Chapter 22 - Adrian
Attending the party had been a fucking mistake, but it was the only way Adrian could get Lucien fucking Callaghan to agree to help out with finding the people after Rhiannon.
Still, an hour had already passed, and Adrian's frustration simmered beneath the surface, a storm threatening to break as he watched Rhiannon across the crowded room. She stood alone, lost in her thoughts, that familiar tension radiating from her.
She was fucking with him, and he'd thought they'd already realized that, but no. It was like all this time they'd spent together had been forgotten. The dates, dinner with his family, every time they'd slept together—made love to each other.
He knew he was spiraling, but he couldn't help it. Her beauty was undeniable; the gown she wore hugged her figure perfectly, and he could see the way the evening light caught in her hair, offering a soft halo around her. But it was the distance in her eyes every time they talked which unsettled him the most, and his heart twisted painfully at the thought.
The shooting range had been a breakthrough for her spirit, or so he had hoped. Yet here she was, back in her father's world, and it was as if she had locked herself away behind concrete walls once again. The men around her, fellow members of the mafia and family friends, were far too eager to admire her, their gazes lingering, making his blood boil. Couldn't they see she was his? Or that she was wearing his fucking ring on her finger?
"Ladies and gentlemen," her father began, his voice echoing across the room, commanding attention. "Tonight, we celebrate not only our partnership but also the strength of family." Adrian clenched his teeth. The man beside him wouldn't know the meaning of family if it bitch-slapped him across the face.
"Adrian, Mikhail, join me," her father said, gesturing for them to come forward as he continued his speech, proudly telling everyone about the alliances being formed. Adrian felt a surge of resentment rush through him—he wasn't an accessory to his father-in-law's plans; he was a partner, and Rhiannon was his.
Lucien was still speaking, and he tuned him out. It sounded like a load of bullshit, and it very likely was. Lucien might've known how to talk, but he was hiding secrets in his promises. The perfect fucking politician.
The party was meant to celebrate this new alliance and their role within it, the official party her peacocking father wanted, yet it felt twisted. Adrian wanted this occasion to empower her, to let her know she was cherished and needed, but the atmosphere was suffocating, and his patience was wearing thin.
Unable to shake off the anger bubbling inside him, he glanced back in Rhiannon's direction. She was surrounded by people, his people, yet she looked so alone, hugging one arm around her waist like her stomach was still bothering her.
Damn it , he thought, his fists clenching at his sides. Enough was enough. If she wouldn't allow him to break down her walls, maybe the solution was to push them aside forcefully. The thought of taking her into the bathroom, away from prying eyes, to ease the pent-up energy between them was tantalizing. He could almost feel her warmth beneath him, the intimacy they so desperately needed, an escape from the prying eyes of her family.
God, it'd been at least a week since he'd had her, and all he really needed right now was a hard, dirty fucking to get everything back to how it'd been. He couldn't help but wonder if she felt the same way when she stared at him with those sad, lonely eyes.
Adrian exhaled sharply, the heat of annoyance rising. This wasn't what he envisioned. Her father always had masterful timing, knowing how to steal the spotlight and keep Rhiannon just out of reach.
But as he started to push through the crowd to locate her, something in his periphery caught his attention. The sight stopped him cold.
In slow motion, he saw it—an unmistakable gleam of metal in the hands of one of the caterers, a gun pointed directly at Rhiannon. At his fucking wife. The ground seemed to shift beneath him, adrenaline racing through his veins in an instant. Instinct took over, and his body reacted faster than his mind could catch up.
"Rhiannon!" The roar escaped his throat, raw and primal. The world faded as he leaped into action, propelled by fear and rage.
He hurled himself toward the caterer, tackling him from behind just as the gun fired. The deafening sound echoed through the space, followed by gasps and screams, the room erupting into chaos. Adrian's weight slammed down on the assailant, twisting to wrest the weapon free as he shouted, "Someone take him down!"
His focus shifted in a heartbeat to Rhiannon. Time slowed as he could see her on the floor, crumpling against the polished tiles, a dark crimson spreading across her gown, stark against the elegance of the evening.
"Rhiannon!" He tore away from the caterer, leaving him to the capable hands of others now rushing to subdue the threat, but his focus never wavered from her. Panic crashed over him as he reached her side, kneeling in the pool of scarlet that fanned out around her.
"Baby, stay with me!" Adrian begged, his voice broken as he looked into her eyes, which were wide with shock. Fear clenched around his heart, and he tried desperately to maintain the presence of mind amidst the chaos surrounding them.
Her breath came out in shallow gasps, the pallor of her skin unmistakable. "Adrian…" Rhiannon's voice was barely a whisper, choked with pain and disbelief. Her eyes shimmered with tears, and in that moment, he could see beneath the fear—his beautiful, vibrant Rhiannon was still fighting, but she looked so fragile and fucking helpless.
"It's okay, you're okay. Help is coming," he promised, but as he looked around, the frantic movements of the party guests blurred into a cacophony of desperation. All he could focus on was her. "Just focus on me. Talk to me, Baby. Please."
"I… I can't…" She winced, her hand moving to her abdomen, fingers trembling as they found the site of her injury. A wail of distraught escaped her as she prodded the wound. "Baby," she sobbed, her expression paling as she repeated the word, her voice growing more and more faint in his ears. Her eyes were wide and urgent as they turned to him. "My… Baby…"
And fuck, it really did sound like she was trying to tell him something. "No, no, no." Adrian shook his head, panic flooding over him as his heart raced, each tick of time breathing new dread into the moment. He quickly scanned her body, trying to assess the damage. "You're going to be alright. I need you to stay strong, okay? You're the strongest person I know."
As if sensing the weight of his words, she nodded weakly, but her eyes conveyed her fear. The pounding in her chest echoed the scattered chaos of the party, and they soon became a world separate from everything else, collapsing around them with desperation.
"Just hold on for me. I'm right here." He squeezed her hand, feeling the warmth begin to fade from her fingers. "You're going to be okay. I'm here, and I won't leave you."
Another scream echoed through the room, punctuated by distant sirens approaching. The paramedics were on their way, but he knew that time felt relentless in moments like this. He longed to wrap her in his arms and whisk her away from the madness, but instead, he was confined to the scene, helpless and terrified.
He could hear her ragged breaths, each one more labored than the last. A sense of dread loomed over him as he replayed their last moments together—their shared laughter, the tender moments at the shooting range—and now all of that was threatened.
"Adrian, please…" Rhiannon's voice faltered again, drawing him back to her, the faint echo of fear cutting through his thoughts. "I—I think I'm losing… Baby…My, Baby."
In all his panic, he only thought she was talking to him. It never occurred once, as he gripped her, that she could be talking about something else.
Panic gripped him like a vice, clawing at his composure. "Rhiannon, focus on me. You're not losing anything. Look at me! Just look at me!"
He cupped her face, his thumbs brushing gently over her cheeks, trying to draw her into the moment with him. "Stay with me, Love. Just a little longer; help is coming. You can do this."
"No," she pounded a weak fist against his chest. "Baby! Adrian," she shouted with a cracking voice. "My baby…Oh god… my baby…"
The words echoed in his mind. Baby. Her baby. Not him. Her baby—their baby.
Adrian could hardly breathe. "Rhiannon, are you pregnant?"
Her nod was sluggish, and her eyes fluttered as she struggled to stay with him, and that resolve he had seen in her earlier began to diminish beneath the weight of her foggy pain. "I'm so sorry," she sobbed, the only words that came out clearly, making his heart lurch in his chest.
Panicking, he whispered fiercely, emotion flooding through every word. "You can't leave me. We have so much left to do together. You're going to be a fantastic mother; you're going to show our child everything amazing about this world. You can't give up now. I need you—I can't lose you."
With a final shuddering breath, her eyes drifted closed, and it felt as if the walls were closing in on him. Adrian's heart thundered in his chest, and he felt an overwhelming surge of desperation. He couldn't let her go—he wouldn't let anyone take her from him.
The sirens finally blared closer, the sound merging into the chaos of the night, and the paramedics rushed in. Adrian quickly pulled back, allowing the emergency team room to operate, but his hand never left hers, and he refused to let the fear envelop him.
"Stay with me, Rhiannon," he urged again, watching as the paramedics began assessing her injury, their movements swift and efficient. "Help is here, and you're going to be alright."
"Can you hear me?" one of the medics asked, checking Rhiannon's pulse. Adrian's heart raced, but he kept his gaze locked on Rhiannon's face, willing her to respond.
Gradually, the world swirled back into focus; adults moved like shadows around them, and he could feel the pulse and pressure of the room returning, but all he could hear was Rhiannon's steadying breath, the sound laced with fragility.
"Don't close your eyes. You stay with me. I promise I'll do everything to keep you safe," he said, his voice firm despite the tremors of fear clawing at his throat.
And just as his world felt like it was crumbling, Rhiannon stopped breathing.