I asked in a rush, “Where are they?”
“Probably the street. Let’s go,” Daniil ordered.
Zane darted past the flames, duffle over his shoulder.
Daniil grabbed my hand, his own bag crossed over his shoulder. We hurried as fast as we could to the ground level.
Shattered glass from the blown windows crunched under our boots as we made our way past the still intact baked goods counter and out the front door that was hanging on its hinges. I ignored the destroyed building that was blazing in front of me and scanned all the debris on the ground, searching for our men.
To the right, I spotted the ‘women’ on the sidewalk.
They were unconscious, lying in front of the business two doors down.
I hit Daniil’s shoulder and pointed, my feet already moving.
Zane passed me, ordering, “Get the blonde, Daniil. I’ll get the black.”
Please let them be okay. Please let them be okay.
Please let them be okay.
My head was spinning in a repeating circle. I could hardly focus on anything other than the two ‘woman’ lying so still on the ground.
Please let them be okay. Please let them be okay.
Please let them be okay.
I sped up, and Zane and Daniil jumped over a burning table at the same time.
I trotted around the debris, holding the underside of my protruding belly. There was a mirror with a beer emblem that was miraculously intact I had to step on, cracking it to hell, and I spun past three broken and bent chairs.
They hadn’t moved yet.
Please let them be okay. Please let them be okay.
Please let them be okay.
I halted at the blond, and stared down, scanning his body. It was Kirill. He didn’t appear to have any visible injuries. I almost fainted as relief slammed me harder than I had ever felt. I slurped in a breath, and shook my head hard, making the dizziness go away. Not the time. Not the time to fucking pass out. Daniil lifted him off the ground, and I didn’t hesitate, smacking Kirill hard on the face. “Wake up, dammit!”
His lids fluttered open but shut again.
I smacked him again. “Wake up!”
He groaned but didn’t open his eyes.
“We need to move!” Zane lifted Grigori from the littered ground, his hold extremely gentle. There was blood on Grigori’s outfit. Zane stared into Daniil’s eyes. “Your son’s hurt. We need to get him out of here.”
“How bad?” Daniil hissed.
“I can’t tell right now. But there’s a lot of blood.”
There were sirens in the distance now, and a few late night business owners were staring out their windows with a few even coming out of their shops. We moved, keeping our heads down from any cameras.
The few shop owners that were on the streets didn’t even seem to notice us, as they stayed farther away from the destroyed restaurant, their eyes up to the skies where the flames leapt instead of on the ground where we walked.
Those three blocks were some of the longest blocks I had ever walked in my life. I thought we would never get to the car, especially when we had to duck into a shadowed business front when we were on the last block, police cars speeding past us on the streets. Arriving at the darkened alley, I never thought I would see anything more beautiful than that damn car.
Zane was putting Grigori in the back, and he barked, “Put him in the very back, Daniil. You’re driving.” He thumped the keys on the hood and got into the back with Grigori, and only then did it occur to me that he must be badly injured for Zane to order Daniil around, keeping him from his son.
