“Enough games, Max,” I hear a chilling growl in accented English come from behind me, and I turn to see Boris’s burned face pressed up against Liv’s, his own long, wicked knife pressed against her throat as he holds her still, her eyes wide with fear.
“Boris,” I say slowly, holding my knife at the ready, “what kind of new low is this? Settle your score with me and me alone.”
The scarred man tut-tuts mockingly, malevolent delight in his eyes as he toys with the blade at Liv’s neck, and I see her take in a sharp breath as he puts a hand around her arm, securing her. “Those are the words of a dead man, Maxie. You’ve gone soft, izmennik.” He practically spits the last word. “You’ve caused a bit of trouble here, but I don’t think you know who you’re dealing with. We’re going to rebuild an empire in this city out of the ashes you left behind, and I think you’ll make a fitting addition to the fertilizer. Unless you want a little American blood mingled with everything else on your hands,” he says, pressing his face even closer against Liv’s and letting his breath wash over her neck. “You’re going to turn slowly with me, and I’m going to take her somewhere she’ll be useful. You must have tracked her this far, so don’t pretend you don’t care about her.”
My jaw clenches briefly. Boris is indeed sharper than most of the men here. “Your boss will gut you like a fish if you lay a finger on her. And even if she were worthless, I won’t let you hurt my student.”
“Student!” Boris laughs. “My my, a teacher? You’ve taken quite a career shift, my old friend. But I can’t blame you,” he adds, his tone getting low and raspy, “if your students are as lovely as this one.”
My gaze is steely on him as Liv’s body almost visibly tenses, Boris’s grip tightening just a bit on her arm and sliding up and down it. He presses his hips forward, and Liv’s eyes widen at what she must be feeling from behind. My blood is boiling hot in my veins, and my muscles poise, ready to move at the slightest indication of weakness.
“This student must mean quite a lot to you for you to go through all this trouble,” he says. “I wonder what the two of you get up to after class?”
My nostrils flare, but I won’t dignify him with a response. At my silence, Boris tilts his head to Liv, directing his wretched, sensual mockery to her.
“Does he hold you like this at night, dorogoy? Maybe you even like the knife play, you little American slut. Does your teacher toy with you before he fucks you raw? Maybe if he makes it out of here alive, he’ll buy you for himself, and then you’ll be at his mercy all the time. You’ve seen what he can do to fully grown men. Just imagine what he would do to a tight little American cunt like yours…but I’m afraid I’ll have to break you in before that,” he says, and I see his hand start to slide around her arm down to her stomach, and I hear a sharp whimper from Liv as his fingers move down to reach into the front of her skirt.
There’s a shriek from her a moment later as I fling my knife forward, sending it flying directly at the pair with deadly precision, and I watch Boris’s attention snap back up to me for half an instant before my knife strikes true, sinking deep into his eye socket. Right to the hilt.
His muscles tighten for just a moment, Liv paralyzed with fear as she looks at me, and finally, Boris slumps to the ground on his back, a trail of blood and fluid streaming from where the blade had sank into his head.
The next instant, I run forward to catch Liv as she nearly crumples to the ground, sobbing, her whole body shaking in fear as I bring her into a tight hug.
“It’s over,” I whisper as calmly as I can bring my husky voice to pronounce clearly, “Olivia, he’s dead. You’re with me now.”
“Oh my god,” she breathes, “oh my god, they…” her eyes are fixed on the dead bodies in the room, and I realize grimly that she’s never before been exposed to such violence.
“Liv, look at me,” I say urgently, bringing her attention back to my eyes, trying to keep her from going into shock from everything she’s seen. “Liv, are you hurt?”
“N-no,” she manages, swallowing hard. “No, I’m okay. What are you doing here? How did you find me?”
The question is strange to me at first, but I remember that while she and Maggie have consumed my thoughts for the past few hours, I’ve surely been the farthest thing from her mind for all this time. “I’ll explain later. We need to get out of here, now. Where is Maggie, is she still in the building?”