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She had no idea how truthful the statement could be. Maybe Kostya had been driven to my life to become my protector.
Not my lover.
“Maybe so. You loved him once.”
“I still love him, sweetie. I hope one day you find the right man. One piece of advice. At first, he might not seem like the shiny penny, but often the most fabulous men are hidden under a gruff demeanor.”
“You are a wealth of wisdom.”
She laughed and as soon as she did, she started coughing. Then it got worse, the cough turning into wheezing. I jumped up, searching for a cup for water. There was nothing in the room. Instantly, my anger flared. I headed to the door, throwing it open, immediately drawing the attention of the two soldiers. “I hope you can speak English. I need a nurse and a cup for water.” When they didn’t respond, I hissed. “Now!”
Both seemed startled but did as I asked. I rushed back to the room, pressing the button for the nurse. Now my mother was turning blue. “Mama, it’s going to be alright.” She shouldn’t have this kind of response, not unless her lungs had collapsed. I flew to the bag of chemicals, trying to find the label. There wasn’t one. There was no damn chart in the room, nothing to tell me what the hell she’d been given.
Seconds later, the door was pushed in, a nurse rushing into the room, her look stern if not accusatory. “What happened?” she barked, immediately heading to my mother’s side. She didn’t check the vitals. She didn’t glance at the bag.
The knot in my stomach grew.Don’t jump to conclusions.My inner voice was doing little to keep me from launching into a tirade.
“She started coughing.” I remained where I was, trying to remain calm. As I looked down at Mama, I glanced into her eyes. I moved closer, placing my hand on my mother’s shoulder as the nurse started to inject her with something, likely a slight sedative to help her breath easier. “It’s okay, Mama. Just try and relax.’
The moment I glanced into her eyes again, I immediately stiffened, throwing a look toward the intravenous bag for a fifth time. That’s the moment my instinct took over, screaming there was something very wrong about the entire situation. Without hesitation, I yanked on the line directly at the bag, able to disconnect it.
“Get away from her.” After yelling at the woman, I reached across the bed, slamming my hands against her.
The woman was a goddamn assassin sent to kill my mother.
She reacted quickly, lunging at me with the syringe in the air. Whether or not the woman was an actual nurse, she’d managed to infiltrate the organization, providing poison instead of the chemotherapy concoction, slowly ending my mother’s life. That meant Kostya’s presence had been noticed. No. This couldn’t happen.
I reared back, backhanding her with enough force she was pitched against the wall, the needle tossed aside. But she kept coming, hissing as she pulled a gun from her inside pocket. I lunged toward her again, swinging around and kicking her in the stomach. We continued fighting. She lost her footing but quickly regained momentum. Then she aimed her weapon toward my mother’s head.
Everything moved into slow motion, all sounds muffled. Until two loud, echoing noises shattered my senses.
Pop! Pop!
I pitched myself over my mother, taking gasping breaths, the noise in the room only increasing.
“What the fuck is going on?” an unknown male voice stated.
“You fucked up. Where the hell were you?” Kostya hissed.
I glanced as he took long strides toward the fallen nurse, crouching over. All I could see was blood trickling down the wall. “Mama.” I lifted my head, thanking God that she was still breathing.
“It’s okay, baby. You’re safe.” He touched my arm, crowding closer. “It’s all over.”
Over. It would never be over. Anger jetted through my system, my mind shifting into a giant blur.
“We’re getting out of here,” he continued.
A crowd of people were in the room, all gasping at the horrible sight, but all I could concentrate on was Kostya’s soothing voice.
As he eased me back by a few inches, I was met with my mother’s wide eyes. At least she was breathing, very much alive.
And I had my savage hero to thank for saving both our lives.
* * *
Time.
From what I’d been told, it wasn’t our friend any longer. The fear remained, wrapping around me so tightly I was close to suffocating. I’d been told several times both my mother and I were safe, but could I ever feel safe again?
