Both men stilled, and their eyes widened even more, but the doctor wasn’t one to be shaken too badly. He pulled a cell phone out of his pocket, and asked, “Number?”
“I don’t know,” I stated, staring at the door again. “Call information. And when you get Lion Security on the line, ask for Grigori. Do not use my name over the line. At all.” It could be fucking traced for all I knew.
The doctor nodded slowly and called information.
I tried to breathe, staring at that door, but I couldn’t take it. “Can you please open that door now?”
Doc nodded while dialing the number to Lion Security.
The truck driver jumped to open the confining door.
It was as if I could breathe again, my lungs unclenching and my vision becoming clearer even though I could barely see without my contacts. But it was good enough. I knew I wasn’t trapped. There was an outlet, so to speak.
“Can I speak with Grigori, please? This is Dr. Walker,” my doctor, whom I had forgotten the name of asked over the line. “Yes. This is urgent enough to get him out of a meeting.”
“Grigori is Daniil’s son,” I stated factually, staring outside the door, but I could still see the look the doctor gave me that clearly stated ‘no shit.’ Guess he knew the family dynamics somehow. Must read the papers.
Dr. Walker cleared his throat, and stated, “Good afternoon, Grigori. This is Dr. Walker. I have a patient in my hospital that doesn’t wish me to say her name, but I believe you may have some interest in. She’s got red hair,” I ignored that general assessment, “and green eyes, and I believe she’s who you’ve been searching for. She was found this morning—” He stopped talking abruptly, and I could hear Grigori shouting over the line.
“Yes. She’s alive and well. She just got out of surgery—” He was cut off again.
“No. Nothing life threatening—” Again, he was cut off.
“Lacrosk Hospital.” He took his phone away from his ear, and shut it, slowly placing it in his pocket. His eyes met my good working one. Doc stated softly, “I believe someone’s on their way here.”
I—almost—smiled at that.
The whole fucking family would be here, no doubt.
I cleared my throat, and asked the doctor as nonchalantly as possible, “If someone is put in isolation, completely alone, for two months…,” I stared out the door, “…could that cause hallucinations while they’re down there?” God, Daniil had seemed so real.
“Yes,” the doctor stated instantly and started on a rant about the effects of isolation on a person. And, honestly, it did make me feel better. I knew I wasn’t a loon.
Well, that was until a nurse came in and tried to shut the door. I screamed at her, having enough of this closed-door business, and got out of bed, pulling the blanket with me. The doctor argued, and my feet were also wrapped up, but I pulled the blanket over my head in hopes that no one else would recognize me and made my way out to the hallway with the doctor and truck driver following, the doctor nicely pushing the IVs for me.
I sat there and waited.
Daniil would be here soon.
But I lost track of time, staring at the wall across from me.
I flinched when the doctor, who had sat down next to me—I hadn’t even noticed—and interrupted… God, I was singing that damn Russian song. I shut my mouth quickly, and his gaze stared hard into my eye. Softly, he began telling me what I could expect from being in isolation.
Nightmares. Loss of time. General phobias of being in large crowds.
I swallowed hard and nodded. I seriously hadn’t even noticed that I had zoned out.
The wall had…I don’t know…just triggered it somehow.
I tried not to look at it again, pulling the blanket over me more.
And then, there were flashes of light and pounding of feet.
People were shouting my name.
“Call security!” Dr. Walker barked harshly at the nurse, who was coming out of another room. He jumped to his feet, rushing to meet the reporters who were running down the hallway. “Get them down here. Now!”
The nurse rushed back into the room she’d come from.
I burrowed down into the blanket more, pulling my knees up under it and hugging them the best I could with a four-month pregnant belly full of triplets. But I glared out of the blanket at the truck driver, who stood over me protectively.
“Who did you tell?”
He gulped, and literally pushed a reporter back who got too close, sending the man back on his butt.
“My wife. No one else.”
I glared at the floor. “I appreciate what you did, but your wife has a big mouth.”
He hesitated, shoving another reporter back. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think she would tell anyone.”
I kept my head down, pulling the blanket over my face further when more flashes went off. “If there was reward money…” In any high profile kidnapping case, there was always reward money. And pulling this stunt, right now, was not a smart fucking decision.
The truck driver bent down as security raced onto the scene, pushing the ever-growing reporters back. He leaned over, staring up under the blanket. His eyes were honest when he stated, “There is reward money. A lot of damn money. However, that’s not why I’m doing this. My first wife was kidnapped, raped, and then left dead in a field. I would never do this for the money. Never the fucking money. But I am sorry she called the press.” I shut my mouth then, seeing the raw pain in his eyes even though I wasn’t feeling much else other than irritation. The doctor had said it might take some time to ‘feel’ again. And if I couldn’t feel with that type of story, I needed to keep my mouth shut.
I did manage to nod, knowing that I would make Daniil give him whatever he had promised.
He nodded once curtly, then stood back up, still standing over me protectively, along with the doctor, who took up guard on my other side—after he put a hand inside the blanket and checked my pulse. We waited. I had no clue how far away we were from Daniil, but it was taking forever.
So long, in fact, the doctor caught me zoning and singing to myself again.
It was going to take some time…
“You know, maybe you should call the authorities. If the press knows I’m here…” Then the bad guys knew I was here. The cops wouldn’t need to get close, but they could stay back and keep watch over me if it was going to take too long.
“That may be the wisest choice.” Dr. Walker slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, staring at the reporters who were barely being kept at bay at the end of the hallway. “If anyone came looking for you right now that shouldn’t be…” He trailed off with the phone paused halfway to his ear, muttering, “My God.” His expression went from calm to scared shitless in a heartbeat, which had to be hard to accomplish since he was so stone-faced.
Instant. “What?”
The truck driver backed away a few steps, whispering, “He’s here.”
My breath caught as I heard…Daniil…shouting, “Get the fuck out of my way!”
My head snapped toward the reporters. Two of them flew up into the air, one’s head and the other’s back hitting the drop ceiling before they fell back to the ground.
“My God,” Dr. Walker whispered again, also stepping back from me.
I squinted with my working eye and gazed out from under the blanket.
Grigori and Roman were first, slipping through the sides, hugging the wall as Daniil charged through everyone, going straight through them. The security guards had their hands on their guns, but Dr. Walker was with it enough to shout, “Let them through!”
It didn’t matter since Daniil, dressed in a black shirt and dark jeans, sans his normal suit, plowed through them anyway. His hair was tied back, and his expression was so damn fierce that even though I couldn’t see completely down the hallway, I could still make out his sharp features—they were set so hard. Artur and Eva followed behind him as Grigori jerked Ember’s hand, pulling her ou
t of the fray.
Zane, Stash, Brent, and Cole pushed the huge crowd of reporters back as Daniil—and family—stalked toward me. And stalk they did.
I felt that emotion again. Terror.
I knew what bad guys moved like now. And absolutely none of them were good guys.
Daniil, Roman, Grigori, Artur, Eva, and Ember all moved like what they were—killers.
They could kill within a heartbeat with no compunction.
I had known this before, but now, it was different. I knew they were on my side. They were here to protect me.
I loved Daniil. And Daniil loved me. That one emotion, right along with possessiveness, had never gone away. But right now, I didn’t want to see that stalk. The stalk of killers.
I hunkered down further, ducking under the blanket, and rested my head on my knees.
Dr. Walker may have been scared shitless, but he was still my doctor and must have been watching me because I felt him move closer, stating quietly as they got closer, “It will help if you don’t scare her.”
The stalking group stopped. They weren’t making any noise, which was weird enough, but I knew they halted when the vibrations stopped on the floor. Dr. Walker continued speaking softly, “Maybe, one at a time.” He cleared his throat. “Daniil, I believe would be the best choice.”
There was a laboured pause before Daniil stated just as softly, “Are you sure it’s her?”
“I’m almost a hundred percent positive,” Dr. Walker answered factually, sounding more like himself—less frightened. “You can confirm this, though.”
Another pause. “All right.”
The same vibrations started on the floor.
I willed myself not to stare at the tile too long since that was what triggered the last singing episode. I felt Dr. Walker move back, and then someone else moved in front of me. Dr. Walker said, “You need to calm down. You’re going to scare her, looking like that.”
That little comment kept me from going into myself. Daniil had a way of freaking out most people with just a look. I steeled myself to not be one of those people. Fuck, I had wanted him here. I still wanted him here. Just not all scary and pissed off killer looking.
I heard him take a deep breath in and felt him squat, his legs brushing the outsides of mine. Softly, he asked from above my covered head, “Beth, is that you?”
I took my own deep breath in, since he sounded less violent, and slowly lifted my head. I peeked out from under the blanket with my good eye, but I could only see his lips that were pinched. “Yes.”
He sucked in harshly when he heard me, and he reached out with one of his hands. I tried not to flinch, but it came too fast. His hand paused right above my head, and he murmured softly, “I’m not going to hurt you, my sweet. I just want to see you.”
I nodded, feeling that glow of love inside my heart, hearing him. Seeing him. Smelling him—coffee. He still smelled like coffee.
He slowly finished reaching forward and gently pulled the blanket from my head, dropping it down on my shoulders. His harsh intake of air was immediate, along with a few gasps from his kids. I immediately ducked my head, remembering my hair was practically gone, and my face was a mess. I pulled a hand out, automatically patting my hair. It was such a reflexive action that I forgot my hands were wrapped, only feeling gauze over my buzzed hair.
“Beth,” Daniil’s voice cracked. I was suddenly enveloped in his arms.
I…I didn’t know what to do at first. It was weird. But it came naturally enough a few moments later when I brought my arms up and wrapped them around his neck, cast and wrapped hands and all. That was normal.
And it felt…nice.
Daniil was almost crushing me, though.
Dr. Walker murmured, “Gently. Don’t hurt her.”
Daniil’s arms loosened, but he still held me tight.
He pulled his head back, staring into my eyes.
I blinked into his brown, yeah, so damn loving eyes. I whispered, “I stayed alive.”
Daniil’s eyes filled with tears, although mine were dry. He nodded, a few salty tears slipping past his defenses as he blinked furiously.
I kissed them, whispering against his damp skin, “I stayed alive. Don’t cry. I’m alive.”
Daniil nodded, and his face went to my neck. I felt more tears wet my skin, and his breathing was labored. And…like a dam…mine broke through. The feeling so intense and earth shattering, I screamed and held him tight as overwhelming relief and love and tenderness took hold of me. I tucked my own face against his neck and sobbed.
And sobbed. Like I had never done before.
Fucking hysterical is what you might call it, but Daniil only held me, running his hands up and down my back, pulling me closer as he shed his own tears. That was until my belly got in the way. He stilled, his hand instantly going from my back to inside the blanket.
His hand landed on my belly, slowly running over it.
His head jerked back. His eyes were just as bloodshot as my lone eye was, but his were huge on his face. He whispered in shock, “The babies? You’re still pregnant? You didn’t lose them?”
I shook my head, still bawling. “No. All three are fine.” I gripped his shirt, growling through my tears. “And they’re fucking ours. No one’s taking them.” I shook my head, tears dripping off my chin. “No one is fucking taking them. I will kill them first. I. Will. Fucking. Kill. Them.” And, by God, I would fucking kill anyone who tried to take my damn babies again, just like I had my jailer.
He shook his head, his eyebrows snapping together, his look matching mine, as he stated slowly, “No. No one’s taking our children.” He glanced up at the doctor, who was edging closer, watching me. “Why does she think someone’s taking our babies?”
Dr. Walker cleared his throat and squatted down, as Daniil was, next to me. He asked me softly, “Can we go back in the room now?”
I blinked, still feeling fury roll through me…but…he’d said the room.
I shook my head. No, no, I didn’t want to go back in the room.
The hallway was good. Plenty of outlets.
Daniil’s eyebrows pinched even further, and his gaze met the doctor’s. “Explain.”
I blinked at Daniil’s pissed off face, and even though I had just declared I would kill anyone who tried to take my babies, his expression still freaked me out. I dropped my arms from around him, and scooted back, everything a big fucking jumble of emotions. I whispered, “Maybe you could scoot back.”
Daniil didn’t like that. His arms slipped back around me, and suddenly, I was being lifted into the air. And held like a baby. He tucked my head under his chin and turned his back to any reporters able to get a picture through Brent, Cole, Zane, Stash…, and Daniil’s family, who stood like a wall, barricading the way. Daniil murmured softly to Dr. Walker, “Tell me what you know.”
I didn’t move. Or try to get down as Dr. Walker explained everything that he knew, even bringing the truck driver, who had been mute the whole while, over to explain how and where he had found me. Daniil started shaking, hearing it all, but his arms were steady and warm around me.
I rested my head against his chest listening to his heartbeat.
It sounded kind of like…
“Ms. Forter,” Dr. Walker barked, snapping his fingers in front of my face.
I was singing again. I jerked, my mouth snapping shut.
Daniil had gone still with me in his arms.
Dr. Walker said softly, “You back with us?”
I cleared my throat, nodding. “Yes. Sorry.”
Dr. Walker nodded, smiling gently, glancing between Daniil’s face and mine. “That should happen less frequently with time. Counseling would be a preferred option.”
Daniil cleared his throat, asking quietly, “Where did you hear that song?”
I stared at the wall and quickly looked down since that was what seemed to bring the song about. I wasn’t ready to talk about it. Not quite yet.
“Can she leave?” Dan
iil asked gruffly, turning his attention to the doctor.
“The wounds on her wrists and ankles were infected, and she’s severely dehydrated. I would prefer she stay here to have the fluids and her medicine administered intravenously.”
“No,” I countered instantly. “I want to leave. Give me everything I need to take home with me. I just want to go home.”
“If she doesn’t need to stay, she’s leaving,” Daniil ordered harshly.
I flinched.
He immediately softened his tone. “Just get all of her prescriptions ready. And I want those shackles she came in here wearing.” He glanced at the truck driver. “You. Stay. I want to talk with you more.”
Leaving the hospital, Daniil wrapped me back up in the blanket, putting the blanket back over my head, and then lifting up from the floor where he had sat in the hallway holding me in his lap until I was discharged. His family stood around us protectively in a circle as Daniil started moving, again holding me in his arms like a baby. I was okay with that, tucking my face against his neck so I wasn’t seen. And I smelled him, taking him in.
“I missed you so damn much,” I whispered against his neck.
Daniil faltered on his feet, and he trembled where he stood. He placed his head on top of mine and held me tight.
Grigori stated softly, “We need to keep moving, Papa.”
Daniil sucked in a breath, his chest raising and pressing against my side, and nodded against my head. He kissed the blanket where my forehead was, and started moving again. I knew what we were doing. I didn’t like it. But I understood it.
Daniil had talked with the truck driver, who had agreed to show them exactly where he had found me. I knew from there, Daniil would want me to show him where I had been held. I understood it. But it scared me, that emotion of terror stealing my breath. All of these damn emotions hitting me at the wrong time. It had been easier in my Hell when I had felt nothing.
But we needed to do this.
I hadn’t said anything because I didn’t want to talk about it, so they had no clue what they were walking into. If I thought for even a second it would be dangerous, I would say no, but it wasn’t. I was positive anyone who would have gone there would be long gone by now, seeing that I had escaped. But they did need to take fingerprints and such, so I didn’t argue even though going back there made me shake in terror.
Obsidian Music (Lion Security Book 3) Page 3
