Page 50 of Forced plus-size Bride of the Bratva

I storm back inside and slam the door shut. Jennie jumps, and I hate that I scared her—but my fury is wildfire now, licking at every edge of my control.

She’s not safe.

Even here. Even with me.

And that thought cuts deeper than it should.

“Did you hear or see anything?” I ask, trying to steady my voice.

She shakes her head. “Nothing. I—I just woke up, and it was there.”

My fist curls tight around the note.

Whoever left this…they knew where to find her. They wanted her afraid. They wanted me furious. They succeeded.

I toss the note onto the bedside table and grip her shoulders. “You tell me the second anything feels wrong. The second, Jennie. Do you understand?”

She nods, stiff beneath my hands.

I can see the question in her eyes—Am I truly safe with you?

And for the first time in a long time, I don’t know how to answer that.

Not because I can’t protect her. But because now…someone else is playing this game. And they just made their opening move.

“I have to go,” I tell her, my voice low but clipped. I’m trying to stay calm, but my blood’s already boiling. Someone was in this house. Someone left a threat for my wife. “I need to find out who did this.”

Jennie’s frozen by the dresser, her bare feet planted on the rug. “They’re going to kill me,” she whispers, her voice hollow.

My gut clenches.

“They’re going to kill me,” she repeats, louder now, her eyes glassy and unfocused.

“Jennie—”

“They’re going to kill me.”

She says it again and again, her voice rising in volume and panic, like she’s falling into a spiral.

“Jennie.”

She doesn’t even hear me.

“They’re going to kill me—”

“Jennie.”

Still nothing.

“Jennie!”

I lunge forward and grab her shoulders, shaking her once—firm enough to snap her out of it, but not to hurt her. Her breath catches. Her eyes blink rapidly, locking on mine like she’s surfacing from underwater.

“Look at me,” I growl, holding her still. “No one is going to touch you. Do you hear me? No one.”

She’s shaking. Her body is cold, and all I want to do is wrap her in something warm and lock the world outside. But I can’t—not yet.

“I need you to breathe. Just breathe, Jennie. You’re safe with me.”