but we’ve gone pretty easy on him so far. I’m about to show him how bad things can get, though.

“I’ll kill you,” I say, keeping my voice low and deadly as I lean in closer to him. “You’ll think what happened earlier was a walk in the park compared to what I’m about to do.”

“No,” he shakes his head, “I already told you everything I know. I swear.”

“I don’t believe that,” I growl, nodding to Lev.

He steps forward, a wicked-looking knife flashing in his hand.

The man in the chair struggles against his bindings, his eyes widening. “What the fuck? What the fuck are you going to do?”

“I’m just gonna carve some skin,” Lev replies, grinning. “Maybe take one of your fingers. Just a pinky, nothing major. Maybe a thumb.”

“You fucking sicko,” the guy spits out, his eyes wild.

“Don’t worry,” Lev chuckles, the tip of the knife pressed against the man’s neck. “Maybe it’ll grow back.”

“It’s not like you’ll have much time to miss it, anyway.” I crack my knuckles, the sound echoing in the small, mostly empty room.

It’s a storage closet, technically. One we don’t use often, and it’s a hell of a lot better than the basement, which is usually where we take the more stubborn assholes who need a little motivation.

“I’m telling you, man. I don’t know anything!” the guy whimpers, his voice shaking.

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