Maksim: A Dark Mafia Romance (Akimov Bratva) by Nicole Fox (read aloud .TXT) 📕

pleasure comes, I barely feel him come inside me. It’s all-encompassing and must be what it’s like to pass into heaven.

Our sweaty bodies press against each other, my hands ending up near his waist. When he slides down beside me, I entangle myself in his body.

It feels so wrong and so right all at once.

17

Maksim

The morning after the ice-cream parlor, Cassie and I have dinner together in the dining room. The way she laughs is something I know I’ll always remember.

The day after that, we drink wine on the terrace, talking about our histories. She tells me about how she once received a present from her father with a bloody fingerprint on the wrapping paper. I tell her about how my first murder was a test by the Bratva and I killed the man without hesitation or regret after seeing him hit his wife.

The day after that, Cassie and I watch one of Lily’s soccer games. We go to my hotel’s restaurant afterward. Cassie and Lily enjoy hearing about the celebrities that have stayed at the hotel and their antics.

The day after that, we have her infamous grilled cheese, followed by sex in the kitchen. Every time we’ve slept together, it’s better than the last, and this time is no different. I’d normally get bored of a woman after the third or fourth time, but every time I touch her, it’s an addictive high.

Now, it’s been six days since I showed her the Bratva’s secrets and nothing is tedious or trivial anymore. I thought I’d be bored with monogamy and resent coming home to the same woman, but I’m always anxious to see her again and when I do, everything else becomes negligible.

I sit in the hotel basement. Yury and Ivan are still recovering, though highly irritable after nearly a week of spending every waking moment next to each other in hospital beds.

“Boss,” Yury says. “The doctor made a mistake keeping me here. I don’t need to be here.”

“Ay!” Ivan scratches at the inside of his elbow, where the IV needle is taped down. “The boss would have broken us out by now if he thought we should leave. Don’t be insubordinate.”

“I ain’t, you shithead,” Yury growls. “Shut the fuck up for once in your goddamn life. I’m talking to Mr. Akimov.”

“The doctor still wants to keep you for another day. It’s a precaution. You can leave tomorrow night,” I say.

Ivan sneers at Yury.

“Change your face before I change it for you,” Yury snarls.

I shouldn’t have come—it’s too much of a liability for me to be this close to two gunshot victims in my own hotel—but after losing so many of my men, it’s good to see the ones who were saved.

My phone rings. I pull it out.

It’s Gianluigi’s number.

I leave the two men to argue, stepping out of the hotel basement as I answer the call. “Good afternoon, Gianluigi,” I say. “Do you have the contracts ready?”

“Yes,” Gianluigi says, sounding like a sulking child. “They’re prepared. Where are we meeting?”

“In the conference room at the Akimov Suites in an hour. Just go to the front desk, tell them you’re meeting me, and they’ll direct you to the right room.”

“And you’ll bring Cassandra and her daughter? I can’t be certain that you won’t end up killing them, regardless of our deal, unless they’re in my custody.”

I clench my jaw. I bring up the memory of Cassie’s laugh and slowly relax. “That wasn’t part of our agreement,” I say.

“You told me you were holding them captive,” he says. “And you’d kill Cassandra if I didn’t hand over everything. Why would I agree to this deal if you didn’t hand over both of them?”

I crush an ant underneath my shoe. “I’ll set them free. There’s no reason for me to bring them to the hotel.”

“I won’t sign anything without seeing them there.”

“Fine,” I say. “Be at the hotel in an hour.”

I hang up. When it comes to Cassie, I have a blind spot. I hate to admit it, but I’d rather see my weakness than ignore it. I should have considered that Gianluigi would want to see Cassie and Lily as proof that they’re alive. It’s a problem. Not only will Cassie know I’ve turned her into a bargaining chip, but the idea of putting her within arm’s length of her father is sickening. She may not accept that she’s carried around trauma he left imprinted in her, but I’ve heard enough and seen her face enough during her recollections to know it’s true.

If I take her and Lily to the hotel, I will lose them. It will mean that I managed to win the war while losing the most significant battle.

I dial Cassie’s number. She doesn’t pick up. She must be in the middle of researching or writing.

I head toward my truck. I could convince her we’re at the hotel for a completely different reason, but she’d figure out the truth quickly enough.

I can still win this war. I can take everything from Gianluigi and lose nothing at the same time. It’s just a matter of knowing how to twist the knife without getting cut.

In my home office, I find the contracts I had our lawyers write up. It’s a power play, a precaution, a final jab. I don’t trust Gianluigi to write up the contracts, but it will be good to see his face when he realizes I wasted his time and made him think he has some tiny fraction of power when he’s powerless. It’s one more thing to take from him.

The door swings open. I lurch for the top right desk drawer, where my Smith & Wesson hides. A wave of relief comes over me as I see it’s Cassie, but as I take in her face, I see the cracks of distress and sorrow sinking deeper into her skin.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, moving around the desk to come closer to her. She takes a quick step back, her arm rising to come between