Page 133 of Bratva's Intern

“I shouldn’t have come back?” I repeated, slowly turning toward him. “That’s what you’re starting with?”

He ran a hand down his face, his jaw tense. “You don’t understand. Just let me explain.”

“Do you really need to? Because it’s obvious what you think of me based on the things you said.” I exhaled a frustrated breath, doubling my hands into fists. “To think I stayed behind because—because…”

Well, he didn’t need to know why anymore.

“Solnyshko—”

“No, Max.” When he reached for me, I held out my arms to ward him off. “I’m too upset, too hurt for you to touch me right now.”

“Where do you want me to begin?”

“Let’s see. There’s so much to unpack, but I’ll make it easy for you. Why are you having me followed?”

“To keep you safe.”

He answered way too fast for my liking.

“I hardly see the reason someone’s following me every minute of the day without my knowledge. What exactly are you keeping me safe from?Whoare those men who were here tonight? They don’t look like businessmen.”

“They are. Just not the type you would know.”

“They look like thugs, Maxim.”

Maxim flinched. “Kroshka, listen, when you’re in a position like me, you’ll have to deal with a lot of different people, from police officers to, well, thugs, as you put it. It’s a delicate ecosystem that requires a lot of tending. You happened to catch me in the middle of one such interaction. Nothing for you to worry about.”

“One of them had a gun!”

“I carry a licensed firearm. Are you going to resent me for that?”

I bit my bottom lip, loathing the way he had an explanation for everything. He was making sense, but I couldn’t help the feeling in my gut that he was hiding something from me. That there was more.

“I want to believe you, but…” I shook my head. “You’re keeping secrets. I know you are, so don’t look at me that way. Why the hell did they bring a gun here? And why did they look at me like that? Like I was something they could buy.”

His expression shifted. Barely. But it was there—a fissure in the cold. “You’re not a commodity.”

“Is that why you told them I was n-no-body?” My voice cracked. Because that was the hardest part of everything that had happened. “Did you have a good laugh in the elevator about how you make me moan like a soft bitch?”

“Wren—”

“Just be honest with me, Maxim. I can take it. If all you wanted was a temporary fuck, then say that! At least I would know better than to stupidly fall in love with you!”

The tears fell, cascading over my cheeks. I wiped them away, cursing myself for being so soft. Maybe those men were right. But it hurt, dammit. I hadn’t just fallen in love with him, but I actually liked Maxim. I enjoyed spending time with him. Loved when we did nothing but talk.

“Kroshka, listen to me. I was trying to protect you.”

My laugh ended in a sob. Maxim’s arms came around me, but I shoved at him. He tightened his arms and bundled me against his chest, squeezing me hard. Why did he have to feel so damn good? I didn’t want him to comfort me when he was the reason for my pain.

“You were right that they’re thugs,” he said, his lips at my temple. “Men I would rather not know about you. Not because you’re a nobody, but because you’re the opposite,Wren.” He cupped my face into his hands, and through my damp lashes, I saw his tortured expression. “Why do you think I gave you a driver and a bodyguard? Because I’m always afraid that there are people out there who would hurt you to get to me.” He took out a handkerchief from the inside of his jacket and mopped my face with it. “Wren,Nye plach. Don’t cry. You couldn’t be more wrong. I’m cautious with you more than anything else because I don’t want others to see how much you mean to me. I don’t want them to see that you’re the only thing in this world that—that can truly break me.”

“Maxim—” Was he feeding me a line? He sounded so sincere, but the wordnobodyechoed, rattled around in my head. I knew I was nothing special, but that hardly made me a nobody.

He placed a kiss on my forehead. “My Wren, you have no idea how much you mean to me. That I can stand to lose everything I’ve worked hard to build over the years, but I can’t stand to lose you. From the moment you stole my coffee?—”

“I paid you back for it!”

“Yeah, you did, but from that moment, I knew there was something special about you. And then you showed up here for your internship interview. I don’t believe in fate or destiny, Wren, but that was the moment I knew you were mine.”

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