Page 178 of Bratva's Vow
I groaned. “Kill me now.”
“Nope. Not on my watch.”
He raked his fingers through my hair. I turned my head into his touch.
“Maxim.”
“Hmm?”
“Thank you,” I whispered. “For taking care of me. For never leaving me. For everything.”
“I’ll always be here,” he said quietly. “No one’s ever going to hurt you again.”
He didn’t say Archie’s name.
He didn’t have to.
I already knew.
And I didn’t ask because he wouldn’t tell me anyway.
A soft knock interrupted us.
Maxim stood, brushing his thumb one last time over my cheek. “Come in.”
The door opened, and in came Jess and Nik, both in jeans and hoodies, and nestled in Nik’s arms was?—
“Jellybean!”
The puppy squirmed the moment he spotted me, tail thumping wildly against Nik’s arm, tongue lolling out like he’d just seen his long-lost best friend.
My throat closed up.
“Hey, boy,” I whispered, tearing up.
Nik set him down, and Jellybean made a beeline for the bed, claws clicking on the floor. He tried to scramble up the bed, and Maxim took pity on him and gently lifted him onto the sheets. He nuzzled his face against mine, whining frantically. His tail wagged like it was powered by jet fuel.
I stroked his ears, buried my fingers in his soft fur, let the weight of him press against my chest as he crawled up and laid his little body across me, head under my chin.
“How did you—” My voice cracked. “How did you get him in here? Is he even allowed?”
Nik grinned. “We smuggled him in.”
Jess rolled her eyes and swatted his arm. “Liar. Maxim had to grovel to the ward manager and get special approval. They only allowed it because your suite is so exclusive—no contact with other patients—and even then, only for fifteen minutes.”
I turned my head toward Maxim, stunned. “You did this?”
He looked almost sheepish. “Sorry. They wouldn’t budge on the time limit.”
“That’s okay.” I bit back my tears. “This is enough. I thought he would forget all about me.”
I clutched the dog a little closer, and he gave a happy little sigh like he was perfectly content to stay right where he was.
Maxim sat down again at the foot of the bed, one handresting on my ankle over the blanket, as if anchoring himself to me. Jess snapped photos of us and showed me the wedding video on her phone. Maxim had been right. I’d begged the chaplain to marry us. Fuck, I looked awful when I cried. I was never crying again.
Maxim told me they could delete the video if that was what I wanted, but I shook my head. Regardless of how messy it was, it was ours, and I loved every minute of it.
Too soon, Jess’s timer went off.
