by Crimson Syn
I slid out of her and swung her around to face me. She was like a ragged doll in my arms, allowing me to use her and manipulate her and I hated that even more. Her breasts heaved with exertion as her eyes looked at me, pleading with me. I pressed my forehead to hers, sliding my hands up, covering those soft pillows.
“Max,” she whimpered and slid her hands along my cheeks. I pulled away quickly. I didn’t want to feel her tenderness, what we were doing wasn’t about that. Her sweet touch was too fucking much to handle. I was torn between love and hate, and it was torturing the fuck out of me.
I turned to leave her, neither of us satisfied by my actions, but as she grabbed my hand I snapped.
“Oh!” She cried out, as I grabbed her and slammed us back hard against the tile, my cock sliding right into her wet pussy making us both groan out in pleasure. She wrapped her legs around my waist as I thrust into her. Our eyes meeting, hers full of love, mine full of confused hatred as she let me take what I needed.
Her hands came up and cupped my cheeks, caressing them as she moaned my name and I turned us around, walking us right out to the bedroom. I lay her down on the mattress, her body covered in droplets of water and I follow one with my tongue as it slid over a hard nipple. Groaning, I thrust inside of her, slowly fucking her, allowing her to feel every inch of me.
My hands trailed down the familiar curves of her body, freshly made fingerprints shined on her thighs and along her throat and I groan in agony at the sight. Nuzzling her I kiss her bruised flesh, wanting to take it all away. My mind and heart were in denial, but my body knew what it wanted. It yearned for hers, for her touch, for her needy moans. I hated that I had managed to hurt her. It wasn’t right. None of this was.
I had been forced into this cage, and she was my only way out. Angrily, I slammed her wrists above her head as I started to drive myself into her. She didn’t stop me she only begged me to go faster, harder, plowing into her depths. The sound of our wet bodies slapping against each other was suffocating and I fucked her harder, a rough staccato of movements and undulating bodies that had her screaming my name.
“You belong to me now, not them,” I growled as she let go, cumming on my cock. Her beautiful body trembling and arching back as the pleasure coursed through it. I bit down on her nipple, wanting to cause her pain, but all it did was bring forth a needy moan before she tightened around my cock, that sweet pussy clinging onto it like a lifeline.
“Max,” she moaned and I grunted as I rammed myself in deep.
“If they dare to lay one hand on you, I’ll kill them myself.”
“Max!” She cried out as another orgasm rushed through her, triggering my load. I tensed and reared back right before slamming back inside her, loving how her pussy sucked on my cock, how she milked every drop greedily.
My arms gave way and I collapsed on her, my head cushioned by her soft pillows. Her fingers trail along my hair, brushing through the strands and holding me tight. I relished in her warmth, loving the way her racing heartbeat palpitated against my eardrum. But I didn’t stay in her embrace for long, she didn’t deserve it, she didn’t deserve me.
Quickly I removed her hands from my body and I hastily got off the bed. I looked down at her, sprawled on my white silk sheets once again. It took everything in me not to reach down and cradle her in my arms. It took everything I had to not want to forget it all and forgive her, wanting to let myself drown in her lies. Instead, I squeezed my eyes shut ignoring her innocent beauty and turned away from her, walking out without a second glance.
“Get dressed,” I snapped and slammed the door behind me. I stared at the closed door for a long moment, wishing I could stay in bed with her. Wishing I could trust her.
G rabbing my phone, I tried William once again. I wasn't sure what to do with Victoria. If I let her go, God knows what Catchfire would do to her, but if I tell Drake and Lucian then I leave her at the mercy of the FBI. The ladder was probably better since at least I'd have the peace of mind that they'd keep her alive. But for how long? How long before someone from the inside got contacted and my sweet beautiful woman would be harmed. She wouldn't survive.
The phone rang once, twice, on the third ring I heard breathing. “William?”
“Max!”
“Bloody hell, William!”
“Hang up!”
“What?”
“I’ll call you back, hang up!”
The line went dead, and I waited, pacing my apartment. I approached the windows, staring out at Downtown Manhattan. I always wanted a view of the city and I finally got it when I moved to Chelsea. If I was going to live in a city I didn’t know, at least I would have the best view, right?
The phone rang, and I quickly picked up. “William?”
“Max, for God’s sake, where’s Victoria? Did they get her? Did they harm her?”
I looked over at the closed door where I was hiding my beautiful betrayal. I closed my eyes remembering just how horrible I’d been with her, but I was so bloody angry. I hadn’t wanted to hear any more lies, I just wanted to hurt her, yet she didn’t push me away. She gave herself to me without any apprehension. The thought kept warming my heart and I dug that feeling down deep inside and focused on what I needed to do to get all this sorted out.
“No. She’s with me.”
“She’s safe?” His tone of concern made me give pause.
"William, what in the fuck is going on?"
“I just need to know if she’s safe, Maxwell. They’ll kill her if they find her.”
“Who? Who the fuck is after you?”
“They’re not after us, Max. They already have a hold of us.”
I slumped down into the couch and placed my head in my hand. My head was spinning trying to grasp all the details.
“They have Lucy, mate. They’ll hurt her if Victoria doesn’t deliver the information.”
“I can’t let that happen, Will.”
“They’ll kill her, Max! They’re going to fucking kill my Lucy!”
His anguish made me want to rip every fucking head in that terrorist unit off. My muscles flexed, and adrenaline started to surge through me. “Nothing will happen to Lucy. Where is she?”
“She’s at home. But she doesn’t know, Max. She’s pregnant mate. She can’t have strong emotions, it’ll harm the baby.”
I nodded to myself trying to come up with a plan. I still had my connections at the British Embassy and I had a few friends in the SAS who I knew had my back.
“Go home and pack what you need, mate. I’ll send someone to come pick you both up in about an hour. You are not to leave their side, do you understand.”
“What about Victoria?”
“Victoria is mine to take care of.” The edge in my voice carried and I could sense the tension on the other end of the line.
“You fell in love with her, didn’t you?”
“She’s good at lies.”
“Yes. Yes, she is. She’s also good at lying to herself. I told her time and time again not to fall for you, but she didn’t listen. She never listens. I’m not even sure how she’s still alive.”
“Yeah, well...I’m not going to get into it right at this instant with you.”
"She loves you, Max. I begged her to tell you, but she put her heart and her life on the line in order not to hurt you. She was prepared to walk away to save the life of two people she barely knew."
“She said it was her Father.”
“Yeah. A Father who abandoned her as a small child. A Father who was never around yet she thinks she owes him this great debt in life. Take care of her, Max. If you don’t you’ll regret it, trust me.”
“Be ready in an hour. Call me when you get to a safe place.”
“Mate?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you.”
“There’s no need to thank me, Will. I’ll make sure you and Lucy are safe. Now go, I need to make some calls.”
“Tale care of yourself and take care of Victoria. She never wante
d to hurt you, I can attest to that.”
“We’ll discuss that later, now go!”
I flung the phone against the couch and aggravated, I ran my hands through my hair. This was all going sideways, fast. If what Will said was true then what I was doing to Victoria was beyond wrong, but everything was wrong. Everything was flipped the fuck upside down and I had no bloody clue how to fix it or who to trust.
I lifted the phone when on the screen there appeared the name in question. Staring at the closed door I took a deep breath. This had to end at some point.
10
VICTORIA
I curled up into a little ball and turned to my side, staring out the window to the clouds in the sky. He’d said I belonged to him and the fact that he still thought of me as his, made my heart flutter. I needed that, I wanted that so badly.
But then he was still struggling. Why did he leave? He’d wrapped himself so tightly around me, and just like that, he’d stormed off. My privates throbbed and ached from his roughness, but it was a sweet ache that reminded me that I’d been his and I craved him even more. As I rubbed my thighs together, I felt the wetness he’d left behind. He’d claimed me in every way possible.
I stood up and made my way to his dresser. As I pulled out one of his shirts I hear a familiar ringtone just outside my door. Maxwell storms back into the room, his eyes roaming hotly over me as I turn to him, still completely naked.
“I told you to get dressed.”
“You ripped my dress. I have nothing to wear.”
“Fuck!” He stared down at the screen and threw the phone on the bed. “Answer it.”
The phone rings again and tugging the t-shirt on, I quickly made my way to it. My hands started to shake as I stared at the name on the screen. I felt his presence behind me and the heat of his hand swept down the curve of my hip, calming me. Pressing his chest against my back, he squeezed my hip.
“Answer it,” he whispered.
I slowly slid the icon and hit speaker. “Hello.”
“Where the fuck have you been? I’ve been trying to reach you for hours.”
The masked voice sounded harsh and furious. I looked up at Maxwell and he gave a quick shake of his head letting me know that I shouldn’t tell them the truth.
“I haven’t been alone.”
“I don’t care, our arrangement was for you to contact me as soon as you have the item. Do you have it?”
Maxwell stared back at me and our eyes locked. I’m begging him to help me and he grips my chin in concern. He nods at the phone. “Tell him you have it,” he whispers in my ear.
“Yes. Yes, I have it.”
“I’ll send you the details of the courier, he’ll come by your place tomorrow morning.”
“Where’s my Father?”
“Your Father,” the man chuckled. “Why, I’ll let you speak to him yourself.”
I waited a few minutes and when no one came on, I spoke. “Father?”
“Where have you been?” His unfamiliar voice boomed through the speaker, it was laced with a deep Russian accent, and he sounded perfectly fine. As he spoke, uncertainty flooded through me.
“I’m here Father, are you alright?”
“Of course, I’m alright!”
“What?” I turned my head, my eyes wide in shock as I take in Maxwell’s darkened frown.
"Father, where are you? I'll come to get you."
“Did you get what they wanted?”
“I have it, but I won’t give it to them until I know you’re safe.”
His deep chuckle gave me chills, and I shuddered against Maxwell. His hold tightened on me. “Good girl. I knew I could count on you.”
“What?” My confusion reflected as my voice cracked. “What are you talking about?”
“Oh, milaya devushka, I’m sorry, but it was the only way.”
“The only way?”
I could make out his smirk and the feeling of contempt towards this man, this stranger, took hold of me.
“They told me it would work, but I didn’t believe them.”
“Who, Father? What the hell are you talking about?”
“They said he’d fall for you, what a fool. He didn’t know what hit him, did he?”
Shock ran through me. “They told me you were going to die, Father.”
“I’m Anatoli Petrov, divushka. Anatoli Petrov does not die.”
“You used me?”
“No divushka, I just knew you’d get what we needed. You’re so smart.”
“But I heard you screaming. I heard you screaming in pain!”
He smirked again and my heart broke. I slumped back onto Max’s chest and I felt his hands squeeze my upper arms in reassurance.
“You didn’t actually think a man of my undeniable background would let himself get trapped, did you?”
“You lied to me.”
“More like twisted the truth a bit. I’m alright, there’s no need to worry anymore. I just needed to give you that push so you could help Daddy.”
“A push. You made me think they were going to kill you!”
“Now, Victoria…”
“You made me think you were going to die!”
“Victoria!”
“You’re vile! You’re a vile human being! You made me lie to the one person who ever cared about me!”
Tears streamed down my cheeks and Maxwell hugged me tightly to him.
“Stop with your weaknesses, Victoria. You either complete the job or there will be consequences. And they won’t be for me, but for you.”
“What are you talking about?” I sobbed, shaking.
“Get me the information or they’ll come after it and if they do, you are not going to like the outcome.”
I gasped in shock. My own father was now threatening me. “Is that a threat? Are you sending those men after me?”
“Victoria, there’s a lot more at stake here. There’s no time miserable crying and resilience. Just do what I ask of you!”
“No!” I screamed. “Never!”
“Victoria!”
“If you want the information, you come after it yourself.”
“You are my daughter…”
“No! I was your daughter. Now I don’t exist for you at all.”
I hung up the phone and slid to my knees, desperately trying to gasp for air. It felt like someone had sucker punched me right in the gut, but it was worse, there was so much pain.
“M-Max,” I sobbed, my voice trembling. Max,” I breathed out clinging onto his arm as it wrapped around me.
“Shhhh, Beautiful. Hush now. It’s going to be okay.”
“He lied. He lied to me.”
Max wrapped me up in his arms and lifted me up. He walked us over to a chair against the windows and sat down, cradling me on my lap. The tears ran down my cheek and onto his shirt. He didn’t say a word, he simply rocked me and cradled me, cooing softly in my ear as his hands rubbed my back in a soothing motion. I clung to him, needing his love more than anything in the world. He was my rock, he was my everything.
11
MAXWELL
I left her lying in bed. She'd been shaken up by that phone call, and by her reaction, I knew she'd been telling the truth. She was completely devastated and it was obvious she had also been harmed and lied to by someone she thought she could trust. Her agony could not have been performed. I felt bad that I hadn't believed her, that I'd been so rough.
I walked toward my kitchen and took out a beer, popping it open I leaned back against the counter and took a sip. Shit was going down, and quickly. I had to talk to Drake and Lucian. This was going too far.
My phone rang and I flipped it over, Adam’s name popping up on the screen.
“Hey, Mate.”
“Anatoly Petrov. Russian Mafia.”
“What?” I frowned setting the beer down and walking over to my laptop.
“Her father. He’s a top Captain of the Zagort’sya…Catchfire. He’s also part of the Bratva, the brotherhood, or Russia
n Mafia as we know them.”
“Bloody fucking hell!”
“He’s also Victoria Petrov’s Father.”
I ran a hand through my hair and closed my eyes. Sure enough, as I pulled up the profile on the secured network, his face popped up. He'd been a known Mafia member for quite some years, apparently, he'd moved up in ranks since the last time I'd seen him.
“Is his daughter involved in any of this?”
“As far as I could dig up, she lived somewhere in Hackney, London. Lived away from home for the most part, ever since her mother passed away when she was eight. Looks like he didn’t want her anywhere near his little crime organization so he hid her away.”
“Wait. Did you say her mother passed away?”
“Yeah, why?”
I clenched my jaw and squeezed my eyes closed. “She thinks her mother left them.”
“Her mother was Maria Petrov. She was found late one evening in the city of Kazan, lying in a ditch. She’d been shot in the heart. One bullet.
“Do we know who did it?”
“Never had a witness, but all facts seem to point right back to the Bratva and Anatoli Petrov. Apparently, they had a dispute and she disappeared shortly after. Looks like he found her.”
“Fuck!”
I stared at the closed bedroom door and knew I needed to protect my beautiful woman from the monster she called her father. She was innocent in all this. She was right from the start, she’d been a pawn in their game. If I wasn’t careful, she’d also be a casualty.
“Adam, I have a situation going on here and I need your help.”
“Does it involve this piece of shit?”
“Yes. It also involves Ravenhead.”
Adam quietly listened as I explained the details of what had occurred. When I was done he suggested Victoria join Anne in witness protection. Adam had been in charge of the girl in the last year and she was in a safe place. I contemplated it for about a second before I discarded the idea. The only place she was safe was by my side. After deliberating it for a while I let Adam know to give me time to figure something out. He promised to come out himself if I needed him and I had secretly decided to take matters into my own hands.
