Page 131 of Midnight Sanctuary

But that changes now.

I don’t know how exactly it’s going to happen, but I know from the tips of my fingers all the way down to the marrow of my bones that Boris is not walking out of here alive.

Alyssa moans suddenly, her back arching as though she’s going into shock. I try to move forward but the cuffs hold me back.

“She’s in pain,” I growl. “Do something!”

“Oh, I’m planning to.” Boris smiles. “But it’s probably not what you’re hoping for.” Then he glances towards Grigory, who looks like he’s close to pissing his scrubs. “Get your ass over here and tell me what’s taking so long. I thought you induced her?”

Grigory shoots me a furtive glance before turning to Alyssa’s bed. “I did… but she’s too weak to push out the babies. And they’re too small for a natural delivery.”

Boris shrugs and pulls out a large blade with a gilded hilt. “Guess I’ll just have to cut them out of her stomach.”

Is this what it feels like to go mad? Because I feel as though my sanity is holding on by a fraying string right now. If he brings that blade any closer to her, there’s no telling what will happen.

“I swear to God, Boris, if you—”

BANG!

The gunshot comes out of nowhere. For a second, I actually believe that Boris has shot Alyssa in the head. Then the gun falls uselessly out of his hand as blood gushes from his arm.

“What the fuck…?” Sobakin gasps, looking down at his injured hand in pure disbelief.

Dominik rushes into the room with a combination of my men and his. Boris takes one look at Dominik and tries to make a grab for his gun. But he doesn’t reach it in time.

Grigory does.

Despite his pale face and his constant shivering, the man moves pretty fast for a traitorous coward. He’s only a foot from Boris as he raises the gun.

“Give it the fuck here!” Boris snarls. “Give it to—”

BANG!

He did it. Grigory actually pulled the trigger.

Boris flops to his back on the floor, his eyes wide with shock as blood blooms across his chest in ugly spurts. Dominik charges Grigory, taking him out with a punch to the face and ripping the gun out of his hands. Meanwhile, my men release the three of us from our cuffs.

The moment I’m free, I rush to Alyssa. Her eyes are fluttering half-open but there’s no light in them, no awareness.

“Alyssa,” I say desperately, grabbing her hand. She’s so sweaty it almost slips right out of my grip. “Alyssa, can you hear me?”

She doesn’t answer apart from a low moan rippling with pain.

“Uri, you want me to kill the bastard?” Dominik asks with his gun pointed at a whimpering Grigory.

“P-please,” Grigory begs from the floor. “I k-k-killed him for you…”

I place my hand on Alyssa’s forehead. She’s burning up. “You killed him because you knew it was over. You were trying to save your own skin.”

“Please d-d-don’t kill me…”

“I’m not planning to,” I say harshly.

Nikolai and Dimiv both look at me like I’m insane. I ignore them. “Get over here and do whatever you can to save her.Andthe babies. And remember that if one of them dies—so do you.”

Dominik hauls Grigory back to his feet and shoves him over to Alyssa’s bedside. His eyes scan her body hopelessly. “The babies need to be delivered s-soon,” he stammers. “But if they do, they’ll need machines to help them breathe. They’re too premature to survive on their own, outside of a fully functioning NICU.”

I glance towards Nikolai. “Get an SUV ready and call Emily. We’re moving Alyssa out.”

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