Page 121 of The Pakhan’s Accidental Bride

But nothing happens. The streets are empty, the night quiet.

When we pull up to the estate, something immediately feels off. The front door is open, light spilling out onto the driveway. My security team is clustered near the entrance, their expressions grim.

I'm out of the SUV before it fully stops, my heart pounding. Jack and Luca are right behind me as I sprint up the steps and into the house.

The scene in the living room stops me in my tracks.

Kiera is lying unconscious on the couch, her face pale and still. Kevin, Devin, and Kaleb are surrounding her, their faces etched with panic. The estate doctor is kneeling beside her, checking her pulse and pupils.

47

KIERA

There are voices. Lots of them. They float around me like I'm underwater, muffled and distant. I try to focus on them, to make sense of the words, but they keep slipping away before I can grasp their meaning.

Something soft is beneath me. A couch, maybe? The cushions are plush and expensive, the kind that mold to your body. I'm lying down, that much I know. But why? And where?

I force my eyes open, blinking against the brightness of the room. The light is too harsh, making my head throb with a dull ache that pulses behind my temples. Shapes hover above me, dark and indistinct, like shadows cast by flickering candlelight.

It takes several long blinks before the shapes begin to resolve into faces. Male faces. A lot of them. They're all staring down at me with varying expressions of concern, worry, and fear.

Kevin's face comes into focus first. His jaw is tight, his eyes dark with anxiety. Beside him is Devin, his muscular frame tense, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. Jack stands just behind them, his cop instincts clearly on high alert as he watches me with that analytical gaze he gets when he's trying to piece together what happened. Kaleb is there too, his expression softer but no less worried, his hand gripping the back of the couch like he needs something to hold onto.

And then there's Emil. He's closest to me, his dark eyes locked on my face with an intensity that makes my breath catch. His expression is harder to read than my brothers', a mixture of relief and something darker, something almost possessive. Behind him stands a man I vaguely recognize as the doctor who treated Emil after the honor fight with my brothers. He's holding a stethoscope and watching me with professional concern.

"Kiera?" Kevin's voice cuts through the fog in my brain. "Can you hear me?"

I try to speak, but my throat is dry and my tongue feels thick. I swallow hard and try again. "What happened?"

The question comes out as barely more than a whisper, but it's enough. The tension in the room ratchets up another notch, and suddenly, everyone is talking at once. My brothers' voices overlap, each of them trying to explain or ask questions or express their worry. The cacophony makes my head pound harder, and I wince.

"Enough." Emil's voice cuts through the noise like a blade. The room falls silent immediately, and I'm reminded once again of the power he wields, the authority that makes grown men obey without question. He looks down at me, his expression softening slightly. "How do you feel?"

I take stock of my body. My head aches, and I feel a bit dizzy, but otherwise, I seem okay. "I'm fine, I think. What happened?"

"You fainted," the doctor says, moving closer. He's an older man with graying hair and kind eyes behind wire-rimmed glasses. "Your brothers said you were standing one moment and unconscious the next."

The memory comes back in a rush. The phone call. The threat against my brothers. Emil, Luca, and Jack leaving for the meeting location. Waiting here with Kevin, Devin, and Kaleb, my anxiety building with every passing minute. And then… nothing. Just darkness.

"I remember," I say quietly. I try to sit up, needing to see everyone properly, needing to not feel so vulnerable lying here while they all hover over me.

"Lie back down," Emil says immediately, his hand moving to my shoulder to keep me in place.

I ignore him, pushing myself up despite the way the room spins slightly. "I'm fine."

"Miss Walker, I really think you should rest," the doctor says, his tone gentle but firm. "You seem fine, but I'd like to run some tests just to be sure. And you need to take it easy for the rest of the night."

"I don't need tests," I say, swinging my legs off the couch. My feet touch the plush carpet, and I'm grateful for the solid ground beneath me. "I just got dizzy. It happens."

"It doesn't just happen," Jack says, his cop voice coming out. "When was the last time you ate?"

I open my mouth to answer, then close it again. When was the last time I ate? Breakfast? No, I'd been too anxious to eat breakfast. Lunch? I can't remember having lunch either. My stomach had been in knots all day, worry about my brothers and the mysterious caller consuming every thought.

"That's what I thought," Jack says, reading my silence correctly. "You need to eat something."

"I'll have the kitchen prepare something," Emil says, but he doesn't move. He's still watching me with that intense gaze, like he's afraid I might disappear if he looks away.

Kevin moves closer, crouching down so he's at eye level with me. "You scared the hell out of us, Kiera. One second, you were standing there, and the next, you just… dropped."