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But the door to their room is wide open and their beds are empty.
I try to think as my heart races. Mariya is in physical therapy. Angela wanted to take her down to the gym today so they could lift some light weights. One of the guards went with her.
When I left, Luna was taking a nap and Tomek was sitting in the chair just outside the door. But where the fuck did they go?
There’s only one place I can think of. If she isn’t there, no one is getting in or out of this hospital until I find her.
I take the stairs up to the ICU. It’s faster than waiting for the elevator. As I barrel through the stairwell door and into the ICU lobby, Nik’s nurse is getting off the elevator.
She starts to say hello, but I cut her off. “Where is Luna?”
“I’m sorry. Who?”
I grit my teeth. “Has anyone been in to see my brother recently?”
She frowns. “I’m not sure. My shift doesn’t start for another fifteen minutes. If you have questions, you can talk to the night nurse before she leaves and?—”
“There isn’t time,” I snarl.
The woman next to the doors waves the sign-in form at me, but I swipe her badge off of the desk instead. I hold it to the scanner until it flashes green and then shove through the now-unlocked double doors.
“He can’t do that!” the woman argues.
I hear Nik’s nurse correct her as the doors close behind me. “He can do whatever he wants.”
The lights in the ICU are always half-dimmed. Most of the patients are resting or unconscious. Machines hum like cicadas from every room. I’m halfway down the hall before I notice the three dark figures looming outside of Nik’s room. One more than usual.
Tomek turns as I approach. “What the fuck are you doing up here?” I snarl at him. “You should be downstairs.”
His eyes go wide. “Shit. I should have—Luna wanted to come up here. She wanted to see Nik. I’m sorry, sir. I should have said something.”
I ease down, tension flooding out of me. I’m still pissed, but she’s okay. She’s safe.
I jab a finger into Tomek’s chest. “From this point forward, I know where she is at all times. Do you fucking hear me?”
He stands up tall. “I hear you, sir. It won’t happen again.”
If he’d let her out of his sight for even a second, he’d be dead. The fact that he escorted her up here and made sure she was protected is better than nothing.
I wave the men back and look through the glass door. The curtain around Nik’s bed is halfway open. I can see Luna sitting next to his bed, her legs crossed at the ankle.
Then she swipes at her eyes.
She’s crying.
My heart tugs towards her. Love is loss. It’s what I’ve always believed. The ugly truth I discovered when my father was ripped away from my mother. Someone is always left behind.
Luna reaches out and, navigating the maze of tubes and IVs sticking out of him, grabs Nik’s hand. Her thumb brushes over his knuckles. Her lips are moving, but I can’t hear what she’s saying through the glass.
I don’t need to.
What I need to do is everything in my power to protect these people. I won’t lose them again.
14
LUNA
Mariya sticks her head through the open car window, her good arm flailing in the wind as she screams, “Freedom!”
