Page 28 of Bratva's Vow
“Is everyone okay?” the woman called, crouching beside me. “That driver didn’t even stop! But I got the license plate. You’ll need it.”
“Yes, please.” Nik handed her his phone. “Can you type it here?”
What an asshole. They’d hit us and hadn’t even stopped. How could someone be so heartless? We could have died.
Oh god, I could have died.
I placed a hand over my racing heart.
“Thanks. We appreciate it,” Nik said.
“Anything else we can get you?” the man asked. “I also left my number in case you need someone to be a witness. These reckless drivers need to be taken off the road, and I’m willing to testify to make that happen.”
“You’ve done more than enough. Thank you. We’ll phone some friends to pick us up and call a tow truck.”
The man nodded, took one last look at the wreckage. Then he and the woman climbed back into their car and drove off.
“Nik, you’re bleeding.” Jess moved closer to her man, taking Nik’s arm. A gash ran the length of it, bright red spilling from the wound. He looked down, seemingly unfazed.
“It’s a flesh wound.” But his jaw was clenched tight, and the tick in his cheek screamed otherwise.
“No, let me at least bandage it.”
I hated myself for being so fucking useless while Jess took off her jacket and wound it tightly around Nik’s arm, but the sight of the blood made my stomach lurch.
“Thanks, love.” Nik kissed her forehead. “That’ll do untila doctor can look at it. Are you both sure you have no wounds? Wren?”
I shook my head weakly. “Just trying not to be sick.”
Tires squealed on asphalt as a black car screeched to a halt, sleek and silent like a panther. My breath caught in my chest. Had the driver come back?
Before the engine had even cut off, the driver’s door swung open.
Maxim.
He strode across the asphalt, his coat flaring behind him like a cloak, eyes locked on one thing—me.
“Wren!” he barked.
I scrambled to my feet, dizzy and aching, and nearly fell into him.
Maxim caught me instantly. Arms like steel wrapped around me, crushing me to his chest.
“Thank god,” he said into my hair, running his arms across my back. “Thank god you’re okay.”
“How…?” I croaked. “How did you even know? How’d you get here so fast?”
He didn’t answer but turned, keeping me close, already surveying the wreck with eyes that had gone ice cold.
“Nik,” he snapped. “What the hell happened?”
Nik stood straighter, even with blood soaking the makeshift bandage. “Car clipped us, but the driver didn’t stop. Probably drunk. I’ve got the plate.”
Maxim nodded once, tightly. “Let’s hope we can find the driver. A crew’s on the way to clean up this mess. Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
Maxim ushered all three of us into his car, murmuring for someone to get a medic to the house.
My head was spinning again, but not from injury. Just the sheer velocity of what had happened. One minute, we were talking about food. The next, we could’ve died.
