Page 49 of Kidnapped Bride

"Get the car," I told him. I knew I had to sit down before I passed out. If one of Markin's men found me lying on the sidewalk they'd end me, no doubt.

"You need a hospital, Boss."

"Well, fucking call Keller, but just get the car and take me home."

Gregg came out of the bodega and stopped when he saw me propped against the wall bleeding, but he wisely said nothing. I knew we were winning this battle, but any second the police would come in and I had to be gone when they showed up.

"Post a rotation," I ordered. "I want our men on this block heavily and not letting anyone else in or out. Got it?"

"Yeah, Boss…" Gregg offered an expression of concern, but he stomped off to follow my orders, walking right into the fray.

When Yakov pulled the car around, I climbed in, and the ride home was bad. I sat in the back pressing Vlad's bundled-up jacket against the wound but every bump in the road sent a searing spike of pain through my side.

By the time Yakov pulled up to the house the jacket was soaked through and the leather seat beneath me was smeared with crimson.

"Let me help you," Yakov snipped as I slid out of the back seat and I waved him off.

"Keep your hands off me," I snarled. "Go park the car. I'm fine." I bit down against the pain, already making up my mind that if they called Keller in I'd send him out too. I'd survived worse things than this and I hated people trying to coddle me.

I struggled into my study, past Radimir who didn’t even bat an eye at me, and found Kira there with a mug of something in her hand and a scowl on her face.

"What did you do?" she asked as she sipped her mug. But her eyes found the blood on my shirt and I watched her whole expression rearrange itself. Her jaw dropped and her eyes went wide.

"We took the block back," I snapped, though I wasn't angry with her. I was just in a massive amount of pain once again.

I staggered to my desk and dropped into the chair while she came around the desk without asking and pulled my shirt aside.

When she saw the wound gaping open with the torn threads of Keller's stitches still hanging from the edges of it, she sucked in a sharp breath.

"Fuck, Niko," she said, dropping to her knees. "You busted the stitches open."

"Yeah, whatever. Just pour me a drink." The bleeding had almost stopped. The only thing I could see was that maybe it'd get infected, or the scar would be uglier. But I could live with those things.

"Keller told you not to leave this house." She straightened up and her eyes were hot with concerned anger. "He specifically told you to stay off your feet, Niko. What the hell were you thinking?"

"He came at me. I didn't have the option of asking him to wait." Her worry was endearing, knowing she still cared even a smidgen about my wellbeing. But I didn't need a mother either.

"You had the option of not being there." Her voice got louder and her hands balled into fists as she stood up. "You keep doing this and you're going to die. Do you get that? Somebody's going to put you down and there won't be a thing anyone can do about it." Kira's lip trembled as she spoke. I hadn't realized she cared that much.

As many times as she pushed me away, I was beginning to think she'd grown to hate me.

"I can't sit home while my territory disappears."

"You can't run a territory from a coffin either."

I leaned back in the chair and looked at her. "I didn’t ask you."

She scoffed and turned like she might stomp out, but I leaned forward and snatched her wrist, pulling her back toward me.

It made her stumble until she was on my lap, getting that pretty grey sweater stained in my blood.

I curled my hand around her cheek and brushed a bloody thumb over her cheek bone, hoping she'd lean down to kiss me.

But she pinched my arm and stood up.

"No, you don’t get to do that…" Her arms folded over her chest, making her tits push out.

"Do what?" I snarled, eyeing the blood on the sweater.