A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who reviews and shares their thoughts. I enjoy reading them so much. Okay, so this is a beast of a chapter. This chapter has trigger warnings. Can't be super specific without spoilers so if you have concerns, pm me. This chapter switches POV a few times too, so pay attention to that. Thanks to maplestyle, lamomo, a goodwitch, and bitterharpy for the prereading. Also, thanks to Alice's white rabbit. Love all you girl! Onto the story.
"What do we do, Marcus?"
"Get the girl and run."
Just then, the screams started up again upstairs, but this time, they were screams for help.
BPOV
I felt dread settle deep in my stomach, and I almost felt paralyzed. Edward shoved the phone in his pocket and grabbed his gun from the holster he always had on him, and I realized with more fear that mine was upstairs. "My gun is upstairs."
Edward swore under his breath. "If you can get to it, do it. I'm going straight to Katiya's room. We both ran upstairs and parted ways at the top. I ran to our room, not encountering anyone and trying not to think about why Katiya suddenly screamed again. I heard a gunshot and was rooted to the spot for a minute. I heard the sound of fists meeting flesh. I had to push that down too because if something happened to Edward, I was all Katiya had. I came out of the bedroom, gun raised, to see a man standing in the hall with Katiya. She was struggling and crying. He had a gun pointed straight at her temple. I lowered my gun.
"Isabella. I've heard so much about you," the man said in a smooth Russian accent. "It seems you've been taking good care of my Irina."
"Menia ne tak zovut! Otposti menia!" Katiya yelled.
"Tikho, devochka!" he told her sternly.
"Mikhail, let her go. You're holding a gun to your own child's head," I said, the disgust evident in my voice.
"She has a purpose, and it's not for you to decide what that is. Plus, I know you will do anything to protect her. Put your gun down," he explained. I went to walk forward, and he cocked the hammer, making me stop cold. "Don't test me, malyshka. If you know my name, you know well enough I won't hesitate to do it."
"What do you want with her?" I asked, trying to get him to talk as I put the gun on the ground.
He made a gesture, telling me to kick the gun to him, which I did. "Now, I know by your American action movies, the 'bad guy' is supposed to give a monologue and give up his whole plan, but let's skip that, and you can stay tuned."
Before I could move or say anything further, another man came up the stairs, and Mikhail handed Katiya over to him. With the gun no longer pointed at her head, I rushed forward, but Mikhail stepped in my path. I dropped my shoulder and planned to ram into him. He was a big guy, and I was hoping to at least catch him off guard.
Unfortunately, he wasn't caught off guard, and he hit me with an elbow in the middle of my shoulder blades, which soundly knocked me on my ass. I groaned and curled over to my side. I felt the cold steel of a gun against my temple. I spit out the blood collecting in my mouth—I bit my cheek when he hit me. "You may have another use; you really are beautiful," he said, running his hand over my cheek and down my neck. I flinched away from his touch.
"I'd rather you kill me instead of being any part of your plans."
"Get up, or I will make you beg for death, and I'm not a merciful man, devochka." I got up, glaring at him the whole time. "My darling Tatiana used to give me that defiant look. I broke her spirit, and I can do the same to you."
I knew what Edward thought he had done to Katiya's mom, and I knew that he was capable of doing the same to me. "Please, just tell me if Edward is still alive."
"He will be if he gets medical help before he bleeds out, but that is not a main concern of mine."
"Please, I'm a nurse. I can help him."
"Why would I let you do that? So he can run after us? Let's go," he said. I wanted to fight with everything I had to keep from leaving this house with him, but I also was completely terrified as to what he would do to make me beg for death. "Move or I will carry you. Your choice." I couldn't do it. I was paralyzed by fear. That was when the butt of the gun hit the back of my head, and before I blacked out, I was being flung over his shoulder.
EPOV
I awoke with bright lights blinding me, and I groaned. I tried to move and couldn't. "Are we calmer now, sir?"
A woman in pink scrubs was standing over me. I had no idea where I was, so I wasn't exactly calm. I was disoriented, so I just agreed with her. She reached down and loosened the Velcro straps, and that's when I realized they had restrained me.
"Where am I?" I asked. The woman looked over at someone, and I followed her and saw Marcus standing there, looking worse for wear.
He nodded and gestured with his head. The nurse said she would go get the doctor. "You're at the VA. You kept the call going while all that shit went down at the house. I was already in the air on my way to you. I got ahold of life flight, and they went and got you and brought you here. You lost a lot of blood again; they had to give you a transfusion of three units of blood. They're giving you fluids now for antibiotics and pain medication. You were in surgery for over 2 hours for them to stop the bleeding, remove the bullet, and close the wound. Luckily, they missed bone and major arteries."
"It wasn't luck. That fuck knew what he was doing, and he shot there on purpose. Where are Katiya and Bella?"
His face fell, and I was worried from the look on his face. "He got both of them, Masen. There was no one else at the house when the paramedics arrived, and there were no bodies, so I have to assume that he got them both. Bella's gun was at the top of the stairs, and there was blood. I went and walked the house myself."
I clenched my fists and wanted to punch something. I knew there was a chance that Mikhail would come from Katiya, but I didn't expect him to take Bella. I should have because the way he'd said her name over the phone set me on edge from the start. I was pissed. I punched the tray table until I felt Marcus' hands stopping me. "Keep your shit together, Masen. You can't help them if you don't keep your head."
"I need to get out of here. I need to go find them," I said, starting to get up.
Marcus put his hand on my shoulder and was actually able to push me down to lie back. This meant that I was a lot weaker than I thought because I was stronger than him, and moving that fast kind of made me dizzy. "You're no help to them in this state."
I sighed and tilted my head back. That was when I first saw the clock. It read 13:10. What the hell? It was one in the afternoon. I had been out of it for over eight hours. There was something that was bothering me. Something that I felt was important to tell Marcus, but I just couldn't think of it.
"What happened this morning, Masen?"
"After we got the call from you, Bella and I ran upstairs. Bella had forgotten her gun up there and went to get it, and I went straight to Katiya's room. Almost the moment I stepped in the room, that dick shot me in the leg, and since that dropped me, he used that moment to punch me a couple times. It was over so fast."
"Yeah, I figured that was what was happening. I heard Katiya crying and yelling along with murmured talking after that, so I figured that was Bella and Mikhail."
I nodded. "So, where do we stand?"
"I'm not quite sure how to start the search. They could be anywhere. With her having temporary asylum, it will be a lot harder to get her out of the United States, but if he came into the country by not so legal means, then there is the option for him to leave that same way. We've got all airports and airfields notified; we kept the PD and FBI out of it though because we don't know how deep his roots reach. The DA in Oregon is working on getting a replacement for Emmett's boss, seeing as he's MIA."
"'Bout time. Bet that asshole is with Mikhail."
"I imagine so. He had to be instrumental in getting Emmett."
"What happened with Emmett?"
"Not sure yet. I know that he will be in the hospital for some time. He had to go into surgery for his arm, and there was some internal bleeding from his injuries. He was beaten pretty badly. I called to get an update on him, but they had to sedate him because once he got out of surgery and started waking up from the anesthesia wearing off, he freaked out. Which makes sense, with how we found him. When we got to him, he was conscious enough to tell us that Mikhail was coming for you. It'll be a while before we get a story out of him. You'll probably get out the hospital before him."
"Where are we?"
"We're in Flagstaff. It was the closest VA hospital. Emmett's in Henderson. We found him in Las Vegas. That's how he knew they were coming for you. They moved him with them that far. Once he's out of the hospital, he's about an hour and a half by helicopter. We'll have to move him that way. I'm gonna go later tonight and move all your stuff from the Williams safe house to the one we have set up here in Flagstaff."
"The earrings," I said suddenly. I just remembered that I gave Bella the earrings last night. I schooled my features in front of Marcus, keeping my composure. Marcus was looking at me weirdly, so I continued. "I gave her the earrings last night that you gave me. The ones with the chips in them."
Marcus smiled and pulled his phone out, leaving the room as he barked orders to whoever answered. "It's time for you to show me those skills I hired you for."
I knew Marcus would be a while with his tech. I let my mind wander back to thoughts of Bella. When I gave her those earrings, we had joked about it. I thought about her laugh and how much I missed her and just wanted her here to give me the comfort I so badly needed. I had countless protection jobs and had been cut off from my emotions for so long, and she was the only one who made me want to feel, want to be better. I wanted to see if this thing between us could go somewhere in our normal life, outside this craziness. I wanted to continue to wake up next to her every morning, build a life with her, a family. I had failed in the only thing I had promised her from the beginning—that I would keep her and Katiya safe. I was forced to shove all those thoughts and feelings down and lock them up tight when there was a knock at my door. Thinking about this wasn't going to get her back or accomplish anything. The door opened and a man I assumed was the doctor walked in.
"Anthony?" the doctor asked. This brought me up short because that was my middle name, but it was also the name on my fake ID. I nodded, figuring that was the ID that Marcus used when checking me in.
"That's me," I said, forcing a charming smile. Best to start playing the part now.
"I'm Dr. Oberman. Looks like it was touch and go there with you for a little bit, but I have every confidence that you will make a full recovery." He launched into a more medical play by play of what had happened since I had arrived at the hospital, including what the paramedics had done as well. When he explained it that way, it sounded a lot scarier than when Marcus told me. It reminded me of Bella and when she would use her medical words … fuck. Apparently, those thoughts and feelings weren't locked up like I wanted.
Once the doctor was done with his spiel, he took a look at me to put his mind at ease, and then saw himself out of my room. Marcus came back and his expression gave nothing away. "My guy is on it. It'll take him some time to unencrypt it. All we can do until then is wait and plan."
So that's exactly what we did.
~oOo~
BPOV
I woke up feeling like I was choking. I felt the cold water on my face and realized someone had dumped water on my face to wake me up. I moved my hands to brush the water off and found they were tied together behind my back. The person who had rudely revived me left the room, locking the door behind him without a word.
"Bella!" Katiya whispered loudly.
"Khoroshen'kaya devochka. Are you okay?"
She made her way over to me and got onto my lap. She didn't have her hands tied behind her, but she looked like she'd been crying. I felt a little cold, seeing as how I was led out of the house when I was barely wearing anything. Katiya put her arms around me, hugging me. I snuggled my head in between her shoulder and neck. "I'm scared."
"I know, pretty girl. I don't know how this is all going to play out, but I'm glad you aren't going through it alone."
"I hope Edward is okay. I miss him."
"Me too, Katiya. Me too." I was worried that he was dead or close to it. There was no one to call medical attention for him, and he had just lost a lot of blood previously with no transfusion. In my mind, waiting for someone to come rescue us was just a pipe dream. I honestly had no idea what I was up against. Mikhail had threatened me and taunted me, but he hadn't actually done anything yet, so I had no frame of reference. I wanted to fall apart at the thought of Edward dead, but I couldn't show any weakness in this environment. Katiya needed me, and these men needed to think I was strong.
Katiya and I sat there, her embracing me for a minute. The door opened and Mikhail came in. I stood up and pushed Katiya behind me. "Ah, still protecting my daughter, I see. You really do care for her. It makes sense she chose such a beautiful woman to trust."
"I saved your daughter from the men who were trying to hurt her. Your men. Tell me why your daughter was so disposable before but now she matters."
I felt the sting before I even registered he had lifted his hand. I felt the skin of my lip split, tasted the blood. "Such a fire. I'm going to enjoy extinguishing it." He grabbed me by the hair and yanked me out of the room. Whatever he planned to do to me, I was at least glad he wasn't going to do it in front of his daughter.
EPOV
Two days after getting out of the hospital, I was still limping, but it wasn't as bad as when that physical therapist made me walk around the hospital floor. She wanted to make sure I wouldn't need PT or a cane. I was just fine with neither, but that first day was exhausting and painful.
Emmett had just been released from the hospital this morning and was on his way to the house in Flagstaff that Marcus had set up for us. I still hadn't unpacked any of Katiya or Bella's things. I couldn't bring myself to do it, worried I was going to be jinxing something by expecting them to come home. Marcus' guy had gotten through the encryption on the sensors, but he was having a hard time getting a good signal. He said that it could be that Bella was underground or in a building made of heavy-duty materials. I was going crazy, knowing the longer Mikhail had them both, the longer they were subject to his fuckery.
We hadn't told Emmett that Bella had been taken. It seemed cruel but Marcus and I both agreed that it could derail his healing because he needed a clear head for that. Emmett had given us little pieces of what had happened to him. Apparently, putting the tail on Emmett was a trap. They were banking on him getting a hold of me and were going to snatch the girls while I was gone, but they still hadn't found where we were when that happened.
By the time they sifted through my associates and found the house in McCall, the girls had been moved. So, when Emmett headed back to Portland, they ambushed him when he stopped to get gas. Getting Emmett's burner phone to get my number gave them the ability to ping the location. As I was moving all around that day, they slowly made their way toward the location I was heading as well. When it stopped, Mikhail made the call, pinged the closest tower, and he had our location. We knew about the broken arm, as I had heard it over the phone. They also beat him over and over just to make sure there was no other info he could give them.
Telling Emmett about Bella went better than I had expected. He understood why we had waited to tell him but telling him around breakable items was not a smart move on our part. We now had no more plates, and Marcus was going to have to replace the glass pane in the storm door. Emmett offered to pay for both things, and I imagined it was something he had gotten used to offering over the course of his life. Whether like now, when it was on purpose, or like others where it was accidental, the fact remained that Emmett was a big guy, and he was strong.
Even though I felt bad for upsetting him, I was glad that he took it so hard. Bella was like a sister to him when they were younger and he was dating Rose now. Since they had reconnected, he had gained respect for her for fiercely protecting Katiya, and that bond was still there. This just meant he was almost as invested in getting her rescued as I was. No one was more invested as I was. Bella was my future, and I had moved past pain and devastation. I was now pissed and wanted to tear a motherfucker's head off. If he hurt her, as I assumed he probably would, I wanted to inflict the same torture on him tenfold, but I would settle for his death. I was motivated. Now, we had to have a direction to point that motivation.
BPOV
When Mikhail threw me back in the room with Katiya, I was sore, bloody, and just tired, but I was also fired up. I wanted to get the hell out of here, and he made the mistake of letting me see the lay of the land where we were being kept. If nothing more, I was getting Katiya the hell out of here. The next time the "guard" came to "feed" us, I was ready. I pulled the guy into our room and put him in the chokehold Edward had showed me, exactly how he showed me how to do it. The guy almost got out of it, but I wrapped my legs around his torso and pulled us down so I was lying on my back, giving me the leverage to squeeze him tighter.
When he finally passed out, I took a minute to write Marcus' number on a piece of paper and handed it to Katiya. I also gave her one of my earrings. "We're getting out of here. There's the possibility that you may have to leave me behind so you can get out. This is Marcus' number. Run until you find a crowded place, call that number, and tell him where you are. If I don't get out, he will need to know so that he can come get me. I know this is hard Katiya, and I promised that we would stay together, but I may have to break that promise. Okay?"
"No, Bella, I can't leave without you."
I stopped her from shaking her head and made her look me in the eyes. "Hey, you are one of the bravest and smartest girls I have ever met. You can do this. I love you, and it's my job to take care of you, to protect you. I will try to escape with you, but if I have to stay behind so they can't get you, then that's what I will do, and you will keep going. When I tell you to run, then run."
She was crying at this point, but she nodded. I hugged her close to me and kissed her on the forehead. I took her hand and made her follow behind me. I saw something on the guard that could be used as a kind of nightstick, and I took it from him. We shut the door to the room we were being kept in. We crept down the hall, and when someone came around the corner, we stopped and ducked into another hall. When he went by us, I hit him with the stick, knocking him out. We continued in this fashion until we got outside. By the time I lead her to the fence, there was a commotion from the building we had just left—they discovered we were gone. I helped Katiya pull dirt away from the bottom of the fence until we had enough room for her to fit under it—she was pretty small and thin. She crawled under the fence.
"I won't fit, Katiya, and they know we're gone. Go, run, and don't stop. Go, now!"
She looked unsure, but when she heard the raised voices coming toward us, she ran, and luckily, she was out of sight before Mikhail's men got close. I just sat there, steeling myself for what I knew was coming next.
EPOV
Emmett and I were eating dinner the night he got home. I was thinking of calling it an early night, even though I wouldn't get a good night sleep, when the phone that was Bella's started ringing. I answered it. "Masen."
"Edward. We got a lock on the sensors, but one of them is moving away from the other while the other is staying in the same area," Marcus said.
"Get that information to me and meet us here. It's time to go get them," I said. "It's go time, Emmett."
He smiled at me, cracked his knuckles, and nodded. "Let's go crack some skulls and get our girls back."
Translation:
Menia ne tak zovut! Otposti menia!: That's not my name. Now let me go.
Tikho, devochka!: Quiet girl!
Malyshka: Little girl
Devushka- Girl
A/N: So, how do we all feel. We are getting close to the end. Probably 4 or 5 more chapters at the most. Anyone who has read my stories know I have shorter stories. That will be the same case with this story. If you are feeling adventurous, read the other story I'm collabing on. The chapter is on this profile or go to cullengaff. It'll be a good one. Thanks for all your support and reviews. Love y'all!
