Page 80 of Sinful Lord

Without warning, Maksim grabs onto my shoulder and pulls me around.

His gun stays trained at my gut, and his face remains a twisted mixture of disgust and fury. But there’s something else twinkling behind those dark eyes. Something I recognize all too well now.

Fear.

My heart sinks. For a moment, I can’t help but feel a sliver of sympathy for the old man.

He’s just as worried about Melina as I am. Sometimes, I forget that she’s from a family that actually cares for her.

Shit. That was part of the problem. They cared too much for her. They suffocated a wild, artistic spirit. Caged it. And so she ran. She ran right into my arms.

And I’m not ready to give her up.

“Call it a crush,” I shrug, allowing myself a brief moment of honesty.

That brings the butt of Maksim’s pistol blaring across my temple. The force nearly knocks me off my feet. But I don’t let myself stumble.

Men like this don’t respect weakness. And as much as I hate the idea, I need to earn this fucker’s respect.

“No. You don’t have a crush, you fucking freak,” Maksim sneers. “You want to use her. Rozalia warned me about you. Well, here’s a warning about me. I don’t play chess, I fucking set the board on fire.”

“I’ve never been scared of a little fire,” I snarl back, skull throbbing.

Maksim steps back and lifts his gun. The barrel points directly at my forehead. Behind me, the idling car’s taillights cast a soft glow over the dark night.

Smoke rises from the bear’s massive body. He’s steaming mad and ready to kill. But I force myself to focus on his fear.

“This isn’t a game,” Maksim growls. “Tell me what you know or I end you right now and go find out on my own.”

All I can do is shake my head. “You’d be dooming Melina to hell if you did that. Every second we waste squabbling is an extra second she has to suffer.”

“What the fuck does that mean?”

As far as I can tell, Maksim is completely blind to what’s happening. He must have just gotten here and he’s probably desperate for some insight.

That’s my way in. And my way out.

“How long have you been in Berlin?” I ask.

“That’s none of your business.”

“I’m guessing not long enough to do anything but track me down.”

“You aren’t exactly hard to miss,” Maksim huffs. “In fact, the first thing I heard about when I touched down in Germany was how some sloppy American had slaughtered a whole faction of thugs down in Berlin’s warehouse district. A little more snooping led me to the person who set up that meeting. When I saw the beautiful young heiress, I figured questioning her was a waste of time. Eventually, she was going to lead me right to you. And I was right. But it didn’t look like you two we’re meeting for the reason I assumed…”

“It’s not like that,” I say, a genuine pit of disgust churning my lips. “Yasha is a tool. She was only useful because her connections could help me find out who took Melina.”

To my surprise, Maksim’s shoulder’s slump.

“… Someone took her?” he asks, devastated.

“Yes,” I lie. “That’s why time is of the fucking essence. Or did you think I was just playing around when I said she was in trouble?”

“I… I thought you meant something else…” Maksim mumbles, his dark eyes racing as he tries to make sense of what he’s hearing. Clearly, he was hoping for the best.

Fool. He let his heart get in the way of reality. It’s a harsh reminder not to make the same mistake.

“What did you think I was talking about?” I push, prying for any little bit of information that might help me when I finally get out of this bind.