Page 81 of Mistaken
Still, this could change everything. Maksim could stop the raids on his men and property and if I could re-create the gas outside of the lab, the Morozov Bratva could use it right back against whoever was doing this.
“It wouldn’t be that hard to get the necessary chemicals,” I’m talking to myself as I walk down the hall. My excitement deflates a bit when I find he’s not in his study, but I know he hasn’t left the penthouse. Walking into our master bedroom, I see the bathroom door is open.
Maksim’s talking to someone on the phone, and he is furious. “You must be joking.”
The acoustics of the tiled bathroom allowed me to hear a bit of the conversation from the other side. “When he found out about our initial agreement, he was indifferent to it, other than the value of your alliance. But he called me last night and told me that he was claiming the right to marry her as the head of the Toscanofamiglia. Dante is still the Don, you know this.”
“Then our agreement is void,” Maksim’s voice dripped ice. “I will not force Ekaterina to marry him”
“You know that would not be considered a reason to void this alliance,” the other man argued, “But I will never-”
Just then, Maksim’s eyes met mine in the mirror. “I will have to call you back.” He slips his phone into his jacket pocket and looks at me, cold and calm. The Pakhan.
“Please tell me I’m wrong,” I whispered, “tell me you’re not giving the sweetest, kindest girl on this planet to that complete and utter pig. Please tell me that.”
The Pakhan of the Morozov Bratva is known for his self-control. I know some of his lieutenants call him the ‘Ice King’ because he never displayed his emotions in public. But this time, Maksim snapped. Instantly and terrifyingly.
“I don’t need to tell you anything,” he said, his voice was cold but the fury radiating off of him felt blazingly hot against my skin. “Who do you think you are?” He walked toward me slowly, backing me into the bedroom, “You’re not one of us. I married you as a convenience and your opinions are immaterial. You will not demand anything from me ever again.”
The bed hit the back of my legs and I sat down abruptly; he towered above me. “You don’t understand our world. You don’t understand what I am doing. You don’t even seem to understand that I have offered you the courtesy of explaining some of my actions to you when you deserve NOTHING!” Maksim thundered the last word and I jumped. Pushing with my heels, I scrambled to the other side of the mattress. I was going to stand in front of this enraged titan, not cower on the bed.
“Your place in this life is only where I put you!”
He was shouting now and I clenched my fists, trying to hide the fact that my hands were shaking. I wasn’t shaking from the adrenaline and fear. It was from heartbreak. I was furious and heartbroken. This is who Maksim Morozov is. Not the man who had playful sex with me, who risked his life to save me from the ice, or who paid for music school tuition for little kids.
Nope, this is the coldhearted bastard I'd known from the first moment he kidnapped me. This had always been him. And I’d let myself forget it.
“You’re not a leader,” I finally said, “you’re a curse. You destroy everything you touch.” Maksim stared at me, his eyes blazing but the rest of him was frostbite. I turned around and left the room. I couldn’t seem to feel my feet or hands, so I wasn’t sure where my steps carried me but I found myself in my old guest room, so I shut the door and got into bed, falling asleep immediately.
Maksim…
I stayed where I was, barely breathing as I fought to control myself.
“You’re not a leader, you’re a curse…”Ella’s emotionless tone. Her utter disillusionment. There was nothing I could do to change that. She cannot think she has a say in Bratva doings. We were at a tipping point and the news today could plunge us into war with yet another family. I can’t risk her being in the line of fire. Let her hate me. As long as she stays put.
Still, I winced when I heard the guest room door shut.
“Brother?” Yuri was leaning against the doorway, looking concerned. “Are you all right?”
“I… didn’t hear you,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck.
“That’s what I mean,” he scoffed. “When have you ever let anyone creep up on you?”
Eyeing him, I straightened my jacket. “I know that expression. There’s good news? You look too happy.”
“Indeed, there is,” he’s grinning now, unaware that I just shouted at my wife, battered down her belief in her place in this family as hard as if I’d used my fist.
“Good,” I sighed, “in the study.”
It was dark by the time Giovanni and Dario Toscano met us at the warehouse. “It’s good to see there are one or two of your warehouses that remain intact, Maksim,” Dario said with a grin, shaking my hand.
“You are lucky that I find your sense of humor charming, instead of offensive,” I replied, but the little?ó??laughed and slapped me on the shoulder affectionately. They're both tall men, with dark hair like mine and covered in scars. Like me.
“Good to see you again,” Giovanni said, “you said you might have the answer to both of our problems?”
“Oh, I can solve one of those,” Dario shrugged, walking through the warehouse, “I’ll kill Dante. Long shot, back of the head.”
“You’re talking about our Don, and your brother,” Giovanni said sharply, but his brother shrugged.
