Page 86 of Forced Bratva Hostage

“He’s alive. He’s in very bad shape, but he’s going to pull through,” he says, and we both let out a sharp breath.

“Can we see him?” I ask.

“Give me a moment to clean him up and take him to recovery. And please understand that he doesn’t look good. The bullet was very close to taking his life, and he’s lost a ton of blood. It’s going to take time, okay?”

I nod. I don’t care how he looks. I just want to see him.

Half an hour later, a nurse comes to take us to Andrei.

Nico smiles and tells me to go ahead while he waits outside.

I rush to his bedside and take his hand gently in mine.

My heart breaks looking at him.

His eyes are sunken, with dark shadows beneath them. His skin is pale, and his breathing is labored.

“Andrei,” I whisper. “I’m here.”

His eyes flicker open for a moment, then close again. I squeeze his hand. “It’s okay. You can rest. I promise I won’t leaveyou.” I’m crying again. Relief that he’s alive and heartache for what he has to go through are both swimming through me.

I pull a chair close to the side of his bed and sit with him as he drifts in and out of consciousness. The steady beep of his heart monitor is soothing to me because it tells me he’s alive, that his heart is strong, and he’ll pull through.

Chapter 25 - Andrei

It’s like I’ve been trapped in a dream.

I have flashes of things, flickering through my mind. Tia’s face. Nico saying my name. Tia telling me stories I can’t remember.

Each moment fades in and out quickly.

I drift in and out of consciousness, pain in my entire body, a constant beeping coming from somewhere behind me.

My throat is so dry it feels like I swallowed ash.

I reach up to touch it, but my hand is tied up with something.

Squinting down at my hand, I see a transparent tube running into it, disappearing into my skin beneath a piece of tape. A drip.

“Where—" I try to speak, but only a dry whisper comes out.

Blinking, my vision slowly clears, and the smells and sounds of a hospital come into focus.

I’m on a drip. I’m in a bed.

I groan and close my eyes again. They are heavy and dry. I want to sleep more. But it feels like I’ve been sleeping for too long already.

When I move, pain shoots through my abdomen, and I run my hand over it, feeling the bandages wrapped tightly around me.

I search my memory,

Next to me, someone stirs, and I shift, looking down to see who it is. Tia has her head resting on her folded arms,sleeping against the bed near my hip. I reach out and run my fingers through her hair, my heart screaming with happiness at the sight of her.

“Tia?” I rasp.

“Andrei?” She wakes up instantly, her eyes shooting wide as she squeals loudly. Standing up suddenly, she knocks the chair behind her over.

She’s so excited, it makes me laugh. Instantly, the agony in my abdomen triples.