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

Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15

T he night was cold, still, the kind of night where silence becomes heavy, thick with the weight of things unsaid. I stood by the window, my eyes tracing the city skyline, but my mind was elsewhere. It was always elsewhere, these days. I couldn’t stop thinking about her—about Anna. Her body, warm and trembling beneath mine, her breath hitching as I pushed her to the edge, over and over again. The memory alone sent a bolt of electricity through me, but it wasn’t just physical. It was something more. Something deeper that I didn’t want to acknowledge, but couldn’t escape.

I hadn’t planned to fall for her. In fact, I had done everything in my power to keep her at arm’s length, to keep the cold, calculated distance that had always protected me. But Anna… she was different. She had slipped through my defenses, past the walls I had spent years building. And now, I was conflicted in ways I hadn’t been since Katya.

The thought of my sister sent a sharp stab of pain through me, like a knife twisting deep in my chest. Katya. She had been the light in my life once, and Nikolai had been a part of that world. He had been my brother in everything but blood. But now, everything felt wrong, like the foundation I had built my empire on was beginning to crack. There was something off about him—something dark and hidden beneath that polished, familiar exterior. And I couldn’t ignore it any longer.

I had sent Mikhail to dig into Nikolai’s life, to uncover whatever secrets he had been hiding. It wasn’t just suspicion anymore; it was a deep, gnawing instinct that told me Nikolai was at the center of something dangerous. Something that had roots deep in my past.

The door to my office creaked open, and Mikhail stepped inside. His face was like stone, unreadable, but I could tell immediately that he wasn’t here with good news. The air in the room shifted, thickening with unspoken tension.

I turned from the window, the familiar cold mask settling over my features. “You’re late,” I said, my voice calm, but laced with the authority that came with my position. I always had control. I needed control.

Mikhail didn’t respond right away, and that alone set my teeth on edge. He was never hesitant, never unsure of himself. He had been by my side for too long to show doubt. But tonight, something was different.

“Maxim,” he said, his voice quiet, almost cautious—a rarity for him. He stepped closer, pulling something from the inside pocket of his coat. His movements were deliberate, slow, as if he wasn’t sure he should be showing me what he had found.

“What is it?” I asked, my patience thinning. The air felt thick, suffocating, pressing down on me as I waited for him to speak.

Without a word, he placed a small object on my desk. The moment I saw it, the breath caught in my throat.

It was Katya’s necklace.

The world seemed to shift, tilting sideways as I stared at the delicate chain lying in front of me. The pendant—her pendant—gleamed under the low light of the office, the same one I had seen around her neck every day since I gave it to her on her fifteenth birthday. My sister. My beautiful, innocent sister.

I swallowed hard, my throat tightening as a wave of memories crashed over me, sharp and painful, like shards of glass cutting into my skin. Katya’s laughter, her smile, the way she would twist the necklace between her fingers when she was nervous. The way her lifeless body had looked when I found her.

I never found the necklace. I was sure the police or the ambulance stole it.

And now it was here.

My pulse quickened, and I clenched my fists so tightly that my knuckles turned white. Rage and grief warred within me, a violent storm that I could barely contain. I had trained myself to stay cold, to remain detached no matter the situation, but this—this was something else. This was personal.

“Mikhail,” I said, my voice tight, barely controlled. “Where did you find this?”

“In Nikolai’s safe,” Mikhail replied, his tone calm, but his eyes were watching me carefully, gauging my reaction. He knew how deep this ran. “Maxim… I think…” and then his voice broke a bit.

I stared at the necklace, my vision narrowing as the fury swelled inside me, threatening to break free. Nikolai had kept it. He had kept a piece of her like some kind of twisted trophy, a reminder of what he had done. The betrayal cut deeper than anything I had ever felt before.

“He was there, Mikhail,” I said, my voice low, dangerous. “He was there the day she died. He stood by my side, watched me bury her, and all this time... all this time, he had this. There is no other explanation for it. He was there.”

Mikhail remained silent, his expression grim. He didn’t offer me platitudes, didn’t try to calm the storm raging inside me. He knew better. There was no calming this. No stopping it.

I reached out, my fingers trembling as I picked up the necklace. The metal was cold, but it burned against my skin like fire. I could see Katya’s face in my mind, her bright eyes, her laughter. She had been everything to me, and I had failed her. I had let Nikolai into our lives. I had trusted him.

And now, he was the reason she was gone. Rossi and him, together.

“Mikhail,” I said again, my voice quieter this time, but no less deadly. “How far does this go?”

Mikhail’s gaze darkened. “I don’t know yet. But he’s been hiding more than just this. His movements, his meetings—everything points to him working against you. He’s been careful, but not careful enough.”

I nodded, the weight of the necklace heavy in my hand. The betrayal was deeper than I had realized. This wasn’t just about Katya. This was about power, about control, about the empire I had built from the ground up. And Nikolai had been there, watching from far away, waiting, ready to strike.

“I want you to keep watching him,” I said, my voice cold, detached. It was the only way I could maintain control. “Don’t let him know you’ve found this. Stay close, but not too close. I want every detail, every piece of information. I want to know who he’s working with, what he’s planning.”

Mikhail nodded, his jaw tight. “Understood.”

He turned to leave, but I stopped him. “And Mikhail…”

He paused, looking back at me.

“No one else knows about this,” I said, my tone leaving no room for argument. “Not yet. Not until we have all the pieces.”

Mikhail gave a sharp nod, then slipped out of the room, leaving me alone with the weight of the truth. Alone with the memories.

I stood there for a long moment, staring down at the necklace in my hand, the pain and rage twisting inside me like a vice. Katya’s death had shaped me. It had turned me into the man I was today—cold, ruthless, calculating. But this... this was a wound that would never heal.

Nikolai had committed the ultimate betrayal. He had stolen from me in a way that words couldn’t express—he had taken her from me. My sister. My blood. My everything. The one person I had sworn to protect, the one person whose memory fueled every action, every breath I took.

And now I knew the truth.

Nikolai hadn’t just betrayed me. He had murdered Katya. The realization hit me like a fucking freight train, the weight of it so intense I felt my world shift, collapse, and explode all at once. He had looked me in the eye, pretended to be my brother, my ally, while all along, he was the devil in disguise.

Katya’s face flashed in my mind—her smile, her laughter, the softness in her eyes when we were younger, before this world of blood and violence consumed us both. She had been the light in my darkness, and Nikolai had extinguished that light. He had taken her innocence, her life, and left me with nothing but this pit of rage that threatened to swallow me whole.

The walls closed in around me, my vision narrowing to a blinding point as fury consumed every inch of my body. My hands trembled with the force of it, my pulse roaring in my ears. My fucking sister—gone. And Nikolai... he had been there. He had watched it happen. Hell, he had orchestrated it. That smug bastard had engineered her death, just to satisfy his sick, twisted hunger for power.

I could see him now, standing over her, watching as the life drained from her body, his hands stained with her blood. The thought made me want to rip the world apart with my bare hands. My heart pounded, each beat a deafening drum of vengeance.

He didn’t just take Katya from me—he ripped out the very heart of who I was. And now, he thought he could come after everything I had built. He thought he could strip away my empire, dismantle everything I’d fought tooth and nail to create. He thought he could take everything—my life, my legacy, my bloodline—and leave me with nothing.

But what he didn’t know... what he didn’t understand... was that I was already dead inside.

Katya’s death had taken whatever remained of the man I once was. I had buried my humanity with her. And now, all that was left was a monster—a monster that Nikolai had created with his betrayal. He thought he could come for me and walk away unscathed. He thought I would crumble, that I would break under the weight of the truth. That the revelation of his deceit would destroy me.

But he didn’t realize who the fuck I was.

I was destruction.

Nikolai had no idea what was coming for him. No idea that the very ground he stood on was about to burn beneath his feet. I was going to tear him apart—piece by piece, limb by limb—until there was nothing left of the man who took everything from me. I was going to make him suffer in ways he couldn’t even begin to comprehend.

I would show him what real pain was. What it felt like to lose everything.

He had made a fatal mistake by crossing me. He had signed his own death sentence the moment he laid his filthy hands on my sister. And now, there would be no mercy. No forgiveness. No escape.

Nikolai had sealed his fate.

And I would be his executioner.

I sank into the chair behind my desk, the necklace still clutched in my hand. The memories of Katya’s death were a constant, painful reminder of everything I had lost. Of everything I had built to protect myself. But now, those walls were crumbling. Anna had slipped through the cracks, and Nikolai had found a way to exploit that weakness.

I thought of Anna, of the way she had looked at me that night, her eyes dark with desire, her body trembling beneath mine. I thought of the way I had claimed her, the way she had let me in, despite everything. But I hadn’t told her the truth. I hadn’t told her who she really was, or what role she played in all of this.

If I told her now, if I revealed everything... would she stay? Would she trust me? Or would she hate me for keeping her in the dark?

The thought of losing her, of seeing the look of betrayal in her eyes, was almost unbearable. But I couldn’t afford to let emotions cloud my judgment. Not now. Not when everything was at stake.

I set the necklace down on the desk, my mind already turning toward the inevitable confrontation with Nikolai. He thought he could outplay me; thought he could betray me and walk away unscathed.

He was wrong.

This wasn’t just about power anymore. This was about revenge. Katya’s death had shaped me, molded me into the man I was. And now, Nikolai was going to pay for what he had done.

I would make sure of it.

The silence in the room became oppressive, almost suffocating. I couldn’t take my eyes off the necklace lying on the desk, its cold metal gleaming in the dim light. The memories of Katya came flooding back with such intensity that for a moment, it felt as if the ground had shifted beneath me.

I had spent years suppressing that pain, burying it deep beneath layers of control, anger, and ambition. Losing Katya had defined me—it had shaped me into the man I was today. I had made a vow, standing over her grave, that no one would ever hurt me like that again. That no one would ever get close enough to break me.

But Nikolai... Nikolai had wormed his way into my life. He had pretended to be a brother, and I had let him. And all this time, he was the one who betrayed me. The man I trusted had stood by and watched as my world fell apart.

And now, I had proof.

The weight of that knowledge was crushing, but the rage simmering beneath it was hotter, more volatile than anything I had felt in years. Nikolai had dared to betray me. To steal from me. To desecrate my sister’s memory.

I would destroy him.

The door creaked open again, pulling me from the whirlwind of fury inside my mind. Mikhail stepped in again, his expression grim. He closed the door behind him, his footsteps slow, deliberate. I could tell from the set of his jaw that he had more to say, something that would only fuel the fire burning inside me.

“Mikhail,” I said, my voice colder than ice. “Sit.”

He obeyed without question, settling into the chair opposite my desk. He had been with me long enough to know when I was on the verge of something dangerous. I could see the tension in his shoulders, the way his gaze flickered to the necklace for a brief moment before focusing back on me.

“Tell me again,” I said, leaning back in my chair, though my muscles were coiled tight with barely suppressed rage. “What else did you find?”

Mikhail hesitated for only a second, but it was enough. He was weighing his words, deciding how much he should say. That alone set my teeth on edge. I didn’t tolerate hesitation.

“After finding the necklace in his safe, I went through the rest of his belongings. Nothing overtly incriminating—financial ledgers, personal items—but...” He paused, his jaw tightening. “I found several communications between him and someone named Bianchi.”

Bianchi. The name felt like a sharp blade slicing through my already frayed patience. The Bianchi family had been a thorn in the side of the Italian Mafia for years. Rivals to the core. They were always lurking in the shadows, trying to make a move on what wasn’t theirs. Ambitious, brutal, and hungry for more power. And more importantly—they had always wanted what belonged to Rossi.

The Rossi family had been powerful, untouchable for years, controlling vast assets and territories. But when Rossi was killed, everything came to a halt. But a rumor of him leaving a will came out and that changed the game. The Bianchis had been waiting, circling like vultures, ready to take everything Rossi had left behind. But they hadn’t expected the will to name a sole heir—his daughter. The daughter they couldn’t find. Anna. The daughter they should not know existed.

“And what does Nikolai have to do with Bianchi?” I asked, my tone sharp, demanding.

Mikhail leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice as if the weight of his next words was too heavy to carry at full volume. “It seems Nikolai has been feeding them information. About you. About the Bratva. About Anna.”

My heart slammed against my chest. Anna.

“How does he know about Anna? Answer me, Mikhail.”

“I do not have a definite answer, Maxim. I do think it has to do with that guy that tried to put his hands on Anna, that day of the meeting. The man you demanded had his penis cut off for his actions. He is alive—albeit without his cock. But I saw pictures of him at Nikolai’s home. They were fishing with a bunch of people together. Which means that they hang out. This can also mean that they talk, and perhaps this guy told him that you ordered for his dick to be cut off because of a woman. A mystery woman who you are hiding here. That’s the connection that I can make.”

I sighed heavily. This is getting out of control very fast.

“What else?”

“Another thing that I found is a photo of Nikolai and Rossi together from years ago. Nikolai visiting Rossi’s home. He must have known about Anna, or of Anna. And when this dickless idiot told him that his manhood was cut off because of a woman named Anna who Maxim is protecting so much, it is most likely that Nikolai put two and two together and realized who she is. Now it is his moment to shine.

“One last thing, Maxim. I know you told me that that the note that Anna got in the library might be nothing or might be something. I asked our guy to hack their cameras and pulled history. It was Nikolai who was lurking in the library. He was the one to place the note in Anna’s book.

“He’s been careful. Nothing blatant. But there’s enough there to suggest that he’s been positioning himself to go after you,” Mikhail said, his voice tight. “Bianchi is offering him protection, resources. I also used our hacker, Andrei to learn more about our “friend” and I know that they’ve been in contact for months.”

The necklace in front of me faded into the background as my mind zeroed in on one fact: Anna wasn’t safe. She hadn’t been safe from the moment I’d brought her into this. When I brought her in, she was supposed to be my little toy for amusement and a girl who does not ask questions. I was getting older and more sentimental, perhaps, but there was so much about Anna that just pulled me in. I couldn’t deny it. I lured her into this mess, and now I had to undo everything.

The Bianchi family had been searching for any access to Rossi’s assets for years. But everyone knows that the will that Rossi left is ironclad—Rossi had made sure of that. Everything went to his daughter, no one else.

The Bianchis had been unable to touch a cent of Rossi’s fortune because they just couldn’t, and they did not know that Anna existed. They’d tried every avenue—bribes, intimidation, but they couldn’t uncover the truth. Until Nikolai opened his mouth. This filth.

My knuckles turned white as I gripped the edge of the desk, the cool surface doing nothing to calm the storm roaring inside me. Nikolai. Feeding information to everyone. Bianchi of all people. He had been playing both sides, worming his way into the cracks of my organization, into Anna’s life.

I had thought I could protect her by keeping her close, by keeping the truth from her. But now, it was clear that Nikolai had outplayed me, and Anna was in more danger than I had ever imagined.

“He’s been playing both sides,” I said, more to myself than to Mikhail. The pieces were falling into place, each one more damning than the last. “He wanted to play me for a fool.”

Mikhail said nothing, but his silence was agreement enough. Nikolai had been slowly positioning himself, feeding information to the Bianchis, getting closer to Anna while I’d been too focused on my own plans.

“He’s a dead man,” I growled, the cold fury that had been simmering inside me finally snapping free.

Mikhail didn’t flinch. “What’s the next move?”

I sat back, forcing myself to think clearly. I couldn’t let the rage blind me, no matter how much I wanted to rip Nikolai apart with my bare hands. This needed to be handled strategically. Calculated. Nikolai thought he could outplay me, thought he could betray me and walk away unscathed. But he was wrong.

I would tear him down piece by piece.

“Keep watching him,” I ordered, my voice hard. “I want to know every step he takes, every breath he draws. And keep an eye on Bianchi. If he’s involved, we need to know how deep this goes.”

Mikhail nodded, his eyes dark with understanding. “Understood.”

He stood to leave, but I wasn’t done. There was more. More that needed to be addressed before we moved forward.

“And Mikhail,” I said, my tone softening just slightly. “I want no mistakes. When we strike, it has to be clean. No loose ends.”

He paused at the door, glancing back at me with a look of steely resolve. “It will be done.”

When the door closed behind him, the silence returned, heavy and thick, but the tension in my chest remained.

There was no coming back from this. Nikolai was playing a dangerous game. One he thought he could win. But he didn’t know me anymore. He didn’t know the lengths I would go to destroy him.

I had lost Katya. I wouldn’t lose Anna.

My hands clenched into fists, the cold fury in my chest settling into something far more dangerous—something deadly. Nikolai’s days were numbered. I would see to it personally.

I had built an empire on vengeance. And now, it was time for Nikolai to feel the full weight of that empire crashing down on him.

I would make sure he regretted every lie, every secret, every moment of betrayal. And when it was over, there would be nothing left of him. Nothing but ashes.