Page 4 of Thorns of Lust
More commotion. The sounds of a struggle and shouting. More voices.
Was Adrian here? Instantly images of his dead eyes flooded my brain. Blood trickled down the corner of the mouth I used to kiss. The taste of copper flooded my mouth.
Clammy, cold skin under my fingertips. The cold kiss of death.
“Breathe.” A scream. Mine. Maybe? I wasn’t sure. My mouth on Adrian’s.
One. Two. Three. Air into his lungs. One. Two. Three.
An explosion. Loud. The earth shook.
Everything was fuzzy. My chest squeezed, a sob choking my throat. Yet, nothing came out.
But I heard the screams piercing my brain. I heard the cries. I tasted the blood.
I felt the loss.
No, Adrian wasn’t here. He was gone. I knew it deep down in my soul. In my heart. And it fucking hurt like hell. It felt like a bullet lodged itself in my lungs and refused to ease up. It hurt to breathe. An ache swelling inside of me, until it drowned me.
“I’ll find you again,” I murmured.
Or maybe my brain whispered the words. I wasn’t sure. I couldn’t feel my mouth move. Every single inch of me was numb.
“She’s awake.” The same deep voice shouted. A pair of hands gripped my shoulders. “Tatiana, look at me.” I followed the voice but my eyes couldn’t focus. My head ached. Even my brain hurt. “Look at me,moya luna.”
Moya luna.I’d heard that before. The words were buried deep in the fog. Why can’t I get my brain to work?
I turned my head in the direction of the voice. There was nobody there. I blinked, then blinked again. The light was too bright. I couldn’t see anyone.
“A bad dream,” I said as a sob erupted from my lips. I couldn’t hear it, nor the words. But I felt them. In the marrow of my bones, right along with a fear that whispered of nightmares.
I licked my lips and tasted blood.
Eyes without any light in them stared at me. My husband’s eyes.He’s gone, the nightmare whispered. It sent a soul-shattering ache through every inch of me. I couldn’t handle it. I needed more numbness.
More words shouted. I couldn’t hear nor understand them. I was too far inside my head where despair consumed me. Adrian’s dead eyes. Blood covering the lips that used to kiss me.
The lips that used to say kind words to me. The same lips that used to put bullies in their place. The same lips that called me ‘pipsqueak’ when I was a little girl.
“Adrian!” I screamed, my heart shattering, a nightmare consuming me.
My body started to shake. My teeth chattered. My soul split. The sound of glass breaking and metal clanking against the floor. Hands on me.
Then a prick in my flesh and the world ceased to exist again.
TWO
KONSTANTIN
You have to prepare for the worst.
I couldn’t process those words. I refused to accept them. I had lost my shit on the doctors more than once over the last twenty-four hours. I had paid them all off, but it was only a matter of time before her brothers learned of this accident.
Doctors here understood the risks if they slipped my name to them. I wouldn’t hesitate to use their families to make them pay. And my wrath wasn’t a nice thing to bear. But that wouldn’t be necessary because they knew to keep this secret for me.
Now, they just had to save Tatiana and all would be well with the world.
Her forehead needed stitches, as well as her shoulder and forearm, but fortunately she didn’t have any internal injuries. She endured a head injury that might have caused some brain damage. But she has been in and out of consciousness, and until she was fully conscious, the extent of the damage couldn’t be determined.
