Chapter nine
Nadia
Iwas regretting this mission more and more by the minute.
Not that I was sent on it, but the way I had gone about it.
Intel came in from some of Pop’s guys he has patrolling the south side.
There are people crashing at an abandoned steel factory, bringing in large shipments of cargo that Pop’s guys say are weapons.
Pop asked me to get in and do a little reconnaissance.
Tasked me to find out who they are, what they’re doing, and how to get them the hell out of here.
He knew I was the only one capable of doing just that.
Until now, my plan was working fine. I’ve combed the whole place, cataloging every single face.
It’s a ten-man operation. Each of these bastards has an Ionic column tattooed on their neck, with an olive wreath on top.
I know exactly who they are, and from eavesdropping on a couple of conversations and going through some paperwork I found in the second-floor office, they wanna reopen the steel factory and use it as a cover for their operation.
Alone, there’s not much I can do. I could blow up the place, something I already plan on advising Pop to do because that’s sure to send them packing.
But I need to know more. It can’t be a coincidence that these men are here in Stonebridge. I need to know why and who sent them.
Only, I can’t right now since I’m trapped crouching behind a crate on the main floor where all ten men have just gathered.
There are two exits: the front door that they’re blocking, and the emergency exit, which will cause the alarm to go off and result in them gunning me down.
These idiots aren’t leaving anytime soon, and I need to send Pop a signal that I’m fine by sunrise or he’s coming here himself. Wholly unprepared for what’s waiting.
“Fancy seeing you here.” My spine stiffens, reaching for the gun tucked into the back of my jeans, but hands are there to grab me.
“Easy, sweetheart. I’m not gonna hurt you.” He releases me.
“Not yet.” He grins when I turn and face him.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I push him, but the brute doesn’t move.
“Same thing as you, I’m guessin’.” He matches my stance.
“How you plan on getting outta this one, Slade?”
“Working on it.” I grit, turning to observe the sudden meeting. An idea comes to mind.
“Actually, I know exactly how I’m getting out of here.”
— RIVEN —
Before I can stop her, Nadia pulls out her gun and shoots three of the guys dead in rapid succession.
She pivots on her toes, running past me and towards the emergency exit just as the gunshots begin.
Grabbing my own gun, I manage to kill another two men when their bullets halt, then I’m running after her.
Now she’s done it. I’m gonna fucking strangle her.
I’m pissed as I watch her grab a rifle and ammo, not once breaking her stride.
She manages to get out, and I’m only a few paces behind her when the gunshots go off again.
A split second sooner, I would’ve been hit.
She races through the night, towards where her car is hidden.
I saw it as soon as I got here; that’s how I knew she’d be inside.
As she goes to open the driver’s side door, I’m there, slamming it back shut.
“Get out of my way.” She sneers when I get between her and the car.
“Not until-” I catch sight of the guy behind her. Pistol raised, finger moving to the trigger.
That just won’t do.
Seizing her shoulders, I twist her around just in time for the bullet to hit me. Her shocked brown eyes meet mine.
“What the fuck did you do?” She murmurs.
I don’t know; I want to tell her, but my knees hit the ground, and everything becomes blurry.
“Riven!”
I hear someone shout, but my eyes close. The next time I open them, she’s there, rifle in her hands aimed at her enemies. The shooting stops, and then warm hands are prodding at me.
“Hey, open your eyes. You gotta help me here.” She demands.
“Goddamnit.”
_____
“Can you hear me?” My eyes open and she’s there, holding my head up by the roots of my hair.
“What happened?” I ask groggily.
“After you passed out, I managed to kill the remaining five men. Then I dragged your heavy ass into my car and brought you here.” She makes a fleeting gesture before moving to the table perched next to her.
“Where exactly is here?” I look around, noting we’re in some sort of cabin and my shirt is missing. There’s a towel pressed to my shoulder that’s soaked with blood. My blood.
Because I just took a bullet for Nadia Slade.
“LBC safehouse, though I guess it’s compromised now.” She explains, pouring alcohol onto gauze and lifting the towel.
“The bullet went right through. I managed to stop the bleeding at the exit point with those two stitches and left the entry wound open and bandaged. That way it can be drained if it becomes infected, though I’ve been changing the gauze and monitoring it closely.
It should be fine. I just have to clean them again. ” She hovers the gauze over my skin.
“This will sting a little.” She presses it to the stitches, but I don’t react, so she continues.
I don’t feel the pain. Not from the bullet nor from the alcohol. I just watch her. She’s being as gentle as possible, a harsh contrast to the clinical look on her face.
“Why didn’t you leave?” I ask, making her pause her ministrations.
“I don’t need your blood on my hands. It would only cause me more problems in the long run.” She answers practically. Because that’s Nadia Slade. She doesn’t do anything reckless. She’s logical. Detached. She doesn’t do anything without reason. She doesn’t go off saving her enemies.
So, why did she? Her words say strategy, but her actions contradict her. I can’t reconcile that.
I’m feeling… I don’t fucking know. I’m confused and overwhelmed, my mind not able to process this shit. She’s my enemy. Made that fucking clear when she threw me to the wolves when she took the first shot and left me to deal with it.
Then, I go and take the bullet that had her name written on it.
Why did I do that? But why did she save me?
She could’ve left me to bleed out, left me to them, left me for dead like she planned to do in the first place.
And she brought me here. Somewhere a Phantom like me shouldn’t even know about.
She’s… caring for me. Tending to a wound that she caused in the first place.
This… none of this makes any fucking sense.
The fact that I don’t understand any of this? It makes me agitated.
So fucking disoriented, but so fucking frustrated that I pull away from her and jump to my feet in a hurry, my breathing becoming hard and uneven.
“Riven, what’s-”
“You left me.” My voice betrays my confusion.
“I got you out.” She crosses her arms, readying herself for a fight. She wants a fight? She’s got one.
“You. Ran.” I glare.
Truthfully, I don’t give a shit that she ran.
I’m spiraling. Questions spin around in my head like a goddamn tornado that won’t die.
Why did I step in front of that bullet? Why did she come back?
Why is she touching me like this? Playing nurse when she could’ve dumped my body off somewhere and saved herself the trouble.
“Yeah, I did.” She comes closer, bandage in hand.
“Now would you let me-” I grab her wrist, stopping her from whatever she was trying to do. Help me? Steady me? I don’t fucking know.
“Stop acting like this.” I sneer.
“Like what?” She matches my vitriol.
“Like you care!”
Silence. My words obviously caught her off guard, but I didn’t expect them either. Because now, I’ve shown my hand. I’ve implied that I want her to care, but I don’t.
“I don’t care.” She looks me dead in the eyes and lies to me.
“Now hold still.” She orders. For once, I listen, letting her patch up my injuries.
“Done. You’re on your own now.” She pulls away from me, both physically and emotionally.
But she’s already left her mark on me. I can’t get it, her, out of my head.
The way her hands felt on me, her staying, what I said.
It irritates me to no end that I can’t understand myself , let alone an enigma like Nadia Slade.
I need to understand. There is one thing I fully understand, though. Everything has changed.