22. Max

The moment I hear Nat shouting at someone I know she's in trouble. If it wasn't for the fact I made Sasha add a tracking device to her phone, which she helpfully installed via an email she downloaded, I'd have no idea where she is.

The app says she's at the entrance to the city park.

"City park, main gate," I bark. Artem doesn't question my change of plan, he just drives. We're less than five minutes away under normal circumstances, but thanks to Artem's skill, we get there in three minutes.

I jump out of the car before it stops, provoking a stream of curses from Artem. With my gun at hand, I run through the gate. She's there, surrounded by young men, all of whom I recognize as working for various low-level gangs in the city.

The ring leader, a tall, skinny guy with a tattoo of a wolf on his neck, looks up at my approach. I note the way his complexion pales when he realizes who I am. Before he can run, I'm on him.

The wet sound of my fists pounding his face and body is music to my ears. Within seconds, the rest of his friends melt away, crawling back under the rocks they came from.

Nat stands a few steps back. I can hear her choppy breathing and feel her panicked eyes on me. She's probably terrified, but while I don't want to scare her, this piece of shit needs putting down.

"Boss…" Artem's calm voice breaks through the red mist and my fist pauses part-way through another brutal trajectory. Not that the man on the ground is aware. His face is a bloody mess of pulverized flesh and from the way he's choking, he doesn't have long left in this world.

"We need to clear this up," Artem reminds me. I know. There are too many witnesses.

Sucking in a calming breath, I think for a moment.

"Call Sasha, he'll need to wipe the cameras. I'll let you organize the cleanup."

Artem nods, his face impassive like always. This is just another Friday night to him. He pulls his phone out and makes the necessary calls.

I reach out to Natalya. She flinches at the sight of my bloody fist and I inwardly curse. Now she's frightened of me.

What was I thinking?

Oh, wait. I wasn't.

"Malyshka," I say, keeping my voice low and steady. Her eyes flick between me and the body lying on the ground. Her lip trembles and I can hear her sharp staccato inhales and exhales, as she tries to rein in her panic. "You're safe now. Safe with me."

I reach out again and this time, she doesn't pull back. Small steps but it's progress. Since my fist is a mess, I quickly wipe it on my black jacket. The laundry service I use can deal. They get paid a bonus for such onerous tasks.

Once my hand is semi-clean, I press it against the small of her back. "We need to get out of here," I tell her, keeping my voice low and calm. A private ambulance pulls up and Kolya jumps out, along with Pietr and Ivan. They glance around, making sure we're not attracting a crowd.

Pietr and Ivan are both dressed in scrubs. They pull out a gurney and wheel it over. Surprisingly, the guy on the floor isn't dead yet. He groans when my guys scoop him up none too gently and drop him on the gurney. Since he's alive, he can answer some questions for me.

I'm curious about whether this was a targeted attack because someone has spotted Natalya's link to me, or just a case of wrong time, wrong place. I hope it's the latter, but as Papa always said, assumption is the mother of all fuck ups.

"Find out what he was doing and why," I instruct. Kolya nods. The gurney is wheeled back to the ambulance and a few minutes later, it departs.

Artem stands back, monitoring the park and surrounding area while I lead Natalya back to the SUV. Her hand is cold as ice when I take it to help her inside the vehicle. I'm expecting questions, but there's nothing. It's like she's shut down.

Whether it's trauma from seeing me beat a man half to death or what happened before my arrival, I'm not certain. But I intend to find out.

I climb into the passenger seat next to her while Artem slips behind the wheel.

"Where to, boss?"

"My place."