Seeing a clear path to a back service door of the mansion, I use a large rock I find nearby and break off the handle of the door.
We enter the house just as the lights flicker back on. Tearing off our night vision goggles, we move carefully through the house with our guns in our outstretched hands. Lucien and I tread lightly through the kitchen. But when we hear Adeline's screams coming from a few rooms over, Lucien forgets all about his safety and everything else and takes off running.
"Lucien!" I hiss, but he doesn't stop.
I'm about to follow after him, but a whimpering sound makes me halt in my tracks. I slowly step into the next room where I see Katya fighting against one of Giovanni's men. He clearly has the upper hand given his size, but Katya is putting her training with Wraith to good work.
She elbows him in the gut, and the gun in his hand goes skittering across the floor. When he moves to reach for it, I train my gun on him and say, "Don't even think about it."
An agent rounds the corner and takes the guy out in one shot. Then he gives me a nod and says, "All clear," into his radio piece.
I can hear Lucien calling my name from somewhere inside the house, and I quickly grab Katya's hand and drag her after me.
"Jackson!" Lucien shouts.
Once I reach him, it takes my brain a few moments to process the sight before me. At first, I feel elation at seeing Adeline again, knowing that she's here, safe with us.
But then I realize exactly what I'm seeing.
Lucien is cradling Adeline in his arms. There's blood everywhere, and she's not moving.
Fuck, is she even breathing?
I shove the gun into my waistband and run over, collapsing onto my knees beside them. I put my fingers to her neck, checking for a pulse before meeting Lucien's terrified gaze. I'm not seeing any visible gunshot wounds…but where is all the blood coming from? "W-what happened?" I ask, my anxiety mirroring his.
He hesitates for a second before spitting out, "She's…she's pregnant."
My eyes flare with surprise, and then slowly peruse her body, taking in the blood staining her clothes and hand. My brain finally catches up to what Lucien told me. She's losing the baby.Theirbaby. "We have to get her to a hospital right now," I say harshly. I reach for her, but Lucien shakes his head.
Standing with her in his arms, he pulls her against his chest. He grimaces in pain, but he refuses to let her go. I know his shoulder has to be killing him, but I don't dare try to reach for her again.
I give him a stern nod of understanding before telling him, "We're going to have to take one of their cars." And then I ask, "Where's Wraith?"
"He's got Giovanni," Lucien explains.
I glance into the other room and see Wraith handing off Giovanni to two FBI agents, who handcuff him and lead him away. Fuck, we didn't even get to torture and kill the bastard like I know both of us had been planning in our heads. At least he'll be going to jail to rot for the rest of his pathetic life, and the power he once held over Adeline and a lot of other people is now gone.
"Wraith!" Lucien calls. When Wraith comes running over, Lucien tells him, "We need a vehicle. Now!"
Wraith nods before bolting out the door. I quickly grab Katya's arm and lead us to the front of the house while Lucien follows behind with Adeline in his arms.
"Wait! What's going on?" Katya asks, fighting against my grip, but I'm not having any of it.
Just as we step outside, I stop and grab her arms, roughly pulling her towards me so that only an inch of space separates our faces. I don't think I've ever been so pissed off in my entire life.
"I'm done playing these games with you, Katya!" I yell. I'm still seething from the fact that she didn't follow orders and stay behind with me. She could have been hurt or killed. Hell, she was almost hurt and killed. And that has my anger reaching its boiling point. "I need you to fucking listen to me just this once!" I growl.
I might be taking all my shit out on her right now, but she fucking deserves it. I'm scared and worried and everything in between. Adeline might be dying, and there's not a damn thing I can do about it until we get to the hospital.
A black SUV comes to a squealing, sudden stop several feet from the front entrance. Wraith is out of the driver's seat and rounding the back of the vehicle before I can blink. He opens the passenger side doors, and Lucien gently rests Adeline on the soft, dark leather seat before climbing in beside her.
I push a now eerily quiet and completely compliant Katya into the front passenger side and slam her door before climbing in the back behind Lucien.
"Where to?" Wraith asks when he gets behind the steering wheel once again, gripping it tightly with his large hands.
"The nearest hospital," I instruct Wraith as I open an app on my phone to find the closest one.
My fingers are fucking shaking as I search on Google Maps.
