Hiii! So, I am currently having an uni course, guys :))), but I didn't want to let you wait until later today to get the new chapter. The only good thing about having online courses is that I am able to not pay attention to them

If you see that there are less mistakes in this chapter, know it is thanks to the sweetest person on earth, HonestPassion13, who has taken her time to beta this chapter :) thank you a lot!

Thanks guys for all the positive feedback on my previous chapter. I didn't know I had such a twisted mind :)))

To make a little summary of how I got all the ideas, I've watched an episode from a TV series (the fingers thing), I've read a book (the suffocating thing), and I have, of course, searched on my beloved friend, Google, torture methods and I've picked one of the most painful I've found (the branding stuff)

GojGoj, oh, I will definitely consider that as a job if I don't make it as a writer

Dear Guest, stay healthy too!

Oh, that is awesome ! You're a creative one too. I hope that things are working for the better for you this week

And dear other Guest, I hope this chapter will brighten up your day, even a little bit. I've written some things that I hop you'll find funny

Lots of love, stay safe and healthy guys, and see you next week!


Who is going to be a grandmother?

DPOV

"Roza, come on, please."

I switch to breathing again and I stop just for a second to watch her pale face, her blue lips, her unmoving chest, to watch her so close to-

"No, you won't die on me, do you hear me? You won't… I am not letting you."

But I don't know what else to do. It has been five minutes since I started doing this and I've gotten no answer from her. But to hell if I am giving up on her. I would go like this for hours if I have to.

When I want to go back to the chest compressions and I place my palms back on her chest, before starting again, I find out that my prayers have been answered.

There is a heartbeat.

Or am I wishing it so badly that I am imagining it?

I place my ear on her chest and wait for a second.

Please, please, please.

And there it is, a faint, faint beating, but oh, God, there is one!

I continue to breathe air into her mouth and in less than a minute, she wakes up!

With a gasp her eyes snap open, and bending from the middle, she gets up and starts coughing water.

In her confusion, she tries to push me away, while still trying to get a hold of herself, the fighting instinct taking over.

"Easy, Roza, easy. It's me, Dimitri. It's me. You're safe."

After looking at me like she had seen a ghost for a second, she coughs a couple more times, getting rid of the remnants of water from her lungs, then, with a deep sigh, she crumbles into my arms.

I keep her steady and soothe her back, which is still spasming under my touch.

"Take it easy, love. Breathe. Breathe with me. Take your time. Easy, in and out."

As we continue to breathe together, I keep her in my arms and close to my heart, thanking God that she is alright.

"You're not dead," she says faintly and rather surprised after she calms down more.

"No, I'm not. And neither are you."

She pulls away and looks at me, surprise filling her features too.

"You're alive. Oh, Dimitri…" she kisses on my face and starts to cry so hard. "You're alive." her palms now walk on my face, gently getting the wet hair off my forehead. "Oh, thank God. I thought I lost you."

I thought that too. I almost did lose her.

"You're alive," she cries more as her fingers caress my face. "I can't believe this," she repeats again, and again, big tears strolling down her face.

"Shh… it's fine, Roza. It's fine. I'm here now."

I get a hold of her hands and as I bring them to my mouth to kiss them, she whines and she bites her lip, seeming like she is in pain.

"What happened?"

"It hurts," she sobs.

"It hurts? What hurts?" as I am already holding them, I take a look at her hands, and I see the two bruised fingers on her left hand, and a hole forms in my chest at their sight.

"Oh, Roza…"

The things she has been though, I can't even start imagining them.

"I…" she wipes the tears away with the hem of her t-shirt. "Can you... put them back?"

"What?"

"Please. I'll… I'll take it."

How much more will she take? How much did she already take?

"Roza, I can't…" how could I hurt her more with this?

"Please, Dimitri. Do it for me. It hurts so badly. I don't want them to hurt anymore. Please..."

It would hurt her more if I wouldn't do it. Fuck! I have to do it.

"Let me take a look first."

Testing things, at the cost of a little more pain of hers, I see that they're not broken, they're just dislocated. At least it's not such a bad situation.

"Will you do it for me?"

Nodding, I get up and rip one of the curtains off the window, and I put it around her shivering body. God, she looks so, so little and so, so frail and I don't even know what to try to repair first.

Now, I'll do what she asked me.

Sitting down in front of her, I rip a piece of the curtain, fold it, and give it to her.

She already seems to know what to do with it and puts it between her teeth.

"You're sure about this, love?"

Her eyes still filled with tears, she nods.

I take her good palm and put it on my thigh.

"Let it out on me, okay?"

Still a little unsure about what I meant, she nods anyway, and I do the same as her, take a deep breath in, as I put my fingers around her pinkie.

She closes her eyes and that's when I do it.

I get a better hold of it, pull it towards me, then move it back into its place.

Along with a whine forming at the back of her throat, tears start rolling on her cheeks again, and I feel her palm squeezing on me, her nails digging into my thigh. Yeah, that's what I meant.

"Just a little longer." I get a hold of her other finger. "I'm sorry, love."

Wanting to finish it all faster, I don't wait for another cue from her and I pull this one too. She gasps, her teeth biting onto the material, and with each of her sobs, my heart breaks more.

Trying to keep thinking straight for now, I know I need to finish my task.

Ripping another piece of the drape, I round it on her bruised, trembling fingers, and she whines at my every move, but I need to do it so that they will be put in place until we can properly take care of them. It's the only solution I have for now.

She takes the improvised gag out, and she looks even weaker than earlier.

"Thank… you… thank you," she says, still crying, and leans towards me, and I take her heavy body back in my embrace and soothe her sobs away.

And feeling her in my arms again, oh, it feels so good. I won't ever let go of her. Never again.

I bury my face into the crook of her neck and continue to soothe her.

"I can't breathe, comrade," she whispers, her voice a little amused.

I loosen my hold on her, not even realizing how tight I was holding her in the first place.

"I am sorry. I just... not knowing anything about you for so long… oh, Roza… I thought the worst." I thought I'd go insane, my mind not helping at all, forming all kinds of thoughts about what she would be going through.

I hug her once more, a little less tight this time, and she yelps again, and of course, it is in pain.

"Where else hurts, love?"

She is the one who holds a little tighter on me now.

"Everywhere," she sighs. "Everywhere."

"Oh, Roza. I'm so sorry."

"No, don't be. It's... nothing," she brushes it away, expecting me to believe it too. "All that matters is that you're here. That… you came for me."

"Of course I did. How could I let you...? Never. I would never have done that. I would never have left you."

"But… wow. You're alive," why does she keep on being surprised by this? "How? How come you are here? Am I dreaming?"

"No, love. It's all real. I'm as real as you will ever get."

To prove it to her, I dare kiss her forehead, her skin feeling so cold against my lips.

"But Tasha said…" she starts crying again, sobbing lightly. "She said you were dead. And… and your bracelet… she had it and… oh… I believed her. She said that you..."

"Oh, love. I get it now." Idiot me to think I lost that bracelet in the fight. I can only imagine what she went through thinking I was dead if she reacts like this now. "But you don't have to cry anymore. I'm fine now."

"But… How?"

"In her rush to get here, Tasha thought she shouldn't bother to kill me herself. She let her men deal with me. Some… let's call them, mutual acquaintances that owed me a thing or two."

"And you… oh, good God, did they hurt you? Did they take you away too?"

Not as much as I hurt them. And not as much as they had hurt her.

"Don't you worry about me, Roza. I am fine."

"You promise?"

"Yes, love, I am fine, don't you worry about me. We should be worrying about you now. Tell me-"

"How did you find me?"

"I tracked Tasha down. Thinking I was dead, knowing for sure I was dead, she didn't pay much attention to what she was doing. I guess she was hurrying to get here too. But there was a little delay though, and look where it got us. Maybe-"

She stops me.

"You're here now. It doesn't matter. Nothing else matters."

"And I am not leaving. Ever."

"But…"

"But what?"

"I messed up, Dimitri. Like, big, big time. I couldn't get to our spot and he got me and-"

"Don't do that. That doesn't matter. We'll deal with that, with whatever happened. We'll find a way."

"We?"

"Yes. Yes, we'll make it through, I promise. No matter what. You and me."

"But you don't even know what happened."

"I don't need to know to know we'll make it alright."

She pulls away and watches me smiling, that faint smile breaking through the tears.

"You're so sweet."

She tilts her head and continues to smile at me, so, so warmly, as her fingers play along my cheek.

And like this, I see something I don't like seeing at all.

I thought that her jaw was the only thing that was bruised. And not that I was okay with it anyway, but heading down some more, on her neck, I see more purple spots, and they're not the ones I made with my mouth. There's no love about those spots on her.

When I wanted to pull the collar of the t-shirt down, she wanted to pull away.

"Dimitri…"

"No. Let me see that."

I wanted to see what they did to her, so that I would know what to do to them.

Sighing, she lets go of my hand, letting me pull the wet material down.

I count eight tracks of the fingers that were pressed on her neck and left behind darkening bruises. Oh, how I hate these spots. How I wish I was here to stop it all.

I walk my fingers along her neck, and I feel her tremble under my touch. I want to memorize the size of the palms that were wrapped on her neck. I want to remember it all when I pay that person back. But who is that person?

My voice gets quiet and tense, my anger barely restrained as the idea pops into my mind.

"He did this to you?" she starts crying again, bursting in tears. "Did I hurt you?" I get overly concerned about her reaction and I pull my hands away.

"No, no you didn't, Dimitri. It's just that… yes. He…" she nods and I don't need another confirmation. I will enjoy it to the fullest to hurt this bastard.

"Does this, all of this, hurt in any way?" I ask as I walk my fingers along the bruise on her jaw too. "What a stupid question to ask. I mean, does it hurt badly?"

She shakes her head. "It doesn't-"

"Don't lie to me."

Tears still filling her eyes, she nods. "A little."

"Oh, Roza, it's killing me to see you hurting like this. I am so sorry."

"It…it doesn't matter. I don't matter now. Just… they do and- oh, no!"

Her eyes widen as she pulls away and gasps, looking like she remembered something.

"I know what they are looking for! How could I forget about that? I am such an idiot!"

She gets up fast and I get up just as fast, making sure she is steady on her feet and that she won't faint or something. She is not strong enough to make moves like those now.

"And we need to hurry."

"What are you talking about?"

"You don't get it. We need to hurry. He knows. He knows where the flash is. I know, too. I told him, goddamnit! We had been to a party once, he insisted on taking me there and he went missing for two hours and I didn't know, but he- It doesn't matter. All that matters is that now he-" she gasps and passes her hand through her hair, distress filling her more and more with each passing second. "God, he's going for my parents! How can we sit here? We don't have the time for this! They arrived home from their trip and they must be home now and if he- no. That cannot happen. He cannot go there and hurt them. We need to get there now. Before them if possible, Dimitri, please."

"Rose-"

"No! We need to get there fast. Now. I can't let him hurt them. Just, let's go! I will be fine. They won't be."

Without letting me ask any questions, she gets a burst of energy and she doesn't even listen to me when I tell her to take it slow. She gets hold of my hand and starts taking me towards the door. Or just away, as she realizes she doesn't know which way the exit is.

I guide her outside and as we get to my car, I let her fill me in with the whole story of what's happening and what we should do, where we're supposed to go.

"Fine, we'll get there as fast as we can. But before that, let's get rid of these clothes on you. You're already freezing enough. Let's get you dry first, okay?"

Despite some protests, she lets me drag her towards a more withdrawn place on this backstreet to do it.

As she takes her clothes off, I go get my duster from the car. I don't have anything else to offer to keep her covered, but this will do for now.

When I come back, I see why she was reticent about it in the first place. I see the other damage they did to her body.

I see other bruises in addition to the one I knew was on her ribs, scratches on her hands and thighs, too, and I already know that she took a good hit to her liver. There's a big, purple spot there that makes me remember all the hits I took myself, and my breath already catches. She endured such pain too?

As she's quickly wiping herself with the curtain-improvised towel, I look further down, and I see there's a cloth on her hip, and thankfully enough, it's not bloody. But I don't know if I should be happy about that yet.

She takes the duster from me and puts it on, but when she wants to wrap it around herself, I stop her.

"What?" she asks and puts it on, anyways. Yeah, she shouldn't stay so uncovered in this cold.

"What's that on your hip?"

She instantly gets uneasy about it and her eyes avoid mine.

"Nothing important for now."

"Let me see."

"Dimitri, we don't have the time-"

"If you stop protesting, we won't be wasting any time. You decide. You let me look now or protest and waste time, but I will still be looking."

"Why do you have to be so stubborn?"

"Because I think you're lying to me about the gravity of it."

"It's not important."

"Let me see anyway, please."

"Fine," she says, getting a little annoyed. "Take a look and let's go already. The faster we finish the faster we go, so… do it."

She hoped that from her little outburst I would give up, but I don't.

I crouch in front of her and she pulls up the edge of the coat enough to reveal the white bandage underneath.

Not knowing what to expect, I move slowly and gently as I unstick the material off her skin, the wetness of it making it easier to take it off.

And not even my darkest nightmares could have prepared me for the sight in front of my eyes.

They branded her?!

"Roza, how can you even say this is not a big deal? God, how can you brush it off like that? It must hurt so badly…" I look at her and, biting her lip, she nods a little, confirming to me. "He did this, too?" I will burn him alive, I swear to God.

"No. It was his man, I guess."

"Can I?" I hover my fingers close to her skin and wait for her to say yes or no.

She nods.

"Tell me if I hurt you."

I bring the tip of my fingers closer to the ugly burn, patting lightly around the edges of the swollen, red, circle engraved on her skin forever. She doesn't make a sound, but I know it hurts. How can she keep on saying that it's nothing? I can still feel the heat radiating on her skin, I swear.

"Come with me."

I get her to the car and let her lean on it as I search for the first aid kit, and thank God, it has some gel that is supposed to help with burns. I don't know how effective it might be in her case, but I can't leave that wound uncovered or not taken care of until I find someone to take care of it. This is the first thing I need to be concerned about. Getting her stable and making sure she won't die of a goddamn sepsis. And I know just the person who could help me.

Crouching again in front of her and doing the best I can with my shitty medical skills to take care of her, I want to know more.

"Do you know his name?"

"I heard his nickname."

"Which is?" I have found men with even less. This man won't be any harder to find.

"Pyro," she says, voice trembling.

"That will do, too." I am finding that bastard and I will make him pay. I will make them all pay.

Covering her flesh, she still hasn't made a sound. She's trying to be strong for me, I guess, and I wish she wouldn't. I want to know all of it, everything she has been through.

I get a hold of her hands, and, careful not to touch her two fingers, I kiss her knuckles.

"I'm sorry you had to go through all this. I wish I…" I sigh, not knowing what to say other than to apologize. "I am sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"I was supposed to keep you safe," I get angry because she is so understanding when she should be angry at me too. She should hate me for this. She shouldn't even want to look me in the eyes.

"And you did." she moves her palm across my cheek. "But you can't be everywhere, at all times."

I sigh deeply once more and turn my head to kiss the inside of her palm.

"I should have, Roza. I should have."

"You're here now," she says as she pulls me up to her. "You're here," she sighs as she gets closer to me and our lips brush.

I move my fingers in her wet hair and tilt her head a little so that I could respond to her soft kiss.

As I keep her close to me and walk my thumbs across her cheeks, I speak my mind.

"I'm sorry, Roza. So sorry. I'm sorry I didn't do enough to keep you safe. I broke my promise, and look what it brought you. I didn't want to get you hurt, but look where we are. I am so sorry. But this won't happen ever again. I swear. I will do everything in my powers so that you won't suffer like this ever again. "

"What did you say? It was two thirds in Russian, comrade," her voice gets a little amused.

I kiss her cheeks, forehead, and lips again, and afterwards, I rest my lips on her forehead.

"That I'm sorry, love."

"With so many words?"

I smile a little too, and I cuddle her to my chest.

"There are not enough words to tell you how sorry I am."

"You don't have to."

"I do, love." I am the main reason things got this far.

She sighs, knowing I won't give up on this.

"Can we go now?"

Looking down at her face, I see that no matter how brave she was trying to be, she is barely hanging in there, and after the surge of energy she had earlier, as I hold her now, she can barely keep her eyes open.

"Yes, yes, sure, let's go."

I help her get inside the car and I bring her the blanket I saw in the trunk earlier. I must keep her warm too.

Before pulling away from her, she bends after me and gets a hold of my hand.

"Dimitri…"

"Yes?"

"Promise me."

"What?"

"Promise me that even if I faint or something, hell, if I die-"

"Don't you say that."

"I don't care about that now." but I do goddammit! "Promise me that whatever happens to me, you just drive to my parents. You just keep on driving. Please. They are in danger and I can't-"

"But you-"

"No. Not me. It's not about me now. I will…" she smiles reassuringly. "I will be fine. I promise. And even if I'm not, we need to get there. I don't care about myself now. They… I can't lose them, too. Promise me, or I will never, ever forgive you for that. Please."

Half-heartedly, I nod. We'll see how things go. I can't just promise I won't care about her if her condition gets worse.

RPOV

He wants to pull away, but I am not content with his nod, so I don't let go of his hand.

"Dimitri, please keep my parents safe. For me. Don't worry about me."

"I can't promise you anything like that, love. Not that. I'll make some calls to send someone there faster than us, in case we don't get there in time. But that is all I can do for now."

This time, he pulls away, even though I didn't want to let go.

He closes the door and goes to his place.

Before leaving, he calls someone and they speak in Russian.

"What was that about? How did things go?" I'm getting curious about that. I need to know how things are going.

"I spoke to Ivan and he might arrive there earlier than us. He's closer to that area. I told him to look for your parents and check on them."

"Thank you. But Dimitri?"

"Yes?"

He turns around, and on his face, I see that he already knows what I want from him.

I smile weakly. I wouldn't be so insistent if I knew for sure that I would be alright, but I don't know.

And even if I'm taking advantage of the fact that I know that he won't break his promise, I don't know what else to do. I don't know how things will unfold for me, but the last thing I want him to worry about now is me. We need to worry about my parents instead.

"Promise me, please."

He smiles back and extends his hand over the seat to caress my cheek.

"Fine. I promise," he finally says with a sigh, knowing I won't give up on this.

"No matter what happens to me." I want to hear those words from him.

"Roza…"

I put my palm over his and squeeze his hand.

"Please."

He tightens his jaw a little and sighs again.

"I promise."

"Say it."

"No matter what…" he squeezes my hand, too. "No matter what happens to you."

I get up a little from where I'm laying so that I can caress his cheek too.

"Thank you so much."

And the very second he starts driving and I lay back on the seats, giving my body the chance to relax, I fall asleep.

LPOV

I wake up as my phone starts ringing.

Amazing! After a shitty, bloody night, all I wanted was to sleep a little. But no, people still need me. Let's see who it is this time.

Looking at the caller, I see it's Ivan's brother. Good thing it's not him.

And no matter how tired I am, I can't bring myself to not answer. I promised myself I would always answer for him.

"Yeah?"

"I don't know if she's alright," he starts with this, and I swear I can hear some panic in his voice. Or maybe I am just that tired that I start imagining things. He never sounds panicked. He has never been panicked.

"What? Who is not alright?"

"Rose. Her lips are still a little blue, but I guess it's from the cold. She's so, so pale and she's still shivering, even though it's not as bad as before. She's still wet a little, I guess, or the cold got to her bones or something like that, but I gave her a blanket and my duster and I turned up the heat. I didn't find anything else to give her to keep her warm, but I hope this works for now. I'm worried… I don't know if she's alright. She's… sleeping, I think. I hope. She's still breathing, I can hear it. Quite difficult, but I hear her. But I'm afraid that she… please, Lissa."

Hearing him like this, I become fully aware. He is panicked.

And what he's telling me doesn't sound very good. He must be talking about the same woman he asked me to help, I suppose. The question is…

"What happened to her?" I have my suppositions, but I won't waste my time saying them.

"A lot. She has been through a lot. They tortured her in God knows how many ways, she didn't want to tell me all of it, we didn't have the time either because she fell asleep, I guess she's totally exhausted, but she has been beaten, mostly."

"That's all?"

"I wish. I really do. But no. They dislocated two of her fingers and I put them back, but I'll need you to look at that too. I didn't get to check, but I hope she doesn't have any broken ribs. I can't guarantee I didn't break any of them though, when I was doing chest compressions."

"Chest compressions?" oh, the situation is worse than I imagined.

"Yes, I had to. She… She almost drowned. She was so close to… oh, God. Tell me what to do to make it better, to make her better."

First, I need to get calm, myself. His tone is not bringing me much peace of mind. I can't deal with all that from a distance.

"Alright. From what you've been telling me, she might have hypothermia."

"And how do I deal with that?! Tell me."

"I don't know how she is, I can't tell from a phone call. I should look at her, assess the situat-"

"Then meet me! Now. Please. Please come and meet me, Lissa. And could you bring her some clothes, too? And oh, God, how could I forget? One more thing. She was branded."

Did I hear that right? Did he say branded?

"What did you say?"

"Bring something for that too, please. The burn doesn't look very good, but hell, what do I know, you're the doctor here. I can only tell you it hurts her so much."

"Sure, I'll come. Where do we meet?"

"Could you come to meet me along the way? I have somewhere to go and I can't afford to have any delays."

"Sure." I'll do whatever he asks me to. "I'll take what I need and I'll see you."

"Thank you, Lissa. I owe you so much. Thank you."

Oh, I don't think so. I think we're still not even yet. I don't think we'll ever be.

RPOV

I don't know how much time passed after I fell asleep, but now I wake up as I feel myself being moved, as someone tries to pull the blanket off me, and oh, as I regain my consciousness and awareness over my body, as this person moves me, I feel it all, all the pain that has been inflicted to my body and that I have brought upon myself.

"Hey, don't cry. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you." I hear a warm, soft voice trying to soothe me and this only makes me more confused.

What did Dimitri do?

Opening my eyes, I see through the tears in my eyes an angelic figure standing in front of me. She's young, model-slim, tall, and I can see this even though she's sitting down next to me. Her complexion is pale and her hair is platinum-blond, making her look so, so pretty.

As her jade green eyes look back in mine, she smiles warmly, only making me more sure that she looks like such an angel.

"I didn't die, did I?"

I hear two laughters.

"No, love, you're not dead." I hear Dimitri saying and oh, silly me, I realize I am still in a moving car. But I got too distracted by this woman in front of me.

"Who are you?"

"I am Lissa."

"Oh, yeah, I've heard of you…" I want to get up to my butt and when I am close to failing, she gladly helps me, that nice smile never leaving her face. "Thank you." I think I like her. She seems nice.

"No problem, Rose. Now, if you don't mind, can I take a look at your body? Especially at that burn?"

Oh, I get it.

"You're a doctor and stuff, right?"

"Yes, I am."

My eyes go to Dimitri and he is looking at me in the rearview mirror, so I squint my eyes at him, knowing that he can see me.

"You promised me a thing, but you just couldn't restrain yourself, couldn't you?"

"Hey, I kept my promise. I only stopped for ten seconds to let her get in the car. Besides that, I didn't do anything to break my promise. I didn't stray away from our path. But I couldn't leave you like that either."

"Fine, Dimitri. Fine. If you insist…"

"Dimitri? Dimitri? That's your name?" Lissa asks, amused.

"You didn't tell her your name, either? Why am I not surprised?"

He shrugs, a smile creeping on his lips too.

"Oh, I never knew his name! All these years," she says laughing.

"You never asked either," he protests.

Hearing them, I smile and close my eyes a little so that I could focus on my breathing, because another surge of pain swirls through my body when the car meets a depression in the road.

"Are you okay, love?"

"Mhm, yeah, sure." opening my eyes again and trying to seem better than I feel, I smile back at Lissa. "Come on, do your thing. But just know that…" I need to clear my throat, a little shyness taking over. "I'm not wearing anything underneath…"

"Oh, then let's do something about that first," she says as embarrassed by this as I am, and she starts getting out some clothes from the bag that's lying on the car's floor.

"Oh, you really are an angel, Lissa. Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet. Let's see if they fit you first. I brought more of them so that you could choose."

Handing me the clothes, she so kindly pins her eyes on the road on her side, letting me do my thing.

I start by taking a look at them, and when I find the proper ones, a pair of sweatpants and a loose blouse from a soft material, I start taking the duster off.

As I am doing my best to get myself dressed fast and to not cause an accident if someone from another car sees me, my eyes fall on the front mirror and I again see Dimitri looking at me.

Besides blushing, I put the blouse on myself faster, ignoring the pain radiating from my side, and I make sure to bend and smack the back of his head.

"Eyes on the road, comrade."

Smiling, he does what I told him to do.

"I wasn't doing it for the reason you think I was doing it."

"Yeah, really?" I still keep my eyes on him as I put on the sweatpants too, but he doesn't try to look at me again.

"Yes. That thing is the last thing I am thinking of now. I only wanted to see if it still hurts you."

"Oh." and what would be the point of me telling him it doesn't hurt? He already saw me trying to keep a straight face as I was moving. "It's not as bad and… Lissa, I'm done. You can play the doctor on me now."

"Okay, let's see." She gets a stethoscope out of her bag and I turn around and lift my blouse, already knowing the drill.

"Tell me, do you have any breathing problems?" I shake my head no. Besides the difficulties I felt as I was coming back to life, I feel alright now. "Breathe in deeply, please." I do as I've been told and still, I feel no discomfort. "Do you feel like vomiting? Do you feel confused? Does anything feel wrong besides the other pain?"

At all her questions I shake my head and I hear Dimitri sighing relieved in the front seat.

"Your lungs sound alright too. Now turn around and let me see if there's anything else broken on you."

Her fingers start palpating different areas on my torso and abdomen, and at some I make a face, at some I yelp, depending on the pressure she puts and the pain I feel in response.

"Can you tell me what happened to you and where you've been hit?"

I shake my head no. Not that I wouldn't want to tell her. What worries me is that Dimitri would hear it too. He is already all ears.

He is already worrying so much for me. I mean, I can only imagine what he has been through when he had to resuscitate me.

"Come on. I need to know what I am looking for and where."

And she's right. I have to tell her.

As I fill her in with what they've done to me, as much as I remember of it anyway, I keep my eyes on the mirror in the front of the car, and with each thing I add to the torture list, I see Dimitri's features crumbling with worry. I knew it would affect him. But somehow, he doesn't say a thing. I bet he is already planning ways to kill all the people that hurt me in his head.

"I'm surprised, Rose. You have a better state than the one I thought you'd be in. That's good. But now I need to take care of the other more important things."

"Like?"

"Your broken fingers and your burn, of course," Dimitri says.

"But you already took care of those, comrade."

"Not as well as she will. Let her do it."

And I let her. If he trusts her, so do I.

She starts with my fingers, testing their mobility and their place in the joints, and from her reaction, it seems that Dimitri did a good job back there.

But I need a distraction as she does her thing.

"How did you two meet?" He told me they have known each other for years now, but nothing more.

"Oh, you see, he um…"

"She was just in a little trouble."

Lissa laughs. "Yeah, sure, and if by a little trouble you mean that he saved my life, then yeah, you can call it a little trouble."

"Oh, so it seems you have a thing for damsels in distress, huh, comrade?"

But at my comment, Lissa gets a little uneasy. Or a little more than that. She even flushes.

"Oh, but you know, Dimitri and I didn't- we- I mean yes, his um, broth-"

"Don't you worry. I wasn't insinuating anything. I was just joking."

She finishes putting my fingers in place and into a fancy pink cast.

"Hey, comrade, look at this."

I extend my hand in front, over Dimitri's shoulder, showing my cast off to him, and oh, he is so sweet, turning his head enough so that he could still watch the road but to be able to kiss my wrist.

"Oh! What the hell is that for?" I panic a little as I turn my eyes back on Lissa and I see her getting out a syringe that she starts to fill with a transparent liquid.

"It's a sedative that will put you to sleep. I'll need to clean the wound on your hip really good, like giving it a scrub because I don't know how it has been taken care of, and it will hurt like a bitch."

"And can't you do it while I'm awake?"

"It will hurt, Roza."

"So what? I took that burn wide awake. Why would this bother me?"

I spoke my mind too fast and I see that Dimitri didn't like my comment. But I still appreciate that he didn't stop the car yet to force me to do it, and that he's keeping his promise.

"Deal with whatever you want, repair what needs to be repaired, but no shot, please."

"But it will hurt you so much," they both say almost in unison.

"I don't care. I don't want you to do it."

And this is when Dimitri pulls the car over, stopping it on the side of the highway, and he turns around in his seat to look at me, a trace of scolding in his eyes.

"Roza, let her do it."

"I don't want a shot, please. I don't like needles."

"Please? I don't want to see you hurting more when she's taking care of you. She'll need to do some pretty bad things."

And because I know it will affect him too, I start to give in. I sigh and turn my attention to Lissa, trying to avoid the sharp edge of the needle she's handling.

"How long will it last? How long will I be out?"

"Half an hour, tops, just enough for me to do my job thoroughly."

Dimitri keeps on looking at me with what I swear are puppy eyes and I can't resist them.

"Fine… I guess I could…"

He already smiles at me and extends his hand to me.

"Give me your hand. Look at me, and don't focus on that. She'll be done fast and you won't even feel it," he says smiling reassuringly.

And as Lissa goes back to what she needs to do, I keep on looking at him, and his other hand comes up too, caressing my cheek and preventing me from looking down. I still feel the needle piercing my skin, but oh, it doesn't compare to any of the pain I've felt lately.

And soon enough, I fall back asleep.

LPOV

"So, Dimitri, tell me, how did you meet Rose?" I try to keep a light conversation as I am butchering her body a little, scrubbing off the wound, cleaning it so that it won't get infected.

"Long story. It doesn't matter."

Oh, yeah, I keep forgetting that the boys don't talk about important stuff. They're always so secretive, even though we've known each other for so long. But then again, it was only today that I found out that he has a name.

"Just tell me, will she be fine?"

"Oh, I don't know. Hearing all the things she went through, it is a miracle she is not dead."

"You don't mean that."

"I do, Dimitri. She took so many hits. She's exhausted and you told me she almost died. And this burn… you will need to be very careful with that."

"I will. I will do whatever it has to be done. Just tell me and I will do it."

I smile. I never heard him so concerned or so panicked, like ever, about anything or anyone. I know that it is not in their nature to be like this, so… emotional. Not even when they were close to dying themselves, when they were hurt badly.

Stop thinking about him too! He's not even here!

And Dimitri? He is always so composed. She must mean something to him if he's so unsettled by this now.

"Even though she seems to be out of any danger now, you should keep an eye on her. I am guessing that she will try to lie to you about how she feels if it ever gets worse. And make sure she rests. Like, a lot. Lay down and stuff."

"Yeah, I bet she will try to lie to me. She already did a couple of times. I will keep an eye on her. I'll make sure she is okay and that she will get the rest she needs. But for now, we need to get somewhere. Where do you want me to drop you?"

"You know, I could stay a little longer."

"Would you do that?"

"Yes, of course." I want to make sure she's stable enough and maybe get this pressure off him for the rest of the ride. He might need to focus on other things rather than her now. "And when I leave, I will give you some stuff you'll need and some shots too, to help with the healing."

"Thank you, Lissa. It means a lot."

"Anytime. Anytime, Dimitri."

"I owe you this one."

"Oh, don't mention it." It's the least I can do.

DPOV

It takes us a while to get there and being as nice as always, Lissa sticks around and even offers to drive for a while too, suggesting I need some rest. And what can I say, she is so damn right. I haven't slept in days.

We stop for a minute to switch places and, getting into the back seat, I take Rose in my arms.

She feels me and snuggles closer to my chest, her arms wrapping around my torso.

"Are we there yet?" she mumbles half asleep.

"Not yet, love. We still have some way to go."

"Comrade?" she asks after a minute of silence.

"Yes?"

"Will it all be okay?"

"I don't know, love. Ivan didn't call me yet. But I hope it will all be alright."

She walks the tip of her nose on my neck. "Thank you. You're the best."

Oh, I don't think she should thank me yet or declare such things. After all, it could all still go to hell.

But for now, until we get there, there's nothing more we can do.


"Dimitri?" I hear Lissa call me.

I wake up, already alert. I didn't really sleep, to be completely honest, not fully anyway. I kept on thinking about the worst scenarios and when they became dark enough, I called Ivan, and this happened a couple of times.

But even though he has a better lead than ours, on my last call, he hadn't reached Rose's parents either. So all I could do was to wait for his call when he got there. But his call hadn't come.

I try not to move too fast so I won't wake Rose up as I shake the sleepiness from my head.

"What happened?"

"I think… I mean, we got here," Lissa says and the tone of her voice doesn't sound too good. It only brings worry.

Looking out the car, past the steering wheel that Lissa is holding onto tightly, I see that one of the worst scenarios I could think of has come true.

We got here too late.

Why didn't Ivan call me until now?

Did we outrun him? Highly improbable.

Is he in there, trying to help? I hope not. The fire is so big no one would be able to escape it.

"Are we there yet? Why did we stop?"

No, no, no. Rose cannot wake up now. It's the worst time for her to wake up. She can't see this. It would kill her to see this.

Rubbing her eyes and yawning, she looks at me first.

The second she sees me, the second she sees the horror on my face, confusion fills her features.

"What happened? What's with the long face, comrade? Is something wrong? Did we get pulled over by the police or something?"

If only that had happened.

"Roza, I-"

"What? What happened? Tell me. Tell me now."

"I… I'm sorry."

Hearing my words, she panics more and when her eyes look out the window too, she sees what Lissa and I had already seen, and just as it happened to us, she remains speechless.

There is a house on the street that is burning down, and there are a lot of people gathering, but I see no firemen around, so it means that we got here a little too late.

It would be a miracle if it were just a coincidence, if that would be the house of someone else and we got the address wrong.

But her reaction is enough of a confirmation to know we got it right.

She lets out a wail, rips the blanket off her, and opening the door on her side, she jumps out of the car and starts running towards the house, all this before I get the chance to react.

I hurry out of the car too, already following her.

Given how I know her, she would enter the house to try and save them.

But it's already too late. If they're in there… it's already too late for them. The fire is too intense and the house has started falling apart.

I can't let her go inside. She can't go in there. I can't lose her like that.

Catching up with her, I get a hold of her from behind.

In the little commotion this creates, in my trying to keep her in one place and her trying to get away, she stumbles and we end up falling down on the street. A position that only gives me the advantage of a better hold on her. So I wrap my arms around her and hold her tighter.

"No! Let me go!" she struggles and wants to push me away, her whole body shaking with sobs. "Let me go there."

"I am sorry, Roza, but I can't."

"Let me go! Let me go there! They need me! They-" her voice breaks. "Please. Let me go to them. Please, please, Dimitri."

She cries and cries and buries her head into the crook of my neck, stopping her struggle for a moment.

"I'm sorry, Roza. I'm sorry."

"I hate you!" she pounds her fists into my chest and pushes me away hard. "This… this is all your fault! You, and him, and everyone shouldn't have come into my life! Get away from me! I don't want to see you ever again! You said that there was someone who was looking out for them, didn't you? Where are they now? You lied to me! Why didn't they take care of them? You told me they would be safe!"

"Rose, I… they weren't my men and I- I only could send Ivan and-"

"And they are dead! They're in there, burning to ashes! Let me go! Let me go to them! I want to die in there with them! You promised me, Dimitri. You… promised… Get away from me. I don't want to be near you ever again. I can't do this anymore. I can't. I can't take this too. It's too much..." her voice breaks into a wail.

But I don't listen to her. I will not leave her side ever again. I can't let go of her, especially not now.

"Hate me if that's what you feel. But I can't let you go in there. I won't."

"Please, Dimitri, please."

Despite her begging, I hold onto her tighter, keeping her in my embrace. And even though she is telling me to let go of her and to get away from her a couple more times, she doesn't fight me anymore, on the contrary, she cuddles to my chest, crying even harder.

"They're gone," she keeps on repeating and pounds her fists on my thighs. "You promised me. You promised me, Dimitri. And they're dead. My parents are dead. The house is burning down." she clutches onto my shirt as hard sobs shake her body. "I've lost them, too. I've lost it all."

I keep on holding her as she cries and watches the house burn. She is not even letting me move her eyes away from that view.

It breaks my heart to see her lose the last pieces left of her life. I know so well how that feels. It's awful. It's unbearable.

"Dimitri?" Oh, Lissa. I forgot about her.

I look up at her and see the apologetic look in her eyes. Yeah, I'm sorry she had to see this too.

"What happened?"

"Your phone is ringing." Yeah, I guess it had fallen into the car.

"I don't care. It doesn't matter." Nothing matters now. It's too late.

"It's um… Ivan," she insists. "I thought that you…"

It's Ivan!

I get the phone from her and answer right away.

"Please tell me that they are okay. I can't do this to her. I can't let this be real. Tell me that by some miracle, you got here before us and you took them out."

"I took them out from where?"

"Ivan, don't play with me. Tell me that you took them out of the house. Tell me that they're alive. Tell me that they're not burning in there."

"Everything's okay, Dimitri, I am not messing with you at all. And no one is burning, what's gotten into you? They are okay. But I didn't take them out of any house. They didn't even get home. As I was going that way, I got a call and found out that their flight had been delayed, big time, because of some snowstorm and I headed to the airport instead. They're with me now. They just landed."

"And why didn't you call me earlier?" I pour the rest of my anger on him.

"I wanted to be sure first."

"And are you sure?"

"Well, if this woman that looks like a copy of Rose is not her mother, then damn me, I don't know. They share the same surname too, so..."

"Ivan, I swear to God, don't be sarcastic with me now. I didn't have the best day before now."

"Oh. Sorry then. But yes, Dimitri, I am sure. It's them. And they're safe, with me."

"Thank you. Really. Thank you. You've saved the day."

"Ah, don't make me blush, brother. I'll see you soon I guess, right?"

"Sure."

I put the phone away and focus on Rose again.

She doesn't even try to move anymore, she stopped pounding her fists on me, she just let her body be heavy in my arms, the hopelessness radiating from her.

"Rose?"

She pulls away and, trying to wipe her tears away, she looks at me.

"What do you want now?"

"Your parents are alright."

She gets angry and I see her making a fist, ready to punch me. It's a miracle she didn't do it already.

"Now, you're cruel to lie to me. How can you say that?" She shows me the burning house. "Does everything there seem alright? How is that alright?!"

She wants to get up too, but I stop her, pulling her back.

"I'm not lying. I am telling the truth. Ivan just called me. Your parents are with him now."

The anger washes away from her face.

"What? How? This can't be possible. They were inside. And the house is burning and they-"

"No. They were at the airport, on their way home. They came back from their trip way later than expected."

"Oh, God!" she wipes her tears away, her eyes getting redder with each move, but a smile appears on her lips. "I can't believe this."

Her hands go around my neck and she holds me tightly, as her chest starts shaking when she gets crying again. I hope that's from happiness now.

"Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you, Dimitri. Thank you, thank you, thank you." she begins to cry harder. "I am so sorry for blaming you. God, please forgive me. I just- I just couldn't lose them. They're all I have left."

Lifting her off me, I cup her cheeks and soothe them.

"It's alright, Roza. There is nothing for me to forgive. I understand." better than anyone. "I know why you said it."

"But I said all those things. I wasn't fair. I was mean and I-"

I shake my head. "I know you didn't mean it."

"I didn't, I really didn't," she hugs me one more time, tighter than before. "Please don't hate me for saying that, Dimitri, please. I was an idiot. I am such an idiot. You make everything alright, and all I do is to blame you stupidly. Please don't be mad at me. Don't hat-"

"I could never do that, Roza. I'm not mad. It's fine. I understand." I remember how much I hated everyone around me when-

She holds me so tight I can't catch my breath for a second.

"God, you are my hero, Dimitri."

I laugh a little.

"I wouldn't call myself that, love." Not at all. I am just trying to repair the mess I brought into her life.

"But you are. Oh, you are. Thank you."

"Would you like to go and see them?"

She lifts herself up from me, excitement filling her face.

"Can we? Is it safe?"

"Yes, of course we can. Let's go."

"Oh, but they can't see me like… like this. All the bruises and this," she shows me her cast. "And everything… they can't know."

RPOV

On our way to the meeting spot Dimitri and Ivan decided upon, Lissa offers to put some makeup on my battered face and Dimitri makes a stop at a boutique he spotted along the way, all so that my parents wouldn't see the state I am in.

When we get there, I look more like the Rose I remember. Not that she would use this much makeup, but at least the bruise on my jaw is not visible now. And thanks to Dimitri, the turtleneck he bought for me is covering the ones on my neck.

And even though I am tired as hell and everything hurts at the smallest movement (I think I'll be like this for months), knowing that my folks will be here soon, I get so excited. I missed them so, so much. And I worried just as much.

As a car approaches the parking lot of this little, abandoned factory, I put my gloves on and want to get out of the car.

"Don't force yourself to do too much, okay, love?" Dimitri is already by my side, extending a hand for me.

I smile at him and take it, welcoming the support his body provides.

"But I don't want them to worry." I'll do my best to hide it all.

He smiles too. "I know. But promise me that the first second you feel unwell, you'll tell me, okay?"

"Yeah, I'll do that, comrade." even though I think it won't be necessary for me to open my mouth.

Maybe he thinks I didn't observe it, but his eyes are on me, watching my every move, like he is expecting for me to faint any second now.

"Good," he says and bends to kiss my forehead. "Now let's go."

With him holding my hand the whole time and with Lissa standing by my side too, we head towards them, and I do my best to not be wobbly on my feet.

Dimitri comes up with a good idea for us to stop next to a piece of a fallen wall of concrete so that I could lean on it the whole time, so we do that and wait for the others to come to us.

When the car stops, my parents get out first, and Ivan follows.

Soon enough, Lissa turns and looking past me, she eyes Dimitri weirdly, then announces to us that she's leaving, a cold, harsh tone in her voice.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Lissa, I forg-"

"It's fine," she says through gritted teeth. "Really. I knew he'd come, so it's not your fault anyway," she mumbles more. "I'll just… I don't know… go now that I am not needed anymore. I am glad I could help," she tries to approach a joyful tone, but it is not really working.

"Here, you can take our car." Dimitri extends her the keys.

"But what about you two?"

"Don't worry. We'll be fine. We'll find a ride. Thank you for your help."

"Don't mention it, Dimitri," she says trying to keep the same joyful tone, this time playing her part better.

She proceeds to hug us, me last.

"It was nice meeting you, Rose. Take care of yourself, will you? You'll need it," she gives me one last piece of advice and after I thank her for everything, she goes away, heading back to the car.

Turning back to Dimitri, I can't stop voicing my curiosity.

"Hey, what's the matter with her? Or should I say them?"

"Oh, love, I forgot our stuff in the car. I'll go take them before Lissa leaves with them."

And so, I don't get an answer, and well, I can't go after him to make him tell me because well, let's say that I get a little assaulted by my parents and their tight, painful hugs.

I don't make a single sound of pain when they immerse me with their love, and I see it on Dimitri's face when he comes back that he wanted to intervene or even tell them to be careful, but he restrained himself quite well.

But to compensate for things and to make Dimitri a little happier about my condition, I'll sit on this piece of concrete the whole time. Like this, he'll worry a little less.

After them, it's Ivan's turn to come and hug me, as my parents are busy meeting Dimitri.

As his arms wrap lightly around me, like knowing so well what could be underneath, he whispers to me.

"How are you hanging in there, kiddo?"

Kiddo?

"I could be better."

"Yeah, I can only imagine." He pulls away and smiles at me. "You're doing a good job so far."

And taking a few steps back, all we're doing now is to look at each other for some seconds.

"Dad, what's that on your face?"

"Oh, you know your father, sunshine." my mother intervenes, with an amused tone. "Abe put up a fight when your friend came to pick us up, and now he and Ivan both have a bruise," she ends up in laughter, which gets a little contagious.

Yeah, they both do. I thought that the one starting to get darker under Ivan's left eye had another cause and I didn't think to ask. But when I observed the one on my father's jaw, I had to know how he acquired it.

I would show them my collection of bruises. We'd match perfectly, the three of us (or maybe four? I still don't know what Dimitri went through while we were apart), but I won't risk worrying them more than they already are.

"In my defense, I didn't throw the first punch. And I was only trying to defend myself," Ivan says, mostly to Dimitri that is eyeing him weirdly.

I can't help it but laugh loudly, despite the pain under my ribs. Yeah, my father has always been like this when it comes to his family. Protect now, ask questions later.

"Yeah, well, then maybe next time he shouldn't try to play the secretive guy card on me," my father protests.

"Sure, sure, honey. Get over it already," my mother puts an arm around him, and her eyes land on me next. "You said you were on vacation."

"Yeah, I kind of had to lie to you about that."

"How come? Why?"

And as I fill them in briefly and with as little information as I can for them to not worry too much, Dimitri takes Ivan away. I hope he won't get scolded though.

DPOV

Getting as far away from them so that they could have a private conversation, as I look at him, I see a smug smile appearing on his face.

"Cut it out, Ivan. I really don't want to hear it now."

"Hear what? That I was-"

"Really now. Cut it out or I'll hurt you more than Rose's father did."

"Oh, come on. Let me say it. Let me say I was-"

I sigh. "Fine. Go on and enjoy yourself. Say it." he was right, after all. He was so right when he said that Rose will be the end of me and he can see it so clearly.

But now he makes a face. "Nah, if you let me say it, it takes the fun out of it." Now, his expression gets very serious. "Just… be sure, okay? It's been what? Ten years since… you know?"

"I don't think I want to have that conversation now." I don't ever want to have this conversation. But he just keeps on bringing this subject up, each time he gets the chance.

"You should one day. You never-"

"Let's not play the psychiatrist now, shall we? I didn't bring you here for this. I just wanted to ask you if you could take them to a safe place after this."

"Yes, sure. I know a lot of places. But what about the other things going around?"

"I'll take care of them. Somehow." I didn't think about how I would end this mess, but I need to take care of a lot of loose ends.

He smiles. "Like you always do? By yourself?"

I nod. "You know I have to." he already got involved in this too much. A lot of people did and I need to stop it before it affects them more than it already did.

"Fine. Just... don't do anything stupid."

"Like?"

"Like, I don't know, don't get yourself killed? Or don't get into deeper shit?"

"Tell me, how well do you know me?"

"That's the problem, buddy. That I know you well enough."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You know what I mean. I know you well enough to know that you would do whatever it takes for her." Yeah, that's true. "But… do you think it's worth it?"

"She is worth it."

"I wasn't talking about that, Dimitri, or about why you're doing it. I understand that. I was talking about all the things coming her way. Is that worth it? Are you ready for that? Is she?"

I know these questions come from his own experience. I mean, I could see the face he made when he saw Lissa here earlier. Hers too. But I just can't keep on pushing Rose away. I don't want to do that anymore. I am sick of living like this. Rose made me realize that, and I am not going back to that ever again.

"No. I am not ready, and neither is she. But I'll do my best to set things right before I come back to her, so that there won't be any other things coming her way in the first place."

"Oh, you will?" I nod. I will do whatever it takes. "Why do I have the feeling that this will bring you a lot of trouble?"

"Because it probably will."

He sighs. "I am well aware that I won't be able to change your mind, God only knows that no one managed to change mine about Lissa, but just make sure that you won't let Mama mourn for a child, okay? She would kill me too if you did something stupid like getting yourself killed."

"I'll try my best. And now, tell me, do you have what I asked you for?"

He smiles and nods. "I never thought you and I would ever make such an exchange, Dimitri. But here we are. I am glad that at least this is not pink."

RPOV

"What? This can't be," my mother says this for the thousandth time ever since I started explaining to them what happened.

"Yes, I know, I couldn't believe it myself, mom. It all happened so fast, but it happened. And here we are now."

"And who is this man? Who are these men? Why are they helping you?" my father inquires now.

"Well, they just helped me," I say looking at Dimitri as he approaches us. For whatever reason, Ivan decided to go to the car and wait there.

I smile at Dimitri, who reciprocates the smile, making my heart fill with warmth. He always makes me react this way.

"They kept me alive through all this. They're good people."

Hearing this, my parents react differently. My mother smiles and I swear she's on the verge of tears when she looks at Dimitri. She even hugs him and thanks him a couple of times for keeping me safe.

But with my father, well, things are different. I already said how protective he gets and I guess they already started to think there's something going on between Dimitri and I, so of course, he says this:

"I want to have a talk with you, Dimitri," my father says with a serious tone and a straight, long face that I know so well. He wants to give Dimitri the fatherly speech!

"Abe, honey…" my mother starts, and pulls him away for a second, and I hope that she is telling him to behave, because that's what I want to tell him too.

As they're busy talking, Dimitri comes closer to me.

"Sorry about that."

"About what?"

"For what he's going to tell you. Trust me, I have heard that speech a lot of times before, and it has never gotten better, no matter how much he practiced it."

He laughs a little. "Don't worry. I guess I can handle your father. Or at least I hope I can. I wouldn't want to have the same fate as Ivan," he ends a little amused and I laugh too.

I take his hand in mine and play with his fingers.

"What will you tell him?"

He smiles and kisses my forehead.

"I will tell him that I would do anything for you, to keep you safe, to make you happy and that he shouldn't worry about my intentions."

"Oh, he shouldn't?" My tone is playful, but he keeps a straight face.

"No. Of course not. I don't intend to hurt you in any way, love." He didn't get what I meant.

"So, this means that your intentions are pure, huh?" I continue with the same tone and this time he gets it because he smiles.

"I guess you could say that, at least about some of my intentions."

"And what about your other intentions? Should he worry about those?"

"What other intentions?" He plays the innocent now.

"Your bad intentions, of course."

He gives me a flirty smile, appreciating my playfulness, and he starts drawing little circles on my thigh.

"Oh, I don't think he should know about those, don't you think? Or else, he wouldn't let me be around you for too long, Roza."

"Right. So, don't mention that to him. It will be our secret."

"Deal. But hold onto that thought, love. I want us to continue this conversation later," he says and bends to kiss my cheek. "And be sure that I don't forget about it. But now, your father will get mad at me if I don't go, and I don't want us to start on the wrong foot, so..." he keeps on smiling as he turns around and heads towards my father.

And as the men go away, I remain with my mother, my mother who starts smiling at me the second she gets close enough.

Oh, why do I feel like I am about to get a talk myself?

"Since when do you wear makeup without someone forcing you, huh?"

Ever since my face is full of bruises.

"What? Does it look bad?"

"No, of course not, sunshine. You look lovely as always. But tell me now, is he your new boyfriend?" Oh, wow, she goes straight to that subject. And she sounds so excited. "Don't get me wrong, but I never really liked Alexander. But this one right here looks like-"

"Mooom. Stop it. He might hear you."

"No, he cannot. He is too far."

Oh, that's not true. They don't seem to have gotten too far and from how well I know Dimitri, he is able to pick up on the littlest of sounds and he's always listening. So why wouldn't he be listening to us now?

"And he is speaking to your father anyway, so he's not paying attention to our girl talk here. And stop shying away now and tell me everything about your cutie."

Her daring words make me shy away.

"He is not my cutie." I don't even know for sure what we are.

"Whatever, Rose. Call him whatever you want. Just tell me."

She is way too excited about this. And from what I remember, she never got this excited about any of the other guys I went out with. So what's the deal?

"How is he treating you? Is he treating you nicely? I hope he is because your father would gladly-"

"Yes. Yes, Mom. He is. He really is." I can't help but smile stupidly as I look at him talking with my father and I think about all the nice things he has done for me.

My mother sees that and smiles, her eyes only getting more inquiring.

"Tell me, don't keep me waiting," she insists.

"He is… great, Mom." Of course, leaving aside the part when he wanted to kill me, or all the times I am sure I made him take getting rid of me into consideration. "He is such a good man. And he is… kind. Good-hearted."

"And… what about something else?" I didn't like the tone she used with this question. She seemed… playful? What in the hell, Mom?

"Something else? Like what?"

"Like, don't tell your father, but…" she leans closer to me, but her eyes are on Dimitri. "How does he look underneath that duster?"

"Mom!" I squeal as I feel my cheeks starting to burn. She did not just ask that!

The men turn and look our way, smiling. I try to seem composed as I smile back at them and look back at my mother.

"I cannot believe you asked me something like that," I scolded her, whispering.

"Why? What if I did?"

"You are married."

She puffs and even rolls her eyes.

"Don't make such a big deal out of it. That's not what I meant, Rose, not in that way."

"Really? Then what did you mean?"

"Come on. You know I love your father to the moon and back and then a little more, and that I would never hit on any of your boyfriends. I have everything I ever needed with your father. But it is not a mother's fault that she wants beautiful grandchildren."

I laugh. "That's it? You want beautiful grandchildren?"

I have never heard this word from her mouth before. She never told me she wants grandchildren, and now she tells me she wants me to have them with Dimitri? Not that I wouldn't enjoy the idea of conceiving them-

"Of course, what mother wouldn't? So come on. Give me a little spice. Well, if you know… you two got there..."

I growl and punch her, trying to be playful, and maybe I punch her a little harder than I intended, but she just laughs.

"Mom, really, stop it now or I'll die of embarrassment."

I don't know if she was aware of the fact that I was still a virgin until this week, but hell, for her to ask me so bluntly if Dimitri and I had sex? Wow. I've never expected her to be like this. She never asked such stuff about the other guys I went out with, so where does this sudden interest come from?

"Why? I am your mother after all. You know you can tell me stuff."

"I know, Mom."

"So?" she insists.

"He is…" I shrug. "Good looking…"

"That's all?" I swear I can feel the disappointment in her voice. It's kinda funny to see her so interested in my relationship with Dimitri.

"What else do you want to know, mum? That he is hot as fuck?"

She smiles, so proud of herself. "Well, yes. If he is, then yes. Is he?"

I smile too, stupidly, especially remembering how I called him a god when I was drunk.

"Yes, he is, Mom. But not only on the outside."

"That's good. I am glad to hear that. You know, I am happy you found him."

"How can you say that? You just met him like, ten minutes ago." She so doesn't know the whole story about him. I don't know it either, but hell, I feel a lot of things about him.

"So? You know I've always had a thing for what vibes people give." yeah, she was always good at reading people. Too bad that she couldn't see through Xavier's bullshit too.

"And what vibes does Dimitri give?"

"Good ones. Like, really, really good ones. I like him. I am feeling that he's a good guy." Oh, he's so much more than that. He's a sweetheart.

"Hey, wait a second. How come you never said something like that about any of my other boyfriends?"

"Well, let's be honest now, sunshine. Neither of the guys you dated was boyfriend material."

"Oh, really? And when would you have found it proper to let me know that? When I got married to one of them? After?"

"Oh, I just didn't want to hurt your feelings. You seemed to be happy with them. At least with some of them." she stops, looking around, feeling a little awkward about what she wants to say next. "To be honest, I thought that this Alexander guy you were dating… I don't know… he seemed…"

"Yeah, don't remind me of that bastard. He seemed nice. But all he did and said was a bunch of lies and I hope he dies struck by lightning." not that this would ever compensate for the things he did to me, but I hope he suffers too because he deserves it. That bitch of his too.

"Yes, I guess that Alexander didn't prove to be the gentleman he pretended to be. He fooled us all."

"Well Mom, I don't think you need all that shit to be a gentleman. Who needs suits, and fake manners, and sweet lies? Sometimes a duster and a character rough around the edges is more than enough." Dimitri is more than enough.

"But hey, every cloud has a silver lining."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, even though Alexander has turned out to be the one breaking your heart, this fella right here," she points to Dimitri and I swear she's smiling so warmly at his sight. "He came out of nowhere and picked up the pieces and he made you happy again. Don't you think I saw how sad you were that week you spent home out of nowhere a couple of months ago? I did, but I didn't want to make you suffer more about it by questioning you. I knew it was about Alex, but I didn't want to ask. But him? Dimitri is your silver lining. I see how happy you are when you look at him, the way you smile just when you talk about him, and that makes me glad. I'm glad you met him, even if it happened under these circumstances."

Listening to what she is saying to me, I look at Dimitri and feel my heart starting to fill with love once more. She is right. I mean, even though he is the one who came swirling in my life like death wearing a leather duster, turning everything around, messing my life up in ways I never thought could be possible, he is the one that put everything back in place too. He is the one who made everything alright again. He always does, even the worst of things. He is the one who showed me that not everything is lost. That I can still smile and feel alive. And I love him for that. More than anything.

"So, Mom, do you think that he and I…" I don't even know what to ask, but I want her to tell me what she thinks about it.

"Oh, sure, sunshine, I am sure about it. You and Dimitri… yeah, I like it. And just so you know, I'll be here waiting for my beautiful grandchildren."

I start laughing and extend my arm a little so that I could hug her. "Oh, Mom, you're unbelievable."

She hugs me back, holding me tight. "What? I don't want to be an old grandmother."

"Who is going to be a grandmother?" I hear my father ask.

Oh, shit, I didn't see them coming.

"No one," I respond fast and I pray that none of them will want to know more about the subject.

But even though none of them says more, they all smile and I try to smile too, of course, besides blushing.

My mother goes to my father, probably to fill him in on the little talk we had or vice versa, and Dimitri comes to me.

His palm comes over mine and he smiles at me as our eyes meet.

"You're feeling okay, love?"

"Don't know for sure. But I want to ask you to do something for me."

"Anything. Just name it."

"Anything?" I ask, my eyebrow already lifted. How come all of a sudden I can't stop being this playful around him? Could it be because I am so, so happy?

He smiles cheekily. "Love, I told you to hold that thought for later. Your parents are here and I wouldn't want them to get a bad impression of me."

But despite his scolding words, his fingers start playing on the inside of my palm, sending little tingles through my body.

"Fine, fine, comrade. We wouldn't want that."

"So, what was it that you wanted to ask me in the first place?"

"When I get up to my feet, do you think you can support me? I don't want to be wobbly in front of them."

"Sure. No problem, love. I will hold onto you."

"Thanks."

He helps me get up to my feet and I hold onto his duster mostly, my palm getting a good grip of the material, and he puts an arm around my waist for more support as we get closer to my parents and we're heading towards Ivan, who is going to take them somewhere safe now.

"Aw, look at them, Abe. They look so cute."

"Mom…" I whine. "Stop," I plead for my cause.

If she won't stop, I am sure she will say more things and I will end up either blushing like crazy or die of embarrassment. With her and all the things she says, you never know.

"Do you think you could kiss a little? I want to see you." Here it is, she just couldn't restrain herself.

"Mooooom! Don't do this, please." I growl and as we stop, I blush even harder than before, when it came to the grandmother incident, and this is mostly because Ivan has heard this too and now he's looking at me, smiling.

"Come on. Just a little. Do you have any idea how long I waited for you to have a decent boyfriend?"

"Mom, we…" how can I tell her that I have not the slightest idea what Dimitri and I are? We haven't established anything. We kissed a lot and we've done stuff, but no one has said anything either.

"Just a little smooch," she insists and the men around us get extremely amused by her teasing.

"No. Stop it, I mean it." I get threatening, but she just takes it as a joke.

"Ah, you're such a prude. You've always been. We're your parents." my father decides to intervene, but not in my favor.

"That's exactly why!"

The men only laugh more. Yeah, my embarrassment must be really funny. I'll make sure I will at least pay Dimitri back later. He could have stood up for me a little.

"It's just a kiss, sunshine. We've seen you naked for Christ's sake."

Oh, here it is, that comment that turns everything from blushing to dying of embarrassment.

"Oh my God. You didn't say that." I bury my face into Dimitri's duster. "And you all please tell me you didn't hear that."

Dimitri chuckles under me and soothes my back. He heard it so damn well. Everybody did.

"Please kill me now, comrade. And do it fast, please."

He just chuckles again and I lift my head to give him a squinting look. Oh, I will so pay him back somehow for being their accomplice.

"You'll get used to her, Dimitri," my father pats his shoulder like they are such good friends already. So, should I get that their conversation was a good one?

"Yeah, she has always been so shy. I don't know who she got that from," my mother feels the need to inform him about that too. Like he didn't already know it. I blushed at the blunt things he told me countless times.

He soothes my back in response and holds me a little tighter.

"I know, Ma'am." uh-oh, someone is about to get scolded.

"Who are you calling Ma'am?" my mother gets more than offended by Dimitri's words, thankfully not that seriously. "I'm not eighty, you know? Call me Janine, please."

And I can be thankful that the conversation has moved on from embarrassing Rose.

"Now come on, sunshine. You'll have to say goodbye to him sooner or later. Do you want us to turn around so that you two can kiss goodbye or-"

I rip away from Dimitri and look at him confused.

"Goodbye? Say goodbye to you? Why?"

He nods. "You're going somewhere safe with your parents. Ivan will take you there."

"That's not what we talked about. Did you even think to ask me about it? Did you think to ask me if I want that?"

I get so, so angry about this that I don't even need for him to help me be steady on my feet.

"Hey, kiz, you don't have to get this angry. He-" my father tries to fix things, but I won't hear it. To hell if I am letting him send me away like this.

"No, old man. This is something we need to talk about. In private, please," I say to Dimitri at last and I am already starting to pull him after me.

From the anger I feel, the pain in my body is just a memory. It simply vanished as I pulled him far enough so that our conversation wouldn't be heard.

"Were you even going to tell me you still wanted to send me away?"

"I just did. You found out."

"That doesn't give me much comfort, Dimitri. And I am not going with them, whatever you decided. I haven't decided that myself."

"Rose, you know it would be better if you'd go with them."

No. I won't sit on my ass and wait for him to do things. I won't let him go God-knows-where while I am sitting locked in a room just because he thinks it's safer.

"I don't care. I want to help you. I don't know what to do, but I want to help. And I am going with you, no matter what."

"Rose…"

"Look. I… I am not doing it just for myself. If there is still someone after me, I don't want to be with them. I don't want to put them in danger more than I already did. I want to go with you. I know they'll be safe and by being with you, so will I. Please. Don't send me away, not with them, not to Lissa, not to Ivan, not to anyone."

"Are you sure about this? Is this what you really want?"

"Yes. Very sure. More than ever. I want to remain with you."

He caresses my cheek, thinking, then shakes his head.

"It won't be safe and I can't-"

"Please. I just want to know they are safe and sound even if they are going to be away from me. Send them away, but not me. Wouldn't you do the same for your family?"

Maybe I am taking it a little too far by mentioning this, but I have to. I need to convince him.

"I would, Roza. I would, but you-"

"Take me with you, please. I have been away from you, and I don't want that anymore. And I don't know, maybe I will be able to help you somehow."

For a whole minute, he doesn't say a single word. He is taking his time thinking about this and I am praying that he will agree. I see all the emotions and all the thoughts passing through his mind as his thumbs keep on caressing my cheeks.

And call me crazy, but he's looking at me like he would be ready to say goodbye. But to hell if I am letting him send me away. I will run away if I have to, even from Ivan. No one will keep me in place.

"Will you take me with you?" I finally dare to ask.

He sighs, like he is defeated. "Yes. Yes, I will."

"You will?" Don't get me wrong, I am only surprised that he said yes right away.

He nods and I round my arms on him and hold him so, so tight.

"Thank you, Dimitri. You won't regret this, I promise."

"Oh, love. I am already regretting it, but I know you won't give up on this easily. From how I know you, you'd jump out of Ivan's car and you'd find a way to come with me."

"Oh, you know me so well, comrade."

Now that things are taken care of, we get back to my parents, who I kiss and hug goodbye.

When it comes to Ivan, I need to make sure he will take care of my parents. They're the persons who are most precious to me that are left. Two out of three.

After I threaten him with the best things that come to mind, he just laughs and hugs me. But hey, I have seen pride filling his face as he was listening to me. I guess I got quite inventive with the things I'd do to him if he doesn't keep my folks safe.

"I surely will, kiddo. I'll take care of them as best as I can. But tell me one thing."

"What?"

"How did you convince him to change his mind about taking you with him? God knows I tried to do this countless times about so many things, but I never succeeded. The bastard is unmovable."

I shrug. "Maybe I am his soft spot."

He smiles, but it doesn't look like a happy smile.

"Yeah, I guess you are, kiddo."

He ruffles my hair a little and gives me a genuine smile this time. Oh, it kinda annoys me a little that he's treating me like I am such a kid. But I also like it that he was so comfortable to get familiar with me. I like him too.

"Just, you two take care, will you?"

"I guess we'll try as best as we can."

As all the goodbyes have been said, and all the protests of my mother and father have been taken care of with believable enough assurances that I will be fine, the three of them get inside the car and they leave.

When they get far enough, I sigh and I put one palm on Dimitri's forearm for support.

"Oh, thank God they left."

"Why? You didn't want to stay with them more?"

"I do want them to stay." I really do and I am a little sad that they had to leave so fast, but I am glad that they're going somewhere safe. "But I am just so exhausted, I don't think I could have kept myself sitting up straight in front of them for longer."

"Oh, love. Why didn't you tell me?" his voice gets concerned in a flash and here, this is the very reason I didn't tell him anything until now. "Are you okay? Are you feeling bad? Nauseous? Are you having any chest pains? Anything?"

"No, no, no. I'm fine. You worry too much. I am fine. Yeah, I am fine."

"Really?"

"I am really fine. Fine as hell. Why would you ask me again if I already told you I'm fine? Really, I am fine. Totally fine, comrade."

"You're repeating that word over and over again, but you don't look like you are." he cups my cheeks and lifts my head, and it takes me some seconds to focus my eyes on him. Yeah, he may be right. I don't feel that fine. "You're pale and to be honest, you look like all the times when you fainted, love."

"You got me. I think you're right. And I think that now would be a good moment for you to catch me, please," I end fast as I feel my legs starting to go mushy under me.

I see the panic on his face for a couple of seconds, seconds it takes him to come closer and to put an arm around my waist.

Like this, he pulls me closer to him and I lean on his body, resting my forehead on his chest, welcoming the familiarity of his body close to mine, of his scent, of his warmth.

"How bad is it?"

"I just lost my balance. I was feeling a little dizzy, that's all. Oh, why lie to you? I was seeing little black spots before my eyes. But now that you're holding me, it's much better. I think I started moving too fast, or too much."

"Or could it be because you got mad? Because I got you mad?"

"I don't think so, comrade." I don't want him to think he is responsible for this. Lifting my head, I smile at him. "I think I just depleted my energy, that's all."

"And what do you think we could do about that?"

"Dunno. Do you have any suggestions?"

"What if I take you to eat something?"

"Something like?"

Him mentioning food already got my stomach rumbling and, to be honest, I can't recall the last time when I had a proper meal. The last thing I ate was an oatmeal bar that Lissa offered me.

"Like anything your heart desires. Maybe a double dessert too?"

I laugh. "Oh, comrade. You know how to keep a girl happy."

He smiles. "Good. Then it's settled. That's our first stop. But before that, let me…"

He puts his other arm around me and pulls me even closer to him, and feeling his body so close to mine, oh, after all this time when I couldn't have him close to me like this, it feels heavenly. I sigh and dive into this little bliss.

But he gets concerned again.

"Did this hurt you?" he wants to pull away from me.

I growl and wrap my palms on his duster, pulling him back to me.

"Don't you dare let go of me."

He chuckles. "So, can I hold you for a little longer?"

"Please do. For as long as you wish." I'd like for him to hold me like this forever. "But comrade?"

"What?"

"You know I'm sorry, don't you?"

Looking down at me, he frowns. "What for?"

"For the things I said."

"Roza, I told you-"

"I know you said you understand. But I hate myself for saying those words. I shouldn't have and I-" my eyes already fill with tears and he hurries to wipe them away before they spill. "I'm sorry. I wasn't fair and-"

"Shh. It's fine, love. I promise I am not mad at you. I never could be." he cuddles me to his chest and kisses my forehead a couple of times. "Don't you think about that anymore. I am not holding anything against you."

Oh, he's so good to me.

I kiss the closest spot of his skin that I find, his collarbone, and sigh.

"Thank you, comrade."

Holding me a little tighter, he sighs too.

"I missed this," he says as his nose nuzzles along my cheek. "I haven't had much time to hold you like this since I found you."

I smile into his embrace. "I missed this too, comrade." I missed feeling him close, feeling his warmth. "And…"

"And what?"

"I missed kissing you too..." in the comfort of his embrace, I dare voice my little request, shrugging.

We haven't done that either ever since he found me. Just little pecks now and then, but no serious kiss.

Putting a little distance in between us, he looks at me and smiles.

"Oh, really?" I nod and he smiles wider. "Then…" He comes a little closer to my face and in anticipation, I lick my lips and get biting on my bottom one. "I think we could do something about that, love, right now."

Taking his time, he comes closer, and closer, and closer, until our lips touch so gently. I close my eyes and wait for more. And oh, he is so eager to offer it.

Cupping my cheeks and tilting his head, he presses his lips to mine, and soon, his tongue flickers past my lips, and I part them, not needing another cue. I've waited for this kiss for so long.

He pulls away just for a second, in which he looks at me and smiles.

"Me too, Roza. I missed this too."

Coming closer again, this time he doesn't take it slow. My lips already parted, my mouth already waiting for him, he passes his fingers through my hair and he kisses me once more.

Feeling like I am starting to float when his warm tongue invades my mouth, I grab onto his duster for some imaginary stability.

"Oh, love," he mumbles in my mouth as his tongue slows down, taking its time now to taste and explore mine.

A minute later, or could it be an hour? Two? I don't know, the time seemed to expand for me as his lips were taking over my mouth and my brain. But we finally pull apart, both of us smiling goofily.

My palms still wrapped on the leather of his coat, I feel something new, something odd.

"I don't think I want to know what's hiding in the pocket of your duster, comrade."

"Oh, I think you do."

"I do?"

"Ahem. Come on. Check it out."

Still a little reticent about what I might find in there, I do as I've been told and slip my hand into his pocket.

I frown confused as I feel a ragged material under my fingertips.

"Comrade, what's that?"

"Come on, get it out. See for yourself."

Taking the little thing out of his pocket and looking at it, I smile.

"Oh, Dimitri…" my eyes fill with tears again and my heart with so much warmth. "Oh, comrade… you saved Miss Pickle. Again? How?"

"I asked Ivan to keep an eye on it for me ever since we left it in the car I gave him back at the bar."

I laugh at the thought of Ivan babysitting my silly toy.

"You really did this for me. Why?"

"I thought you would like to have it back. It seemed important to you and I didn't want you to lose it."

"I do. And it is important to me." It's the last thing reminding me of my sweet Ash. "Thank you." I lift on my tippy toes to hug him and kiss his cheek about a thousand times. "Have I ever mentioned that you're the best?"

"Yeah, you mentioned it a couple of times, but I still haven't figured out why yet."

I punch him a little.

"Because you simply are. You are the best, Dimitri." he remembers all these little things about me and he goes to any lengths to do nice things for me. How could I not love him for this?

"Well, if you say so, then there must be some truth to it."

"There is."

Smiling, he comes and kisses me again.

"Now, in order to get you to eat something, I have to go away for a little while to find us a ride. Would you stay here until I come back? I don't want you walking around too much."

"Yeah, I like that idea. I don't feel like walking much either." I am not sure I could do it anyway.

He smiles, relieved. "I like it when we're on the same page, love."

Leaving the backpack with our things with me, Dimitri goes away, and I stay behind, sitting on my old friend, the piece of concrete and for once in these chaotic days, I feel at ease. Everything is good, at last. I can relax a little and just breathe.

But no more than a minute later, there's a phone ringing inside the backpack.

I finally find it in one of the little pockets and I see that the one that's calling is Ivan. Maybe it's important. So, even though it's Dimitri's phone, I answer. After all, he has my parents with him and God forbid something happened to any of them. It's been only ten minutes since they left.

"Hey, there."

"Rose?"

"Yeah, that's me."

"Where's my brother?" yeah, funny thing about that. They say they're brothers, but I haven't seen the resemblance so far. But oh, that is not important now.

"He went to find us a car."

"So you're alone there?"

"Kinda."

At this, he starts using the words Dimitri uses when something is about to get bad.

"Would you tell me what's happening? What's wrong? Are you three safe?"

"Kiddo, don't worry about us now. There was a car chasing us, but I took care of it and lost it," isn't that a little paranoid? I mean, who would follow them now? Maybe they just had similar paths to follow. "But there might be something happening to you too, and soon. There's something off about this situation."

"Like?" I still don't see the danger, only the paranoia.

"Like, I don't know what's going to happen. But be careful. I think your stupid ex did something again and got us followed from the airport there, only with a little delay. Or who knows, maybe they waited for us to split up."

"That can't be." Why would he even bother to do this? He has what he wants. He wouldn't bother with this, it is of no importance to him.

But after all, he is a vengeful motherfucker. He burned my parents' house for nothing. Why wouldn't he go after them too? Why wouldn't he come for us if he somehow found out we're still breathing? I bet that Tasha already found out from her little friends that Dimitri is still alive. Maybe they know I am alive too.

"Oh, it apparently can be, Rose. Now do something for me. Go find Dimitri. Fast. And make sure you call me when you're both safe, will you? Otherwise, your mother will break my neck, and to be honest, I never thought that's how I would die."

The seriousness of his words hits me and after I end the call, panics takes over me.

But not for me.

What if they already got Dimitri? What if he went out there not knowing this and they got him?

Leaving my spot, I start running toward the place Dimitri headed.

But when I get there it's already too late.

There's one guy already lying on the ground, and there's another one fighting Dimitri.

DPOV

This is exactly what I didn't want to happen.

I didn't want Rose to come.

Why did she come? I thought we agreed for her to sit there.

And because I got distracted by her presence, I didn't see the fist coming my way, or the leg that was behind me and knocked me off balance completely, making me end up on the ground, next to the man I just knocked out a couple of seconds ago.

"Hey! Get off him" Rose drops the backpack she was carrying and rushes toward us.

"No, Rose! Go away!" I say to her as I try to get this last guy off me, but I don't do such a good job.

But of course, there's no one to listen to me.

She comes and jumps on the guy's back, and her hands try to get a hold of him and to rip him off me.

But she doesn't succeed much because he pushes her off him easily, her body too weak and too hurt to be able to fight back to his elbow hit.

With a yelp, she stumbles back and crumbles to the ground, her hands around her middle, and she's struggling to catch her breath. Oh, that bastard, he hit her liver!

All she managed to do is to distract him enough so that I would be able to get the upper hand over the situation.

A thing I do without hesitation.

I turn us around and pound my fists into his face until there's blood springing out of his nose like a little fountain.

All he does is start laughing.

"What do you think you're accomplishing by killing me? Someone else will come for you two. More people are on their way to get rid of all of this. To get rid of you both."

"Oh, shut up."

Getting a hold of his chin, I turn his head fast, snapping his neck.

But hell, wasn't he right?

As I go help Rose up to her feet, another car appears and it's heading our way fast.

And that's not the only car coming. Two more are heading this way, only they're a little farther than this one here.

Fuck! How did this happen? Who found us and how?

She is still crying from the pain and I am only inflicting more on her as I handle her, but I have no other choice.

The car reaches us in less than ten seconds, and I know we don't have the time to run away. Rose won't be able to run that fast.

After I bend for one of the guns on the ground, I turn Rose to face my chest, not wanting to let her look up as I wait for the two men inside the car to get out.

Not giving them any chance to fight back, I shoot five times. Okay. Two of them are down. Who knows how many of them are coming in those two other cars?

As I get her out of here, I still keep her looking at me, and not at the dead bodies on the ground. She has seen enough death already.

Because there's nowhere to go, I decide to take her inside the abandoned building, hoping I'll find a good spot for her to hide in, but not before I pick up the backpack she dropped earlier and the other gun laying on the ground. I'll need these a little later.

I see that she's in pain, but she doesn't make a single sound as we're running away, and when I want to pick her up, she refuses and just pushes herself as we keep on going. Yeah, there goes the resting that Lissa recommended.

We climb two stories and enter a room that looks safe enough. Yeah, this will do. It's far enough and I'll make sure no one reaches this room.

As she props herself up on a table here, catching her breath, I start searching through the backpack, thanking Lissa for giving me these vials. I didn't think I'd need them, but oh, how I need them now.

I break the end of one of the plastic vials and extend it to Rose.

"Here, take this."

"What's this for?"

"For your pain, so that you'll be able to run. We'll need to run and you'll feel it strongly. This will temper it."

Without any other question, she takes it from me and drinks it.

I wait a little, and I am already starting to feel bad for having to lie to her, for taking advantage of her trust in me, but I had no other choice.

A couple of seconds later, she squints her eyes at me and tries to focus on me.

"Dimitri? What is this? I don't feel too well."

"I am sorry, love."

"For what?"

RPOV

What is he apologizing for?

Oh, I start feeling even dizzier than a few seconds ago.

"Wha… what did… you give…. give me?"

Fuck. Did he just drug me? Again?

"Dimitri?"

I can't move properly. I can't move at all. I can't even open my mouth!

"It's fine, Roza."

My body feels mushy and my head is heavy and oh, thank God that he was here to catch me, otherwise, I would have hit the floor.

But that won't prevent me from killing him when I wake up.

How dare he?

"I'm sorry, but I had to." are his words that ring faintly in my ears before I fall into blackness.