Chapter 35

Maksim~

W ith no regard for the law or other people on the road, I'd made it to the cabin in record time, not caring about anything but getting to Katja before it was too late. I also hadn't cared about waiting for the others. If Nikel wanted my life for Katja's, then I was fine with that. If I could get the both of us out of here alive, then great. However, if I couldn't, then it wasn't the hardship that Nikel thought it might be. I was in love for the first time in my life, and now I understood why Avgust had been a miserable sonofabitch after Samara had left him all those years ago. Men didn't love easily, but when we did, it was no joke.

With the help of the satellite picture that Morocco had sent to us, I'd been able to access the creek, then make my way on foot towards the cabin. While he'd been right about the waters not rushing fast enough to cause a lot of noise, it'd been running fast enough to camouflage footsteps. So, after texting Avgust, Damir, Ivan, and Orlyn where I was parked and how I'd made my way down the creek, I'd been able to make it to the cabin undetected.

However, once I'd gotten close enough to see through one of the dirty kitchen windows, I hadn't expected to see Nikel Ovchinnikov lying dead in the center of the living room. When I couldn't see deep enough inside the room to see where Katja was, I made the decision to just go inside. If she wasn't here, then I could see if Morocco could get live satellite feeds to see if she was still in the area, but not before I searched every fucking inch of the cabin. Still, because I wasn't stupid, I walked around the structure, peeking into every visible window that I could find, and it wasn't until I looked into the living room window that I saw Katja sitting on the floor, and while she was leaning back against the couch, it was very clear that Nikel was dead.

After firing off another text that the cabin was clear, I wasted no more time in opening the front door. Ignoring the dead body of my blood, I raced over to Katja, then dropped on my knees in front of her, and that's when I noticed that the lower half of her face was covered in blood. "Baby."

She opened her sunshine-colored eyes, and looking into my worried face, she said, "I'm pretty sure that I'm dying."

At that, my eyes raced over her body, and that's when I saw the blood flowing out of her left leg. I quickly pulled my shirt off, then ripped it to shreds, tying a tourniquet around her thigh. As soon as I was finished with that, I re-fastened her shirt, covering up her bare chest. My heart was beating wildly in my throat, and I could barely speak with how damaged she looked.

"Are you shot or hurt anywhere else, lyublyu?"

She held up her left hand. "I cut my fingers."

Taking an extra strip of my shirt, I wrapped her fingers, my hands shaking with regret at not being able to kill Nikel myself. "Anywhere else?"

Katja shook her head. "No."

Just then, I heard footsteps entering the cabin, and when I turned my head to see who it was, Avgust was walking in, and when he saw me on my knees, he jerked his head to let me know that the others were behind him. So, getting to my feet, I reached down, then picked Katja up bride-style just as the others entered the room.

As soon as I saw Orlyn, I said, "She's been shot in her left leg, and her fingers are also sliced."

"How long do you think you've been bleeding," he asked her as I laid her on the dirty couch.

"I don't know," she answered tiredly. "A while."

Orlyn shot a look my way. "We cannot wait for an ambulance."

"And a hospital will ask too many questions," Ivan added.

Not caring what I had to do to save this woman, I pulled my phone out, then dialed my enemy like we were all one happy family. Still, I hadn't been lying when I'd said that I would give my life for Katja.

"Barychev, what an unpleasant surprise," Noah Murphy drawled out like an ass.

"Does your brother still occupy the cabin that he saved Samara in?"

"Why?" he asked, though the tone in his voice had changed drastically.

"My girl just killed Nikel Ovchinnikov, but he was able to shoot her in the process," I told him. "We're in a back cabin near the creek where we found Louie. Name your price, and I'll pay it. Even if it's my life."

"I'll call Lochlan now," he said. "Come alone, Barychev. If Kotov is with you, then that's fine. I'll let The O'Brien know."

As soon as I hung up, I said, "We're welcomed, but only me and Avgust."

"You guys go," Damir said. "We'll take care of the mess here."

"He…he said that he picked me because…because Samara and her sister were too well guarded," Katja said, surprising us all. "He…he also said that Maksim was the easier target since Akim was with his family all the time, and they were also all very well guard…guarded."

"Get her to the O'Briens, Maksim," Orlyn instructed. "And do not let her pass out before then."

"I'll drive," Avgust announced, and trusting the others to do what they did best, I carried Katja to Avgust's car.

I held her in my arms as Avgust drove, and with my heart still pounding in my chest, I said, "Look at me, lyublyu." Katja opened her eyes, her gaze looking dim and vacant. "We're getting married, Katja."

Her head jerked a bit. "Wh…what?"

"We're getting married," I repeated. "We're getting married, and because you'll be my wife, you'll have to quit your job."

Her eyes narrowed at me, and that's what I wanted. I wanted to keep her awake like Orlyn had instructed, and I knew that anger was the only way to do that. I needed her fired up and mad enough to have this argument with me.

"I am…am not marrying you," she said, her voice sounding stronger. "You're…you're out of your mind if…if you think that…that I'm going to marry you."

"Oh, but you are, baby," I informed her. "I have already emptied a room for your dedushka, and as soon as you are well, we can start interviewing real nurses for his care since he will be well guarded at the house."

"You…you…you can't do that," she sputtered. "You can't just…just take us like…like you're adopting an animal from the shelter."

"Baby, I love you," I finally told her. "Maybe not in the way that you deserve, but I still love you, Katja."

She started shaking her head. "That's not fair. You…you can't just say…say that to me."

"Why not? It is true."

"It's not…not true," she argued. "I don't…don't know why you're saying it, but…but it's not true."

"It is," I insisted. "It is, and I just need you to let me prove it to you."

Fire flared in her eyes, and she didn't care that Avgust could hear her when she spat, "How? By fucking me…me in a room full of people without my knowledge again?"

"As soon as we get home, I will explain that situation to you," I promised her.

"Is your…your explanation going to undo it?" she asked, and my heart stopped beating when she closed her eyes, then let out a shuttered breath.

"Avgust?"

"We're almost there," he assured me, speeding as fast as he could without killing all three of us.

"Katja, I need you to look at me," I told her. "I need you to keep your eyes open."

"Why? So that you can keep…keep fighting with me?"

"So that I don't lose you, baby," I said, the words feeling like they were stuck in my throat. "I need you to keep looking at me so that I do not lose you."

Katja let out a hollow laugh. "Joke's on you, Maksim. I wasn't lying when I said that I was pretty sure that I was dying. You just have to look at my blood-soaked jeans to know it."

"You can lose up to thirty percent of your body's blood before things begin to get serious," I told her. "We are going to get you help before it gets beyond that."

"Because the O'Briens are really going to help me?" she scoffed. "Highly unlikely."

Because no one knew about our unspoken truce or the fact that Kasen Sartori was an evil mastermind, I could see why Katja would be hesitant to believe that the O'Briens would help us. If she wasn't weak from so much blood loss, then she'd be questioning why I had called them in the first place.

"Katja, you heard me on the phone," I reminded her. "I offered them whatever they wanted."

Her brows furrowed a bit, and I immediately started panicking when she closed her eyes again. However, she opened them back up before I could begin to shake her. "You offered them your life."

I gave her a tight nod. "I did."

"Who serves themselves up to their enemy like that?" she muttered, more to herself than anything else.

"A man in love, baby," I answered.

Before she could say anything to that, Avgust announced, "We are here."