Chapter 21 #2
I pulled up Dimitri’s number. “You’re going to call Dimitri and tell him what’s going on and that we need people here. Can you do that?” I placed the phone in her hand, taking the weapon from her, checking the magazine. There was just enough to get by. “That’s his number.”
“Yes, of course.” The moment I placed my hand on the door, we both heard a sound. “That’s a code blue.”
Furious, I took a deep breath. “Stay right here. I mean it. Do not go out of this room. Can you do that for me?”
“Okay. But I’m a doctor on the floor.”
“Not tonight. Get into the bathroom. Make the call and stay hidden.”
Another sound and she seemed perplexed. “There’s another emergency. What is going on?”
“A goddamn smokescreen. I’ll be back.”
“You better.”
I gave her a harsh glare, pointing to the cracked door.
She did as I asked, although begrudgingly. Only after she was safely tucked away inside did I open the main door a crack, immediately noticing a team of hospital personnel running by with a cart.
More of the staff flew in the opposite direction. There was no sign of my men or anyone appearing suspicious. I stepped into the corridor, avoiding being run over by a nurse.
I moved across the hallway, scanning both sides.
A loud crash came from a room somewhere close.
Then a shout. What the hell? With the weapon in both hands, I stayed close to the wall, trying to keep my hospital room door in my sights as long as possible.
As usual, this was just another trap and if I had to guess, I’d say the two emergencies had been started to create chaos.
It was working.
More people were coming out of the woodwork, a few employees moving from room to room trying to calm the patients. I moved quickly, keeping the gun low as I looked for anyone I’d consider suspicious.
When the room was out of sight, I hissed, turning in a full circle. There were no personnel at the nurses’ station, legitimate situations ongoing, but I also sensed more confusion building.
I noticed another supply room, the door open in such a way to indicate something was blocking it. I found out why.
Both Dante and Cormac were down, Dante’s foot caught in the door. “Shit.” I moved in, crouching down, immediately searching for a pulse. Fuck. Cormac was dead, a clean slash crossing his throat. That meant the killer had gotten close.
Either one of Dimitri’s men had come for a shift change or hospital personnel had made an appearance the men believed they could trust. Either way, Cormac had lost his life because of me.
And the goddamn Ghost.
Fuck. The asshole had been one step ahead the entire time. That was going to change.
I grabbed their weapons, pulling Dante in to keep him safe.
“Don’t worry. I’ll get you some help. Stay with me.
” The last thing I’d want to need to tell Kazimir was that his brother-in-law, the man who’d helped keep his first son, Sasha safe while his wife endured the torture of her own father for several years had died on my watch.
Damn it.
Returning to the corridor, I headed down the hall just as a literal smokescreen hit the floor. Smoke filled the corridor, likely from a smoke bomb. Within seconds, it was tough to see anything.
I had to push my way through people, fighting my way to try to locate the bastard. Footsteps. I heard them everywhere. This was a goddamn nightmare.
Another crash and I snapped my head back to the direction where I’d come from. No. There was something wrong. Suddenly, the emergency lights popped on and several people were yelling.
“Clear the floor. Clear the floor!”
A suspected fire, which would create complete chaos. Which was exactly what the Ghost wanted.
For one reason.
Vivian.
Backing away, I turned and raced toward the room. The smoke was even thicker, making seeing more than a few inches in front impossible. I remained close to the wall, still slammed by people trying to get away. I had to cover my mouth and nose, my eyes stinging.
When I was finally close to the room, I heard a crash coming from inside. Prepared to fight, I smashed my way inside, thankful the smoke wasn’t as thick.
There were two men dressed in black. One had Vivian off the floor, trying to drag her to the door. She was fighting him, smashing her elbow into his chest.
As soon as the interior was breached, the second made the mistake of trying to blow my head off.
He was too close to Vivian. If the shots went awry, she could be killed.
Thank God, I hadn’t lost all sense of my training or my ability to react.
With a swift kick, I knocked the weapon from his hand, the gun flying across the room.
He wasn’t daunted, lunging at me while the other was still trying to drag Vivian from the room.
She yelped just as she managed to jerk free, tumbling forward with the man immediately closing in.
I punched the other one in the face, knocking him backwards. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed she grabbed the IV stand, swinging and making a direct contact across the assailant’s neck.
Neither assailant was stopped, both struggling to their feet. I swung around, pushing her to the side and taking a single shot. With the smoke now rolling in and my vision clouded, I was off by a few inches, catching him in the shoulder.
He was flung to the side, colliding with the bed. The melee grew even more violent, one of them managing to grab me around the throat from behind. He was strong, both were. And neither one of them was Mikhail. That didn’t mean he hadn’t developed his own army. He’d had a year to do so.
With Vivian’s sharp cry and the asshole managing to drag her to the door, I was finished with playing a nice guy.
“Fucking asshole,” the assailant blurted out through gritted teeth. The fucker had a distinctive accent, his voice loud enough to carry toward Vivian.
When the asshole punched me in the kidney, pain vibrated through every cell, digging deep into my bones. For a moment I was breathless. Until he pulled out a knife, doing his best to drag the blade from one side to the other. Hell, no.
I struggled for a few seconds, still weak but I had just enough strength in me to lean forward, tossing him over my shoulders. As soon as he was pitched to the floor, I didn’t waste another second, firing off two shots between his eyes.
A ragged growl left my throat as I snapped my head toward the second son of a bitch. I threw myself toward him, managing to grab him by the collar. Vivian was knocked into the door from the momentum, sliding to the floor.
He swung wildly, catching me in the jaw, but I was fully awake and present, pounding him in the gut twice before knocking him halfway across the room with the back of my weapon.
“Eeeerrrr!” My yell was primal and I lunged forward just as he lifted his weapon, prepared to fire.
“No!” Vivian screamed, an object hurtling through the air and smashing into the man’s arm.
He was completely knocked off guard. Before he had a chance to regroup, I threw two more punches, so angry I smashed his head against the wall several times.
Only when he was dazed did I drop him, standing over the bastard with my arm extended. “Ty vybral ne togo cheloveka dlya napadeniya. YA ne v nastroyenii.”
You picked the wrong man to attack. I’m not in the mood.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
I made certain the fucker wouldn’t move again before lowering my arm. Every muscle in my body was on fire and I was completely out of breath.
“Kirill.”
Vivian. Her voice was so small, so full of anxiety.
Spinning around, in two long strides I was crouched down and had her in my arms. “It’s okay, Milyy malysh. I’ve got you and no one is ever going to hurt you again.”
I only hoped I could make good on my promise.
Because it seemed as if all hell was breaking loose.
And the Ghost wouldn’t stop until he was finished destroying the entire family.
He could fucking try, but he wasn’t going to hurt my family. Not again. Not ever again.
* * *
There were a dozen vehicles in the driveway, a few soldiers guarding the exterior, anticipating a possible all-out war. While that was unlikely at this point, I took some comfort in counting the number of men with weapons. Word had already gotten out about the second attack.
“Are you sure this will be okay?” Vivian asked from beside me. She had a firm hold of my hand as if fearful of letting it go. She’d leaned forward, staring out the back passenger window. “I am considered the enemy. Right?”
“This is fine.” Dimitri looked over his shoulder at me from the front seat as he removed his seatbelt. After the shit had gone down, he could still find a way to grin. “You saved his life. Much to my chagrin.”
“Fuck off,” I hissed, trying to make some light of a terrible situation.
Yes, we were in a business that usually meant an early death, but to lose one of our own and in such a ridiculous way grated on all of us.
Me more than most. It had been my responsibility to care for the men in my employ. I’d failed.
And the person responsible would suffer.
Thankfully, Dante’s wound had been clean without hitting any major arteries or organs. Once again, the gorgeous doctor had put her skills to good use, remaining calm under duress when I’d been prepared to burn down the entire hospital.
As I glanced at her lovely face, seeing the single bruise under her eye was a constant reminder of the ones I’d put on her neck. My instinct had been to cause harm and not to protect.
That said something about my psyche.
I was a monster, just like she’d accused me of being. As much as I wanted her in my life, how could I protect her when I was comprised of a Jekyll and Hyde personality?
Vivian sensed my discord, narrowing her eyes and asking with her mouth only if I was okay. I squeezed her hand in response.