Page 61 of Bound Vows
“Vincent’s handling it,” I lie as I focus on getting Maya to safety before hypothermia sets in. “Just concentrate on staying conscious.”
Vincent hauls Maya aboard the pursuit boat and strips off her wet clothes while I climb back onto the deck. She’s shaking so hard her body is vibrating.
“We need an ambulance.” I wrap Maya in Vincent’s jacket as I examine her injuries. “Gunshot wound, blood loss, and now hypothermia.”
“Max has already called.” Vincent finishes securing Maya in the boat’s emergency blankets. “EMS is meeting us at the South Street pier.”
I look back toward where Katarina went into the water, but the surface shows no signs of survivors. Either she’s gone under, or she’s reached one of the pier supports and is hiding until we leave.
“Go back for her,” Maya whispers through chattering teeth. “You have to try.”
“I’m not leaving you to save the woman who just tried to kill us.”
“She’s Elena’s sister. You promised Elena that you’d protect her.” Maya squeezes my hand with what little strength she has left. “Don’t break that promise because of me.”
The morality of the situation makes my head spin, but Maya’s right about the promise I made to Elena. Even after everything Katarina has done, abandoning her to drown feels like betraying my dead wife’s final wish.
“I’ll just be a minute.”
“Are you insane?” Vincent secures the boat’s controls. “That woman just tried to murder your wife.”
“That woman is the last connection I have to Elena, and I promised to protect her.” I look at Maya, who nods despite her condition.
I dive back into the freezing water and swim toward the pier where Katarina disappeared, fighting against the cold that’s already affecting my coordination. The concrete support offers handholds and sheltered areas where someone could survive the impact and initial submersion.
But when I search every hiding spot around the pier structure, I find nothing but debris from the shattered speedboat. Either Katarina sank after the crash, or she reached shore somewhere downstream while we focused on Maya’s rescue.
By the time I return to the pursuit boat, my core temperature has dropped enough to make climbing aboard a struggle that requires Vincent’s assistance. Maya watches through half-closed eyes as I collapse onto the deck beside her.
“Did you find her?” she asks.
“No. She’s either dead, or she escaped while we were distracted.” I wrap myself in the remaining emergency blanket while Vincent pilots us toward the South Street pier. “Though given her talent for survival and manipulation, I’m betting on escape.”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For making you choose between saving me and keeping your promise to Elena.” Maya’s voice grows weaker as shock and blood loss take their toll. “You shouldn’t have had to make that choice.”
“There was no choice to make. You’re my wife, my future, and the woman I love more than my life.” The words tumble out before I can stop them, carrying a truth I’ve been fighting since the moment we met. I watch Maya’s eyes widen despite her weakened state, and I realize this is the first time I’ve spoken those words aloud to anyone since Elena.
“I love you.” I need her to hear it through the chaos and cold and fear. “I love your defiance, your strength, even when you’re bleeding in my arms. I love that you threw yourself through awindow rather than accept captivity, and I love that you told me to save the woman who tried to kill you.”
I squeeze her hand, feeling how cold her fingers are, and how fragile she seems in this moment despite being the strongest person I know. “Elena would understand why I chose you. She’d understand that some loves are worth breaking promises for and risking everything for. She’d want me to choose the woman who brought me back to life over the ghost of what we used to have.”
Maya’s lips part as if she wants to respond, but her strength is fading fast. I lean closer to press my forehead against hers. “Stay with me, Piccola. I just found the courage to tell you I love you; don’t you dare leave me now.”
The ambulance waits at the pier with paramedics who immediately take over Maya’s care the moment we dock. They work to stabilize her condition before transport, checking vital signs and establishing IV access while preparing her for emergency surgery, while I watch on, feeling more helpless than I have since Elena’s death.
“Gunshot wound to the right shoulder, significant blood loss, and hypothermia from submersion in the East River,” the lead paramedic reports to his partner. “We need to move fast.”
I climb into the ambulance beside Maya as they load her stretcher, ignoring the paramedic’s protests about space limitations and protocol. Nobody will separate me from my wife until I know she will survive.
As the ambulance races through Queens toward the hospital, I hold Maya’s hand and pray to whatever gods protect wives of criminals that I haven’t lost the only woman who’s ever made me believe in redemption.
Chapter 27
Maya
