Heart of My Monster (Monster Trilogy #3) by Rina Kent

“No. Of course not. I just found out today, and only because I followed him.”

“Does that mean you’ll let me go?”

“In your dreams,” Anton says. “You’re not stepping a foot outside until you tell me what Kirill sent you to do. And even then, you won’t leave my sight.”

“Kill me, you motherfucker. If you don’t, I’ll be the one who kills you.”

Anton reaches over, probably to slap or punch him again, but I jump up and stand between them. “Stop it, both of you, just stop. You were the best of friends. Can’t you think of that?”

“He attacked our family!”

“He killed my real friend!” Maksim says at the same time.

I release a breath and sit between them. “This is going nowhere.”

“Leave,” my brother orders. “I’ll deal with him in my own way.”

“And let you torture, then possibly kill him? No.” I face my friend. “I don’t want to believe you attacked unarmed people, Maks. Those people are the only survivors of a family massacre, and they happen to be my elderly grandmother, my uncle, and my six-year-old cousin. But I recognized your face on the security footage. Unless you tell me what actually happened, Anton’s version is logical.”

“I wasn’t here to attack anyone. I was on a mission to locate the last members of the Belsky Organization and try to start a line of communication with Kirill.”

“Liar,” Anton snarls. “If it were that simple, you would’ve told me that instead of withstanding torture.”

“I prefer being tortured than talking to your ugly fucking face.”

Anton’s fist clenches, and I clear my throat before he moves into action. “Are you sure Kirill didn’t want you to kill the last members of the Belsky Organization?”

“If he did, he would’ve sent an army and Viktor. I came with only four other men and they were killed by your side who opened fire first.”

My heart that’s been bleeding nonstop perks up at that. Isn’t it sad that a mere sliver of hope—as minimal and speculative as it is—happens to be enough to revive my stupid heart?

I internally shake my head. “Do you know why he’s attempting to start communications?”

Maksim shakes his head. “He’s not the type who shows his hand.”

Isn’t that the damn truth?

He always kept his plans so close to his chest that even Viktor and I weren’t privy to them until the final stages. That’s how I was blindsided by his engagement, his marriage, and his damn betrayal.

Note to self: shoot more targets later.

“What are you going to do to me, Sasha?” Maksim speaks with obvious strain. “Fake asshole over there will be happy to put a bullet in my head like he did to Yuri, but I doubt that’s your stance.”

“I guess if I asked you to switch sides, you wouldn’t, right?”

“Why ask something you already know the answer to?”

I get it. Kirill and his family are Maksim’s benefactors. They gave him purpose and a privileged upbringing he wouldn’t have dreamt of having anywhere else.

Not to mention that he genuinely respects Kirill and even Viktor. The latter personally trained him from a young age and was the reason he developed superior combat skills.

It was foolishly hopeful of me to wish he’d be on the side of two people who lied to him. One of them tortured him for damn weeks and killed his real friend.

“If you go back to Kirill…” My voice catches, as is the case every time I speak or think of him. “We’ll meet again as enemies.”

“Aren’t we already?”

“I don’t want to hurt you, Maks. You’re the first friend I made after losing my family. You helped me integrate into the military and mafia life seamlessly. You always had my back and cheered me up whenever I was down without asking for anything in return. You easily became my best friend without even trying. I’ll never forget those moments.”

He gives Anton the side-eye. “That makes one of you.”

“The fuck did you just say?” my brother snaps in a frightening tone.

“I said, one of you isn’t an ungrateful motherfucker. Want to hear that again, dick?”

“You must be tired of living.” Anton starts to grab him, but I push his hand away.

“Stop it, damn it. What’s with all the testosterone between you two? It’s exhausting to watch.”

Maksim snarls, and Anton glares at him as if he wants to snap his neck. If I hadn’t been here, I’m sure that’s exactly what he would’ve done.

“But we can’t be friends anymore,” I say in a choked voice. “You’re the guard of the man whose demise I’m planning. The man to whom I was loyal to, but he chose to betray me. We’re on opposite sides of the board, Maks. If we meet as enemies, we might kill each other.”

“We could’ve easily bypassed this if you’d been truthful about who you were from the beginning.”

“If I had been, I wouldn’t have been able to exact revenge.”

“Both of you keep saying that. Look at your fucking faces! You’re grown-up adults living in the past. So what if you get revenge? You think you’ll be happier? Freer? Better? Well, here’s a news flash for you—you’ll just feel empty as fuck.”