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

Chapter 18

I stood frozen, my mind spinning in every direction as Maxim’s words hung in the air.

"I have the will."

His voice was cold, steady, as though he hadn’t just flipped my world upside down with a single sentence. The weight of it settled on me like a physical blow, making it hard to breathe. I stared at him, struggling to make sense of what he was saying, the reality of it crashing down on me like a tidal wave.

Rossi’s will. My inheritance. My life.

For so long, I’d been manipulated, lied to, and used as a pawn in other people’s games—Maxim’s game, Nikolai’s game—and now, it turned out the very thing everyone was fighting over... was mine. Legally, rightfully mine.

I didn’t have to fight for it. I didn’t have to run or hide anymore. The power, the assets, all of Russo’s empire could be mine. But at what cost?

My eyes darted back to Nikolai’s lifeless body, still crumpled on the cold concrete floor. The sight of his blood pooling beneath him made my stomach turn. The horror of what I’d just witnessed clawed at my insides, but there was something else there too—something I hated myself for feeling.

Admiration.

Admiration for the way Maxim had handled it all, for the control he’d displayed as he took his revenge. Nikolai deserved it—he had been a monster, and what he did to Katya was unforgivable. But watching Maxim execute him so coldly, so methodically, made me see him in a new light. A dangerous, terrifying light.

And yet... I couldn’t look away.

I felt a tremor run through me, a mix of fear and something else I couldn’t name. Maybe it was desire. Maybe it was hate. Maybe it was both.

Maxim turned toward me, his gun lowered, the barrel still smoking from the shot. His face was unreadable, his eyes dark and impassive as he looked at me, as if the man who had just taken a life moments ago had vanished into thin air, replaced by the calm, controlled version of him I had come to know.

"You’re the heir, Anna," he said, his voice measured. "This was always about you."

My breath caught in my throat, a knot of emotion tightening in my chest. I wanted to scream at him, to yell at him for keeping this from me, for letting me walk around in the dark while he knew the truth all along. But I couldn’t. Not yet. My emotions were a tangled mess, and I needed to untangle them before I could even begin to form a coherent thought.

"Why didn’t you tell me?" I finally managed to ask, my voice barely above a whisper. "Why didn’t you say anything?"

Maxim’s gaze softened for a brief moment, and he took a step closer to me, but there was still that unshakable coldness beneath the surface. "It wasn’t the right time. And I couldn’t risk anyone else knowing."

I scoffed, shaking my head. "You couldn’t risk it? You thought it was better to keep me in the dark, letting me be used as bait in this twisted game?"

His jaw clenched, and for a moment, I saw a flicker of something raw in his eyes, something he quickly buried. "It wasn’t about keeping you in the dark. It was about keeping you safe."

"Safe?" I laughed bitterly. "You call this safe? I’ve been kidnapped, threatened, nearly killed because of all this, Maxim!"

His eyes darkened, and in two swift steps, he was in front of me, towering over me, his presence like a storm about to break. "You think I don’t know that? You think I didn’t want to protect you? But if I had told you, if anyone else found out?—"

I cut him off, my voice rising. "So instead, you chose to control everything, including me!"

Maxim’s expression hardened, his face a mask of icy control. He said nothing for a long moment, just stared at me, his breathing heavy, the tension between us thick enough to suffocate.

And then, just when I thought he might snap back with something cold and calculated, his expression shifted. For a brief moment, the mask slipped, and I saw the man underneath—the one who had lost everything, the one who had been hurt by the same monster who had hurt me.

"I did it to protect you," he said quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. "I couldn’t lose you, Anna. Not like I lost Katya."

I swallowed hard, my heart racing as his words sank in. He wasn’t just protecting me because of the will or the assets. This wasn’t just about power or control. It was personal.

And suddenly, I wasn’t sure what to feel anymore.

I was angry—furious, even—but I was also conflicted. Because as much as I hated the way Maxim had kept me in the dark, as much as I wanted to leave, to get as far away from this as possible... I couldn’t.

Something in me wouldn’t let go.

I stared up at him, my chest rising and falling with heavy breaths, my mind spinning with the weight of everything I had just learned. I had all this power now, all this responsibility, and I didn’t even know what to do with it. I wasn’t equipped for this. I wasn’t ready.

And Maxim knew that.

"You can leave," he said, his voice soft but firm. "But if you walk away, you won’t know what to do with all of this—the assets, the power. Rossi’s empire is a monster, Anna. And it will swallow you whole if you’re not careful."

I bit my lip, trying to push back the rising tide of frustration and fear. "So, what? You expect me to just... stay? To rely on you for everything?"

Maxim’s eyes flashed with something I couldn’t quite place, and he reached out, gently taking my arm. "I’m not offering you control, Anna. I’m offering to help you. But it’s your choice."

I stood there, torn between the instinct to run and the undeniable pull that kept me rooted to the spot. I hated him for keeping the truth from me, for dragging me into this dangerous world. But at the same time... I needed him.

Before I could respond, Maxim’s hand tightened around my arm, and in one swift motion, he pulled me closer. His breath was hot against my neck, his voice low and rough. "Let me take you home."

The words sent a shiver down my spine, my body responding before my mind could catch up. Home. Did I even know what that meant anymore? Could I trust him? Could I trust myself?

My heart pounded in my chest as I stared up at him, the tension between us building until it was almost unbearable.

"Fine," I whispered, my voice shaky. "Take me home."

Maxim’s grip on my arm loosened, and for a moment, I thought I saw something flicker in his eyes—relief, maybe. Or was it something more? But before I could read too much into it, he turned, leading me out of the warehouse and into the night.

As we climbed into the car, the silence between us was deafening, but it wasn’t empty. It was full of all the things left unsaid, all the emotions swirling between us—anger, fear, desire.

And I knew that when we got home, everything would change.

Again.

The car ride was silent, the tension between us thick, suffocating. I sat stiffly, my mind racing, still trying to process everything that had happened in the last few hours. I could feel the weight of Maxim’s presence beside me, the raw energy he carried with him making it impossible to relax.

My hands trembled slightly in my lap, the adrenaline still coursing through my veins after what I had witnessed. Maxim had killed Nikolai—brutally, efficiently—and part of me knew it was justified. I should have felt relief. Nikolai was a monster. He had been involved in Katya’s death, and if I had learned anything about this world, it was that monsters didn’t deserve mercy.

But watching Maxim do it, seeing the cold, controlled way he had taken Nikolai’s life, made it harder for me to reconcile the man I was beginning to feel something for with the ruthless mafia boss sitting next to me.

I hated him for what he’d kept from me. I hated that he had thrown me into this chaotic world without warning, without giving me a chance to understand. But despite all that, there was a pull—something deep and undeniable that drew me to him, even now.

"Anna." Maxim’s voice was low, cutting through the silence like a knife.

I didn’t look at him, my gaze fixed out the window as the city lights blurred past. "What?"

"You’re angry," he said, his tone careful but with an edge of impatience. "I get it. But you need to understand?—"

I whipped my head around, cutting him off. "You don’t get it, Maxim. You have no idea how I feel right now. You lied to me. You kept me in the dark."

His jaw clenched, his hands tightening around the steering wheel. "I did what I had to do to keep you safe." Maxim’s eyes flashed with anger, but he kept his voice calm, controlled. "If I had told you about the will, you would have been a bigger target than you already were. I couldn’t risk it, Anna. Not until I had a way to protect you."

"Protect me?" I scoffed. "You don’t get to decide what’s best for me, Maxim. You don’t get to control my life like this. And you need to admit, you wanted my assets! You wanted Rossi’s assets as much as Nikolai!”

“I would have to be a fool in order to not want those assets, Anna. I can admit that much. But the minute I saw you, I decided to keep you in the dark, just to keep you safe. And fuck the assets. Do you understand? If I only wanted the assets, I would have them by now. Don’t you think? I wasn’t trying to control you—I was trying to protect you. I do not know any other methods, and that was mine.”

“You are so full of it!" I snapped, my voice rising. "You’ve been controlling everything from the beginning. You kept the truth from me. You used me as a pawn. And now you expect me to just... what? Trust you?"

Maxim’s grip on the steering wheel tightened, his knuckles turning white. He didn’t say anything for a moment, his jaw tense, his eyes hard.

"I didn’t want this for you," he finally said, his voice quieter but no less intense. "But this is the reality now. You’re Rossi’s heir, and whether you like it or not, that puts you in danger. It’s not only Nikolai that will come after you now. The only way you’re going to survive is if you let me help you."

I swallowed hard, the weight of his words settling over me. He was right. As much as I wanted to run, as much as I wanted to leave this nightmare behind, I knew I couldn’t. Not without his help. Not without knowing what to do with the power I now held.

But that didn’t make the betrayal sting any less.

"I don’t know if I can trust you," I whispered, my voice cracking with emotion.

His eyes flickered with something I couldn’t quite place—regret, maybe. Or guilt.

"I know," he said softly. "But I didn’t lie to hurt you. I did it to protect you."

The words hung between us, heavy and suffocating. I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe that everything he had done was for my safety, that he hadn’t just been manipulating me to keep control. But it was hard to shake the feeling that I had been a pawn in his game, just like everyone else.

When we finally arrived at his mansion, the tension between us was so thick it was almost unbearable. The car came to a stop, and without waiting for him, I pushed open the door and stepped out, the cool night air hitting me like a slap to the face.

Maxim followed me inside, his presence like a shadow, looming over me. I could feel his eyes on me as I made my way toward the stairs, but I couldn’t look at him. I was too angry, too hurt.

"Anna," he called after me, his voice laced with frustration. "You need to understand?—"

"I don’t need to understand anything," I snapped, turning around to face him. "I need space. I need time to think."

Maxim’s expression hardened, but there was something vulnerable in his eyes, something he was trying desperately to hide. "You don’t have time, Anna. This world doesn’t wait for anyone."

"Then let me breathe!" I yelled, my voice echoing through the hallway. "I can’t keep doing this, Maxim! I can’t keep being pulled in different directions. I need... I need to figure out what I want. What I need."

For a moment, he said nothing, his eyes locked on mine. And then, in one swift motion, he crossed the distance between us, his hand gripping my arm firmly but not harshly.

"You want space?" he growled, his voice low, dangerous. "You want time? Fine. But you can’t ignore what’s happening, Anna. You can’t pretend this isn’t your reality now. If you want control, you need to step into it. You need to embrace it."

My breath hitched, my heart racing as his words washed over me, as his touch burned through me.

"I’m offering you everything," he continued, his voice softening but no less intense. "I’m offering you power, protection... everything you need to survive. But you need to stop fighting me."

I stared up at him, torn between the anger still simmering inside me and the undeniable pull I felt toward him. He was dangerous. He was controlling. But he was also... everything I had.

I closed my eyes, my breath shaky as I tried to steady myself. I hated him. I hated him for what he’d done, for what he’d put me through.

But I also needed him.

Before I could stop myself, I stepped closer, my hand gripping the front of his shirt as I pulled him down toward me.

"Then stop keeping things from me," I whispered fiercely. "If I’m going to trust you, I need the truth."

Maxim’s eyes darkened, and for a moment, I thought he might push back. But instead, he cupped my face in his hands, his thumb brushing over my cheek.

"You have my word," he said softly, his voice rough with emotion. "No more lies."

And then his lips were on mine, fierce and demanding, and all the anger, all the frustration melted away in the heat of the kiss.