Embrace of the Russian Tiger (Russian Mafia Kings #2)

Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

S unlight filtered through the curtains, casting soft shadows across the wooden floor. I loved mornings here, in the quiet countryside. It was so different from the chaos I remembered. The world outside my window was peaceful, almost idyllic. It had been my sanctuary, this small village in Russia, far from the life I had once known.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, letting the warmth of the sun on my skin calm the small knot of anxiety that always seemed to live in the pit of my stomach. This was my routine—wake up, remind myself I was safe, and push the memories as far down as they would go. Smile. Be bright. Be kind. Move forward.

But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t escape the shadows of my past. I could still see him. Maxim Ivanov. Cold, ruthless, like a dark force of nature that had blown into my life and left destruction in his wake. I still remembered the sound of his gun going off, the way Rossi had fallen to the ground in front of me, lifeless.

I hadn’t known who Rossi really was back then. I hadn’t realized the man who had allowed me to stay in his mansion after my mother had died hadn’t been doing it out of kindness. Back in the day, I had thought it was compassion. Maybe gratitude for my mother’s years of service as his housemaid. I’d been naive. Maybe that was why everything hurt so much more—because I never saw it coming.

I thought I’d been safe.

I opened my eyes and forced a smile. It was what I did now—smiled, even when the memories threatened to pull me under. The Petrovs, the family that had taken me in after Mikhail had sent me here, didn’t know anything about the girl I used to be. To them, I was just Anna, the bubbly, bright girl they’d come to love. I made myself indispensable, worked hard on the farm, laughed easily, and always made sure to help others. It was who I needed to be now. This Anna was everything the old Anna hadn’t been. I liked her. She was stronger. She didn’t break.

But deep down, the truth was always there, whispering just beneath the surface.

I wasn’t okay.

It had been years since Mikhail had sent me here, away from New York, from that night. And yet, I still couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t over. That something was coming. Sometimes I would catch myself staring at the horizon, wondering if Maxim knew. Wondering if he would come for me.

I didn’t know why, but part of me feared him… and part of me didn’t.

Because, for as much as I hated him for what he did, I couldn’t forget how he spoke about his sister that night. The pain in his voice, the way he talked about protecting her. That kind of love, that kind of fury, resonated with me in a way I didn’t want to admit. He had lost someone. I had lost someone. In that moment, when he had spoken of her, I had seen him as more than just a killer. I had seen him as a man who had been hurt beyond repair.

I didn’t want to feel anything for him. I didn’t want to be curious about the man who had turned my world upside down. But I was. And that scared me.

A soft knock on the door pulled me out of my thoughts. I frowned, glancing at the clock. It was early for visitors, and the Petrovs had gone into town for supplies. I wasn’t expecting anyone.

I walked to the door and opened it.

Mikhail stood there, his tall frame shadowing the doorway, his expression unreadable. My heart dropped into my stomach, and for a moment, I couldn’t breathe. His presence here, after all these years, could only mean one thing.

Everything was about to change.

“Mikhail,” I whispered, my voice barely audible. My mind raced, trying to piece together why he was here. Why now?

He stepped inside without waiting for an invitation, his eyes scanning the small room before they settled back on me. “It’s time, Anna.”

The words hung in the air like a death sentence.

I took a step back, my hands trembling at my sides. “Time for what?” But deep down, I already knew. Maxim. It had to be about Maxim.

Mikhail’s face softened just a little, but the hardness in his eyes didn’t fade. “Maxim found out. He knows you’re alive.”

I felt the ground tilt beneath me, the room closing in. Maxim knew. After all these years of hiding, of trying to build a new life, he knew. He was coming for me.

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “No, I’m not going back.” My voice wavered, betraying the fear that clawed at my chest.

“You don’t have a choice, and neither do I, Anna,” Mikhail said quietly, his eyes locked on mine. “He sent me to bring you back to New York.”

The panic surged inside me. I had been running from that night for so long, and now it was catching up to me. But I wasn’t the same girl I had been back then. I wasn’t going to be a victim again.

“I don’t care,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest, trying to hold on to whatever strength I could muster. “I’m not going back. I don’t owe him anything.”

The world stopped.

Mikhail’s face hardened. “You don’t have that option, Anna.”

Tears pricked at my eyes, but I blinked them away, refusing to let them fall. I wasn’t going to cry. Not now. Not in front of Mikhail. I wasn’t that weak girl anymore.

But even as I told myself that, the fear remained. Maxim was coming for me. The man who had haunted my nightmares for years, the man who had killed my father and spared my life. Why did he want me now? What was his plan?

I hated that part of me—the part that was curious about him, the part that wondered what kind of man he really was. I had seen his ruthlessness firsthand, but I had also seen his pain. I couldn’t forget the way he had spoken of his sister that night, the raw emotion in his voice when he had talked about protecting her. He had loved her fiercely, and that had resonated with me in a way I didn’t want to admit.

But that didn’t mean I could trust him. And it certainly didn’t mean I wanted to go back to New York with Mikhail.

“I’m not going,” I said again, my voice firmer this time. “You can tell Maxim that I don’t care what he wants. I’m not his to control.”

Mikhail’s eyes darkened. “You don’t have a choice, Anna. If you don’t come willingly, he will come for you. And believe me, you don’t want that.”

I swallowed hard, my heart pounding in my chest. I knew he was right. Maxim wasn’t the kind of man who let things go. He was relentless, and if he wanted me, he would find a way to get me. No matter what.

But the thought of facing him again, of being pulled back into that world, terrified me. I had spent years trying to escape it, trying to build a new life. And now, it was all crashing down around me.

“I hate him,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “I hate him for what he did.”

Mikhail’s expression softened. “I know. But hate isn’t going to save you from him. You need to face this, Anna. You need to go back.”

I closed my eyes, trying to breathe through the fear, the panic. I didn’t want to go back. I didn’t want to face Maxim. But deep down, a part of me knew that I couldn’t keep running.

I wasn’t sure if it was the fear that was driving me, or the curiosity. But either way, I knew that my time here, in this quiet, peaceful life, was over.

I opened my eyes and nodded, my voice barely more than a whisper. “Fine. I’ll go.”

Mikhail’s face was unreadable as he nodded, but I could see the relief in his eyes. He didn’t say anything else. He didn’t need to.