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“I promise.”
“I love you,” I whisper the words as if they’re still a secret.
We reach the SUV, and Nikolai lowers me carefully onto the back seat. With swift efficiency, he makes a makeshift bandage using his shirt and jacket and wraps it tight around my midsection. He applies pressure to stanch the wound, and moaning, I flinch in pain, praying the bleeding will stop.
“I love you,” he says, then kisses me.
I take his warmth and the feeling of his body pressed tightly against mine. I want to stay in that kiss forever, but the cruel situation we’re in denies that to me.
We’re out of time.
Anton sits in the driver’s seat. He shifts the gears, and the tires screech against the blacktop as the SUV races across an empty parking lot. We speed away from the building, leaving my dad and his blind hatred behind. I try to steady my breathing, but the pain in my side is brutal, and despite how messed up I am, I wonder if my father is still alive.
“Eden,” Nikolai says softly, pressing the bandage hard against my bullet wound. “Stay with me, baby.”
Baby …
I want to reassure him, but the words won’t come out.
Instead, an overwhelming new fear grips me, and my thoughts race to the one thing I’ve been keeping secret.
“My baby,” I choke out, tears streaming down my face. “My baby, my baby.”
73
NIKOLAI
My eyes widenin shock as I stare at the blood covering Eden’s dress and my shirt. “Your baby?” I ask, bewildered, wondering if I heard her correctly.
“Our baby,” she whispers. The weight of everyone’s gaze in the SUV falls on me, but I remain in shock, speechless. But Ididhear her right. Eden saidbaby.
A child …ourchild.
“Eden …” My voice is barely audible over the rain. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I was afraid.” She starts crying, and I’m unsure if it’s from the pain or the confession. “I was afraid of what you would do …”
“Oh, Eden.” I kiss her again to prove that I want them both.
The SUV speeds through the rain-slick streets to a doctor’s house on the private payroll. I close my eyes, trying to block out the pain and the fear. But mostly the regret creeping into mysoul. This isn’t about revenge anymore. This is about saving her and my child.
“Promise me, Nikolai!” She clings to me. “Promise me you’ll keep our baby safe no matter what happens to me.”
There’s no time for regrets. “I promise,” I reply.
The rain pelts against the windshield, blurring the streetlights into a hazy burst of light. Her breaths come in short gasps as I clutch her side, trying not to hurt her even more.
“Anton,” I growl.
“Two more blocks,” he answers, pushing the accelerator.
“Eden,” my voice cracks with concern. “Stay with me. We’re almost there.”
She nods weakly, but her eyes lose focus as her eyelids slowly droop. No one speaks, and the rhythmic thud of the wipers and the steady hum of the SUV’s engine is the only sound.
“Promise me, Nikolai,” she whispers. Exhaustion is taking its toll. “Promise me …”
“I promise, Eden.” My voice breaks, though I swore I stayed strong. “You will survive. You and the baby.”
