Page 27 of Bratva's Vow
I gave a tired sigh, settling deeper into the seat. Jess started chatting with Nik again, tossing ideas around for what she wanted to do that night. Apparently, they had a date night with Darius. They were deciding on movies and massages, or maybe rope and blindfolds. I tuned them out before I heard too much.
My thoughts returned to Maxim.
His birthday was coming up in a few days. He hadn’t mentioned it, and I had no idea if he was the type to want a big thing or if he preferred to pretend it didn’t exist. A part of me wanted to do something special, even for us. But what did you get the man who already had everything and lived like a Bond villain?
A jolt rocked the car.
The sound of metal screaming against metal filled the air.
The SUV spun.
My stomach dropped. My body jerked sideways as the car flipped. Once. Twice. The windows exploded, glass like a thousand glittering needles in the air. Someone screamed—maybe Jess, maybe me. The world tipped again. Gravity twisted sideways, then up. Then?—
Stillness.
Silence.
A strange, ringing silence that filled my ears and made the world feel like it was underwater.
Smoke curled somewhere above me. I blinked through it, disoriented, my entire body aching in a way that told me Iwas lucky to still be conscious. Everything felt far away. My fingers twitched. I tried to move my head.
“Wren?”
Jess’s voice. Hoarse. Shaky. Close.
“I-I’m okay,” I managed. “Are you?”
She groaned. “Yeah. Just bruised. Fuck. I banged my head.”
Nik’s grunt came from the front seat, followed by the bang of him kicking a door open.
“Stay put,” Nik ordered, the words grating as though through clenched teeth.
Muffled sounds, rustling, and grunting. Then the door next to me was thrown open, and Nik’s face appeared in my line of sight. Blood streaked down his forehead, but his eyes were clear and alert.
“Can you move?” he asked, gently prodding my arms and legs.
“Pain right here,” I said. A sharp twinge pierced my side as his fingers roamed over it.
Nik grunted in concern but kept a stiff upper lip. “It’s probably a bruised rib. I am going to get you out.”
Slowly, Nik helped me out of the car and onto shaky legs. Pain flared in my ribcage with each breath, but I managed to stay on my feet. The scene that met us left me speechless.
Jess was already out of the car, leaning against its flipped side. Her face was pale, lips bitten raw. She gave me an attempted smile that didn’t quite make it past her eyes.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked her.
“Yes. Just winded from the airbag.”
I glanced around, not seeing a sign of what we rammed into. “What the hell was that?”
“Someone hit us.”
The car had landed sideways, crushed like a toy. A car had stopped in front of ours, and a man and a woman ran over. Idropped to the curb, my legs giving out, my chest heaving. My body felt too small for all the air I was sucking in.
Hyperventilating. I knew it. But couldn’t stop it.
“Breathe, Wren,” Nik said. “Deep breaths. It’s shock setting in.”
