Chapter 34 Sera
Sera
I wake to voices.
Everything hurts. My head is pounding. My body feels heavy, like someone filled my veins with lead. My stomach aches. The baby is moving, kicking frantically, and I want to comfort him, but I can't move my arms.
Can't move anything.
The drug. Whatever Gabe gave me, or rather, had me inject into myself, it didn't just knock me out, but also, made me feel like I'm trying to think through quicksand.
I try to open my eyes. They feel sticky and weighted, but I force them open as best I can, blinking against harsh fluorescent light.
Where am I?
The ceiling is familiar. Old tin panels. Water stains in the corners. I know this ceiling. The smell of leather, old paper, and ink invades my nostrils, and I feel my senses starting to fire up.
I turn my head slowly, ignoring the pain in my neck.
There are shelves and shelves of books. A worn wooden counter that holds an old till and paper receipts.
The bookstore.
I'm in the bookstore.
My bookstore. The one where I worked. Where I restored manuscripts and dreamed about curator positions and lived a life that feels like it belonged to someone else.
What the fuck? Why would Gabe bring me here?
"—not my problem anymore."
The voice is unfamiliar. Male. Cold. Professional. Twinged with an accent I can't place. And yet, there's something oddly familiar about it. I can't place it, but I know that I know it.
I try to sit up, but my body won't cooperate. I'm on the floor, lying on my side, my pregnant belly pressed against the hardwood. Everything is sore. My shoulder. My ribs. My back.
I'm not surprised. Leo mostly shielded me, but I had just been in an explosion.
Shit.
The explosion. Leo.
I shiver. He'd been bleeding horribly when I left him. I bite my lips hard to keep from whimpering at the thought that no one found him, that he's dead.
"What the fuck do you mean it's not your problem?" That's Gabe. Angry. Desperate. "You said you'd help me. You said if I paid you—"
"I said I'd provide the extraction. I did. You have your sister. My job is done."
I force myself to move, slowly, and I manage to push myself up onto my elbows, then into a sitting position against one of the bookshelves.
My vision swims, and I feel like I'm going to vomit. My stomach clenches, and I breathe through the pain.
I need to focus. I need to escape, and I can't do that if I'm laying prone on the floor.
Blinking, I glance towards the counter, surprised to see Gabe and a man whose back is to me. He's tall and blonde, but I can't recognize him from the back.
Instead, I focus on Gabe. He looks like shit. The stress of things has finally caught up with him. Good.
The other man turns slightly, and I gasp before I can stop myself.
The man from the store.
Artem.
"She's awake," he says calmly.
Gabe spins around. "Sera—"
"Don't." I try to sound strong, but I'm hoarse. "Don't come near me."
I try to scramble back as the other man comes closer.
There's something calculating in his gaze. Clinical. Like he's assessing a problem.
"I suppose congratulations are in order, Mrs. Nero."
"Who are you?" I sneer.
He doesn't answer. "I apologize for your situation. Truly. You seem like a kind woman. This is... unfortunate."
"Unfortunate?" My laugh comes out bitter. "You helped kidnap me."
"I provided a service to your brother. What he does with that service is his concern, not mine." He glances at Gabe. "Though I would suggest you reconsider your plan. Alexei Morozov is already sniffing around. And from what I understand, he and your brother-in-law have formed an alliance."
My heart stutters. "Adrian and Alexei?"
"Interesting, isn't it? Two enemies working together. All because of you." Artem's eyes return to me. To my stomach. "You're quite pregnant."
"No shit."
He smiles at me, but it's sad. I feel a bit of pity for him, but it disappears as I remember he's partially the reason I'm here. He looks at Gabe. "This is your show now. Alexei is out of his hiding place, which is what I needed. My business here is concluded."
"Wait." Gabe moves toward him. "You can't just leave. What am I supposed to do?"
"That's not my concern." Artem's voice is flat. "Though if you want my advice, cut your losses. Kill her. Disappear. You're not going to get money from Adrian Nero. And you're certainly not going to survive him if he gets ahold of you."
Kill her.
The words hang in the air.
Gabe looks at me. Then back at Artem. "She's my sister."
"That hasn't mattered before." Artem moves toward the door. He pauses, looking back at me one last time. "I'm sorry. For what it's worth, you deserved better than this." There's a haunted look in his eyes, but before I can say anything, he's gone.
The door closes behind him with a soft click.
Leaving me alone with Gabe.
"Gabe." I try to keep my voice calm. Steady. "You need to let me go."
"I can't." He's pacing again. Hands in his hair. Wild-eyed. "You don't understand. Adrian will kill me. The Morozovs will kill me. The feds will throw me in prison. I'm fucked, Sera. I'm completely fucked."
"So let me go. I'll talk to Adrian. I'll tell him—"
"Tell him what? That I kidnapped his pregnant wife? That I drugged you? That I blew up his house?" His laugh is manic. "He's going to kill me anyway. At least this way, I have leverage. I can try to survive."
"I'm not leverage." I press my hand to my stomach. The baby is still moving. Still alive. Thank God. "I'm your sister. I'm carrying your nephew. You can't—"
He stops pacing. Looks at me with something like desperation. "I just need Adrian to pay. To give me money so I can disappear. Start over somewhere they can't find me."
"He won't do that," I say. "He's not going to let you blackmail him."
"He will. For you. For his precious heir." Gabe crouches down in front of me. "He'll pay. He has to. And if he doesn't—"
"If he doesn't, what?" My voice hardens. "You'll kill me? Kill your nephew?"
"If I have to." He swallows. "Adrian is in love with you. Your death would ruin him."
I stare at him. At this stranger wearing my brother's face.
"You won't," I say quietly. "You don't have it in you."
His face twists. "You think I won't?"
"I know you won't. You're a coward, Gabe. You always have been. You gamble and steal and run away when things get hard. But you're not a killer."
Something in his expression shifts, and I worry I've pushed him too far. But shit, I am pissed.
"You think I'm weak?" His voice drops. "You think I won't hurt you?"
I cringe.
"Gabe—"
He moves faster than I expect. His hand grabs my arm, yanking me forward. I cry out as pain shoots through my shoulder.
Then I feel it.
Cold metal against my ear.
"See?" His voice is right next to my head. Shaking. Unhinged. "I'll hurt you. I'll fucking hurt you if I have to."
The pain is sudden and white-hot.
He's cutting me.
The knife slices through my earlobe. Through flesh and cartilage. I feel it separate. Feel blood run hot down my neck.
I scream.
The pain is nothing compared to the terror. To the realization that my brother just mutilated me.
That he's capable of this.
That he might actually kill me.
"See?" He's yelling now. "See? I'll hurt you! I'll do whatever I have to!"
I'm sobbing. Blood is everywhere. Running down my neck. Soaking into my shirt.
And then I feel it.
Different from the blood. Different from the pain.
Warmth between my legs. Wetness. Spreading.
No.
Oh no.
I look down.
My pants are soaked. Water is pooling beneath me on the hardwood floor.
My water just broke.
I look up at Gabe. Our eyes lock.
His face goes white.
"Sera—"
Labor.
I'm in labor.
Thirty-three weeks. Too early. Too dangerous.
I'm in labor in a bookstore, with my psychotic brother who just cut off my ear.
The baby is coming.
And I'm going to die here.