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Chapter 18 - Giselle
“Nikolai!”
I screamed as loud as my lungs permitted at the sight of Nikolai sinking to the ground with one hand gripping his chest.
“No... No...Nikolai!” I cradled his head, hands trembling as he gurgled and gasped for air. “Hush, don’t speak. Help is coming... Your brother is on his way...”
His head fell limp against my arm and his hand slid off his chest. Tears from my eyes dropped on his cheeks and I wiped them away with bloodied hands. My fingers combed his soft hair, and I hugged him close.
I couldn’t bear the thought that this was the end of the road for him, It couldn’t be the end of the road for us. I still had so much I hadn’t said to him. There was still so much we hadn’t had a chance to figure out.
The baby. I thought about the baby in my womb. Nikolai’s flesh and blood. How would I raise it alone, without its father by my side?
A sob escaped my lips, and I hugged him tighter.
“No, Nik. You can’t die on me. I’m not going to let you die on me. Don’t you worry. We’re going to get you out of here. You’re going to be okay,” I mumbled, even if I knew he couldn’t hear me.
I sniffled, remembering how, only moments ago he held me close to reassure me.
We’re getting out of here, okay?
Nikolai was right, there was no one who could protect me as well as he could. The sound of fast cars approaching sparked a fire of hope inside me. I wiped my nose and eyes with my blouse and placed his head on my knees. A few seconds later, a line of black cars pulled up behind the Italians’ abandoned vehicles.
“Oh, thank goodness. Over here,” I yelled, waving my hand to get their attention. “He’s here.”
Nikolai’s men leaped out of the cars, and so did his brother, Sergey. “Over there, close to the delivery truck. Get the stretcher,” he barked.
The men did as he instructed, and they were quick on their feet. They rushed through the heap of dead bodies on the path and lifted an unconscious Nikolai into a sleek minivan.
Sergey approached me, his dark eyes filled with concern. His lips were turned down in a frown and the worry lines on his forehead were etched deep. I was breathing fast when he got to where I stood.
“Please hurry...” I stuttered. “I-I managed to control the bleeding, but he needs a doctor. He needs help. He’s unconscious. He...”
“Will be fine,” Sergey placed a hand on my shoulder and concluded with a kind smile. I had no idea why or how, but all my fear for him vanished after nearly watching Nikolai die. “We have access to some of the best doctors in the world, Giselle. He’s in good hands. Come on, we need to go now. It’s still not safe out here, and if anything happens to you or your baby, Nikolai’s going to kill me.”
I knew there was no point arguing with Sergey. He was right, they did have access to the best doctors. But even as we joined the convoy back home, I couldn’t shake the unsettled feeling that plagued me.
Once we arrived, they hurriedly took Nikolai to the master bedroom, where the doctor was already waiting and ready to tend to his wounds. I knew there was only so much I could do to help at the time, so I grabbed a change of clothes and went into the first room I was given in the mansion to take a quick shower.
By the time I rushed back, the door was shut, and Sergey, with three other men stood guard outside. My senses immediately went into panic mode. With hurried steps, I made my way to Sergey, my eyes questioning.
“What’s happening?” I asked, my breath shaky.
Sergey lifted two hands up. “Calm down, Giselle. We just need to give the doctor some room to work. Why don’t you tell me what happened?”
I glanced at the closed door and back at Sergey, not knowing if to believe the situation wasn’t worse than they were telling me. Maybe he thought I couldn’t handle it, but I obliged and tried to tell him exactly what had happened.
“Uh,” I blinked and rubbed my arm. “We went out shortly after breakfast. I had an antenatal appointment at the clinic, and he insisted that he was going to go with me because it wasn’t safe. I didn’t really know what he meant. But Nikolai is stubborn...”
My eyes watered, but Sergey didn’t move to interrupt me.
“...um, after the clinic, we headed to the mall. We goofed around, had a little fun, and we were just talking. Then, he had to excuse himself because a call came in.”
“I called him,” Sergey said. “We got word that the Italians traced you two and followed you into the building.”
A tear slipped down my cheek, but I wiped it away. “That was when it started, Sergey. We tried to act cool and make a run for it, but they caught us escaping and started shooting at us. God, it was so scary. Nikolai’s men helped and we were able to leave the mall. But they chased us. Nikolai tried everything he could to get them off our tail, but they wouldn’t leave us alone...”
I couldn’t hold it in anymore. The tears poured out faster, and I wrapped my arms around my body.
