Page 71 of Bratva's Intern

I didn’t peg Maxim as the type to play. But maybe I was wrong. I was excited to be wrong. Surely, a man interested in music couldn’t be as cold and unfeeling as the one I saw every day.

I exhaled, dragging a hand down my face.

How was he doing? I glanced at my phone screen. Shit, almost half an hour had passed.

A sharp sound cut through my thoughts. Footsteps, descending the stairs.

I turned quickly, straightening as Nik reappeared. I rushed over to him, peering past him, but there was no sign of Maxim.

“He’s in bed,” he said.

“Oh? Is he going to be alright?”

“He will. It’s been a while since he’s had a seizure, so this one took a toll on him. He may sleep a lot over the weekend.”

“You’re sure he’s okay?”

Nik nodded, a small smile playing on his lips. “Positive. I should take you home. Come on.”

But I didn’t budge. I didn’t want to leave Maxim alone in this big empty house. What if he had another seizure? Who would watch out for him that he didn’t fall off the bed? Or bang himself? Or damage himself in so many different ways?

“I want to stay.”

“What?”

“I can’t leave him like this, Nik.”

Nik crossed his arms and frowned. “You have to leave. Do you know how furious he is that you saw him this waytonight? If I let you stay, you won’t be the only one without a job on Monday.”

I sucked in a deep breath. “You mean…”

“He says you’re fired.”

I shrugged. “That’s okay. I didn’t want the job anyway, but all the more reason for me to stay. What’s he going to do? Unfire me so he can fire me again?”

“You don’t know what you’re asking.”

Except I did. This wasn’t even me staying for the way he made my heart skip a beat. But for the man who had taken me shopping because he wanted me to feel as if I fitted in. The man who told me he had my back, that I was essentially the most important person in his business. The man who had allowed me to sleep in his office, put a pillow beneath my head, and covered me with a sheet.

All because he believed in me when I didn’t even believe in myself.

I was staying because I didn’t want that man to suffer through the night alone or to wake up alone after what he’d experienced.

“You’re wrong.”

“As his security detail, I can’t let you stay here alone with him.”

“Come on. You must have run a detailed background check on me when he hired me. I know how this works. I’ve seen the movies.”

“But this is not a movie, Wren. It’s real life, and this could all end badly for you—very badly.”

I planted my feet in the middle of Maxim’s living room and crossed my arms. “I’m not leaving.”

Nik exhaled through his nose, rubbing a hand down his face. “You really don’t know when to quit, do you?”

“Not when it comes to this.”

He eyed me for a long moment, then shook his head with a muttered curse. “You’re putting me in a bad spot here.”

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