Page 35 of The Bratva Sinner

I’ve been telling myself he’s different. He saved me. But what if I’ve been wrong? What if this is who he really is?

I need to leave. Right now. I need to get out of this house before I end up like her.

But my legs won’t move. I’m rooted to the spot, staring at the blood on the couch. I replay it all and look at it without filtering it through my experiences. There had been a gentleness in his voice. He looked terrified.

Would someone who did that to her sound like that? Look like that?

I don’t know anything anymore.

Footsteps in the hallway make me jump. One of the guards walks past, carrying medical supplies. He doesn’t even glance at me.

What have I gotten myself into? What kind of world is this?

The stables. The kindness. The protection. It all feels like a trap now. A cage I walked into willingly because I was desperate. I’ve traded one monster for another.

10

Maksim

“I need another set of hands!” Cinder’s voice cuts through the chaos. “Someone who won’t faint at the sight of blood!”

I look around the med room. The guards are standing like statues.

I find Lila standing in the hallway outside the living room. Her face is pale, and her eyes are wide. She’s staring at the blood on the couch like she’s seeing a ghost.

“Lila, Cinder needs you.”

She looks at me. Fear. She’s afraid of me. I stride over to her, and she takes a step back, like I’m going to hurt her.

“Come on.” I keep my voice as gentle as I can manage right now. “Cinder needs help.”

“I can’t. I don’t know how to help her.”

“The last thing Mara needs is a bunch of men touching her,” I say. “The doctor will be here soon, but right now, it’s just you and Cinder. Please.”

I see her debating, and then she nods. “Fine.”

Cinder looks up when we enter.

“Good. Lila, wash your hands. I need you to hold pressure here.” Cinder points to Mara’s side, where blood is seeping through the towels.

Lila’s hands shake as she scrubs them in the sink. I watch her dry them and move to where Cinder indicates. She presses on the wound. Mara doesn’t make a sound.

“Don’t let up,” Cinder orders. “She needs to bleed less if the doctor will have any chance to save her.”

I watch from the doorway. I should be out finding who did this, but I can’t move. Cinder looks at me, and I see what she’s trying to say.

“Out,” I order. “Everyone out.”

The men look too happy to get out. We all know what’s happening, and none of us want to watch.

“Come on, come on,” Cinder mutters, working faster.

Lila looks up, and our eyes meet across the room. The fear is still there, but now, there’s something else. Confusion. Questions.

“Shit,” Cinder murmurs. “Dammit.”

“What’s wrong?” Lila asks. “Sorry. That’s stupid.”