Page 80 of Sergei

“You’ll have to thank Skid for me.” My breath caught as I started, “He was really sweet to me and… it meant a lot.”

“I’ll be sure to let him know.”

“I would appreciate that.” I took a moment to compose myself before asking, “What about those men… the ones Sergei…”

Preacher didn’t blink. “Handled.”

That was all he said. No details. No explanation.

Just one simple word, and I believed him. But I needed more. “And the others? The women in the basement. What will happen to them?”

“They’ll be handled, too.”

“Handled how?” I pushed.

“Handled.”

“Oh, God. Please tell me you aren’t going to keep them or sell them or do what they were going to do to them.”

“Not a chance.” Preacher’s expression darkened, and I feared I’d offended him until he said, “Those girls will be cared for and sent wherever they wanna go, and if they don’t have a place, we’ll find them one. You have my word on that.”

“That’s good. Thank you.” I had seen the doors in the basement, but I’d never actually seen anyone or even heard them. “How many were there?”

“Found eight so far.”

“Oh, God. How is that possible?”

“It was bad, but we got them covered.”

The knot in my stomach loosened, but it was short-lived. Still trying to process all that had gone on, my pulse started to race, and suddenly I looked at Preacher and said, “Bog.”

“What about him?”

“I saw him.” I swallowed before adding, “When they took me, I saw him. He was on the floor by the elevator. I’m not sure, but I think they killed him.”

“I’ll send a couple of the guys over to check it out.”

The words had barely left his mouth when the waiting room doors opened, and Viktor walked in with Nikolai and Tabitha. Preacher stood, and they all headed straight for us. Tabitha’s voice trembled as she asked, “Is there any news?”

“He’s in surgery.”

“Is he going to be okay?”

“I don’t know.” Preacher didn’t sugarcoat it. “It’s not looking good. He was unconscious when we brought him in… Lost a lot of blood.”

“Do you think he’ll pull through?”

“I don’t know, babe. It’s too hard to tell.”

Tabitha’s breath hitched, but she nodded, pressing her lips like she was fighting to keep it together. Seeing her struggle broke something inside of me, and this time, I didn’t fight the tears. I let them fall freely, and in a blink, I was sobbing into the palms of my hands.

I hadn’t even noticed that Viktor had come over until he slipped his arms around me, pulling me against his chest. “Hey, now. Enough of that. Sergei’s going to pull through this. He’s too fucking stubborn, too arrogant, too everything to just up and die on us.”

I nodded and did my best to force a smile. “I sure hope you’re right.”

“I am. You’ll see.”

Nikolai stepped over to us with his brows furrowed and his jaw tight. He’d been quiet since they walked in, but the concern was there. It was written all over his face. “I can’t believe those bastards did this to you. I’d fucking kill them if Sergei hadn’t beaten me to it.”