Page 71 of The Stalking King

Maksim texts back immediately.

Maksim: Has he arranged security with Sergei?

Nikolai pulls away from the estate, immediately pressing heavily on the accelerator. My back presses against the seat as we take off. He glances at me. He seems different all of a sudden, sweat dripping down his forehead, his mouth working as he chews the inside of his cheek.

“Who are you texting?”

“Maksim,” I say. “I’m explaining the situation. He said I should stay here, but obviously, if you say it’s okay, it’s okay. Right?”

His smile unnerves me. It’s shaky. A pit opens in my gut when I realize I might’ve just made a terrible mistake.

I think of Joel’s voice on the phone, tight, anxious.

“He just asked me if I arranged security with Sergei,” I mutter, looking in the rearview mirror. The estate is already a pinprick. We turn a corner, moving between trees, and it disappears entirely. “Where are your men?”

“I’ll call him,” Nikolai says. “He worries too much.” He pats down his own pockets. “Dammit. Forgot my phone. Can I borrow yours?”

I’ve only met this man twice, but he’s behaving erratically. Too slow, it hits me how little sense Joel’s story makes. Why would he suddenly go rifling through patient files? And Daniel wasn’t poisoned. He left the hospital – or Conrad Vale’s men took him – and they killed him brutally. Poison wasn’t necessary.

Stupid, stupid.

I reach for the door handle. Nikolai picks up speed.

“Give me your phone, Lia,” he says, his voice cold now.

I lean against the door, a hot layer of sweat beading all over me, sticking my clothes to my skin.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he says, sounding sick.

“Nikolai, you’re the only family Maksim has. He loves you. I think Maksim is falling for me. Would you really hurt his woman?”

He swallows. “To save a mother and her child. To save people who have never hurt anybody. I don’t want to, but if I have to, I will.”

I press the call button on Maksim’s name. Nikolai’s hand darts out and grabs the phone, snatching it from me. He ends the call and throws the phone out the window.

“He’s never going to recover from this,” I hiss. “He loves you. He trusted you. He lights up when he talks about you.”

“Stop it,” Nikolai snaps.

“He’s proud of you. He cares abou⁠—”

“I said stop it,” he roars, slamming his hand on the steering wheel.

I cringe away, no clue what to do. We’re racing down the road. If I jumped from the car, I’d seriously hurt myself. And all he’d have to do is turn back and pick me up. Where am I going to run?

“How did you make Joel lie to me?” I ask, my voice small.

Nikolai looks ill, pale and trembling. “Threatened his family. Showed him a few pictures.”

“What if he didn’t do it? Would you have hurt them?”

He looks at me in disgust. “Of course not.”

“You’re clearly not the man your brother thinks you are.”

“We’ve got a long drive ahead of us,” he snaps. “Don’t make this more difficult than it has to be.”

“Maksim says you have a code. You don’t hurt innocent people.”