Page 151 of Bratva's Vow
I couldn’t answer. My vision swam.
It hurt.
“Maxim—” I reached for him, needing him.
The world dropped away from beneath me, and I felt myself falling. Maxim scooped me up in his strong arms and cradled me against his chest. “Wren, what’s wrong?”
“Hurts so bad.” I cried out, almost blacking out from the pain.
“Move!” Maxim yelled, his control snapping. “Get the fuck out of the way!”
People scattered, startled.
“Sergei! Where the fuck are you?”
Maxim’s towering frame loomed over me as he bellowed into the swirling chaos. The construction site was a hive of panicked activity. I was distantly aware of my classmates backing away.
“Maxim, what’s going on?” Sergei came to a stop next to us, followed by Nik.
“Oh shit. I told him he wasn’t well enough to come,” Nik said.
Struggling to breathe, I grabbed Maxim’s arm. “Make it stop, please.”
“We need to get him to a hospital now!” Maxim’s voice thundered with panic. I wanted to tell him I was fine. That I would be all right, but the words failed to pass my lips. I felt like death was already living inside me.
Professor Dyer stepped in front of us. “Excuse me! You can’t just take him like that. He’s my student.”
Maxim snapped his head toward him like a predator scenting blood.
“Touch him,” he growled, his tone so cold it made the air feel sharp. “And I’ll break every fucking finger on your hand then cut your arm off.”
The professor reeled back.
“I’m not taking him anywhere you wouldn’t take your own family,” Maxim bit out. “He might be your student, but he’s my fiancé. My everything. Just try to stop me.”
Gasps rippled through the group. Even Jakoby stumbled back a step.
Maxim adjusted his grip, holding me tighter against him as my body seized with another wave of pain.
“Y-You lied,” I gasped, half-delirious, the words a whisper of air. “Said it was just a promise ring…”
Maxim’s eyes were wet, furious. “Yes. Yes, I lied. And you’d better get better so I can do it right.”
My vision cracked in two.
But I heard him. Ifelthim.
His voice, ragged and breaking. “Stay strong for me, kroshka. We’re going to get you help,” Maxim whispered against my temple as he held me close, his scent grounding me for one last second.
Then darkness swallowed me whole.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
MAXIM
The beeping was the only thing keeping me from falling apart.
Soft, methodical, and terrifying in its steadiness.
