AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The life pours out of him. He sputters and gasps, gurgling and choking on his own blood as he struggles to breathe.
Then… he stops. He just stops. So much endless chase, and it’s all over in a second. It almost feels anticlimactic.
I turn away from him and walk back to Paige.
She’s sitting on the floor with Anthony’s head in her lap. She looks up at me, a tear rolling down her cheek. “He’s dead, Misha. He died for me.”
I kneel down in front of her. “He had a hero’s death. It’s what men of the Bratva dream of.”
She chuckles humorlessly. “I think he’d have taken a dishonorable life over a hero’s death any day.”
“He earned his honor when it mattered most. He’s not half the fool I thought he was.”
Her big, beautiful eyes are swimming with tears. She blinks them all down and focuses on me.
I take her hand. “He made a choice, Paige. He was a grown man who made a choice. His death is not your fault. Do you hear me? None of this is.”
She nods half-heartedly. Then she sucks in a sharp breath.
I look around for any sign of danger. “What’s wrong?”
She places a hand on her stomach, blowing out a slow, even breath. “I… I just had a pain. It felt like a contraction.”
No.It’s early. Too damn early. Her due date is not for another five weeks.
“It’s the stress,” I tell her. “Let’s get you to the hospital and have Simone check you out.”
I shift Anthony off her and help her to her feet. Looping her arm over my shoulder, we stagger down the hallway. We’re halfway down the stairs when she gasps again. This time, I know why.
There’s a small puddle of water between her feet.
“Oh my God. Misha… Did my water just break?”
Fuck this three-legged race bullshit. We no longer have time to spare. I scoop her into my arms and hustle out of this godforsaken house.
“Konstantin!” I call as I burst through the front doors.
The Wolf appears first. He is covered in the blood of other men. My cousin comes a moment later from around the corner.
“I need a car,” I tell him. “Paige is in labor.”
His eyes bug out. “But it’s too early!”
“Tell that to the babies.” I move past him hurriedly and tuck Paige in the back of one of the cars. When I race around to the driver’s side, Konstantin pushes me back toward the passenger seat. “I’ll drive.”
I call Simone on the way to the hospital and instruct her to be ready. When we get close, I glance back at Paige. She’s spread out on the backseat with her legs bent in front of her. She’s breathing through her contractions, which seem to be coming faster and faster.
“Oh God, Misha. I’m not ready. The babies are not ready. It’s too early.”
“They’re going to be just fine. Everything is going to be just fine.”
I did not just save her from Petyr to lose her now.
* * *
Simone is standing by the door when we arrive. “Hey, Paige. Missed me so much you decided to have the babies early just to see me again?”
Paige laughs, but it comes out as a groan. Simone abandons some of her easygoing attitude and points to an examination room. “Let’s check you out.”
