Chapter Twenty-Three

Aksana

“You hang on, Aksana.”

I barely heard Claudia’s words while she frantically barked orders as she and Georgie rushed me into a hospital operating room.

I was so cold.

I couldn’t stop the cold.

Why was I so cold?

“Do we have plenty of A-negative on standby?”

“We only have two bags, Dr. Steiner.”

“Shit, that’s not enough,” Claudia snapped. “Call over to Knoxville Tri-Star and see if they have any. If they do, tell them we need at least five bags as fast as they can get them to us. Until then, we’ll make do with plasma.”

“She just had major surgery. You can’t move her.”

“Find a way, because I am taking her back to New York, where I can protect her better.”

“It’s not that simple, Dmitry,” I heard Claudia groan. “I had to remove half of her liver. She’s on blood thinners to prevent clotting. She needs to stay in the ICU in case there are complications.”

“Then you go with her.”

“I can’t go!” Claudia gasped. “I’ve got three babies at home and that’s not even mentioning my own patients.”

“I’ll go.”

“George, she can’t be moved.”

“I know that Lidi, but we don’t have a choice. Dmitry is right. She isn’t safe here.”

“Fine, I’ll start making calls.”

“Everything you requested is on board. The moment she’s secured, we can take off.”

“Thank you.”

“Come on, Aksana,” someone shouted as extreme pressure pressed down on my chest. “You don’t want to do this. You have a husband and little girl that still need you.”

Katiya.

Vladmir.

“Push .5grams of heparin!”

“She fucking dies and Vladmir will kill you.”

“I know, Dmitry! I’m doing everything I can!”

The whomp, whomp, whomp of blades woke me when the helicopter deftly landed with a thud, jarring me. I winced and moaned as someone gripped my hand in a firm hold.

“We’re here, Aksana. Just hang on a little while longer.”

Barely able to open my eyes, I turned to see Dmitry leaning over me. I wanted to ask him what happened so badly, but I couldn’t speak. Something was preventing me from doing so.

The door slid open, letting in a chilly breeze that cut me deep to the bone. I heard someone yelling as Dmitry let go of my hand and disappeared from my sight. The next thing I knew, I was being lifted out as the stars above me shined brightly in the night sky.

“I’ve got the O.R. waiting. What are her vitals?” I vaguely heard Bane ask and wondered how he was in Virginia.

“Steady for now, but we had to resuscitate in transit,” someone else said while they rushed me into a tiny square room.

“I thought she was stable?”

“She was,” the other guy replied. “But the second we took off, she started throwing V-fib. I had to give her heparin.”

“Fuck, she probably threw a clot. We need to get her to the Cath-lab first.”

“I can’t.”

“Then you get Vladmir on the phone and ask him, because she doesn’t have a lot of time, Dmitry.”

“I can’t do that either. They are getting ready to raid Satan’s Angels. He’s turned off his phone.”

“Then make the fucking decision!”

“Can’t you do anything?”

“It’s too late for that, so choose. Now.”

“Fuck.” Dmitry sighed. “God forgive me. Do it.”

The sounds of machines beeping and the whoosh of air being pushed up and down woke me. I couldn’t move. Everything hurt. I didn’t know where I was or remember what happened. All I knew was that something was preventing me from talking.

Moaning, I tried to open my eyes when I heard Dmitry say, “Hang on, Aksana. I’m going to go get Dr. Lansing and Dr. Steiner. I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll stay with her. Go.”

I tried to raise my hands, but I couldn’t. Was I tied down?

“Hang on, Aksana. Don’t move. You have an IV in your arm. Dmitry will be right back.”

Illyria?

What was she doing here?

Where was I?

Fighting through the fog, I opened my eyes to see Maxim’s wife leaning over me, with a worried expression on her face.

“Hey.” She cautiously smiled. “There you are. You gave us all a scare, Aksana. Gotta say, Vladmir will not be happy with all the theatrics, but considering everything that’s happened, I think he will give you a pass.”

“Is she awake?”

Illyria looked up and nodded. “Barely.”

Another woman, who I vaguely remembered, smiled down at me. “God, girl. I’m so damn glad you’re awake. Poor Bane was about to lose his shit over you. You had us all scared.”

Frowning, I didn’t understand.

“Do you remember anything?” Tessa asked.

I shook my head as both women sighed.

“Maybe it’s for the best,” Illyria muttered.

“She’s going to find out eventually, Illyria.”

“But not right now. Once she is more stable.”

Tessa nodded, holding my hand. “You rest and heal, Aksana. We aren’t going anywhere.”

Closing my eyes, I drifted off into the darkness.

“It’s been three fucking days, Mercy,” Tessa seethed. “Where the fuck are they?”

“Information is fluid, Tess. When I know anything definitive, you will be the first one to know.”

“Not fucking good enough. You said they raided the clubhouse two days ago. What happened?”

“Dmitry,” Illyria said sternly. “I demand you tell me where my husband and son are or I’m calling Cesare Vitale and the rest of the families.”

“We don’t know. All we know is when the guys raided the clubhouse, it was empty.”

“You said they were there?”

“They were.” Mercy sighed.

“So, no one knows where our kids are?” Tessa muttered.

“What about the live feed?” Illyria asked.

“It’s still running.”

“Then track the fucking location!” the angry Italian woman snapped. “I want my son found immediately!”

“We can’t,” Mercy admitted. “The FEDs are watching all of us like a hawk and the only people who could track the signal are behind bars.”

“There is someone who can help. He can find anyone.”

“No, Malice. Montana doesn’t want you anywhere near that fucker with all this shit going down. He was crystal clear about that.”

“Not gonna let anything happen to those babies.”

“If there is anything else you need, just ask,” a very familiar voice said as I slowly drifted out of the darkness.

“I still don’t know how you did it, but thank you,” I heard Maxim say warmly. “I am in your debt.”

“Mine too,” Illyria added.

“There is no need. I was happy to help. Please let me know how your wife fares, Vladmir. From what I hear, she is a very strong woman.”

“I will,” I distinctly heard Vladmir say. “And thank you for all your assistance.”

“It was my pleasure. Now, I must be going” the familiar voice said before I heard a door open and close.

“Still don’t like that fucker,” Montana’s gruff voice sneered.

“That fucker saved our son, asshole. Show the man some respect,” Tessa snapped angrily.

My mind was foggy, but I knew that voice.

I’d heard it somewhere before.

It was right there, just beyond my grasp, when I heard Vladmir say, “I think I’m going to take Katiya home, since Aksana is still asleep.”

The second Vladmir mentioned Katiya, my eyes snapped opened, and I remembered where I knew that voice from.