Page 155 of The Bratva Sinner

“You need to sleep.” She tries to move off the bed.

“Stay.”

She lays her hand over my heart. “I need to clean up. I’ll be back.”

“I want to go to our bed.”

“The doctor wants you here in case there’s a problem.”

“Come back.”

She presses her lips to mine. “Always.”

I close my eyes.

“Sleep,” she says softly. “I’ll be here.”

I want to fight the drugs, but I can’t. I feel her move away from me, but I don’t reach out. She’ll be back.

Epilogue - Lila

Two weeks later

“Hi sweet girl,” I coo.

Ember moves toward me while Willow stands back, sees it’s me, and returns to nosing the hay I put out.

I run my hand down Ember’s neck. She leans into my touch the way she’s been doing since she found her legs. She’s dark and glossy and perfect, and sometimes I stand here looking at her and thinking about the fact that she almost wasn’t here. A fire meant to kill me nearly took her instead.

The stables are fully repaired now. New sprinkler system with a backup. Maksim went a little overboard with fire-resistant materials in the rebuild. He wasn’t taking any chances.

Outlaw watches me from the next stall over with her usual skeptical expression. She’s become a very easy horse to ride. For me, anyway. She still hates everyone else. That’s fine. I like that she and I have an understanding.

I hear footsteps and smile.

Maksim comes through the stable doors with his hands in his pockets and his collar open. He looks healthy.

It took longer than he wanted and shorter than I thought possible given his state when we pulled him from the warehouse. He tried to go back to work in four days. I basically had to sit on him. Not that I minded. Turns out, there are many sex positions that work without him having to do much. It kept him in bed, allowing him to heal.

Maksim leans over and kisses my cheek.

“She’s getting big.”

“She’s going to be tall. Gus thinks she’ll be close to sixteen hands.”

“Like her mother.”

“Taller, maybe.” I scratch behind Ember’s ear. “She’s got Willow’s temperament, but she’s more curious. Willow is careful. Ember just walks directly into whatever she wants to know about.”

He glances at me sideways. “Sounds like someone I know.”

He reaches out and runs a hand along Ember’s jaw.

“How are you feeling?” I ask.

“Good.”

“Going to the club?” I ask.