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Woman’s touch, I suppose. She was different from any woman any of us had known before. We all loved her and loved being around her. She would come hang out with us if Adrik had a late meeting or needed to work late.
As we ran, I was silently grateful we were back at the penthouse and not at the house. She always wanted to take the long way around the lake when we were at the house, and I would suffer every time. The route we took through the city wasn’t nearly as long. I still had some improvements to work on before I could easily keep up with her on the long runs.
We neared the last leg of our route, the hotel that Mr. Turner worked at coming into view as we ran down the street. Only a few more blocks to go now.
We passed by the hotel, stopping briefly to say “good morning” to Mr. Turner. As we left the hotel and continued on our way, I got a bad feeling. I made sure to keep an eye on Sephie beside me while trying to weave in and out of pedestrian traffic. There were suddenly a lot of people on the sidewalks. I was just about to stop her so I could keep her closer to me when I felt someone try to tackle me from my left side. Just as I was pushed to the side, I heard her scream behind me.
Shit. They’re going to try and grab her.
The man that tackled me was still trying to get me to the ground but couldn’t. He still had his arms around mine. I still had full use of my legs and I was taller than him, so I was using that to my advantage. He had pushed me closer to the buildings, so I turned and shoved him into the building as hard as I could. The shock of the impact made him loosen his grip enough that I could get my arms free. I elbowed him in the face, causing him to stumble. I looked to find Sephie. She was fighting with her attacker. The guy that had tackled me was coming back for more. He looked like he wasn’t completely with it somehow. His eyes were having trouble focusing.
I punched him in the face as hard as I could. His body immediately going limp and falling to the ground. I ran to Sephie, who had her attacker on the ground. She was straddling him, just letting her fists fly in this guy’s face. I could tell she was pissed. I’d sparred with her a few times. If you pushed her to the point of anger, you better be ready for a fight. Clearly, this guy was not prepared.
I caught her arm and pulled her off him. He was unconscious. He wasn’t going anywhere. I stood her up and looked her over. While my attacker couldn’t get me to the ground, hers took her down immediately. She had road rash down one side and she had clearly hit her head. She was bleeding from a cut above her eyebrow. Adrik was going to be so pissed at me.
“Sephie, look at me. How bad are you hurt?” I asked, holding both of her shoulders. She didn’t answer. She just kept staring at the guy on the sidewalk as she was trying to catch her breath.
Mr. Turner who had seen everything ran to us. “Are you guys okay? Do you want me to call an ambulance?”
“No, Mr. Turner. I’m calling my people. We’ll take care of it. But thank you.” I turned to look at Sephie, who was still breathing hard, her face red, still pissed. “Gazelle? Talk to me. How bad are you hurt?”
She finally looked at me and I could see the switch flip in her head. “I’m okay. My head hurts, but I’m okay.”
I exhaled, taking my phone from my pocket. I had Viktor on speed dial. He answered on the first ring. He knew we were out and the only reason I would be calling was not a good one.
“My location. Get here now. Bring everyone.” I hung up the phone, slipping it back in my pocket. I still had one hand on Sephie, trying to make sure she stayed with me. I was concerned about her hitting her head. I didn’t want her to pass out. I knew the adrenaline rush was eventually going to wear off and didn’t want her to crash completely.
The guys were there within minutes. The two men who attacked us had their hands bound behind their backs and were thrown in the back of an SUV. Viktor talked to Mr. Turner, as he had seen everything happen. A few passersby had stopped to help and gave their version of events.
We loaded up and drove back to the penthouse. On the way to the elevator, Sephie started to stumble. She grabbed Ivan’s arm as she was going down. He caught her and carried her straight back to the SUV, taking her to the hospital right away. I jumped in the back with her. I felt responsible for her since this had happened on my watch. I cradled her head on my lap, monitoring her breathing on our short ride to the hospital.
Ivan made it in record time, pulling up to the ER. I got out, pulling her out and running inside with her. I was starting to get worried that she hadn’t woken up by now. Anytime one of us had passed out from a blow to the head, we usually woke up a few minutes later. It had already been eight minutes and she was still out.
I found a doctor right away who directed me into a room. It probably helped our case that she was covered with blood. I laid her on a bed in the middle of the room. The doctor began checking her over, asking me what happened. I explained about the attack and that she had passed out after.
“She’s probably got a major concussion, but we’re going to run some tests to make sure there’s not more going on in there. She’s got a pretty good cut above her eye. She hit her head hard,” the doctor said, checking the rest of her. Ivan walked into the room, looking more worried than I’d ever seen him.
He spoke to me in Russian, so no one else could understand us. “What the fuck happened?”
“It was a setup. It had to be. Suddenly, there were a ton of people on the sidewalk, just past the hotel. I was just about to stop her so I could keep a closer eye on her when I got tackled from behind. But they went for her at the exact same time. They had to have been waiting for us to pass. The extra people were cover for them.”
“Fuck. It’s been so quiet we got complacent. I was afraid something like this was going to happen. Boss is going to be pissed.”
“Don’t remind me,” I said, running my hand through my hair. I realized I had Sephie’s blood on my hand, but I didn’t care. “He’s going to fire me. I know it. I had a bad feeling just as we left the hotel too. I knew something was about to happen.”
“You did good, kid. Don’t worry about Boss. He’ll surprise you. Just as long as the princess doesn’t die.”
It was like she understood him because just as Ivan said that Sephie started to wake up. The doctor had stepped out to order her tests. I rushed to her, grabbing her hand. “Sephie! Can you hear me?”
She lightly squeezed my hand. “Why is it so fucking bright in here?”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. I was so relieved. “Gazelle. You passed out. You’re in the hospital.”
“Makes more sense than the parking garage smelling like antiseptic,” she said, trying to cover her eyes with her arm. “Why does my head feel like it’s being split open?”
I looked to Ivan, slightly worried. He walked to her side. “Princess, do you remember what happened?” He gently put a hand on her stomach.
“Um, mostly. Did I punch a guy?”
