Fractured Ties by Bethany-Kris Page 0,13

demanded.

“Like I said, I know a guy. That’s all I’m willing to say.”

“Then, you’ve got a day—no more, and no less—to get the bear out of here, Konstantin.”

“Two would be better.”

“A day is all you have before I need to take this shit to Vadim.”

Konstantin glanced at the stacks of cash and papers on the desk. “What’d you find, anyway?”

“A hundred grand, and the slips for this place. Good enough, no?”

“Should be. And—”

“Found her!”

Kolya’s head snapped up at the voice filtering into the office from the hallway. The feminine shouts and Russian curses that accompanied Anatoly’s victorious declaration made Kolya’s heart stop for a split-second.

And then there she was.

There she was.

Being dragged in by Anatoly, there she fucking was.

All five feet of her, pissed off, messy black hair, and her pixie-like face screwed into a mask of indignation and rage.

Anatoly shoved Maya Kozlov further into the room and made her stumble over her own two feet. The sudden swell of rage that washed over Kolya at the sight was unbelievable, and hardly fucking containable. It was also shocking enough to keep him rooted right to the fucking floor.

“Fuck you,” she spat at Anatoly.

Anatoly only laughed at her. “Zatknis, Maya. You should have run, you stupid girl.” Then, to Kolya, and entirely unaware how close to death he was as he moved closer to the window, and further away from the shaking girl, Anatoly added, “There’s your payment right there—she’s worth four times what anything you’ve found is worth, Kolya. Vadim would agree, and I know the man Ivan owes money to has been suggesting he’d take the offer of her—or a fucking taste of her—to wipe away the account he had with him.”

Kolya’s throat tightened.

A bitter taste filled his mouth.

Hatred thickened his blood.

Anatoly, still unaware, continued on with, “We both know Vadim would rather have something like this place to keep making him money, comrade. It’s a one-time deal with her—this place is a goldmine. Consider it.”

“But … but, no,” Maya whispered.

Kolya’s gaze drifted to the woman who seemed shell-shocked and suddenly terrified. Like all of the fight she had just shown was gone from her personality just like that.

And the tears.

Holy sweet baby Jesus in heaven … the tears.

They welled in her eyes.

Tracked lines down her cheeks.

Touched her lips.

The fucking tears!

How dare he fucking make her cry like that?

Kolya wasn’t even sure what he was seeing except it was a hell of a lot of red, and the imprint of Maya’s crying face stayed firmly in the background when he edged around the desk, and hissed out, “Apologize to her, now.”

“I—” Anatoly’s head snapped in Kolya’s direction. “Why the fuck would I apologize? She knows what she’s worth, and so did her father.”

Maya’s tears started again.

Kolya saw more red.

Konstantin said his name.

It was a damn good thing the ground had been there to break Anatoly’s fall—you know, after Kolya punched him, and sent him flying straight out of the window he’d been standing in front of.

Again, to the ground … three fucking flights down.

“Shit,” he heard Konstantin hiss before his brother darted to the window where a breeze was now coming in. Konstantin leaned out while Kolya just flexed his sore, and now-bleeding-again knuckles to shake out the pain a bit. “He’s not moving.”

My bad.

“Shame,” Kolya muttered. “Vadim’s favorite dog, too.”

“This is bad,” Konstantin added.

Yeah.

Maya had stopped crying, though.

So, hey, winning.

3.

MAYA KOZLOV was a lot of things—dumb was not one of them.

Life had taught her to be several things.

Smart.

Quick.

Quiet.

And resourceful.

So, when she watched a man literally get punched out of a window after he made her cry because the Russian they kept calling Kolya didn’t like the sight of her tears … well, she sat her ass down on the worn couch in her father’s office and shut her mouth.

That seemed like the smart course of action.

All things considered …

“What happened, Konstantin?”

Maya found a man she had heard the others call Kaz while they were surveying the chained, or caged, animals downstairs. In her attempt to hide, thinking whatever was going on in the bar would pass like most other things did, they passed her by twice in her spot before a rat scared her and sent her running.

Kolya sighed but didn’t answer.

Konstantin finally pushed away from the window. “Kolya—that’s what.”

“Context, Konstantin,” Kolya bitched under his breath. “Context always matters, no?”

Kaz looked to Konstantin. “What’s he going on about?”

“Oh, nothing big. He just punched Anatoly for making a suggestion, and now he’s three floors down on the ground. And