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He nods, immediately going to her side. “Sorry, Nat.” Lifting up her shirt slightly, he assesses her wound before grabbing a pack of gauze out of his kit and surgical tongs. “This is going to hurt,” he warns her before he takes the metal and starts prying in the wound. A shrill scream echoes through the room, causing myself and Dmitri to both wince. Eric isn’t fazed as he continues to search for the bullet. She bites down on one hand, and her grip with the other hand on my mine is like a vice as she cries out through gritted teeth. Eric mutters that he found it, before slowly removing the large bullet. Her body sags in pained relief as he lets it drop on the ground.
“One more,” he whispers, waiting for her to acknowledge him. She gives him a shaky nod, trying her best to relax before he shoves a piece of gauze into the wound. She grunts quietly, her eyes pinched shut in pure agony.
“You’re doing great,” I whisper, watching the silent tears stream down her face. It almost makes me want to cry for her, but we’ve all endured enough pain today.
Placing another piece on top of the wound, he holds pressure on it for about three minutes, muttering good graces to her. Wrapping a bandage around her waist, he looks up at her.
“We need to get you home as soon as possible so I can get this taken care of.” He raises his eyebrow giving her a serious expression.
“Yeah, yeah. Just make sure he’s okay,” she sobs, looking down at me with watery eyes. I meet her soft gaze while Eric begins to look me over. My wounds aren’tasserious as they look, but I won’t discount the pain they have caused. Aside from the few punches to the face and my pounding head, most of the damage is cuts and burns.
Eric works to dress them quickly, commenting that he can make it better at home, and these are just temporary.
“See? I’m fine. Get her home now.” I look at Dmitri who has already moved to her side. He goes to pick her up, but she gives him a sharp look, halting his hands.
“Declan…” she sighs, keeping her hand tangled in mine.
“Just go, please. I need to make sure you’re safe. You’ve lost a lot of blood,mo ghrá.Liam will bring Finn and I home,” I urge. I can’t bear the thought of her in pain just because her stubborn ass won’t leave me. We stare at each other for a long while, battling silently to see who will win. Thankfully, she knows better than to fight me on these things.
“Fine,” she reluctantly agrees, still refusing to remove her hand from mine. Her voice is weak, almost a whisper in the wind. I wonder if the adrenaline has finally worn off and she’s beginning to feel the effects of the blood loss. “I love you,” she mutters, almost sounding drunk
“I love you, too. I will be there soon baby,” I tell her, giving her hand a kiss with one more squeeze.
She goes to stand, immediately stumbling to the side. Before she can hit the floor, Dmitri catches her and helps support her weight. She tries to shove him off after gathering her footing, but relents and lets him help her out the door. Right as they get there, she turns to look back at me. I smile at her, then watch as her eyes roll into the back of her head and drop into Dmitri’s hold completely.
Chapter twenty-nine
Natalia
Myheadfeelsextremelylight as I take in my surroundings. Looking around, I try to figure out my orientation.
“We are almost there, Natalia,” Eric calls from the front seat. I glance over, seeing that his body is sideways in my vision.
I look to my other side, realizing that my head is on Dmitri’s lap. Registering movement on my head, I feel him brushing my hair with his hand as he looks out the window. I can see the worry that coats his features, no doubt imagining all the worst case scenarios. I try to move my arm up, but I realize that I can’t really even feel it. Shuffling a bit, Dmitri seems to snap out of his thoughts. Looking down at me, he brushes the fallen strands from my eyes.
“Hey,” I mutter, my voice hoarse and barely above a whisper. “I’ll be okay, don’t need to get frown lines over me.” I try to tease, but end up cringing in pain as Eric takes a sharp turn.
“I know you will. I’m your brother, it’s my job to worry,” he whispers back, keeping his touches light. He gives me a sad smile, his cheeks tinting slightly as he does his best to keep his emotions at bay. I try once more to bring my hand up, but fail once again. Seeing my struggle, he grabs my hand in his other one, squeezing it gently. Unfortunately, I can tell it’s not me he is trying to gain reassurance for.
When we arrive at Declan’s house, I’m not sure if most of the men are gaping at us because I’ve been shot, or if it’s because my dead brother is walking me in. They don’t say a word as we come by, but I can tell that they are going to ask questions soon.
Eric looks at Dmitri after they help me onto the table, his face full of worry as he gazes at the wound. “Alright. I can’t wait for Declan to get here. I need to get in here and clean the wound before it becomes infected. Relay the message for me, will you?”
“He will understand,” Dmitri agrees, looking down at me. “See you soon, kid.” He leans down and kisses the top of my head, brushing away some of the sweat covered pieces that are stuck.
“Hey, can you get my phone and call Skylar? I promised her I would call her when I found them, and I don’t want her to worry anymore than she already is,” I say, stopping him before he gets out the door and reaching for the phone in my pocket.
“Of course,”he mutters, grabbing my phone and nodding at Eric before exiting the room. As I watch my brother leave, the pain starts to creep back in from where he had to manually dig through my body.
“Alright kid, I’m gonna knock you out now,” Eric announces, adding medicine to my IV that I didn’t even notice he started. The warmth of the drugs starts to take effect, making my already tired eyes sag more. Within a few seconds, I can barely keep my eyes open, succumbing to another version of darkness.
?
Ringing takes over my ears as I start to slowly come to. My eyes scan the room, making a mental note that I’m in one of the recovery rooms. Furrowing my brows and squinting my eyes, I notice a few different bags hooked up to the left of me, dripping down my IV line. Looking to my right, my eyes fall upon my husband, who is sleeping in another bed. Taking in his sleeping form, I watch the gentle rise and fall of his chest.
I know the layout of these rooms like the back of my hand. A smile covers my lips as I continue my surveying. There’s only one bed to a room, and I chuckle to myself as I imagine Declan throwing a fit until Eric agreed to move his bed in here with me.
I sit up slightly before a pain in my side causes me to inhale sharply. I immediately put pressure on the wound, hoping that it’d take some of the throbbing away. My eyes remain on the sleeping man next to me, just waiting for his sparkling ocean eyes to open.
