Page 38 of Bratva Prisoner

“You promised me honesty.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Everything. Who were those men? How did they find us? Why did they want to kill you?” She throws her hands in the air and huffs. “Tell me the truth, Maksim. And no omissions this time.”

“I don’t know for sure,” I admit. “But I suspect they’re connected to the Serpents. Your ex-boyfriend’s organization.”

Her face goes pale, and she sinks into the nearest chair like her legs won’t support her anymore. “Troy sent people to kill us?”

“Troy or his boss, Vincent Moreau. The man we interrogated tonight confirmed that Moreau’s been targeting my family, trying to eliminate us as competition.”

“But why at the bus station? Why not at your house?”

“The house is much too secure. They knew you left Ravenshollow, and they saw an opportunity to get to me when I was away from my security team.”

I see the exact moment she understands what this means, and her hands clench into fists in her lap. “This was my fault. And if you hadn’t come after me…” She trails off, unable to finish the thought.

“They would have killed you. Witnesses are liabilities in this business.”

She sinks deeper into the leather armchair, and her hands start to tremble as the adrenaline begins to wear off. The reality of how close we came to dying is starting to hit her.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers, and the broken sound of it makes all the rage leave my body in an instant.

“For what?”

“For running. For putting you in danger. For being naive enough to think I could just walk away from this.”

“You have nothing to apologize for.”

“If I hadn’t left your house—”

“They would have found another way. This isn’t your fault, Alyssa.”

She sniffs and asks, “Then whose fault is it?”

“Mine. For not ending this threat when I had the chance.”

She looks up at me then, and I can see the fear she’s been trying to hide breaking through her defenses. Her green eyes are wide and haunted, and her whole body trembles with the aftershock of violence.

“What happens now?”

“Now we wait. Let my men gather intelligence, figure out how many people we’re dealing with. Then we end this.”

“How?”

“However, we have to.”

The answer doesn’t seem to comfort her, but it’s the only honest response I can give. The Serpents made this personal when they used her as bait to get to me. That’s a line you don’t cross in this business, not if you want to keep breathing.

Chapter 12 - Alyssa

The trembling won’t stop, no matter how tightly I wrap my arms around myself.

I stand at the window, staring out at the city while my body betrays me with every violent shake. The adrenaline has nowhere to go now that we’re safe, and it’s eating me alive from the inside out. My teeth chatter despite how warm it is in here, and I bite down hard to make them stop.

“Alyssa.” Maksim’s voice comes from behind me, pulling me from my mind. “Come here.”

“I’m fine,” I lie with a dismissive wave.