My heart pounded painfully. “Leave her out of this,” I said surprisingly with strength laced in my words. “You’ll leave her out of this, Maximillian.”
His grin spread. “Or what?” He lifted a brow and looked genuinely curious at my threat. “What could you do that would stop me from doing whatever I saw fit?”
Nothing. There’s nothing I can do.
“You know how powerless you are against me.”
Yeah, I knew, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t try to fight him with my very last breath. “But I want this to be easy. I don’t have time for games, Nadja.” He took another step forward, and I took one back. He kept doing this, and I realized he was leading me down the hall, as if wrangling me to where he wanted me. “You’ll come with me, or your sweet Marina will know what it’s like to be defiled.”
I couldn’t hear much over the rush of my blood in my veins. I started shaking my head, opened my mouth to fight him on this, to fight him to the death, when I was suddenly shoved to the side and thrown into a room.
I landed hard on the ground, my chest to the hardwood floor. The air was knocked out of me. I looked over my shoulder but didn’t see anyone. I heard men grunting and realized it was Wilder who pushed me out of the way and was fighting with Maximillian.
The fight was vicious, deadly, and I could see blood… so much blood. I looked for a weapon, saw the desk lamp. I scrambled off the ground, losing my footing for a second, then I darted toward the lamp. There was a heavy thump, the clear indication of a body hitting the floor, and just as I was about to get the lamp, not that it would help much, a chunk of my hair was grabbed and I was yanked back.
I screamed and reached behind my head to ease the pain. My back hit the ground, and the air left my lungs for a second time. I stared up and watched Maximillian smirk.
All that strength I felt grow inside me after reuniting with Frankie, after having the prospect of hope, that a future was possible, that finally being happy again was in my reach, seemed to vanish. In its place was hopelessness, this sickness of being taken from the man I loved. It was a trapped feeling surrounding my heart. It was so painful the air was sucked from my lungs, so powerful I gasped, feeling like hands were wrapped around my throat, squeezing the life out of me.
“If you’re going to be any man’s whore, Nadja, you’ll be mine.” He snarled the last part with so much venom I felt it coat my skin.
Maximillian wasn’t only sick in the head; he was dangerous, and I knew that no matter what, he wouldn’t give up until he got what he wanted.
“You have the bratva behind you,” I said, stalling, trying to think of how to get out of this with mine and Wilder’s lives still intact.
His smirk grew. “The bratva,” he said low, as if the word were funny, as if he couldn’t even conceive that they were a threat. He was a narcissist to the core. “They’ve turned their back on me. They are weak. I am strong. Once I finish them, I’ll lead those who follow, those who are loyal.” His teeth were stained with blood, making his expression all the more sinister. “And you’ll be by my side as I rule the underworld.” He tightened his hold on my hair. “They’ll find me eventually, exact their vengeance, because I took out the weakest links, the ones who didn’t have the spine and balls to do what needed to be done.” He leaned in close. “But at the end, I will rule. And you will be mine, even if you fight. In fact,” he said low, “I want you to fight.”
“Never,” I snarled. “I will never be yours. I’d rather die than be tied to you.” I spit, feeling disgust. “And the man I love will be the only one to do the slaughtering, Maximillian.”
He let out a horrendous laugh. “You’re mine, Nadja. Always. No matter what. I run in your veins. You know it. You feel it.”
I shook my head. “You’re delusional.” Although that wasn’t anything new. He was known as a savage in the underworld we live in, yet he was so up his own ass in thinking he was powerful that he thought he was untouchable.
He pulled me up, and I kicked out, hitting his shin hard enough he grunted. Dark satisfaction filled me that I caused him pain, even if it was a small amount, even if it wouldn’t help in the end. Maximillian took both my wrists, shoved my body against the wall, and thrust my arms above my head, holding me in place, making me immobile.