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“You didn’t have to grab me like that. I would’ve helped you regardless.” I pointed at the person lying between us. The dried blood on the sheet told me the shooting had happened a while ago. “May I?”
“No, not him. He’s dead.”
“Okay.” I slow-blinked. “Where’s your patient?”
“We’re taking you to him. Relax. It’s a long drive.” He pointed toward a pillow and a blanket next to me.
Yeah, a normal person would be freaking out. But this wasn’t as bad as it looked. The Russians had no idea who I was. And to be fair, I couldn’t assume that these guys were with the Brotherhood just because they spoke Russian. Their methods were one-hundred-percent mafia, but if I was going to get out of this situation alive, I had to wait and find out what they wanted.
So, what happened? They got into a shooting match? One or two of their crew got shot? So they decided to hijack an ambulance to lure a doctor in? No, to lure me in specifically. They came to the hospital to get me.
“Is this your friend?” I pointed at the dead guy.
“No.”
“Oh. So you just hijacked a random ambulance.”
“No.”
Who was I kidding? These guys were mafia as fuck. “Are you able to tell me about your wounded friend?”
“He got stabbed several times. The other doctor couldn’t help him.”
“Okay, what did this other doctor say? Were there complications?”
“Yeah, you can say that.” The guy shrugged and glanced at his two friends on either side of him. The smirk on his face sent a chill down my spine.
“What happened?”
“I shot him.”
“You shot the doctor helping your friend?” I pressed a cold hand to my cheek.
“Yes. Now it’s your turn to help.” He leaned over the dead body between us. “And he’s not our friend. He’s our boss. You can’t let him die.”
“He’s most likely going to need surgery. Are you prepared for that?”
“Yes, we have everything you need. I hope you’re as good as they say.” His gaze dropped to my mouth. “I’d hate to hurt such a pretty thing.”
The other two men nodded, as if the short sentences the one guy offered gave me all the information I needed. Oddly enough, they weren’t wrong. I now had a pretty good idea of where I stood. A Russian boss got stabbed, bad enough that their usual doctor couldn’t help him. Now they were demanding a miracle from me. The math wasn’t hard. My options were save their boss or die.
I let my head fall back and closed my eyes. My life wasn’t in danger yet. And I needed to sleep for a bit. The thing about being a doctor was that we were, more or less, trained to nap whenever possible. I decided the best thing to do was to treat this kidnapping as just another on-call night.
Two hours later, the ambulance stopped. At some point, we had driven on the highway, but I had no idea which direction they had taken. All I knew for sure was we were no longer in the city. The clear skies and fresh air were a dead giveaway.
The back door of the ambulance swung open. A man with a very satisfying grin on his face said something in Russian, which prompted my kidnappers to jump out. I tried to follow suit, but I wasn’t fast enough for them. Or maybe they just wanted to feel useful by forcefully grabbing my arm and pulling me to make me run after them. As I tried to keep up with their long strides, one of them reached into the pocket of my white coat and took my phone and keys. To my horror, they didn’t take me to their boss right away. Instead, they rushed me down a cold corridor then dumped me into a freaking cell.
The single lightbulb hanging from the high ceiling illuminated enough of the room for me to see that there was no bed and no toilet. Not that I would’ve used either if it had been available. I used my white coat to mitigate the stench of blood and urine. What did this mean? Was this a temporary holding? Or was this tiny eight-by-eight chamber where they kept prisoners awaiting their sentence? No, I couldn’t think like that. They needed me. If their boss was still alive, they needed my help. My expertise.
“Hey.” I banged on the metal door, peaking through the small opening. “I thought you wanted my help.”
They mumbled something in Russian as they disappeared from my line of sight. My heart raced as I considered my options. I was safe as long as they needed my skills. But the longer they waited, the less likely it would be for me to save their boss. I hugged myself and let the tears stream down my cheeks. This was scary as hell. I wasn’t like Santino, Rex or Enzo. I knew how to handle a gun and throw punches, but at the end of the day, I wasn’t a killer. I studied medicine to help others.
How far was I willing to go to stay alive?
“Hey.” I banged on the door again. “I’m of no use to you in here. Your boss needs immediate help.” I wiped my cheek with the back of my hand. I couldn’t let them see me cry. “You’re making a big mistake.” My voice was barely audible because I knew no one was there to listen.
I reached for the necklace inside my T-shirt. “Luca, you were right. Our lives are not our own. We belong to the Society. We will never be free.”
