Page 66 of Bratva Bastard

“A pregnant woman?” I asked, my eyes growing wide with realization.Gemma. Gemma and Dimitry were here looking for me.“It’s okay,” I said, looking at them both. “They’re good people. Not the same guy who threatened me.”

A wave of relief washed over them, and they blew out a breath, laughing. “Thank goodness,” the one local said, patting my shoulder. “We were so worried.”

“Do you know where they went?” I asked, craning my head to look around.

Mr. Santos shrugged. “I saw them yesterday. Santiago saw them two days ago. Apparently, they’ve been coming into town every day looking for you.”

My heart started beating rapidly, both filled with elation and dread. Why were they looking for me? Had something happened to Maxim? Was he really married to that woman? A million questions ran through my mind, unanswered.

“Thanks for the heads up, guys. I really appreciate it. If you see them again, could you let me know? It would be nice to catch up with the pregnant lady,” I said with a chuckle, imagining Gemma waddling around town with her big belly poking out.

My first thought was to go back to my grandparents’ house to call Gemma. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but when I held the phone in my hands, ready to dial, I realized I couldn’t remember her number. I had lost my phone when I was kidnapped and didn’t have a way to check her number. Hanging up the phone, I decided to head back into town to see if Gemma and Dimitry would be there today.

I spent the next two hours looking for them, going from one place to another. I’d go inside, wouldn’t see them, and check the next place. And when I’d looked everywhere, I started again, making the rounds over and over until I found them, refusing to give up.

It was like a game of tag. They were searching for me as I was searching for them, neither of our paths crossing. An infuriatingly frustrating game of tag that left no winners.

The familiar throb in my heart had returned. Grieving, discouraged, and emotional—I was about ready to give up, when I saw them.

Gemma was speaking to a local, but beside her was not Dimitry—it was Maxim.

Maxim is here!

My heartbeat had both stopped and sped up, a contrast that made me want to scream. I wanted to run to him, to jump into his arms, but I couldn’t. I was frozen.

What if he didn’t want me and he’d come to tell me to stop calling? Maybe Gemma was there to comfort me after Maxim left. But what if he knew I was pregnant, and he came to be with me? Would he want our baby?

All my insecurities and uncertainties kept me rooted in place, too scared to approach him. It’d been so long since we’d spoken, I wasn’t sure what to expect, or where his feelings lay.

Maxim turned around and saw me standing there watching him. My breathing hitched as I waited for his reaction. I might as well have been plucking a flower, reciting, “He loves me, he loves me not,” because that was how I felt.

But then he smiled. He smiled in that gorgeous, charming way, his deep blue eyes pulling me in from a distance.

“Maxim,” I whispered under my breath, sprinting toward him.

Maxim!

32

Maxim

Gemma and I had been searching for days, but no one would give us an answer as to where Crissy was. I knew she was there, but they all played dumb and remained silent, no matter how many times we asked.

Gemma walked up to another local, showing them the picture of Crissy and asking if they’d seen her. Their eyes darted behind us, so I turned around.

And there I saw her.

Crissy.

For a moment, I was too stunned to react. The few weeks we hadn’t seen each other felt like months or years. I couldn’t believe that she was standing in front of me, a tangible form that wasn’t a picture on my phone.

When the shock wore off, I smiled so wide it made my cheeks hurt.

“Crissy,” I muttered, nudging Gemma’s arm. She turned around to see Crissy running toward me. I extended my arms as wide as they would go, and she ran into my embrace, wrapping her arms tightly around me, as if she was scared, I would disappear.

But I wasn’t much better off. I grabbed her so hard, I didn’t want to let go. Feeling her body pressed against me was a feeling I missed more than I could’ve ever imagined missing. The warmth from her smile thawed my frozen heart, and now that we were reunited, I never wanted to let that warmth leave me.

“My solnechnyy svet,” I whispered, brushing my fingers through her hair. “God, how I’ve missed you.”

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