Page 44 of Bratva's Vow
“Come with me,” he repeated. “There’s something you need to know. About Maxim.”
I stiffened, wiping at my face. Going with Bradley would only be a slap in Maxim’s face. He would never believe I wasn’t having an affair with Bradley if I went off with him after our fight. The last thing I wanted was to complicate matters.
“That’s not a good idea. I just need a moment, and I’ll be fine.”
“Wren.” Bradley stepped closer. His voice dropped, urgent, low. “This isn’t about me trying to get into your pants. I swear to god, it’s not. But if you want answers—real answers—you need to come with me. We can’t talk here.”
I crossed my arms tightly over my chest. I wanted to tell him to fuck off. This was partly his fault. If only he’d listened to me all the times I’d told him I wasn’t interested.
“What answers?”
Bradley’s gaze sharpened. “The real reason you were offered this internship in the first place. Why Maxim keeps you on a leash.”
I inhaled sharply, my heart pounding in my ears. “What are you talking about? I got this internship through theuniversity.” But had I? No one had really confirmed how I got that initial call.
“An internship you never applied for? You can’t be that clueless, can you, Wren? Have you never thought about it?”
“It doesn’t matter.” I didn’t need to hear the story from Bradley. Maxim could tell me the truth himself.
“Don’t you want to know what really happened to your dad?”
My blood ran cold.
“What?” My throat tightened, and the word came out squeaky. “What did you just say?”
“I know, Wren.” Bradley’s voice softened slightly, but the intensity never left his eyes. “I know about your dad’s disappearance. And if you want to know the whole truth… meet me on the rooftop. Ten minutes. That’s all I need to tell you the truth.”
He didn’t wait for me to agree. He left, the door whispering shut behind him like he’d never been there at all.
I stood there, frozen. My head spun with a hundred thoughts all at once.
How did he know about my dad? And how did that tie in with Maxim? I clenched the edge of the sink again, dizzy with confusion.
Fuck. No. This was stupid. Maxim would be furious if I went to the rooftop with Bradley. He’d lose his mind if he knew I was even entertaining the idea.
But I needed to know. For so many years, I’d been left in the dark, clueless about my father’s disappearance. I’d called hospitals and checked in with prisons. He’d disappeared off the face of the earth.
“Shit,” I whispered. I wiped my face one last time, yanked the bathroom door open, and hurried toward the elevators.
Whatever this was, I needed to know.
I needed the truth.
The second I stepped out onto the rooftop, the wind hit me. The city stretched out below me, distant and indifferent. Far below, the hum of cars and the occasional wail of a siren signaled the presence of others.
Bradley stood near the edge, staring out like he belonged in one of those moody noir movies. His hands were shoved into his pockets, his shoulders hunched.
I hovered near the door for a second, my stomach tangled in tight, uneasy knots.
What the hell was I even doing here?
Bradley could be lying. Maybe Maxim was right, and he was trying to come between us. Or maybe he really did have answers. The kind of answers that felt too big and too dangerous to ignore.
I swallowed hard and stepped forward.
“You could’ve picked somewhere less horror-movie creepy for this little chat,” I said, sounding thinner than I liked.
Bradley didn’t laugh. He didn’t even look at me. He kept his eyes on the skyline. “Rooftop’s the only place Maxim doesn’t have cameras and hidden microphones. The whole office is bugged.”
