Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, profit from this story and all creative rights to the characters belong to Richelle Mead.

The original content, ideas and intellectual property of this story are owned by Ms. Belikov. Please do not copy, reproduce, or translate without express written permission.

Previously on The Russian's worth the price I pay...

Fifteen minutes later, we'd gone through the check out stands and were pushing the cart towards Lissa's white Mercedes convertible in the back of the parking lot.

"Thanks for coming with me," I said as she popped the truck and helped me start loading the grocery bags.

"No problem," she smiled. "It was good to spend some girl time with you. I needed it."

"Me too—"

Lissa suddenly screamed as she looked over my shoulder.

"What is it?" I spun around and froze.

There was a man standing there in all black with a ski mask covering his face.

He leveled a gun at me.

And pulled the trigger.

LPOV:

Pop.

The sound was muffled by a silencer, but still very distinctive.

The gun had been fired. Straight at my best friend.

I screamed until my lungs burned and prayed to god that she wasn't dead.

Rose fell to the ground, clutching her thigh.

The man with the ski mask shoved the gun back into his pants, stared at me for a split second, then took off at a dead run in the opposite direction, disappearing into the shadows of the alley behind the supermarket.

Even though my instincts had me paralyzed on the spot with fear, I pushed passed them and kicked into the adrenaline part.

My best friends' blue jeans were covered in crimson. Oh, god…there was so much blood. When I saw the small hole of where the bullet had entered her flesh, I felt like I was going to be sick.

"Rose! Rose! Stay with me, okay? I'm going to get some help." Frantically, I searched all around me. The supermarket was closing soon so there were only a few cars in the parking lot, and there wasn't a single human being walking around…so far as I could see.

"We have to get out of here. He might come back." Rose sobbed, tears streaming down her face. In the entire eighteen years I had known her, I had only seen Rose cry on two occasions. Seeing her in pain broke my heart and I wanted to kill the guy that had hurt her.

"Apply pressure to the wound," I dropped to my knees beside her. There was blood all over her legs, hands, and face. "I'll get you out of here, baby girl. Don't worry…it'll be fine."

"I don't feel anything anymore, Liss. It doesn't hurt…"

Tears welled up into my eyes, stinging them. "You're in shock." With hands shaking so badly, I found the cell phone in my purse and tried several times before successfully punching in 911—

"No. Don't." Rose said, reaching for me with red fingers. "Please…don't call an… ambulance. I hate…hospitals. You…you know that."

I hated how much she paused as she spoke. Her voice was weak, a whisper. It was like she was fading away from me…getting closer and closer to death with each second that ticked by.

I cursed. "I'm not letting you die because of your fears."

Those dark eyes were sharper than a razor as she stared at me. "It's not just a fear and you know it.

Tears blurred my vision. "Please, Rose…please—"

"Call Dimitri," she said. "Call him now. I want him. He can save me…he…he used to be a paramedic. He'll save me. Call him…I want him. Please."

I hated the way she was repeating herself, especially because she didn't realize it. It went against every instinct in my body to click the red button on my cell phone, erasing those three crucial numbers. Scrolling down my contact list, I quickly found Dimitri's number and hit send.

"Belikov." He barked into the phone.

"Dimitri! Rose. She's been shot. In the leg. A guy came with a gun in the parking lot and shot her. While we were putting the groceries in the car. He pulled out a gun. He was wearing all black with a ski mask. I tried to call the cops, but Rose stopped me. She refuses to go to the hospital. She's going to bleed to death. I don't know what to do—"

"Slow it down, Lissa. Tell me where you are exactly. It's not going to help anyone if you hyperventilate and pass out." Dimitri's voice was that kind of deadly calm. That one that indicated he was cool on the outside, but roaring in flames on the inside.

I was breathing so hard I had to repeat the name and address of the supermarket four times.

"I've got it." Dimitri said. There was a shuffling in the background, as if he were running. And then a slam that sounded like a car door being shut. "I'm driving as fast as I can, but it's still going to take me a few minutes to get there. I need you to listen very carefully, okay Lissa? This may be crucial for Rose's survival."

I nodded and realized he couldn't see it. "Yes, yes. I'm listening."

"Tell me everything about the bullet wound. Exactly where it's located, the size, how much she's bleeding."

I was quick to explain.

There was a long pause on Dimitri's end and I wanted to scream because of the deafening silence.

"Do you have a belt?" He asked finally.

I glanced down at my waist. "Yeah, yeah. A silver one with stars and sparkles. I'm wearing it right now."

"Take it off quickly." Dimitri commanded. I heard honks and screeches in the background and knew he was speeding. I set the phone down on the ground, then scrambled and ripped and yanked to get the belt off. Once it was done, I picked up the cell again.

"Alright, I need you to pinch the phone between your shoulder and ear. That way you can still hear me. You'll need both hands for this."

I did as he said. "Okay."

"From the way you explained it, I don't think that the bullet hit a main artery, but it's still important to apply pressure to stop the blood flow. Take your belt; wrap it around her thigh, right above the injury."

By the time that was done, I was practically screaming for him to tell me what to do next.

"Now, I know you're not going to like doing this…but you have to, Lissa." Dimitri took a deep breath. "Pull the belt as tight as you can and buckle it. Do you hear me? As tight as possible. Really yank on it."

I cried the whole time I did it, hating the way Rose would moan and scream each time I pulled on the belt. "It's hurting her, Dimitri…"

"That's a good sign," he said. "It means that she's snapping out of the shock and getting feeling back. That's a really good sign. Hand her the phone while you finish it. I'm almost there."

"Here, Rose. Take this. It's Dimitri. He wants to talk to you." I shoved the phone into her bloody palm, getting warm cherry-red liquid all over my cell, but not giving a damn.

"Dimitri?" She croaked, getting all choked up with fresh tears. There was a pause as he said something over the other line.

Suddenly, she smiled. "I miss you, too. I miss you so much. I really wish you were here with me. Sorry that I couldn't make you dinner tonight...probably would have burned it anyways."

Rose flinched as I pulled on the belt one last time, then buckled it. "It's too tight." she complained.

"It has to be that way, baby girl. At least until he gets here." I said, sitting down beside her. I pulled her body into my side. She sagged immediately, taking what little comfort I could provide her.

"It hurts, Dimitri. My thigh hurts."

As evil as it may sound, I was so glad to hear those words leave her lips. That whole shock thing freaked me out. And according to Dimitri, it was a good sign for her to have regained feeling back. Supposedly, it was an improvement.

"I want to tell you something…" Rose murmured into the phone. "If I die tonight—no, just listen to me and don't interrupt. Okay?"

There was another long pause and a buzz over the phone.

"If I die tonight, I don't want to go to my grave with this secret." She paused, took a breath. "I love you, Dimitri. Understand? I'm so in love with you I can't even think straight sometimes. I think about you all the time, every day, all night. Your face invades my dreams and when I see you with another woman; it makes me want to stab something. I hate it. I want you to be mine. Only mine. No one else's. I love you. Did I say that already? I think I did. Oh well. I love you. And…and I just want you to know that."

A black Escalade ripped into the parking lot out of nowhere. I screamed and crouched over my best friend protectively; shielding her body with my own, ready to take a bullet for her if I had to.

Except the Escalade pulled straight up to us and Dimitri hopped out, followed by Ivan and that really tall guy with the long black hair, Darius.

Dimitri's face hardened into pure malice when he took in Rose's state. He quickly ran over and kneeled in front of her. "Watch our backs!" he barked.

Darius nodded as he reached under his leather coat. He pulled something out. I saw a flash of a chest holster and silver—

Oh, God.

It was another gun.

I wobbled.

"Baby, baby? It's okay. I'm not here to harm you…I'll protect you. Now come on. Let's get you in the car." Darius walked over and put a beefy arm around my waist. Despite the fact that he had roughly around a hundred and seventy pounds on me, I felt safe. Really safe. Like I could finally relax.

He just radiated that kind of power and aggressiveness most males didn't. He ushered me inside the Escalade, turning his thick neck back and forth, side to side, looking all around us to make sure the man with the ski mask wasn't coming back.

"Are you all right? For now?" Darius buckled me in.

I swallowed and nodded. "Y-y-yeah. I'm fine. Just please…make sure that you help her. I can't lose her."

Darius's facial expression was fierce and brutal, reminding me what an amazing fighter he was. "I promise you that he will do everything in his power to save her. Rose is my brother's life. If anything were to happen to her…yeah, I can't even go there hypothetically. Just stay put."

"Hey! What about my car?"

"Ivan will handle it."

The door slammed shut.

RPOV:

"Hey, Comrade!" I beamed. God, I was so happy to see him. It felt like it had been a million years. Behind him, Darius and Ivan were like two statues, guns drawn out, searching the perimeter.

Dimitri crouched down beside me, his eyes flickering all around us. There was that dangerous air around him that told me he was preparing for the worst, and ready to fight at any given moment. "Hey baby, how are you?"

"My thigh hurts. Really bad. Especially since Lissa wrapped her belt around me." I glanced down and cursed loudly.

"What is it?" He was tenser than I'd ever seen him before. It kind of reminded me of a show I'd seen on Animal Planet. There had been a lion hiding in the grasslands, deadly quiet and unnaturally still as he waited for the right moment to pounce on his prey, the zebra.

"These were my favorite jeans! And now they're ruined. Look at all the blood…and damn, that bullet hole. Do you have a sewing machine, Comrade?"

"I'm going to pick you up. Okay, Roza? It will hurt. A lot. And it pains me to do this, but I have to get you out of here. Fast. Before someone comes back to finish the job."

Grimacing, I nodded. "All right, just do it. Get it over with."

I bit my fist as he lifted me off the ground and into his arms. I didn't think a little wound in my leg would hurt that bad, but damn, getting shot was painful.

Dimitri set me in the passenger seat of the Escalade, buckled me in, closed the door and ran to hop in the driver's seat.

"Great. I'm getting blood all over your car."

Dimitri whipped the car out of the parking lot and exhaled in relief, but his body was still rigid with tension. While keeping his eyes on the road and mowing throw red lights and stop signs, he rolled his head side to side, back and forth, cracking it.

"Make sure there's no one tailing us." He said to Darius, who was sitting in the back seat with my best friend.

"Roger that, Boss."

"Hey, Liss?" I whispered. "Can you hear me?"

She grabbed my hand and squeezed hard. "Yeah." Her voice cracked with emotion.

Tears welled up in my eyes. "Thank you. Thank you so much. You saved my life."

"No need to thank me, baby girl. That's what best friends are for."

For some absurd reason, I giggled like a maniac. Lissa joined me.

"I love you." I clutched my stomach.

"Love you, too."

Dimitri made a sharp left turn, my body slammed against the door, my cheek cracking against the windshield.

"Slow down. Will ya?" I growled.

"I can't."

"You're not taking me to the hospital, are you? I won't go to the hospital. I'm not going. You can't make me go!" In a desperate attempt, I ripped off my seatbelt and tried to scramble out of the seat.

A large palm came down on my belly, holding me on the spot. "I'm not, Roza. I know you have an intense fear of them and I wouldn't do that to you."

Relaxing tremendously, I eased back into the leather. "My leg hurts. They're so much pressure on it…it's turning numb and purple."

Dimitri grabbed my hand and laced our fingers together, not caring that my blood was getting all over his skin and impeccably tailored, pin-stripe suit. "I'm going to care for you. We are almost home. I will take your pain away."

Ten minutes later, the Escalade roared past the mansion's massive iron gates and into the driveway. All three of them jumped out of the vehicle while I waited for Dimitri to come around and pick me up.

Lissa's white Mercedes convertible pulled up.

Once I was safely in his arms, he barked out orders to Darius and Ivan. They ran off to put the mansion on lockdown.

Dimitri, Lissa, and I went inside. The air was toasty and the aroma of clean linen and lemon was strong in my nose. I laid my head against his chest and watched all the rooms go by in a blur…the brilliant ivory marble flooring, snow-white furniture, see-through piano, Roman God's and Goddesses' statues, gleaming chandeliers.

We went up one of the two grand staircases with Victorian railings.

I screamed when the Husky slid around the corner, stopped directly in our path, dropped a tennis ball from her teeth, and barked loudly. The sound ricocheted off the walls and ceiling, making me flinch.

"Roza!" Dimitri hissed something in Russian. She whimpered, loosing all of that playfulness that she had just carried, and lowered her head, stepping out of our way.

"You're really gonna have to rename her, you know." I giggled, patting my good thigh. "Come here, doggy! Come here. Follow us."

Her wolf-like face snapped up, her black ears going high.

I could have sworn she smiled at me.

But then again, maybe my blood wasn't the only thing I was losing.

The husky trotted along with her tennis ball, all happy and cheerful. I patted and smoothed my hand over her fur as Dimitri set me down on his colossal bed.

I gritted my teeth and hissed from the pain, squeezing my eyes shut. When I opened them again, the husky's silver eyes were wide and concerned as she stared at me with her head resting against the edge of the bed. She knew that I was in pain and she didn't like it.

I smiled and scratched her ears. "You may not be as bad as I first thought you were. You're kind of cool…"

She responded by nudging my forearm with her nose.

"This is Demerol," Dimitri was at the end of the bed, his suit jacket was off and the cuffs of his white shirt were rolled up. With gloved hands, he held the vile and syringe upside down, dragging liquid in and measuring the dose. "It will take your pain away."

"I won't feel a thing?"

He nodded.

There was a coolness on my arm as he put rubbing alcohol on my skin.

"Good." To keep from panicking at that strong hospital smell, I told myself that I was in the mansion with Lissa and Dimitri. The two people I loved most in this world.

Roza, the Husky, howled. I laughed and pet her, knowing that she didn't want to be left out of the bunch.

"This is going to pinch just a little bit. Don't think about the needle. Focus on something else."

Turning my head to the right, I was met with my best friends' eyes. They were wide and bright with worry, morphing into two granny-smith apples.

The sting in my arm from the Demerol shot didn't hurt so badly with her by my side.

The relief from the pain killer was instantaneous. The intense burning in my thigh faded.

"I need to get into your pants."

My neck snapped to the side. "What?"

"Your pants. I need to take them off so I can treat the wound properly."

"Oh. Okay…well. Go on." I looked down. "Hey! I'm not bleeding so much!"

"The blood is clotting," Dimitri explained.

"Can you keep the bullet for me? I want to save it as a souvenir."

"Too bad," he said. "Because the bullet went into the front of your thigh and made an exit out the back of it."

I made a face.

"You're actually disappointed? I cannot believe you. You're lucky it went out. That means I don't have to do any digging for the bullet...and no digging means faster healing and recovery time."

"Grosse."

As Dimitri started to unbutton my jeans, Lissa coughed uncomfortably.

"Something wrong?" I asked.

"Actually, I have to go make a quick call." With a kiss to my forehead, she slid off the bed and headed for the door. "Christian will probably be freaking out that I'm not home yet. I'll just be out in the hallway."

I nodded and the door shut softly behind her petite body.

Dimitri was very careful and tentative, watching my face and gauging my reactions as he slid the jeans down my legs and off my feet.

"Thank heavens I decided to wear panties today."

He growled in response.

The door flew open and in came a very keyed up Darius. "Hey, boss. What's up? The mansion's on lockdown and we got that x-ray machine you wanted—Ivan?" He glanced back. "What the fuck? Hurry your skinny ass up!"

Ivan nearly mowed him down with the machine. "Got it!"

Hours later, I was completely exhausted.

Once Dimitri had x-rayed me and found out that I had only tissue damage, no broken bones or severed arteries, he'd scrapped the wound for bullet fragments and disinfected it. After a few quick stitches, he carefully bandaged the injury where the bullet had entered and exited. Yeah, after all that, I was thankful for the Demerol.

"You're so good to me." I watched Dimitri snap off the blue latex gloves and throw all the bloody gauze and needles into the garbage.

He smiled but I could see the concern and exhaustion in his brown eyes, the hard lines on his face aged him about seven years. "I'm glad you're okay. You can't imagine how worried I was."

Dimitri got a warm washcloth from the bathroom and cleaned the last of the blood from my thighs.

"How worried were you?"

"I cannot explain it into words, Rose." He shrugged with a troubled expression. "It's just…an indescribable feeling. But I do know that I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. It makes me sick just thinking about the frantic phone call I received from Lissa."

"Have I ever told you how beautiful your eyes are?" I touched his face.

"You should get some rest." Dimitri said gruffly, pulling back and standing up.

"But I'm in your room. In your bed."

"It's fine. I'll sleep in one of the guest bedrooms." He headed for the door. "Well, goodnight, Rose. If you need me…the cell is right there. You call. I'll be here in the blink of an eye. If you don't need me…ah, never mind. I'm going to check on you every few hours."

"Please…don't leave me. I'm scared. I can't be alone…I want someone with me."

"I'll get Lissa—"

"I need you, Dimitri. You." My voice rose and lowered, cracked. He froze with his hand on the doorknob. "Sleep with me. Please."

He turned around and faced me with the most tranquil expression. "Okay. I will, Roza."

"Thank you," I said. "But first…can you get me some food? I'm starved."

He threw his head back and laughed. "Yes." Nodding, he disappeared.

About fifteen minutes later, he came back with a silver tray balanced in his arms.

I instantly perked up at the wonderful smell. "Whatcha' got?"

"Leftovers. I'm sorry…Opal was asleep and I was too tired to cook something. So I just heated this up in the microwave." He locked the door. "Lissa fell asleep in the hallway. Christian just picked her up and took her home."

I nodded, licking my lips. "Can you be more specific as to what's on that tray?"

"Turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, sourdough bread, green beans. And for dessert, two slices of black forest cake."

"Yum."

Dimitri placed the tray on the middle of the mattress before sliding under the covers.

"Hey, Comrade?"

"Yes." He looked at me.

I grabbed his face and planted a hard one on his lips. "Sorry. I don't know where that urge came from. I just really had to kiss you."

His smile was a divine one. "Don't ever be sorry." His long fingers traced down my cheek, brushed a few stray locks out of my eyes. "You are so beautiful."

I pressed my forehead to his. "Only because of you."

"You are so wrong about that," Dimitri unwrapped the fork from the napkin and held it up. "What would you like first?"

"Piece of turkey. But don't use the silverware."

He picked up a slice of meat with his fingers and brought it to my mouth. I bit in and chewed.

"How is it?"

"Delicious." I swallowed.

All the turkey was soon cleared as Dimitri fed me piece after piece, I ate from his hand.

"I want the mash potatoes and bread next."

My Russian god picked up a fresh roll, scooped some potatoes on it, drenched it in gravy, and fed me that too.

I soon cleared the whole plate—excluding the vegetables, I wouldn't go anywhere near those—with Dimitri's help.

"Aren't you hungry?" I asked as he handed me a water bottle.

He inclined his head to the pieces of black forest cake. "Yes. That's why I brought two slices."

Dimitri went for the fork but I stopped him. "No. You fed me. Now let me feed you."

He smiled breathtakingly. "I'd like that, Roza. I'd like that a lot."

IPOV:

The air hockey table beeped as Darius made the final score.

"I hate you." I muttered, tilting my head back and polishing off the last of the Heineken.

Darius grinned before shoving yet another chocolate chip cookie into his mouth.

"How many is that, big boy? Your fifth or sixth one tonight?"

He bit into another cookie. "Fourteenth, actually. And don't look at me like that. You know I eat when I'm stressed."

"You eat all the damn time, everyday, all day." I said. "Stress has nothing to do with it."

"I need to keep in top physical condition."

"Then go lift a car or something," I rubbed my face. "Alright. I'm gonna go crash, my brother. See you in the morning."

I patted his back hard and headed for the stairs.

"Do you think it was a random attack?" Darius asked.

I stopped walking and turned to face him. "The man didn't even attempt to rob them. Didn't mess with Lissa. He shot Rose in the leg, D. The leg. If he wanted to kill her, he easily could have. Now you tell me if you think that was a random attack."

"You're right. Someone is obviously trying to send a message to the Boss." Darius paced back and fourth. "God, I wish I'd had just one moment alone with that fucker. Just one moment. When I do find him, I'ma pop a cap in his ass, and then I'm going to beat the shit out of him for what he did to Rose. And after that? I'm going to castrate the son of a bitch—"

"Chill, man."

"No. I'm done. It's your turn to have at him. So what do you plan on doing with my sloppy seconds?" He smiled crookedly.

I rolled my eyes. "See you in the morning, brother. Make sure to keep an eye on those security cams."

"Will do."

DPOV:

Roza was sound asleep on my bed. She looked so beautiful and peaceful. Her dark hair tangled, eyes squeezed shut, lips parted, snoring lightly.

The Demerol put her into a deep sleep and I was glad. She needed the rest so her body could heal.

My eyes flickered down to the wound on her leg. The bandages and blood were so foreign against her soft, perfect thighs.

I growled as I thought of what happened earlier tonight. I couldn't imagine how frightened she must have been when that man had surprised attacked her. I should have been there. I should have never let her leave the mansion without protection. My protection.

Hell, I shouldn't have let her leave the mansion. Period.

I pictured the man in the ski mask running up to Rose and startling her, then pulling the gun out and leveling it at her body.

Then I saw the tip of his finger pressing against the trigger and heard the pop of the shot…

A lick of pain was on my palm. Glancing down, I realized that I'd been squeezing the handle of my sawed off so tightly that my skin bled. The need to protect Roza ran so deep that it scared me.

If anything were to happen to her…

I shook my head to clear the negative thoughts. No. I needed to stay strong for her. I would stay strong for her.

Realizing that it would scare Roza if she woke up and saw that I had a gun in my hand, I gently set the sawed off on the nightstand beside me. It was close enough that if I needed it, I could grab it immediately.

I wrapped my arms around her small body and nuzzled her neck, wishing that Roza would allow me to protect her forever.

God help whoever did this to her. Because when I found him, I was going to kill him with my bare hands.

And as for Roza…she wasn't going anywhere. Not until I knew it was safe.