Page 31 of Maksim

I pull out my phone to check my messages. Anya hasn’t texted me since last night when she let me know she wouldn’t be home. She’s gone more than she’s home these days, so … maybe this won’t be as bad as I’m imagining. Hell, if Elira is quiet enough, maybe I could keep her a secret.

I message Hugh to tell him I found Elira at a bus stop in Reno, then I shoot Anya a text.

Coming home tonight?

She should be in class, but she texts me back right away. Not a good sign.

Hailey’s mom invited me for dinner, sooo…

I roll my eyes. Does Hailey even exist? ’Kay, love you.

Love you too. Will be home tomorrow. Promise.

She follows that up with three kissing hearts emojis.

I put my phone away and blow out a breath, trying to think of the places in my house I could stash an Albanian whore. When Elira finally returns wearing baggy clothes with a suitcase in hand, I’m prepared to head for a side window that has the least likelihood of a surveillance camera, but she stops me in my tracks when she goes to the woman’s body.

She bends over the woman, and with a hand so calm it’s chilling, removes the wedding ring from the woman’s finger.

She slides it onto her own finger, holding her hand up, twisting it, ensuring she likes the fit.

10

ELIRA

He doesn’t want me here.

I can tell by the tense way Maksim walks in front of me, leading the way into his home. When Nikita brutally murdered a man right in front of him, Maksim casually strolled to dispose of the body, but now his steps seem heavy, and his arms don’t sway.

At first, I think his discomfort must be out of sheer embarrassment at the state of the place, but his eyes don’t seem to even notice the bowl of milk spoiling on the kitchen bar or the clothes randomly littering the floor. When I look down, I see fresh dirt marks along the carpet from his shoes.

How do these people live like this?

There’s a leopard print bra hanging over the back of the couch, and that Maksim does seem to catch. His eyes narrow as his lips pull into a frown.

With a sigh, he turns his attention to me.

I raise my chin and brace myself. After everything that just happened, it’s hard to believe there will be no wrath to face. The worst part of Maksim is his unpredictability. He could be bringing me here only because his basement has the best equipment for torture.

“Are you hungry?” he asks me.

I don’t respond, nor do I allow my guard to fall.

Am I hungry?

Does he know what I just did? It’s been hours, and I used the Storms’ washroom to clean myself up, but I still smell Daniel’s blood. I feel its memory on my clean hands and in my hair. Feel the ring wrapped loosely around my finger that may not have been given but that I feel I’ve earned.

No, I’m not hungry.

“I’d rather get my punishment over with, if it’s all right with you.”

Rolling his neck, he ambles past me into the kitchen and over to the fridge. “I told you, I’m not going to hurt you.” He pulls out two beers, twisting off each cap as he walks back to me.

“Sit.” He gestures to a bar stool and sets one of the beers in front of it.

I want to argue, only because there’s a certain level of discomfort involved in obeying Maksim, but I climb onto the barstool and sit anyway. As I pick at the label on the bottle, I chew on my cheek.

I hate to admit it, but when Maksim showed up, I wasn’t scared, I was … relieved.