Page 74 of The Bratva Sinner

Cinder snorts, and I consider hitting her. She’s got a problem with me, but every time I turn around, she’s right there to fix me up. She plays the hero, and Maksim thanks her.

Maybe she’s the one who keeps setting me up so she can rescue me and get Maksim’s attention. I glare at her.

“What?” she snaps.

“Nothing. But don’t you think it’s coincidental that I keep getting attacked, and you’re always here to patch me up?”

“You think I like playing nurse?”

“Ladies, not now,” Ava says.

I’m taken to the med room. Again. I’m getting really tired of this room.

They transfer me to the bed, and Ava systematically checks me over. Blood pressure. Pulse. Oxygen levels.

“Lungs sound rough but not critical,” she says. “We’ll keep you on oxygen.”

She shines a light up my nose. “Hey! Rude.”

“Stop! I’m looking for ash. Open your mouth so I can check your throat.”

I do as she says. “A little red, but I don’t see any swelling. If you feel like you can’t swallow, tell me. Don’t wait. It’s not a good sign. We’ll have to get you to the hospital.”

“No hospital,” I croak.

“You might not have a choice,” she says. “Smoke inhalation can be serious. You inhaled a lot of smoke.”

Cinder hovers near the door. I’ve seen Mike and a few other guards, but not Maksim. I have no idea where he is. He’s been gone a lot the past few days. I’ve heard snippets of conversations and know he’s been exacting revenge on the Albanians.

“He’s coming.” Ava reads my mind. “He was at one of the clubs. Damien called him. He’s probably driving like a maniac to get here.”

I close my eyes. The exhaustion is overwhelming. My lungs burn. My ribs throb with each breath.

But the horses are safe. That’s what matters.

“Why would someone do this?” I whisper. “The horses didn’t do anything.”

Cinder and Ava exchange a look.

"They're showing Maksim that they can walk onto his property, past his guards, and get to you anyway," Cinder says after a moment. "That's the point."

As if killing people wasn’t bad enough. Now they’re going for horses. That’s where I draw the line.

Rage cuts through exhaustion. “Assholes.”

“Agreed.” Ava slides the mask back over my face.

I close my eyes and inhale the clean air. I’m toxic. No one is safe around me. It’s only a matter of time before they kill Maksim. And then I will be completely, utterly alone.

There will be no one left to save me.

20

Maksim

I’m standing in the warehouse checking off items on the delivery manifest when Damien’s phone rings. I open another box. My shipments have encountered some hiccups, and I know it’s them. This is as much as they can do to strike back. I’ve got extra security at all the houses as well as the clubs, so their big hits are interrupting my liquor deliveries.

I check every bottle to make sure they haven’t been tampered with.