Page 74 of Russian Rescue

I looked down at her leg and saw the blood starting to ooze again.

“Fuck! She’s bleeding again, Knox! I need medical. Now!”

“Mobil surgeons are on the way. They are less than ten minutes out. Just start heading toward Moscow, and they’ll meet you on the road. They have a mobile surgery suite.”

“Piper. Put pressure on that wound!” I shouted, but she blinked one last time then passed out. “Fuck!”

I reached over and put my hand on the wound, pressing hard as I shifted the car with my left hand, switching it back and forth between the shifter and the wheel as I skidded past the traffic pouring out of Petro’s complex.

We raced down the road back toward Moscow with me begging Piper to keep breathing every second we drove.

Finally, Knox popped back into my comms. “See those headlights ahead? That’s them. Pull over, and they’ll grab her.”

I slammed on the brakes, skidding to a stop on the side of the road. The large black van slid up beside me, and three men dressed in black jumped out.

“Passenger seat! Gunshot to the thigh. Hurry!”

They rushed over, opening the door and pulling Piper out while I ran after them to the back of the van. The back doors flew open, and bright white lights nearly blinded me. An older man in surgical scrubs and a mask stood over a table surrounded by enough medical equipment I’d have thought I was in a hospital.

“Quick. Put her up here,” the surgeon demanded.

The men jumped up with Piper and laid her on the table. I started up into the back of the van, but the tallest man in black stopped me with a hand to the face.

“No civilians. We’ve got her.”

Before I could argue, they slammed the doors and drove off.

I stood in the middle of the road and grasped my hair as I fought the tears threatening to spill from my eyes.

“It’s okay, Pretty Boy. They’ve got her. They are the best in the world at what they do. Just stay strong.”

“Where are they taking her?”

“To a location in the city. They’ll work on her there, and as soon as she’s ready, they’ll send me the location where she’s recovering, and you can go see her. She’ll be okay, Pretty Boy. Thanks to you, a lot of people will be okay. I heard what went down in there through Piper’s coms. I just gotta tell you, I’ve never been so damn proud of anyone in my whole life. What you did in there was amazing, and I know Piper feels the same. You were a straight-up badass operative tonight, and because of the sacrifice you were willing to make, you saved a lot of freaking lives, buddy. Seriously. I’m so proud to call you my friend.”

“Thank you, Knox. I just did what needed to be done, and I hoped like hell Piper would be able to get us out of it. But even if she couldn’t, I was willing to die to save everyone.”

“I know you were. And that’s what makes me so damn proud. And now you just need to finish what you started.”

“What... what do I do? What about Piper?”

All the confidence I’d been feeling drifted off as I stood alone in the road, the woman I loved fighting for her life... fighting for her life because of me.

“The doctors have Piper now. There’s nothing you can do about that. What you can do is get in touch with the Russians and help them find Petro before he escapes the country. No one in the world is better at finding people than you, so help them find that son of a bitch and put him away for good. That’s all you can do right now. That was the mission, and Piper would want you to complete it. As soon as they contact me about Piper, I’ll let you know. I promise.”

Feeling completely helpless and lost, I stood for another moment before I took a deep breath. He was right. It was exactly what Piper would want, and it was what I needed to do to make sure all of this wasn’t for nothing. I would make sure the Russians caught Petro and brought him to justice so he couldn’t hurt my family or anyone else ever again.

Just please let them save the woman I love.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Piper

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I blinked open my eyes, and the bright lights beaming down at me caused me to squeeze them back shut. Slowly, I peeled them open again, giving myself time to adjust to the brightness.

“Hey, beautiful,” Wes whispered. “You’re safe.”