Max found his twin brother standing in the hallway, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.
"Max," Mathias called as Maxen walked past him. "The one you're trying to get out of prison... it's Isolde, isn't it?"
Maxen stopped in his tracks. He turned to face his brother but said nothing. "You rushed through our last mission like your life depended on it. You kept riding my ass every time I slacked off. You couldn't wait to come back and ask the Boss for your reward. You've been on edge ever since you heard Isolde got locked up for stabbing her own sister. And now that you're finally here to save her, you find her already out, free from prison but trapped in a fucking den of wolves."
"I'm changing my request to the Boss."
Mathias raised an eyebrow. "And what exactly are you going to ask for? To have Isolde handed over to you as some trophy?"
"Maybe," Max said coldly. "If that's what it takes to get her back into my arms after your idiotic stunt ruined everything between us."
He turned to walk away, but just before he could leave, Mathias said something that made Max clench his fists. "I don't think the Boss will say yes so easily. Nikhael said he's fucked her three times already and ditched Tiffara for her."
"I don't need your goddamn opinion, Mathias. If you hadn't screwed things up that night, none of this would've happened. Your bullshit is part of why Isolde hates her sister even more. You pushed her further away from me. You shoved her straight into prison with your stupidity." Mathias said nothing. He let Max walk past him, silent and alone in the hallway.
The door to Severin's office was knocked on again. When he told the person to come in, it turned out to be Maxen—again.
"Haven't I told you just to give Nikhael the name and the prison location? You didn't need to show up here again just for your reward," Severin said as he buttoned his shirt. He had just finished cleaning himself up and changing out of the clothes he'd worn since last night, clothes that reeked of sweat and his fluids.
"I want to change the reward. The person I was going to get out of prison isn't in prison anymore," Max said, standing stiffly in the doorway, eyes fixed on his shoes like he was debating whether or not to raise his head and look Severin in the eye.
"And where is this person now?" Severin asked.
Maxen cleared his throat quietly and straightened up, trying to muster courage. "She's here. In this place."
Severin's brows furrowed. He thought for a moment. Who had recently gotten out of prison and joined them? No one. Severin had lost two men and recently killed them himself for helping the enemy sneak in.
His hand froze mid-button at the collar. He looked over at Maxen, who was visibly tense. Just by the way the man was standing, Severin could tell Maxen was nervous, utterly different from how he had carried himself just half an hour ago when he came in with his twin.
That only confirmed Severin's guess. Who else had recently arrived here besides Isolde? He also remembered when Isolde was first captured, he'd ordered Nikhael to dig into her background. One of the things he'd read was that Lucien had released her from prison and sent her here.
"Is the person you're talking about Isolde?" Severin asked bluntly—and hit the mark, judging by how Maxen's body stiffened.
"She's Lucien's pet project. She was the one chasing you that night while you were making a drop. She's the reason you ended up in prison after crashing the car while trying to run. She's also the one who broke herself out and snuck in here. If Liraine hadn't cried and begged me not to kill her, that woman would've been dead the second she stepped foot in this place."
Maxen gave himself away. The way his fists clenched, the way his jaw tightened at just the mention that Isolde should have died, told Severin everything he needed to know. Max cared about that woman. That much was obvious.
Severin was used to reading people. He studied his enemies, breaking them apart and manipulating them from the inside out. Max might be skilled with a weapon, a sharpshooter, precise, and reliable. It was important enough that Severin had personally pulled him out from behind prison bars. But to someone like Severin, Max was easy to read.
Or maybe Maxen was letting his guard down because he cared too much about that woman.
About Isolde.
"I can't let her walk out of this place. Freedom here means death. If you want her dead, I'll gladly order Nikhael to put a bullet through her head—ah, no, don't shoot her head. Her eyes are valuable. Maybe we'll drag her to the dungeon and have Malric operate on her while she's still conscious, let her bleed out slowly until she dies on her own."
Severin loved to provoke. People who were easily provoked often revealed their weaknesses, giving him something to strike.
"If she can't leave this place, then give her to me," Max said. "Don't let her become one of the whores. Let Isolde be mine, and I swear she'll never be a problem to you again."
Severin walked over to his chair and sat down with casual arrogance. "You can fuck her. Just like you can fuck any whore in this place. I could even make an exception so no one else is allowed to rent her. But she's not yours, Max. None of these women are. Every single one of them belongs to me. Even your life has been mine since the day you agreed to serve under me."
He raised an eyebrow, watching Maxen still standing stiffly in place. "What's the matter? You disagree?"
Maxen shook his head. Of course, he wouldn't dare. Going against Severin was a death sentence.
"You can leave if you've got nothing else to say. You can use that woman now if you want. It's not like it'd be the first time you've fucked a whore after I've had her first, right? Nothing new there."
Severin grinned as he watched Maxen leave the room. And the second Maxen's presence disappeared, Severin grabbed the glass on his desk and hurled it at the wall—shattering it.
Fuck.
This was too perfect to be a coincidence. Severin wasn't a fool. He could see the pattern forming.
Isolde and Maxen knew each other. Coincidentally, before Isolde got locked up, Maxen had been hunted by Lucien and thrown in prison. Then Isolde stabs her sister and lands in the same place. Lucien comes to her with a fake offer of help, neatly wrapped in angel wings.
Too perfect. Too calculated.
Lucien must have planned this far in advance. He probably knew Isolde had someone she cared about, someone who might be reckless enough to help her if it meant saving her from whatever trap Lucien was building. That someone... was Maxen. So Lucien removed him first, got him out of the way, and then came to Isolde, playing the role of the saviour.
Fucking bastard.
What the hell is that snake Lucien planning?
Severin's brow furrowed even deeper as he replayed Maxen's request in his mind. What was that bastard thinking, asking for Isolde as a reward and only for himself? There was no way Severin would allow Maxen to walk out of here with her. Not until he found some clue about what the fuck Lucien was planning.
And beyond that, Severin wasn't about to lose the only thing that had finally quieted the noise in his head at night.
He didn't give a damn if his men fucked Isolde—she was just another worthless whore.
But taking her away from here? That was a different story. Severin wouldn't let that happen.
.
.
.
Mathias was sipping his drink when Maxen stormed toward him and slammed his fist straight into Mathias' jaw. The punch sent Mathias flying off his chair. The bartender, who had been casually chatting with him, recoiled in shock.
Luckily, the place wasn't open yet. No customers were around to witness the brawl between the two twins. Still, the fight drew the attention of a few workers lounging around during their break.
"This is all your fault," Maxen spat. "Because of your fucking stupidity, she's trapped here forever."
Mathias wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. It wasn't the first time they'd fought, not even the first time fists had been thrown.
"Judging by your reaction, I'm guessing I was right," Mathias chuckled, standing up to face his brother. "Boss isn't letting that woman go, is he?"
"Even if she's stuck here, at least you can still fuck her. What did you actually think that if she got out, she'd suddenly forgive you? Forgive her ex-lover who let his own twin brother screw her behind her back?"
"Shut the fu—"
"You should be grateful she's stuck in this place," Mathias said.
"If she were out there, and you were the one who busted her out of prison, you really think she'd thank you? Give you a second chance to start over? Bullshit. She'd leave you again, just like before. But here? You can have her whenever the hell you want. No more jerking off while imagining her. No more saying her name while fucking some other girl. You can have the real thing now—on demand."
Mathias was about to keep going, but the words caught in his throat when he saw Isolde walking down the hallway behind Maxen. She looked confused, eyes scanning the room, clearly drawn in by the commotion.
Did she hear them fighting?
Maybe the others in the room didn't know who the fight was about—no names had been spoken.
But if Isolde heard even part of that...
She'd know. She'd know.
Mathias turned away and walked off, unwilling to escalate things any further. He understood. His twin brother was frustrated. Give it some time, and Maxen will return to normal—he always did.
They always fought like this, only to return to how things were. They were twins. In a life as brutal as theirs, they only had each other. In the end, blood always wins over everything else.
At the very least, Isolde wasn't dead. That alone should've been enough for Maxen to be grateful just as Mathias was, seeing her still alive.
Once Maxen had cooled off a bit, Mathias would speak to him again. For now, the only thing worth being thankful for... was that Isolde was still breathing.
Maybe she was in Mr. Severin's custody for now. Still, when he got bored of her, he'd gladly toss her to Mathias and Maxen as he inevitably would.
Severin didn't even care about his sister. He let Nikhael do whatever he wanted with her.
So what was Isolde, compared to that? A woman with no value, no position. Nothing.
All Mathias and Maxen had to do was wait. Be patient. Pick her up once Severin was done with her.
Because trying to take her by force—trying to get her out of this place without Severin's permission—was suicide. Defying Severin meant death. For them... and for Isolde.
…