Page 96 of The Bratva's Christmas Bump

“See?” Maxim grunts after freeing his lips from my hungry bite. “I win, no matter what. Because I have you. And the next time you want to be sassy, I’ll remind you how you humped my leg in a club in front of everyone.”

Heat immediately rushes to my cheeks as if I’ve been slapped, and reality comes crashing back. The crowd around us is none the wiser, though. Not a soul saw what we were up to and if they did, then they didn’t care. The music seems louder now, and the crowd is a lot closer as I lean away from Maxim and fight to catch my breath.

“Later,” I gasp softly. “You’ll be debating whether this was my plan all along and I won because you’re easy to trick.”

“You sure about that?” He captures my lips in another strong kiss, then nudges his nose into mine. “Come on, I’m parched.”

Hand in hand, we weave through the crowd back toward the bar while I adjust my clothing to account for the new dampness in my underwear. But as the crowd surges, someone’s shoulder crashes into mine with such force that Maxim’s hand slips out of mine as I fall to the ground with a yelp.

“Hey! Watch where you’re go?—”

It’s him. Time slows as the man vanishing into the crowd glances back with a single, hateful look. Half of his face is covered in small cuts. It turns my blood to ice and my heart stalls in my chest.

It’shim! Mr. Havershire— Vinnie. How is he here? How did he get in?

“Hollie!” As soon as Maxim’s over me, time seems to restart and I clutch at his arm.

“Maxim, that’s him! Right there! It’s Vinnie!”

Maxim scoops me up into my arms and then turns, glaring through the crowd while I fight to keep pointing at the rapidly disappearing head.

“Stu! Toto!”

I’m suddenly deposited into Rex’s arms and Maxim vanishes into the crowd, chasing after Vinnie.

My heart pounds as the crowd swells, swallowing them all from view. Rex carries me the rest of the way to the bar and sets me down while Xena climbs over the bar and clutches my hand.

“Was it really him?”

I nod, despite how doubt suddenly swells in my chest. What if I was wrong? What if I was so caught up in the moment that I only saw someone I thought was familiar? Xena presses water into my trembling hands as Vinnie’s face flashes, then deforms in my mind. The harder I think about him, the less I’m sure of what I saw.

Did I just ruin the night?

Maxim and the others don’t return until the crowd has thinned several hours later. Hours I spent fretting about something happening to them. As soon as he appears, I lunge up from my seat and throw my arms around him.

“Oh, thank God, I’m so sorry!”

Maxim hugs me tightly and buries his face in my neck for a few long seconds. “What are you sorry for?” he asks as he pulls back.

“I don’t… The more I thought about it, the more I’m not sure I saw who I thought I saw.”

“Don’t doubt yourself. Stu saw him too and we have media of Vinnie. It was him.”

“How did he get in?” Xena, back behind the bar, nearly drops her glass. “How could he get here? Better yet, did you catch him?”

I gaze up at Maxim and see the answer in his eyes immediately. “He got away.”

Behind Maxim, Toto and Stu hunch over, slightly breathless. “Fucker’s fast,” Stu gasps.

“He’s one man,” Maxim growls. “One man has this entire organization chasing their fucking tails, me included. I refuse to let this continue. I want him dead, you hear me? I want himdead.”

36

HOLLIE

“Mom?” Knocking softly, I walk into my parents’ home to the mouthwatering scents of apple pie and cinnamon.

“In the kitchen!” Mom calls.