Chapter 26 Alina
ALINA
Idon’t remember the ride to the hospital.
One second, I was being carried out of the house, and a blink later, we were there, and Preacher was guiding me through the sliding doors like I was half-conscious.
I hadn’t seen Sergei. They put him in the other truck with Goose and two other men I didn’t recognize, and they sped off before I had a chance to see him.
I had no idea how he was doing, but in my heart, I knew it wasn’t good. I’d seen the way he’d dropped to the floor, and the way blood pooled around him. I knew he needed help, and God, how I wanted to give it to him.
I wanted to crawl to him, cover his body with mine, and press my hands to his wounds. I wanted to whisper his name and tell him I loved him, and maybe then he would know he wasn’t alone. Maybe then, he wouldn’t go.
I tried to tear myself from those damn cuffs. I tugged and twisted until my wrists burned and my shoulders throbbed. I didn’t care. I kept pulling. I pulled until my wrists were wet with blood, but the cuffs wouldn’t budge.
I cried and pleaded, but my prayers went unanswered.
I’d felt helpless before, but never like this.
No beating or kidnapping or even being drugged and hung up for show could compare to seeing Sergei suffer and not being able to get to him.
I wished I could’ve traded places with him.
I would’ve taken the blade. I would’ve let the light go from my eyes if it meant keeping it in his.
But fate had other plans, and now, all I could do was stand there and pray that someone would come. I watched his body grow limp. I heard his weak voice tell me he was there, but I could see it in his eyes. He was slipping away, and a piece of me was slipping away with him.
I was pulled from my thoughts when I heard Preacher announce, “We’re here for Sergei Volkov.”
“He was taken back to surgery,” the nurse answered coldly. “We will let you know as soon as we hear something.”
I was still dazed and barely made out Preacher’s words to me when he insisted I get checked out.
I refused. I was too worried about Sergei to think about anything else.
I sat down, and I vaguely remember someone asking me questions.
I might’ve answered. I wasn’t sure. Everything was such a blur that I couldn’t remember much of anything.
Preacher came over and sat down next to me. “How you holding up?”
I looked at him, and all I could do was just nod.
“Sent Goose to get you some clothes.”
I nodded again.
“They’re working on him.” He placed his hand on my knee. “He lost a lot of blood, but they’re doing what they can.”
They’re doing what they can.
Not that he was going to be fine.
Not that he will pull through this.
My stomach twisted, and I pressed my fingernails into my palms, hoping the bite against my flesh would keep my tears from falling. “You think he’ll…”
“I don’t know.” He grimaced before saying, “He’s a strong kid. Most wouldn’t have made it this far.”
“So, there’s hope?”
“There’s always hope, but even if he makes it through surgery, he’s got a hell of a fight ahead of him.”
I looked over to the doors and wished desperately that someone would come tell us that he was okay. But no one came. Panic started to creep in as I muttered, “He came for me.”
“Of course he did.” Preacher gave my knee a light pat. “He’s a man who takes care of his own.”
“I don’t want to lose him.”
Preacher gave me a slight nod. “I know you don’t, and you’re not alone in that.”
The pressure in my chest became unbearable.
It was like something inside of me was splintering apart, and once again, I had to fight the urge to cry.
He must’ve sensed that I was seconds from breaking, because his expression softened.
“They’ll tell us something soon. You just gotta hold on and keep the faith. ”
I nodded even though I wasn’t sure I could keep that promise. I didn’t think I could stand it if Sergei didn’t pull through this. Not after everything. Not after he saved me and made me think life was actually worth living. Not after he’d made me fall in love with him.
I just couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing his handsome face again.
Never feeling his hands on me or his body against mine.
Never feeling truly safe again. He had to be okay.
He just had to be. But as the minutes dragged on, the doubts started to creep in and whisper things I couldn’t let myself believe.
I needed to distract myself, so I leaned a little closer and whispered, “Thank you.”
“For?”
“Saving us.” It was all still pretty foggy, but I hadn’t forgotten how they all stormed inside that house. They’d put their lives on the line to help us, and they’d done it without question. “I don’t know what would’ve happened if you…”
“Don’t mention it.”
“You’ll have to thank Skid for me.” My breath caught as I started, “He was really sweet to me and… it meant a lot.”
“I’ll be sure to let him know.”
“I would appreciate that.” I took a moment to compose myself before asking, “What about those men… the ones Sergei…”
Preacher didn’t blink. “Handled.”
That was all he said. No details. No explanation.
Just one simple word, and I believed him. But I needed more. “And the others? The women in the basement. What will happen to them?”
“They’ll be handled, too.”
“Handled how?” I pushed.
“Handled.”
“Oh, God. Please tell me you aren’t going to keep them or sell them or do what they were going to do to them.”
“Not a chance.” Preacher’s expression darkened, and I feared I’d offended him until he said, “Those girls will be cared for and sent wherever they wanna go, and if they don’t have a place, we’ll find them one. You have my word on that.”
“That’s good. Thank you.” I had seen the doors in the basement, but I’d never actually seen anyone or even heard them. “How many were there?”
“Found eight so far.”
“Oh, God. How is that possible?”
“It was bad, but we got them covered.”
The knot in my stomach loosened, but it was short-lived. Still trying to process all that had gone on, my pulse started to race, and suddenly I looked at Preacher and said, “Bog.”
“What about him?”
“I saw him.” I swallowed before adding, “When they took me, I saw him. He was on the floor by the elevator. I’m not sure, but I think they killed him.”
“I’ll send a couple of the guys over to check it out.”
The words had barely left his mouth when the waiting room doors opened, and Viktor walked in with Nikolai and Tabitha. Preacher stood, and they all headed straight for us. Tabitha’s voice trembled as she asked, “Is there any news?”
“He’s in surgery.”
“Is he going to be okay?”
“I don’t know.” Preacher didn’t sugarcoat it. “It’s not looking good. He was unconscious when we brought him in… Lost a lot of blood.”
“Do you think he’ll pull through?”
“I don’t know, babe. It’s too hard to tell.”
Tabitha’s breath hitched, but she nodded, pressing her lips like she was fighting to keep it together. Seeing her struggle broke something inside of me, and this time, I didn’t fight the tears. I let them fall freely, and in a blink, I was sobbing into the palms of my hands.
I hadn’t even noticed that Viktor had come over until he slipped his arms around me, pulling me against his chest. “Hey, now. Enough of that. Sergei’s going to pull through this. He’s too fucking stubborn, too arrogant, too everything to just up and die on us.”
I nodded and did my best to force a smile. “I sure hope you’re right.”
“I am. You’ll see.”
Nikolai stepped over to us with his brows furrowed and his jaw tight. He’d been quiet since they walked in, but the concern was there. It was written all over his face. “I can’t believe those bastards did this to you. I’d fucking kill them if Sergei hadn’t beaten me to it.”
“Are you okay?” Tabitha asked, still standing beside Preacher.
I nodded, but it was a lie. I was far from okay.
She stepped over and hugged me, then whispered, “He’s going to be okay. I just know it.”
When she stepped back, Viktor gave me a look and said, “You’re a mess.”
“Thanks, Viktor.”
“I’m serious.” He looked around the room as he said, “We have to get you cleaned up.”
He stood and started out of the waiting room.
I called out to him, telling him that Preacher had someone bringing me some clothes, but he was already gone.
Nikolai and Tabitha came over, and each of them asked if I was okay.
They didn’t seem to ask out of necessity. Instead, they seemed to truly care.
Viktor returned with some clothes he’d bought from the gift shop, and Tabitha volunteered to give me a hand in cleaning myself up. I was in no position to turn her down, so I nodded and followed her to the bathroom.
Tabitha didn’t say a word at first. She simply turned on the faucet and started gathering paper towels. She slipped them under the water, then began wiping the blood from my arms and legs like it was the most natural thing in the world.
I didn’t realize my hands were trembling until she held one in her own and gently turned it over before continuing to wipe the blood away. When she got to the gash on my neck, she winced. She cleaned it the best she could before softly saying, “We need to change this shirt.”
I nodded, and she helped me with the buttons. I slipped it off, and the second she saw the other cuts, she sucked in a sharp breath. “What did they do to you?”
“I’m fine.”
I reached for the shirt Viktor had bought me and slipped it over my head.
She gave me a look, but she didn’t push.
Not yet. She kept wiping, careful and steady, until most of the blood was gone.
I slipped on the pants and slippers, and when I tossed the heels into the trash, something deep in my chest gave way.
“This was all my fault,” I choked, barely holding it together. “He’s in there fighting for his life because of me. If I hadn’t come here, if I’d gone somewhere else, then…”
“Don’t do that,” Tabitha interrupted. “None of this is your fault.”
“You didn’t see him, Tabitha. There was so much blood. He could die because of me.”
“You can think that all you want, but I’m here to tell you that Sergei Volkov doesn’t do what he doesn’t want to do,” she scoffed. “That boy has been strong-willed since the day he was born. Those men took you, and there was nothing on this earth that would’ve stopped him from going after them.”
“I hate this so much.”
“I hate it, too, but we will get through this. Sergei cares about you. More than he knows how to say just yet, but he cares. He proved that tonight.”
Her words were still sinking in when she added, “And I’ll tell you something else. He’d never forgive me for not making sure you were taken care of. So, please let someone take a look at those cuts.”
I could tell by the determined look in her eyes that she wasn’t going to give this up, so I nodded and said, “Okay. I will.”
She nodded like she’d already decided that was going to be my answer. “Good girl.”
She gave me a quick hug, and it hit me. I mattered to him, and that meant I mattered to them. That realization eased something inside of me. It wasn’t much. It was far from peace, but it was enough to breathe without feeling like I was about to break.
And for the first time that night, I didn’t feel so alone.