Page 22 of The Bratva Stalker's Ruthless Claim
I help her into the backseat, lowering her gently onto the leather. She collapses to the side, unconscious before her body even hits the seat properly.
I lean over, panic twisting my gut for a second.
But her pulse is steady, and her breathing is stable, though slow and shallow.
“Hurry, Sergei. Let’s get her home so the doctor can check her.”
“Yes, Boss.”
I sit back slightly, still close enough to watch her, feeling an almost unbearable tension coil in my chest.
The city lights streak past, a blur of neon and asphalt.
Ellie’s hair falls across her face, and my hand itches to brush it aside, but I don’t. Not yet.
I can’t break the fragile barrier between us yet.
Then Sergei breaks the silence. “You going to tell her you’ve been watching her?”
My jaw tightens. A cold edge cuts through my chest.
“I was waiting,” I say slowly.
A beat passes.
“But now,” I murmur, voice low, almost a growl, “I don’t have the luxury.”
My gaze drops to her face.
And I realize…waiting isn’t an option anymore.
Not tonight.
Not ever again.
Chapter 3 – Ellie
I wake to a dim light spilling across a massive room.
It isn’t a hospital. It isn’t a police station.
It’s a luxurious bedroom.
I stare at the ceiling for a moment—chandeliers dripping gold and crystal, gleaming against the shadows. Expensive. Impossibly wealthy. My head throbs, but I’m clear enough to sit up.
My clothes…intact. I let out a shaky sigh. Relief, but not calm.
What happened?
The memory hits in fragments.
On my way home. Kidnapped. Three men, masked, violent. Dragged into a car. Then the car…hijacked. Another man. Someone else entirely.
My head pounds as I try to place his face. Tall. Terrifyingly tall. Icy blue eyes that felt like staring at a ghost.
Fear grips me.
He had been…soft with me. Strange, contradictory. But trust? No. There was no trusting men like that.
