Page 145 of The Bratva Sinner

“Get in the car.” He steers me toward it, and I dig in my heels. He’s stronger than he looks, but I’m not weak. “I know,” he says quietly against my ear as he maneuvers me toward the open door. “I know. Get in the car. This is what he wanted. You have to let him work. This is his plan. His wishes.”

I get in the car, knowing what’s happening but refusing to accept it. I think of the passport and the money. There is no rescue. He’s getting me out of the country while Arlind butchers him. He’s sacrificing himself for me.

I lean my forehead against the cold window and watch the warehouse get smaller as Sampson pulls away. I’m going to be sick.

Tell Damien to take care of Ember.

It was his goodbye. A choked sob escapes my throat. The men hear, but none of them acknowledge it. They’re all lost in their thoughts.

Cinder is on the front steps when we pull through the gate.

Her arm is bandaged, and someone’s jacket is over her shoulders, even though it’s warm out. She looks older.

She stands when I get out of the car.

I walk straight to her. She opens her arms, and I walk into them without thinking. Her good arm comes around me hard, and we stand there on the front steps of Maksim’s house and hold on.

“Ava?” I manage.

“Surgery,” she says. “She’ll be okay. Bullet went through clean. She lost some blood, but she’s strong.” She tightens her arm around me. “She’s a fighter.”

“I know.” I saw Ava put herself between me and the door and take a hit that was meant to slow me down.

Cinder pulls back and looks at my face. Her eyes are red. She’s been crying, and I don’t think Cinder cries easily. “He’ll be okay.”

“You don’t know that.”

“No,” she admits, “but I know him. He doesn’t walk into rooms without knowing the way out. He always jokes that he has a crystal ball and can see the future. He knows what’s coming.”

That has fresh tears streaming down my face. We all know what’s coming, and I don’t think I can live with the guilt.

Cinder leads me inside. The house is full of men. Some I recognize, but most I don’t. They part when I walk through.

I’m the reason for all this. They’re looking at me because they know who Maksim willingly walked into hell to save. Their futures are tied to his. And now mine.

Those futures are uncertain because one man saw me and decided I was worth saving.

I find Damien in the kitchen on his phone. He holds up one finger when he sees me. I lean against the counter and wait.

“What’s happening?” I ask as soon as he lowers the phone.

“We have people watching the warehouse. No shots fired. No movement.”

“That could mean anything.”

“It could.”

“What’s your plan, Damien?” I’m firm. Digging deep and trying to be the wife of the man in power. “You did not let him walk in there without a plan.”

Damien remains silent.

“Fine. Then I’ll come up with a plan.”

“Lila, I’m following Maksim’s orders. He wants us here. Everyone. Locked down.”

“I want to go back with enough men to end this.” I push off the counter. “He went in there alone so I could get out. I’m out. His plan worked. Now, we need to go back and get him.”

“He said to wait.”