Page 75 of Sapphire Tears

“Bury them on the property and inform their families. As for the bastards who came into my home… set them on fire and feed the ashes to the fucking birds.”

Mikhail nods once more, then turns to do my bidding.

Which leaves me standing there with blood in my hands, fury in my chest, and nothing but confusion in my head.

31

KOLYA

I can feel the palpitations in my eardrums. It feels almost like I’m counting down to something.

Ba-boom.

Three.

Ba-boom.

Two.

Ba-boom.

One…

And then the door opens and I see Sara standing there with her back to me. She turns at the sound of the door, revealing June, who’s sitting on a white chaise sofa with a glass of water in her hand.

Her eyes are tight with worry, but when they fall on me, the worry gives way to relief.

“Kolya!” she says, jerking to her feet and spilling water on the patterned carpet. “Oh, thank God. Oh, thank God. Oh, thank God…”

Sara gives me a strained smile, then her gaze falls to the front of my shirt. The blood is soaking through the fresh garment despite my half-assed attempt at bandaging it on the way over.

“You idiot!” she scolds, rushing towards me. “What happened?”

“Y-you’ve been shot?” June exclaims. It’s like she can’t believe that I’m bleeding at all. Like she didn’t know I was capable of it. It would be amusing if I wasn’t about to pass out from the pain.

Seeing June has helped me calm down a little. But it’s also zapped me of all my energy. It’s like I had only enough strength to get to her. And now that I know she’s alright, I can stop trying so hard to stay on my feet.

“I’m gonna need your services, Doc,” I croak to Sara.

“Jesus,” she mutters, draping my right arm around her neck. “Come on, let’s get you to the bed.”

“The sofa’s fine,” I say through gritted teeth, just before I collapse onto it so hard the springs groan in protest.

I’m ruining what is no doubt a very expensive piece of furniture with what is no doubt a very substantial amount of blood, but I can’t find it in me to give a damn. Hell, I can barely find it in me to stay conscious. When I do manage to pry my eyes open again, both Sara and June are hovering over me.

“Knox!” Sara calls to my man standing at attention at the door. “I need some supplies. Go down to hotel reception and get everything they have.”

“Right away, ma’am,” Knox says. A moment later, I hear the door click behind him.

I keep my gaze fixed on June. She’s kneeling by the sofa, her hands floating over my skin without ever actually making contact. I remind myself we’re in the middle of a fight, but I can’t for the life of me remember what it was about.

“You’ve been shot three times,” Sara determines as she starts unbuttoning my shirt. “You’re losing your touch.”

“It was me against thirty for most of the battle,” I snap back. “It’s a miracle I walked out of there alive.”

“Sara,” June says, interrupting abruptly, “let me.”

Sara falls back and June continues unbuttoning my shirt. She pushes it apart, exposing the bullet wound to my stomach.

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