Page 88 of Reclaimed By My Ex’s Bratva Brother

Varlam didn't look up. The EMT closed the rear doors. The vehicle started moving. I should have felt safe. My body still felt like it was in the ocean.

"Brin." Varlam gripped Brinny's hand tightly and called to her softly.

The syllable came out so gentle it was almost unrecognizable. Brinny's lashes fluttered. She finally opened her eyes.

"Varlam." Barely a whisper.

"I'm here, Brin." He lowered his head. His lips brushed the back of her delicate hand.

I'd always thought Brin meant me. Every time he used that name, I thought he was seeing me. But he wasn't. Maybe the similar name was the only reason I'd gotten close to him at all.

He'd been missing a woman who'd been gone for years. And I happened to have a similar name, a body good enough to distract him briefly. So he bought my company, kept me close. So he kissed me, touched me, but never said what we were.

Because substitutes don't need labels. They just need to fill the void until the real thing comes back.

My chest felt flooded with seawater again. The monitor beeped urgently. The EMT checked the lines, told me to relax my breathing. I closed my eyes. Tears slid from the corners.

He'd never been calling for me. And now I finally knew who I was to him. Not Briony.

Just a substitute whose name sounded like Brinny.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Briony

"Move. She has a heart condition."

The ambulance doors had barely opened when Varlam's low voice cut through the chaos at the hospital entrance. He carried Brinny like she might shatter at any moment. Water still dripped from his clothes, his expression chilling to the bone.

"Get a doctor to examine her," he ordered the arriving medical staff. "Now."

No one asked who he was. No one told him to calm down. Those words coming from his mouth sounded like a signed order. The stretcher with Brinny was wheeled away, doctors clearing a path, nurses jogging to keep up. He followed Brinny through the automatic doors, his steps quick and steady.

I lay in the ambulance, watching his back disappear. He didn't look back. Again.

God, I hated him. That bastard.

The paramedics had all followed Brinny. The vehicle fell briefly silent except for the rhythmic beeping of the monitor. That sound reminded me I was still alive.

Good news, I guess.

Footsteps approached again. A nurse peered into the ambulance and froze when she saw me still lying there.

"Oh my God, there's another one."

She immediately called for help. The stretcher locks released, and I was slowly wheeled down.

"Don't worry, honey. You're safe now." The nurse gripped my wrist, softening her voice. "We'll get you to a room, start fluids, warm you up, run some tests. Can you tell me your name?"

"Briony... Cox." My voice came out hoarse and unfamiliar.

The stretcher rolled into the hospital. The wheels crossed tile seams, my body swaying slightly with each bump. My lungs still burned, breath couldn't go too deep. The nurse kept asking if I felt dizzy, had chest pain, nausea. I answered yes to everything.

She didn't find me annoying. She just pulled the warming blanket higher, covering my shoulders. A stranger showing me more care than Varlam had.

The room was small, just one bed. The nurse moved me onto it, helped me change out of wet clothes, and brought heated blankets. When the needle pierced my hand, I flinched instinctively. Once the IV started, she took my temperature and drew several vials of blood.

"The doctor will bring your test results soon. Rest for now." She stood and headed for the door.