Page 20 of Bratva’s Vow (Bratva’s Undoing #2)
I rolled my neck. “Fine. I’ll leave Sergei to discuss the new security measures and how we’re going to find Stone.”
I should have probably stayed behind to listen to the new plans Sergei had drafted to keep me and Wren safe, but I had no interest in talking about logistics or contingency plans anymore.
Not when all I saw was the image of Wren curled up on that fucking bed, crying like I’d carved out his heart.
When I reached my office, I slammed the door behind me and sat heavily in my chair. The monitor was still on. Still showing Wren.
He’d shifted.
He laid on his side now, back to the camera. His hand curled loosely around the edge of the blanket like a child clinging to a security object. He wasn’t crying this time.
He was just still. Empty.
That was worse.
I rubbed a hand across my mouth, forcing myself to face the ugly, vicious truth I couldn’t escape.
Sergei was right.
Wren despised me.
I sat there, staring at Wren’s still form on the screen, when the door flew open.
“Wait—” Archie’s voice, taut with disapproval, preceded Jess, who stormed into my office like a furious tornado in designer boots.
She looked wild. Eyes blazing, jaw tight, posture radiating violence. Archie was right behind her, tense, already lifting his phone to call security.
“Enough,” I snapped, cutting through the rising commotion. I pushed out of my chair. “Archie. Stand down. Jess is fine. She’s a friend.”
Archie eyed her, clearly skeptical, but I didn’t give him a choice. He left reluctantly, shooting Jess a narrow-eyed warning before shutting the door.
The second we were alone, Jess rounded on me, her body practically vibrating with fury.
“I want to see Wren,” she demanded. “I’m not asking.”
I stared her down, already tired. Not of her, but of all this. Of the fight. Of the pain. “All right. You can see him.”
She blinked. Clearly not expecting me to give in so easily. The hard edge in her shoulders faltered for a second, confusion slipping in. She’d come here ready for war.
“What?” she asked, her voice smaller now. “You’re letting me?”
I nodded slowly. “Right now… he hates me. You showing up won’t make that worse. If anything… maybe you’ll be able to help me to reach him in a way I can’t.”
The fight in her eyes dimmed, replaced by suspicion. “Help you? Why the fuck would I help you? After everything you’ve done to him? You were supposed to tell him the truth, not let the shit hit the fan and leave a mess every fucking where.”
I braced my hands on my desk and leaned in. “I never lied to you, Jessica.”
She laughed bitterly. “Oh, fuck off. You omitted everything that mattered. That’s not any better.”
“I didn’t know how to tell him,” I said tightly, each word grating like glass in my throat. “How was I supposed to say ‘Wren, the father you’ve been searching for is dead, and oh yeah, I’ve known this whole time. In fact, he died while working for me.’ How was I supposed to destroy him like that?”
Jess’s eyes glistened, even if she tried to look stone cold.
“You destroyed him anyway,” she whispered. “He loved you so damn much. Accepted everything about you that he was uncomfortable with—all the bodyguards, being driven around. And you broke him.”
I nodded. Every word hit like a blade. “I know.”
A beat of silence passed. For the first time, Jess didn’t look ready to rip my face off. She looked devastated.
“I love him,” I said hoarsely. The words came out cracked and raw.
I pushed away from the desk and paced. I needed to move, or I was going to lose it.
“I love him in a way I can’t even begin to explain.
In a way that makes me fucking insane. He’s not just important to me, Jess.
He is me. He’s all of me. I don’t know how he did it, but he’s consumed me and nothing is left of my own. If I don’t have him, I have nothing.”
Jess didn’t speak. I kept going. I couldn’t stop even if I wanted to .
“If it came down to it, I’d die for him.
Without hesitation. But that’s not what scares me.
” I turned to face her fully, letting her see it—the exhaustion, the ache, the hollow shell I felt like lately.
“What scares me is that Wren—he’s impulsive.
He’s hurt. He’s angry. He’s never been good at being obedient.
If he doesn’t come to terms with this, Jess… ”
Her face fell. “You think he’ll do something foolish.”
I nodded slowly. “I’m terrified that he’ll do something rash.
Something permanent. If he pushes himself too far, if he lets the grief swallow him whole…
he could end up dead. Maybe I shouldn’t have gotten involved with him, but I did.
It’s already done, and there are people out there who would love to get their hands on him simply because I love him. ”
The weight of those words choked the room.
Jess’s eyes shimmered with unshed tears. She rubbed at her face, fighting them back.
“I can’t lose him,” I said quietly. “I can’t.
He doesn’t have to forgive me now. He doesn’t have to even look at me.
But I need him alive, Jess. I need him breathing and angry and hating me if that’s what it takes.
But alive. And maybe… maybe if you talk to him, he’ll listen to you. Because he won’t listen to me anymore.”
Jess stared at me for a long time. She swallowed hard. “You fucked this up so bad, Maxim. You had something great, and you ruined it. I don’t know if he’ll ever forgive you.”
“I know.”
Finally, with a long sigh, her shoulders drooped. The fight bled out of her in slow waves.
“I’ll talk to him,” she said softly. “But not for you. For him. Only for him. You’re still on my shit list unless you can make him smile again.”
“That’s all I want,” I murmured. “I just ask you to give me one more night to try to reason with him. Then you can see him tomorrow. ”
“Don’t you dare change your mind.”
I smiled tiredly at her, comforted that Wren had someone else who cared so damn much about him.
Jess left without another word, leaving me alone again with the quiet hum of the monitor and Wren’s sleeping form.
For a long while, I didn’t move.
Didn’t breathe.
The only thing I could do was stare at the screen and repeat the same words over and over in my head like a silent prayer.
Stay alive, Wren. Hate me all you want. Just… stay alive.