Page 16 of Maksim
“Put your gun away and relax. I got into it with a few rowdy guys, but it’s all right.”
“What. Happened?”
I cringe as I sit up straight and watch my bandage to make sure it doesn’t turn red. “That girl who brought me here… She’s a whore from Albania. Nikita ‘gifted’ her to me last night. I must not have tied her up well because she got free and ran from my place. By the time I found her, she’d already caught the attention of a few guys who had her in an alley.” I gesture over my shoulder. “Sneaky bastard came up behind me with a knife.”
This story sounds so much more manly than what actually happened.
“Why didn’t you call me?” Hugh’s face pinches with disapproval. “You could’ve bled out.”
“They smashed my phone.”
He looks off for a moment while combing his goatee. “Did you take care of the bodies?”
I blow out a breath and wipe my hand over my forehead. I don’t have to fake embarrassment. Elira kicking my ass is plenty shameful. “Well, that’s the thing. They ran off after they hit me over the head.”
Hugh’s jaw clenches.
Now I’m going to have to find three douchebags who deserve to die just to make this story work.
“I’d like to get this taken care of before Nikita is made aware.”
Hugh nods and stands like he thinks I mean right this second. “You got it.”
“I’ll let you know when I find the names. Just hang tight for now.”
Tucking his gun in his waistband, he looks toward the door. I can tell by his glazing eyes that he’s already forming a game plan. Normally, I love it. Today, I wish he’d chill.
“So where’s the girl?” I ask, wiping a smudge of dirt off my bicep. I need a shower, but I’ll check in on the little assassin first.
He blinks away whatever he was thinking about and looks at me. “In the basement… If you’re expecting her to be grateful for you coming to her rescue, don’t be. She’s still a major flight risk. You owe Felix a new fender, and you’re going to have to get yourself a new windshield.”
I rear back. “What?”
Hugh laughs. “She freaked and backed into his car. Ricky shot at her to get her to stop.”
He shot at her?
“But she wasn’t hit?”
Hugh’s brows bunch as he shakes his head. “No, of course not. It just scared her.”
Good.
We let a couple of seconds go by while commotion starts downstairs. It sounds like Zinovy and his girlfriend going back and forth, followed by a plate shattering. It’s always lively in this house.
“Listen, can I keep the girl here for a little while?” I ask, dragging Hugh’s eyes to me. “It shouldn’t be long. I’m just not sure what I’ll do with her yet.”
His eyes shine with pity before he blinks it away and nods. “Of course… I take it Anya doesn’t know about her?”
I narrow my eyes and don’t humor that with a response.
“Right.” He rubs the back of his neck, then pulls out his phone. “I guess you’d better call Anya, huh? She’s probably worried since they smashed your phone.”
I catch the cell in one hand and thank Hugh before he leaves.
My little sister was supposed to spend the night at her friend’s house—her ‘friend’ being a douchebag named Trevor who she slyly put in her contacts as ‘Hailey’ with four heart emojis—so it’s unlikely she’s noticed my absence, but I shoot her a quick text anyway.
Phone broke. Will have a new one this afternoon. Everything okay? -Mak