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Martin's jaw clenches. "This isn't easy for me either. But lives are at stake here, yours and the baby's, most of all. I'm trying to protect you both." His voice softens.
"Please, just give me a chance to explain when the time is right. Can you do that for me?"
"No, Martin, no," I shriek, trying to force the door to open. To my horror, he has the child lock on. "Let me out! Let me out! I want to go back."
Martin swerves into a dark road I don't recognize. "Where are you taking me?" I ask.
He shakes his head manically, refusing to give me a straight answer.
Anguish fills my chest as I continue to struggle against the locked door. Tears stream down my face as I plead with him, my voice cracking. "Please, Martin, you can't take me away from Philippe without an explanation. I love him, and he loves me too. We were about to start a life together, a family."
"Look, Tatiana. Philippe is a dangerous man. He will hurt you. I know things you don't. I'm not letting you go back."
My hands fly to cover my mouth as the realization hits me. I'm trapped. I've never felt so helpless and alone. Philippe doesn't know where I am, and Martin simply isn't listening.
I try to reason with him. Aware that I'm stuck, perhaps I can win his trust. "How do you know that?" I ask.
"Someone close to you told me the truth, and you now need to hear it from him."
"Someone close to me?" my heart feels cold, and panic rises to my chest. Who? I dare not even ask.
"Your uncle," he mutters, turning left again into the woods.
Chapter 43
Philippe
The bullet burns like fire in my arm. The doctor comes close to me with the anesthetic mask. I rip it out of his hands and send it hurling to the ground.
"No," I roar. "Do it while I'm awake."
Uncle Carlo inches closer and holds my hands, tears in his eyes. "Son," he begs me. "Please. You'll be in pain."
I try to get off the table. "I need to find Tatiana."
The nurses hold me down.
"I don’t want the anesthesia," I proclaim through gritted teeth. "I need to be sharp."
"Fine," the doctor relents, knowing he won't win. Uncle Carlo puts his head in his hands and takes a seat next to me.
"Bite down on this," the doctor says, shoving a leather strap between my teeth. My eyes meet Alessandro’s. He knows why I won't dull the pain.
I nod, and the doctor digs in. Searing heat radiates through my body as he cuts around the wound. I clench my jaw, trying not to scream.
After what seems an eternity, he yanks out the bullet and stitches me up. I rip the strap from my mouth, panting. Alessandro hands me a glass of vodka. I down it in one gulp.
The doctor bandages my arm. "Keep it clean and dry. I'll give you antibiotics to prevent infection."
I nod impatiently, swinging my legs off the bed. Alessandro stops me with a hand on my good arm. "You're in no shape. Rest."
"I can't." Tatiana's face haunts me. "We have to find her."
"We will," he says sternly. "But charging in half-dead won't help. You need to gather your strength."
I know he's right, but I can't just sit still and do nothing. I gulp down some electrolyte concoction handed to me by the nurse.
After a few bites of soup and bread, I push the tray away. "Have you found anything?"
