“I am not a game for you to play. I have my loyalties.”
“To a man who doesn’t even want you?”
It stung, and Kira bowed her head. Lazar, however, was quick to cup her cheek, and though she bucked against him, he used his other hand on the back of her shoulder to keep her seated. “I want you. And I know there’s a part of you that wants me. It will be our secret.”
“No.” Kira twisted out of the seat and stood, but Lazar was there and had her pressed against the bookcase as a hand dropped between her legs, pushing his fingers against her vagina. She squealed and gripped his wrist.
Kira twisted and smacked, a panic sparking inside her. She hadn’t thought he would ever dare go so far. She had given him too much credit. She kept thinking he was a gentleman, that he would never attempt to harass her. Tears burned her eyes as she twisted, trying to stop his hand while hitting him in random areas, but she knew it was pointless. He was firm. Kira felt along the bookcase and found a small marble statue of a horse, and with her fingers wrapped around it, she smashed it into the side of its face. He fell against the piano, holding his head as the horse banged on the floor.
She darted for the door and found Maxim rushing toward her. “What was that noise?”
“Your brother–” she panted, gripping his arms. Her head fell against his chest, and his hand rested on the back of her head. She felt safe and protected, and she didn’t realize how much she had missed that feeling.
“She’s lying.” Lazar came into the doorway holding his face. “Your crazy wife is a pathological liar.”
Kira swung around and glared. “You tried to rape me!”
Lazar only laughed. “Look at this girl. What man would come onto his brother’s wife in his house? Max,” he chuckled. “I didn’t know what you were dealing with. I’m sorry. I thought you were just being overdramatic, but you’re right. She came on to me, talking about needing a baby for her father, and said it didn’t matter which of us did it–”
Kira squealed, “What!”
“When I told her no, she smashed my head in and wants to cry wolf. This woman is deranged.”
Kira was wide-mouthed, staring at him. The amount of insanity that spewed forth was unbelievable. She turned back to Maxim, expecting outrage, and all she saw was conviction. He fisted his hands, stepping away from her.
Maxim had suspected something like this would happen. For the first two months, he waited for signs of her betrayal, and now here it was. But it didn’t feel right. His brother had been his partner in everything for years. He never lied about anything while he faced a woman who potentially lied about everything. But it wasn’t adding up. Everything was in reverse. He didn’t know what to believe.
But he knew he had to make a decision.
Chapter twenty
Enough
Maxim snatched Kira’s arm. She stared up at him with fear and worry, begging him to believe her. And though he knew she was good at acting, it no longer mattered. He pulled her into him and faced his brother. “Did you try to rape my wife?
Lazar scoffed, holding his bleeding head. “You’re gonna take her side? Really? After everything you’ve told me?”
“I’ll ask one more time. Did you try to rape my wife?”
Trina stepped between them. “Let’s take a minute. Lazar wouldn’t do something like that.”
Maxim watched Lazar. There was something off in his brother. Something he couldn’t quite pinpoint. Whether it was because he was drunk or high on his win, Maxim didn’t know, but thenwith a flick of his gaze, Lazar’s rage shone in his eyes for a flash of a second when he looked at Trina.
“Unless he knows.”
Trina spun her head to her husband.
Lazar sneered. “Of course I fucking know.”
She sucked in a breath, still and silent. But Lazar overlooked her and glared at his brother. “I suspected her betrayal, but not yours, Max. So I thought, what the hell. Since you and Trina got something going on, and your wife was being ignored, I’d do what you couldn’t.”
Maxim raised a fist as he stepped forward, but Trina was still in front of him and pushed back against his chest. “He’s hurt. He’s hurt. Don’t, please.”
Maxim pulled out his gun and held it over Trina’s shoulder, pointing right at his brother’s heart. “You fucking prick.”
“I’m the prick? You knew my wife was cheating on me for months! And you didn’t say shit.”
“It wasn’t my place.”
