“I can’t tell you all of our secrets, now can I?”
“You bribed the EMS and took the ambulance?”
He shook his head. “Yes, we bribed them, but we did an exchange for him.”
“Jesus,” I muttered.
“You’re the one who wanted to know.”
“Maybe I was wrong to ask.”
We pulled up to a gated driveway. Oleg punched in the code, and the gates slowly opened. Leaning forward, I stared out the window as we drove along the wooded area. To my surprise, armed men were stationed along the route.
Turning back to Aleks, I said, “You guys aren’t taking any chances, are you?”
“No. We’re not.”
Just as I had imagined, the Korolov compound was a mansion bigger than the one Maksim and I had stayed in when we first met. After Oleg pulled the SUV to a stop, Aleks came around the car to get me. After I hopped out, he took me around the side of the enormous mansion. He keyed in a password, and the backdoor swung open. I hurried to keep up with him as he started down a hallway.
After a quick ride down on the elevator, the doors opened to reveal what looked like the ER of a hospital. Blinking in surprise, I stepped out and followed Aleks over to one of the rooms.
A curtain separated the room. When Aleks flicked it back, I gasped at the sight of Maksim on the bed with several tubes running in and out of his body. Kira sat on one side of the bed, and Mila on the other.
At the sight of me, their haunted eyes lit up. “Sarah, thank God,” Mila said, as she popped out of her chair.
Tears stung my eyes. “I’m so sorry,” I choked out.
Mila came over to wrap me in her arms. “Thank you for coming.”
“You don’t need to thank me.”
She pulled away to stare intently into my face. “After learning what Maksim did to you, you’re damn straight I owe you a thanks. I’m not sure if I would’ve been as forgiving as you.”
“I second that,” Kira remarked from her seat.
Glancing past her, I stared at Maksim’s body. Although he was shirtless, bandages covered his chest and abdomen. “How is he?”
“The same. His vitals are improving, and he’s stable. The doctor just can’t understand why he’s not waking up.”
My feet seemed to move of their own volition, carrying me to Maksim’s side. At the sight of his mangled body, I couldn’t keep the tears from overflowing my eyes.
“We’ll leave you with him,” Mila said in a low voice.
Swiping my eyes, I argued, “You don’t have to do that.”
She gave me a sympathetic smile. “I think we should.”
“If you insist.”
“We’ll be right outside if you need us.”
“Okay.”
The breath whooshed from my body as I watched the three of them leave the room. When the door closed behind them, I fought to catch my breath. My erratic heartbeat wasn’t helping matters either.
Since I felt a little dizzy, I dropped down into the chair Mila had been sitting in. For a while, I just sat in silence, listening to the beeping of the machines and watching Maksim’s broad chest rise and fall. I’d sat in this position too many times to count at my father’s bedside and Silas’s.
And then I leaned forward to take his hand in mine. I swallowed a sob at the sight of the blood still staining his skin.Slowly, I stroked my fingers over his. “Hey, it’s me,” I finally said.
