Page 52 of Bratva’s Vow (Bratva’s Undoing #2)

If he made it through that window without complications—no seizures, no cardiac episodes, no organ failure—then the focus would shift to stabilization.

Another few days of inpatient care. Daily blood work.

Pain management. Physical assessments. Watching for signs of nerve damage that might worsen, even after the toxin had cleared.

They’d already noticed mild motor weakness in his right leg.

Leo had warned that recovery from thallium exposure wasn’t always linear .

If all went well, Wren could be discharged in a week. Ten days at most if no complications. But that wouldn’t be the end of it.

He’d need physiotherapy. Continued potassium and magnesium support. A nutrition plan that didn’t irritate his raw stomach. Regular check-ins with a neurologist and toxicologist. And rest—more rest than he’d ever be willing to admit he needed.

Even then, there might be lingering effects. Fatigue. Mood changes. A body that wouldn’t feel quite like his own for a long while.

And for what?

Because someone decided to erase him, one sip at a time.

I looked at him again. Wren, fragile and unconscious and still somehow the strongest thing I’d ever loved.

If he made it out of this, I’d make damn sure he never had to be strong alone again.

Half an hour after Nik’s alert, when Archie arrived at Wren’s door, I frowned. It shouldn’t have taken him that long to find the room. What the hell was he up to?

By then, I’d paced the room four times, stood at the window, sat back down, and watched the second hand on the wall clock scrape its slow, useless circle again and again.

When the handle finally turned, I surged to my feet, still as stone beside Wren’s bed.

Archie stepped inside with his usual calm, his coat draped over one arm, face composed.

“Hey,” he said softly, casting a glance at Wren’s sleeping form. “How is he?”

I blocked his path before he could get any closer. “Let’s talk outside.”

Archie raised his brows, taken aback. “I just got here?—”

“Exactly. Wren needs rest, and you look like you have something to say. So it’s best to talk outside. I don’t want to wake him up.”

He glanced at the machines—like he was pretending to care—and then back at me. “Sure. Of course.”

I held the door open and followed him out into the hallway, shutting it behind us with a soft but decisive click. Archie turned to face me, shoving his hands into the pockets of his pants.

“I stopped by to see how he’s doing. Nik said things were touch and go.”

“They still are,” I said coolly. “You were on your way half an hour ago. Where’d you go?”

He shrugged, too casual. “Ran into someone I know. Friend of the family. He’s admitted a few floors down. Not everyone can afford a private suite. Thought I’d check in while I was here.”

I studied him. The lie came easily. Too easily.

I forced a nod, my face schooled into neutrality. “How thoughtful of you.”

He didn’t notice the shift. Or pretended not to. “How’s Wren really doing?”

“We’re waiting on some test results,” I lied. “They can’t do anything but treat his symptoms until then.”

Archie tilted his head. “They don’t know what’s wrong with him?”

“Not yet.” I curled my hands into fists. “If I find out someone did something to him, I’ll fucking end them in the most horrible way they can imagine.”

Something flickered in his expression—gone in an instant. “Of course,” he murmured, dropping his gaze. “I wouldn’t expect any less from you. Is there anything I can do?”

I watched him. He was quiet, stood too still.

“You stopped by my house this morning,” I said.

Archie looked up. “Yeah. I thought you might need a few things—clothes for you and Wren. I figured you wouldn’t be going home anytime soon.”

“What did you take?”

“Just the basics. The bags are in my car. You look like you could use some fresh air.” He removed his hand from his pocket and came up with the keys to his car. “Why don’t you get them, and I can sit with Wren until you’re back?”

So he could finish the job he started? No fucking way.

“Nik can get them or Sergei.”

He blinked. “Sergei is here too? I only saw Nik.”

“Yeah, he’s around somewhere.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to take a walk outside?” he pressed. “Have you even?—”

“I’m not leaving him alone,” I growled, venom spilling into my words. “No one is allowed inside without me.”

There was a beat of silence.

Archie smiled again, gentle, patient. “What do you think is going to happen to him while you’re gone? We’re at a hospital, Maxim.”

I didn’t blink. Didn’t repeat myself.

He stared at me. Just stared. Then laughed softly and raised his hands in mock surrender. “Okay. I get it. You’re in full bear mode.”

He stepped forward, his hand raised like he meant to pat my shoulder, but I moved back.

I probably should have let him touch me to throw him off that we were on to him.

But I couldn’t. Couldn’t let any part of him come in contact with me.

I was already a second away from shoving him into the wall and strangling him until he told me the truth.

His hand fell back to his side.

Something passed between us. He felt it. His smile faltered, in the hitch of breath that followed. A crack in his armor.

Fuck, he knew I didn’t trust him .

Archie swallowed once and looked away. “I’ll… give Nik the bags.”

He turned without waiting for a reply and walked down the hall.

I didn’t follow.

Just stood there in the quiet, pulse drumming behind my eyes, every nerve coiled.

If he had touched Wren… if even a fraction of this was his doing…

He wouldn’t walk away next time.

When Nik arrived with the two bags Archie had packed for us, I told him to burn them.