Ruthless Stranger by Maggie Cole

21

Maksim

I textAdrian that I'm here. My stomach is in knots, and I'm trying to calm down before I see Aspen. But I'm not happy she's wasted and at the Cat's Meow. It's in the roughest part of town, and I know what happens in that club. While a lot of it is innocent fun, it doesn't take much for patrons and the strippers to cross the line in the private rooms. And if Aspen and her friends are as intoxicated as Adrian claims they are, it's a recipe for trouble.

Adrian: Pavel is at the door. We're upstairs, third floor. I couldn't stop all of them. They just went in Wes Petrov's suite, and I'm not allowed in. Aspen wouldn't listen to my warnings. Wes's thugs surrounded her and her friends.

My heart races so fast, I think I might have a heart attack. Wes is Zamir's son. He's as heartless as his father and just as dangerous. "Fuck!"

"What's going on?" Sergey asks.

"They're in Wes Petrov's suite."

Sergey's eyes turn to cold slits. "How are we handling this?"

The beast in me awakens. I close my eyes and take several breaths, trying to tame him. My fingers trace my pocket knife through my suit pants. "We need to get them out of there with no incidents." I reach into a hidden compartment under the seat and hand Sergey my gun.

"Shit," Sergey mutters, and we step out. I motion for my driver, Bogdan, to follow.

We waste no time getting past Pavel and ignore the women who approach us for lap dances or shots. We go straight to the third floor. Adrian is pacing in front of the closed door of the VIP room.

"How could you let this happen?" I bark.

He holds his hands in the air. "There are four Petrov thugs, plus a bodyguard and four women. I'm not Superman. I do have some limits."

Sergey snorts. "You should have called for backup."

"It just happened. They've only been in there for two minutes."

I step closer to Adrian's face. "How did you let my woman get near a Petrov?"

"Your woman?" He raises his eyebrow in question. "She seems to think she's not."

Anger bubbles, and I clench my fists at the sides of my thighs. I'm not used to Adrian doing anything but obeying me, and his comment stings. He's one of my toughest men. He can sweet-talk anyone, but don't get on his bad side. He'll have you in a body bag in seconds.

Sergey steps between us. "This isn't the time for this conversation."

He's right.

"Take the bodyguard, Adrian. Bogdan, get your gun."

Adrian obeys, opening the door to the VIP room, stepping in, and head-locking the bodyguard in one swift move.

My pulse beats so hard in my neck, I'm sure everyone can see it. I retrace my knife as my inner beast tells me to tear every man in this room to pieces.

The first person I see is my krasotka. She's in the dress I bought her to wear to the rehearsal dinner.

She should have been there with me.

God, I was such an idiot.

How did she get anywhere near a Petrov?

Wes Petrov's tattooed arm and fingers wrap around Aspen's waist. She sits on his lap, and he licks his lips, his face close to hers.

My fists curl at my sides. Heat and anger churn in my gut, and the monster inside me is ready to unleash its fury on him.

My krasotka is in danger. I need to be smart.

She's mine. He's touching my woman. I swallow the bile rising in my throat and try to control rage I usually only feel before I'm about to slaughter my enemy.

It may not be tonight, but he will receive my consequences.

It would take me minutes to slice him to pieces and never have one ounce of guilt over ending his life. So it's never been more challenging for me to contain my demons. Any violence puts my krasotka in danger.

I need her back in my arms, not his.

"Whoa." Wes laughs and pulls Aspen closer to him when she sways backward.

She puts her hand on his shoulder to steady herself.

Watching her touch him is torture. My blood turns to flames, searing under my skin. I stop myself from stepping forward and pulling her off his lap.

If I do that, she could get severely hurt or even killed.

This is my fault. How could I ever put her in a situation to run into his, or any other man's, arms?

I'm going to kill Adrian for letting her get wasted like this.

Aspen's friends aren't in any better shape. All are on Wes's thug's laps.

Bogdan aims his gun at Wes and his thugs. He growls, "Hands up."

The women gasp with eyes wide. Wes's thugs slowly put one hand in the air but keep another one on each woman's waist. Wes keeps both his hands on my krasotka. His dark, cold eyes fill with surprise. He glances at his bodyguard who's turning red, then back at me. A sinister smile forms on his face. "Maksim. Sergey. Did you come to finally pay your dues?"

Aspen slowly turns her head and blinks, catching my eye. Even in her drunken state, I see pain, confusion, and fear. But this time, I know it's about the situation and not me.

What have I done?

I step closer, tearing my eyes away from her. "We have a deal with your father and it's very clear. Ivanovs are off-limits. I suggest you release our women, now."

He snorts. "Your women? Maybe you should keep better track of your women."

My beast claws in my gut, awakening further from hibernation and ready to slaughter its first meal.

Sergey steps next to me with my gun in his hand. He growls, "Release them."

"Or what?" Wes asks and trails the back of his fingers down my krasotka's arm.

She scrunches her face and wobbles on his lap, staring at me as tears begin to fall down her face. "Maksim," she barely whispers.

My heart cracks. I've done this. This is all on me.

I reach for her, and Wes tightens his hold on her. Aspen's friends try to get up, but they are held down as well.

"Let go of me," the pink-haired woman shrieks. The thug holding her laughs.

Adrian drags the bodyguard closer and stops more airflow to his lungs. He turns purple. "Ten seconds and I snap his neck."

Wes's dark eyes pin mine. "Release the whores."

Sergey steps forward, and I hold him back with my arm.

Adrian counts backward in a gruff voice. "Ten...nine…"

Kora, Hailee, and Skylar stumble over to the door behind Bogdan. Wes doesn't let go of Aspen.

I remove my knife, step as close to him as I can, and put my hand on Aspen's shoulder so my palm lays flat on her chest. Her back is flush to my thighs. I hold my right hand with the knife in the air. "Last warning."

"Seven…" Adrian growls.

"You will incite war between the Ivanovs and Petrovs. Are you sure you want to do that by killing me?" Wes cockily asks.

"You want to take your last breath tonight?" I seethe.

Aspen's heart pounds into my palm, and she shudders.

He starts to chuckle and releases his hand from Aspen. I pull her up and into me. She's shaking and can hardly stand, I'm sure from a combination of too much alcohol and fear. Sergey steps forward with his gun pointed at Wes's head.

I walk backward with my krasotka, keeping my knife out, and order Bogdan, "Give your gun to Adrian and take the women to the car."

Bogdan does as he is told. Adrian keeps the thug in a choke hold and holds the gun out at the others. I guide Aspen out of the club, following Bogdan and her friends.

None of the women say anything. They are all shaken up. Bogdan texts our other driver to pull up.

He puts the women in the car, and I steer Aspen to mine. "Get in," I order her.

She obeys and turns to me once she's seated. "Maksim," she cries with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Shh. Stay here. I'll be back in a moment." I shut the door.

Bogden and I stand in front of the vehicles, staring at the building. I grip my knife in my pocket tighter.

Sergey, come on, little brother.

My insides are flipping. I've never left my brother behind before. And Adrian is my cousin. I'm not ignorant to the fact there are five Petrovs and only two Ivanovs.

Sergey and Adrian come out of the club, and I breathe in relief. I nod to them. They get in the other vehicle, and I get in mine.

Aspen's makeup is all over her face. She's shaking and can't stop crying.

I pull her onto my lap, and she curls into me.

"I'm sorry," she cries.

"Shh. This is my fault." I stroke her head, trying to stop my pulse beating at a rapid speed in my neck.

Any run-in with a Petrov is bad, but we just held them at gunpoint. I threatened to slice Zamir's son into pieces. There are going to be consequences at some point.

And he knows who my krasotka is.

We go directly to my penthouse. I lead Aspen to my bathroom and turn the shower on. When the water is warm, I undress us both and pull her into the shower.

She sobs in my arms, and I hold her as tight as I can. I stroke her hair. "Shh."

"How could you throw me away?" she cries out, and my heart breaks.

"I haven't. I never could. I messed up," I tell her. It sounds pathetic and only makes my disgust for myself grow.

Every tear reminds me of my mistake. I curse myself for my stupidity while holding her until the water gets cold. Somehow, I manage to clean the makeup off her face and dry her off.

I put her in my bed and tug her into my arms. Her sniffles become farther apart, and when she's finally asleep, only then do I reach for my phone and text my brothers.

"A second war has started. We must prepare."