Page 67 of Kidnapped Bride

Vlad spun and fired behind us, snarling, "Get her out of here now," as Yakov slapped the garage door trigger, but the door wouldn't open. We had no power.

Kira bobbled limply in my arms as Yakov hefted the heavy roll-up door open and cold night air rushed in, cutting through the smoke and ash. The clean air felt like water in a desert as I dartedinto the night, trying to keep my eyes peeled for any more of Markin's men, but Yakov laid down suppressive fire as we ran, covering me.

When I got to Vlad's car, I yanked the passenger door open and eased Kira onto the seat as gently as I could. I buckled her in quickly, tilting her head to the side so the blood wouldn’t pool in her throat. Her face looked too pale, though I knew head wounds bled more than others, but I was concerned.

“Stay with me, baby,” I muttered, brushing a strand of hair from her forehead. “Just a little longer. I’ve got you.”

Then I climbed into the driver's seat and fired the car up. I punched the gas and the sedan shot forward. In the rearview mirror I caught muzzle flashes lighting up the garage entrance—Yakov and Vlad still fighting back hell so I could get clear.

But now my thoughts weren't on surviving this attack. They were on saving the woman I loved. Somehow over the past seven weeks, Kira had wormed her way into my heart, and now that she was there, she was mine. Markin had come to harm me and anything I cared about, and it looked like he had succeeded. But I'd die before I let him take her life.

I kept one hand locked on the wheel and dug my cracked phone out of my pocket with the other, hitting the speed dial for Dr. Keller. When he answered, I barely let him get a word in.

“Dr. Keller,” I said, “it’s Nikolai. I need you now."

"Nikolai?" he said, sounding half drugged.

"Meet me at the safe house near Central Park. Can you be there immediately?" I checked the rearview mirror, not seeing anyonefollowing, but as I raced away, I passed three fire trucks and a few cops headed that direction.

"Give me twenty minutes," he grumbled.

"Make it ten," I ordered, then punched theEnd Callbutton and dropped the phone.

My hand rested on Kira's knee and I squeezed it.

She had to survive. And it wasn't about whether or not her father wanted revenge anymore. He was the one who'd done this to her.

No, she had to survive because I needed her, and I hadn't realized how much so until I woke up on top of her and realized I might lose her.

"Hang on, baby, I'm getting help."

24

KIRA

A noise woke me up, a whirring, clicking noise that was too steady to be a bird on the window or the wind. I lay there for a moment realizing my entire body hurt and my head was throbbing. The dull ache in the back of my skull was new, but probably due to dehydration or something. However, the pain all over my body definitely wasn’t.

Listening for a second, I sucked in a deep breath and felt my chest tighten then relax as I rolled to my side and rubbed my eyes. But in bending my arm, I felt a pinch in my elbow and let my eyes blink open.

An IV protruded from my elbow, taped in place with several strands of medical tape, and an older man with a balding head and glasses perched on his nose sat next to the bed reading a book. When he saw me stir, he folded the book shut and set it on a nightstand, also situated next to the bed. But I didn’t recognize the man, or the nightstand, and the walls in this room, wherever I was, were a different color.

I startled, gasping and pushing myself up, but the man pressed his hand to my shoulder with a gentle touch. "Hey… shh, you're okay, sweetheart." He smiled, and his kind eyes narrowed in concern as he said, "I'm Doctor Edwin Keller, and you're safe here."

My eyes darted around the room behind him for a second. It was sunny, so at least midmorning or later, and it definitely wasn't a hospital. I figured I was at someone's home, or safe house, though I didn't know what had happened.

"Do you remember anything?" he asked, not unkindly. His hand went to the stethoscope lying on the bed at my knees which I'd only just seen, and he put the ear pieces into his ears, sliding his hand down the long rubber tube.

"No…" Blinking, I cleared the blurry vision that was assaulting me and rested my head on the pillow with one arm folded under my head. I draped my other arm down my side and wondered where the hell I was and whether I was with Nikolai or my father. I didn't assume my father would give me tender care like this. His doctors were harsh and clinical, not kind or warm in any way.

"There was an explosion at Mr. Dragonov's home and you were struck. Honey, you have a concussion." He pressed the bell of the stethoscope to my chest and said, "Breathe deep." So I did, then I took a few more deep breaths as he smiled. "You also have a few first degree burns, some smoke inhalation issues, and lots of bruises. But mostly, you're dehydrated and malnourished." Then he scowled at me, but I interrupted him before he could say more.

"I was held captive. I felt depressed and scared and…" My excuses didn't cause his expression to shift, but having given meNikolai's name, I figured this was his doctor. "Is that what this IV is for?" The thing hurt my arm, bending right in the crease of my elbow where it was sensitive, and I had a bruise forming there. How long had I been out?

"Yes, because you were so dehydrated, I barely got that in, and you were bruised in the process. You need that for at least a few more hours until the fluids are in your system. And then," he said, hanging the scope around his neck, "you need to start eating better."

He could take his lectures and shove them where the sun don't shine for all I cared. A man telling me to keep eating food when the slightest scent of food made me so sick I could throw up was ridiculous. I avoided eye contact and thought for a second about asking for Nikolai, but then he continued his lecture.

"Did you realize you're more than six weeks pregnant?" His eyebrows rose higher and pinched in the middle as he pursed his lips, but dread flooded me.