Page 68 of Bratva's Vow
That I was leaving him behind after I’d promised him that I was his. But that didn’t count. He had me in a vulnerable position when he’d gotten me to say those words.
I didn’t slow down.
As soon as I let myself out of the gates, I ran like my life depended on it. I ran until my lungs felt ready to burst. I ran until I had no choice but to stop, bent over and breathinghard. My breath misted in the air; my fingers were stiff and cold. I dug out my phone and pulled up my Uber app.
Shit.
Where was I supposed to go? I couldn’t go back to the apartment I shared with Jess. It was the first place Maxim would look for me.
In the end, I selected a motel on the outskirts of town. The kind frequented by truckers and prostitutes. He would never think to look there.
When the car arrived, the driver looked almost hesitant, as if he thought I would pull a gun on him. “Wren?” he asked.
“Yes, that’s me.” I hopped into the car, the stench of stale cigarette smoke hitting me. But the smell was better than sticking around waiting for another cab. Better than Maxim finding me.
The driver didn’t talk. I pretended to be asleep. As if I could. My body strummed with nerves. Every second I waited for the car to be surrounded by Maxim’s men. Could it really be that easy to escape him? I already knew his security at home was so tight he didn’t feel the need to keep his bodyguards around. But his system was meant to keep people from coming in. Not to prevent those who wanted to leave.
A sigh of relief escaped me when the driver pulled up at the front of the motel. I thanked him and, without looking back, strode through the entrance. The swing door creaked loudly, alerting the yawning young man at the desk.
“Hi, do you have any rooms available?”
He rubbed his bleary eyes. “That depends. Would you be paying in cash or…” His gaze trailed over my body, making my stomach crawl.
“I’ll pay in cash, thank you.”
“There’s a minimum of three hours.” He pointed at the board behind him, which listed the rate.
“That’s fine. I’ll stay for a couple of days.”
I just needed some space from Maxim to think. I wasn’t necessarily leaving forever, but how could I make an informed decision if I was being held prisoner? Him locking me up only bred resentment. And sleeping with him while everything else was unresolved didn’t feel right.
I paid, took the key, and dragged myself to a small, dingy room that smelled faintly of mildew and cleaner. Once the door was locked behind me, I sank onto the edge of the rickety bed, my whole body wrung out and trembling.
It wasn’t until I sat in the silence, the cheap walls closing in, that I realized my hands were shaking.
Not because of the cold.
Not even because of fear.
But because for the first time since this all began… Maxim wasn’t near.
And despite everything—the lies, the blood, the betrayal—my chest ached with the emptiness of that truth.
Because somewhere deep down, where logic couldn’t reach, a traitorous part of me missed him already.
My eyes cracked open to harsh, dusty sunlight bleeding through the thin curtains. Where the hell was I? The ceiling, cracked and yellowed, was unfamiliar. The sheets were scratchy and twisted around my legs like restraints. Nothing like the soft linen of Maxim’s bed.
The motel.
The memories rushed back in slow, heavy waves. Slipping out of Maxim’s bed. The cold night air biting through my shirt. The cab ride through sleeping streets. Counting the bills in my wallet at the reception desk, hands shaking.
I groaned and rubbed my face. My whole body ached, sorefrom too many restless hours spent tossing on this rock-hard mattress.
I’d seen the sun creeping up over the windowsill. Unable to sleep, I’d curled up in a ball, listening to the TV from next door soaking through the walls, while dreading Maxim bursting through the door to take me away.
And I hated that a part of me wished he would.
At some point, exhaustion must have won.
