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He isn’t a he at all. He is a she, and she is a mother.
I pull the window open and scream out, “There are cubs in the greenhouse! Don’t shoot!”
Sergei glances up toward me and then toward the greenhouse before glancing back toward the bear.
“Fuck,” he groans, and holds up his hand, telling the men to back down.
I’m sure there are many things that happen between the time the bear charges and the time the men shoot, but I don’t see any of them. Life is a blur as Sergei goes down and the men fire shot after shot in defense.
My heart stops. Not metaphorically… it truly stops. I can’t move. I can’t breathe. I can’t see.
The sounds of the guys yelling at each other brings me back to reality, and I run down the stairs and haul into the snow, grabbing a scarf off the rack by the door. My feet are bare, but I don’t care. The cold can burn my feet, the ice can freeze me in place, but I can’t lose him now. Not after all this time away. Not after fate finally brought us back together.
The guys have already called for help by the time I’m next to Sergei.
“No,” Sergei tries to stand from the ground, “I’m not going to the hospital. A little duct tape and I’ll be fine.”
He’s still being him, so maybe this means he’ll be okay. “No, you’re going to the hospital. This needs stitches. Where’s the bear?”
“Ran toward town,” Rowan groans. “Cubs followed. If you’ve got Dad, we’ll go after her.”
Sergei stands despite the gash on his arm.
I try to wrap it tight to stop the bleeding, but he’s so big and not at all cooperative. “Little one, your feet are bare. Get inside.”
“I’m not leaving you out here.”
He bends down and lifts me from the ground. Despite the pain he’s feeling, I’m his top priority. I want to squirm and jump from his arms, but I know he won’t put me down, and I don’t want to make this harder for him than it needs to be.
Instead, I stare toward him with a pouted lip. “Go to the hospital… for me. Please.”
“If I go to the hospital, they’re going to know that bear attacked me. They’ll exterminate her for going after a human. She’s got two babies. We can’t have that.” He glances toward the boys. “Get the tranquilizers. Let’s get them knocked out and move them out deeper into the forest. We provoked her. No one else will give a fuck.”
I’m all for a big, hairy man who’s smart enough to know the difference between when it’s time to kill an animal and when it’s time to save them, but right now, all I care about is Sergei, and he’s losing a lot of blood, fast.
“Please go to the hospital. I love you. I’ve loved you for so long. I can’t lose you.”
He grins and cradles me in his arms, like I’m a feather, a piece of paper, a cute little marshmallow that weighs nothing at all. Spoiler alert, I do.
“Did you just say you loved me, little one?”
I nod and wipe away a succession of tears.
“I love you, too.” He kisses my forehead. “I have for so long. I promise you that duct tape will do the job.”
“Not this time. You need doctors. You could’ve torn a muscle. You…”
“This bear needs to be caught. I’ll tape myself up now and we’ll talk about the hospital tonight. Deal?”
I know deep down that the hospital will never happen. Sergei will go after the bear, then he’ll convince me that the duct tape is working. That said, this is who he is. He’s a big, rough, mountain man who’d probably finish a job if he were half dead, and the truth is, he’s not. He’s holding me up, and duct tape probably will do the job.
“Fine, but I’m coming with you.”
He grins, kisses my forehead, and steps toward the back door of the cabin, setting me down inside before he smacks my ass. “Get dressed, then grab some boots and the duct tape. It’s in the drawer by the fridge.”
A surge of warmth rushes through me as I rush through the cabin, collecting clothes and tape. I’m a nurse. I know the risk of what he’s doing, and it scares the hell out of me. Still, though, the wild in him wakes me up, and I’m not sure I’ve ever been this awake in my life.
Chapter Six
