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I hoped it was, even if I couldn’t find the strength to open my eyes and look for him.
The reassuring words turned into an argument, and he wouldn’t budge.
Mila, Mila, Mila.
The sound of my name circulated through the space, making me wonder if I had imagined it.
Mila!
No, I didn’t make it up. It was Nikolai.
Stirring me from the confusing darkness around me, the sound of his voice pulled my eyes open slowly. I could only manage a small amount at a time until I finally found his face.
Those eyes. The dark hair that he shared with not only his brothers and mother but our daughter as well.
I watched as a shred of relief stitched into his features for a split second. Then, conviction entered his eyes.
Where. Is. Kat.
While I could see him, his voice sounded so distant and strained. I studied him closely, hoping to form the words I needed to say.
Kat.
The awful thing came back again, and I struggled to sit up, fighting against the memories despite my splitting head.
The knife. The stabbing. Dad with his hand clamped over Kat’s mouth. Being shoved.
I was lifted again, and paramedics flanked the stretcher I was strapped to. I watched as the others tried their hardest to keep Nikolai back, but he fought against them with everything he had, face enraged.
Lips forming the words, pain stole the air from my chest, and I winced, slumping back onto the stretcher. The wave of nausea nearly knocked me out again, and my stomach rolled. I needed to tell Nikolai it was my father’s fault.
Nikolai gave up his arguing, and he jumped into the back before the ambulance could drive off. Lights flashed above us, and loud sirens broke through the space.
Based on the looks he gave the paramedics, none of them dared fight it. Instead, they shut the doors behind him, and the ambulance raced down the road.
Everything moved around me, shaking me up like I was really trapped out in the open sea, left to float aimlessly. Sea or not, everything was turbulent, and there was nothing I could do about it.
The warmth of Nikolai’s hand wrapped around mine seeped into my skin. I watched his lips move, but it took a moment for the words to register.
“Please, try to remember,” Nikolai said to me, voice soft. “Please try.”
I wanted nothing more than to open my mouth and speak, but the pain wouldn’t let me. When I tried, it was far too blinding to bear.
My sight shifted as the paramedics carefully moved my head to the side, obscuring my view of Nikolai. Seeing him was the only thing that eased my worries, but his gasp made my heart speed up.
The wet slick of blood felt warm against my head, and a slight pressure moved against it. He gave my hand a slight squeeze.
Tears ran down my cheeks then, overwhelmed by the pain and knowing that my daughter was out there somewhere without me. Without her father.
She needed to be found, and I needed to spit it out.
With a shaky exhale, I formed the words as best as I could. “Dad…has her. Kat.”
I sucked the air back into my weak lungs, trembling as more feeling returned to my body. More pain accompanied it. Overwhelmed by everything, the tears didn’t stop.
“Save her,” I croaked through my cries. “Don’t worry about me.”
Nikolai glanced out the window, reassured by whatever he saw. He lifted my hand and placed a small kiss there, squeezing it afterward. “Don’t worry, Mila. I won’t let anything happen to Kat.”
