Page 105 of Reclaimed By My Ex’s Bratva Brother

No clubs, no booze, no Chloe.

I should've been relieved. Briony hadn't misjudged him after all. But every time I saw them together, my chest felt like someone had shoved a red-hot coal inside, making it impossible to breathe.

If Makar had really changed, if he could give her stability, maybe he was the better choice.

I finally understood—letting go wasn't a single action. It was a long withdrawal.

Every morning meant making the same decision. Don't go to Philadelphia. Don't listen for her voice. Until one day, her name wouldn't make my ribs tighten anymore.

But I knew that day would never come.

I'd been numbing myself with work these past few days. Only numbers could make me temporarily forget that Briony had really left me.

I was reviewing files when my office door slammed against the wall.

Makar burst in, tie askew, hair windblown. Panic written across his face.

"Briony's missing!"

My chair crashed backward.

"What?"

"She's gone."

For a moment, I thought my ears were playing tricks.

I rounded the desk and grabbed his collar.

"She was with you." Each word scraped between my teeth. "I trusted you with her, and you lost her?"

"You never trusted her to anyone. She's not your property." Makar grabbed my wrists, face flushed.

The words hit exactly where I didn't want them to. My grip tightened.

"Then why the fuck are you standing here? Why aren't you looking for her?"

Makar shoved me off hard.

"I went to her place this morning. Door was pried open. No one inside. Briony's phone was on the floor." His chest heaved. "I called you a dozen times. You didn't answer. So I fucking drove here from Philadelphia!"

My heart slammed once. Briony was in serious danger.

I looked at Gleb in the corner. "Check surveillance near her place. Airports, train stations, docks—don't miss anything."

"Got it." Gleb pulled out his phone.

Makar paced the room. His breathing came too fast, fingers constantly raking through his hair. Not the state for clear thinking.

"Sit down," I said.

"Fuck that, I can't sit."

"Then stop circling in front of me!"

"If you hadn't dragged her into this shit, she wouldn't—" He turned on me.

My phone vibrated.