Page 78 of Sworn to My Heart
Her breath is so faint, I’m not sure if it’s real.
Gunfire outside snaps me back. I tear off my shirt, using it to staunch the bleeding from her shoulders.
With Alin in my arms, Abert covering us, we move toward the waiting car. Mariano approaches from the other side of the building.
“Did you find Ali...?” he starts to ask, his voice trailing off as he sees Alin’s limp form in my arms.
“Is she... still...?” he asks, choking on his words, unable to find the right ones. “She’s fine!” I snap back angrily.
She has to be okay. We’ll get to the safe house, and the family doctor will take care of her. No matter what, she’s not a girl who gives up easily. She’s a fighter.
Abert gets behind the wheel, Mariano in the front seat besidehim, and I sit in the back, holding Alin’s body. Every passing minute feels more frightening than the last. The hum of the engine and the blurred lights outside the window seem like a distant reality as I focus on her face.
She’s pale and still losing a lot of blood. I hold the fabric to her wounds, but it isn’t enough.
“Drive faster!” I shout, and Abert steps on the gas, merging onto the main road and overtaking every car in our way. The cityscape outside rushes past, a chaotic blur of lights and shadows. The damp, metallic smell of blood mixes with the leather of the seats, almost suffocating in the confined space.
I can’t lose her. It took me so long to realize she’s become an inseparable part of me, and just when everything fell into place, she’s slipping away. The thought gnaws at me, threatening to break my focus. I tighten my fists around the makeshift bandages I tied on her shoulders, pulling them tighter to create more pressure on the bleeding during the ride. The texture of the cloth against my skin feels like sandpaper, a constant reminder of her fragility despite her powers.
My hands are already shaking from the sustained effort by the time we arrive at the safe house. The imposing structure looms ahead, its cold, gray walls not helping to calm my nerves.
The doctor is waiting for us at the entrance with two men carrying a stretcher toward the car. The faint smell of antiseptic wafting in the air from inside the building as we get out of the car.
They help me lay her down as the doctor quickly checks her vitals.
“She’s lost a lot of blood; she’s very weak. I’ll do everything I can to save her,” he says, moving inside the building, the men following him, carrying Alin on the stretcher.
I slam my fist hard against the jeep door. “I want Stas, now!” Ishout into the air, my voice echoing off the concrete walls.
“We’ll handle it. Stay here with Alin,” Mariano promises, approaching me and placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. The weight of his hand is grounding, yet it does nothing to quell the fire raging inside me.
My furious gaze meets his eyes, and he takes a step back. “I can’t help her here, but I can do what I do best—send those bastards straight to Hell,” I say, not waiting for a response, and climb into the driver’s seat, calling Pedro.
Before I can pull out of the parking lot, Abert and Mariano quickly jump into the back seat. The Russians time has come, and this time,I’m not sparing a single one of those filthy dogs.
“Did you find her?” Pedro’s voice comes over the phone speaker.
“We found her,” I confirm. “The family doctor is treating her now. I need you to get to the safe house and guard her. No one can find out about her. No one goes in or out except for the family.” I instruct Pedro, and he agrees.
“Bring Cora with you too, in case Alin wakes up,” Mariano adds from the back before Pedro hangs up.
“You’re so whipped,” I throw in Mariano’s direction, but I know it’s really the best thing for Alin to see Cora first when she wakes up.She will wake up.
The thought of her gem like eyes opening again, filled with that defiant shine, keeps me going.
“Did I miss something? They can’t find out what?” Abert asks from the back, and Mariano silences him.
“You’re asking too many questions lately. There are things you don’t need to know,” I say, looking at him through the rearview mirror. I’m sure he’s not used to me hiding things from him, but he’ll have to learn to deal with it.
As I focus on the road, the image of Alin’s bleeding body on the ground is continuing to burn in my chest. My hands grip the steering wheel tightly as I think about what I’ll do to that Russian son of a bitch when I catch him. The road ahead is a blur, my focus narrowing to a single thought—revenge.
All of the damn Russians will be dead, even if it’s the last thing I do!
The killing spree has begun, Stas.
There’s nowhere for you to run.
Alin
