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“He died.”
“Died?”
“His partner killed him.”
“And where’s his partner?”
“He left in the car.” I stare up at him as the vehicle carrying Yan revs in the distance. “Is he going to be okay?”
I can sense the hesitation in Adrian. He saw him. He saw the blood. He knows that his second closest guard might not survive.
“Let’s leave.” He ushers me to the back seat and two of his guards get in the front.
Adrian keeps his arms around me during the entire ride home. The stupid tears won’t stop coming and I keep shivering like a leaf in winter.
He removes his jacket and wraps it over my bloodied coat, but that doesn’t ease the ache I’m feeling deep in my chest.
I’m crying, but it’s not only about Yan. I’m also crying because I think I know that man, the shadow, the one who said I had a mission.
And something tells me this mission is more dangerous than I could ever imagine.
26
Winter
Isuck in my first real breath when the doctor says that Yan will survive.
He lost a lot of blood and he’s still unconscious, but there’s no immediate threat to his life.
Those words tear into my chest and lodge against my heart with a force that robs me of balance. I grab Adrian’s arm and anchor myself as we stand in the middle of Yan’s room that’s located in the guest house, the place Adrian never allowed me in before now.
He’s on his back, chest bandaged, no more blood leaving his body, but he’s not opening his eyes either. His pretty model face is pasty pale and his lips are chapped.
Kolya is by his side, checking his temperature just as the doctor showed him. I don’t miss that they have an onsite doctor, or that he didn’t ask any questions about why he had to treat a gunshot patient in Adrian’s house.
He just nodded and left as if this were an everyday occurrence.
It probably is.
“How is his temperature?” I ask Kolya as he stares at the device in his hand.
The room is plain, with a bed in the middle and a closet in the corner. The only light comes from the lamp on the nightstand, casting dark shadows across Yan’s pale face.
“It’s high, but not alarming.” Kolya straightens, and even though his usual scowl is strapped in place, there’s a subtle wariness in his posture. “I’ll make sure it goes down through the night.”
I take a step forward. “I’ll stay, too.”
“No.” Adrian grabs me by the elbow and pulls me back. “You did your part. Leave it to Kolya now.”
“He’s right, Mrs. Volkov. Thank you for everything you’ve done. If you hadn’t carried him or tried to stop his bleeding, he wouldn’t have made it.” Kolya offers what resembles a smile. He’s just like his boss in that department. They could use a lesson or two from the lively Yan.
“It was nothing.”
I want to stay and watch over Yan, but Adrian carries me in his arms and leaves the guest house, heading to the main one. He’s been doing it since earlier because I have no shoes on, and I’m thankful because my legs can’t carry me properly. My hands inside my bloodied gloves rest on my lap and I try not to get caught up in the sight of them and recall what happened to Yan.
“Hold on to me, Lia,” Adrian says sternly.
“They’re bloodied.”
