40. Dima

FORTY

Dima

I 'm going to fucking die while I'm still alive. The glass cuts into my thighs when I finally fucking break through it and my legs pump faster than they ever have before to get to my life. Where the fuck did she go? It's pitch fucking black, and all the other cunts have ran.

No. No. No. I can't lose her.

Blindly pressing into the wall where Ana fucking ran through glass like it was nothing, I find the hidden door and my foot slips against the blood coating the floor.Everything is red. The walls. The floor. It's as though there's a red bulb tingeing everything.

There's no one breathing as I go through the maze of rooms.

"ANA!"

Calling her name doesn't get a reaction and I'm going to have a heart attack. There's no sound coming from the earpiece after the gunshots. She can't be dead; I can't find my reason for being then fucking lose it.

The puddles of red start to taper off revealing footprints. Thank fuck. My heart is beating too loudly for me to hear my own thoughts as I follow them to another hallway that's separated by double doors. I don't notice the three fuckers behind me until they're on my heels. Her brothers don't say anything as we keep on the bloody path and a roar full of pain has us moving faster. I can fucking breathe again as soon as I see her, my sweet hellion doesn't see me though and turns, screaming the same name again.

"ROWAN!"

The sound is ripped from her throat, burning, and scratching it raw as her neck cords and she fixes on the four of us.

Ana takes a step forward, not recognizing anyone. She only has a knife in her hand, body stained red, and she doesn't fucking see me. I hold my hands up so she can see I'm not going to hurt her and keep my voice gentle, coaxing her back.

"Meet me in Venus, lisichka?"

Her head freakishly cocks to the side but there's a new blankness in her eyes as she blinks, returning to it. She's going to fucking kill us all.

I slowly take a step forward and the three fuckers who are supposed to be her family grab at me, attempting to pull me back to the hallway that's coated in destruction. Their fingers grip my shoulders, and one pulls against my back as they hide behind the doors.

Am I fuck running from my woman?

She's mine in hellish pain or blissed-out peace. I'm about to remove the mask from my face when Vlad's warning comes through the earpiece.

"Cameras, don't let them know who we are. Who she is." His voice drops, a threat woven between each word as he reminds me, "She's my sister, protect her with your fucking life, Remember the oath you gave."

I step forward again and blood drips from my hellion's mask onto her bare legs that are already coated red. I take a different route, so her identity is protected and take out the pendant around my neck. I turn it so she can see her sticker and shrug away from the hands still trying to pull me back. Her eyes go behind me and I move forward again.

"Look at me, ignore them."

She does it and the first fucking flicker of my Ana comes out as she focuses on the pendant.

"Your sticker, remember?"

She squeezes her eyes shut then opens them.

Everything is still as the knife slowly slips from her fingers, but her rage doesn't leave.

"You're okay, we'll go home."

My voice is weak as fuck, begging her as I continue inching forward. She tenses and I pause as her breathing escalates. It's not coming through the earpiece so she must have tripped a wire when she's in front of me and she's physically safe.

There's no illusion of what she's capable of when it's literally painted on the walls, and I ignore the dumb fucks behind me.

"Shall we go back to the forest, B?"

I'm saying anything I can fucking think of to get her back fully and she keeps fighting to come out. Her head returns to its normal position, and I start moving again.

"Do you remember your song?"

Some of the tension leaves her shoulders so I hum it as the world drops away. Once I'm within arm's reach, I pull her to my chest and wrap my arms around her, keeping her tucked against me, her rage comes back instantaneously and there's blood in her hair. The scent of iron fills my nose and mouth as I softly say, "I've got you, lisichka. Shh, I've got you, no one's going to hurt you."

She's a contortionist and manages to turn around so her back is against my chest. Picking her up so her feet aren't touching the floor, I keep whispering every little memory in her ear. Valentin moves forward and his hand trembles as he pushes the sedative into her arm. One vial doesn't stop her murderous rage as she tenses, pressing her head into my chest and her feet into my knees, roaring out in pain. There are no words, it's just soul deep anguish leaving her, and the balaclava moves over Val's throat as he shakily brings up another syringe.

Doing another dulls the screams to shouts.

The third has them turning hoarse.

Everyone hesitates on the fourth, but Ana isn't calming, and I hug her body to me, knowing it's fucking deadly to give her it. My eyes close as he pushes the needle into her arm and liquid rolls under my mask as her body goes limp in my arms.

My knees are weak, threatening to crumble as I pick up her lifeless body in a bridal carry. Her arm falls off the side and Val gently places it on her stomach as I keep whispering to her, hoping she comes back.

"You're okay, lisichka, you can't leave me."

She can hate me or kill everyone, I don't give a fuck as long as she's alive. It would be enough to know we exist in the same place at the same time, my body withering while hers prospers.

Nothing else exists as her brothers walk ahead and lead us out to the car. There's less destruction from them breaking into the place than my hellion trying to get peace. There's blood on every inch of her skin, it coats my hands just from holding her, and I can't differentiate if it's hers or the people who deserved to die.

No one says anything as we get in the car and my voice isn't my own. It's coming from underwater and filled with static as I mumble, "Gloves."

She can't leave her contacts in and there's blood all over my hands. I lift the mask off her face as whoever is sat next to me holds the gloves open for me and there's even blood staining her forehead.It has dripped from her hair, going into her eyebrow and makes it look like she was crying blood.

Once I've got the gloves on and won't push any shit into her beautiful eyes, I carefully peel them open. I only have one contact removed when whoever gave me the gloves turns the temperature to freezing. They don't speak or I don't hear them, who gives a fuck. Once her contacts are out, I clean her face with the antibacterial gauze then press my fingers to her pulse point.

It's there, she's alive, her chest is moving.

I lower my head so my lips are beside her ear then beg because my life depends on it. "Stay with me, lisichka. You haven't finished your book and," my voice cracks and lowers to a whisper, "don't leave me yet. You're strong, a hellion, so you can fight the devil to stay here."

I don't wait for the tires to stop as we pull up at the safe house and the doctor is already waiting. His face loses all color when he sees the state she's in and he asks, "What's her blood type?"

I don't know if anyone answers or knows but I do.

"O positive."

Brushing past him, I take her to the room we have set up and lay her on the bed. I move around everyone else to get the stains off her skin. The stupid fucking mask is still on my face as I uncover marks. Marks that are new, wounds. The blood on her skin isn't just other people's and two pairs of hands pull me away as the doctor audibly gulps.

I try to fucking fight them, but they push their full body weight against me until I'm out of the makeshift hospital room. We set this up for Nina. Not Ana. Not my life, it was supposed to be Nina in this fucking bed getting checked. My knees go weak, and I fall. Whoever was grabbing me tries to stop it, but no one can. She's going to fucking die. I get a glimpse of her unconscious face and then the door is closed, sealing it off while she gets stitched up with Vlad standing watch.I can't breathe or move as my entire body turns to stone.

If she's not here, I'm not.

Ana hasn't woken up yet and I keep watching the seconds tick by, waiting for the doctor's estimate to be over. Thirteen minutes and twenty-four seconds, then she'll wake up.

Her lashes flutter with eight minutes to go and I stand, uselessly cupping her face, still waiting as I beg, "Open your eyes for me, lisichka."

She groans. Sound. She's alive. Her lashes brush my cheek as I move my lips around her face and her sweet voice isn't diminished with the croak. "Dima?"

My eyes burn and I nod, afraid of letting go of her. Afraid of fucking speaking. I carefully pick her up and sit her across my thighs so she's fully in my arms and my lips touch every piece of skin that they find. There's still blood in her hair and none of the gunshot wounds were life threatening with them only grazing her skin, but her blood belongs inside her body. Never anywhere else. My eyes close as I tighten my arms around her.

"I thought I fucking lost you, what would I do?"

My voice cracks and she turns, wrapping her arms around me. She's back . She hugs me and there's emotion in her voice for once.

"I had to kill her, she wanted me to. So, I had to do it."

I nod and hold her tighter, feeling her heart beating through my chest so mine can do the same.The sound of destruction vibrates through the safe house, again, it's been coming intermittently, and everything is background noise, it doesn't exist now that I have my woman in my arms, but Ana tries to move away.

I clear my throat of the dryness that's taken residence there and cup the back of her head, keeping her with me.

"Promise to stay with me, lisichka, I can't fucking survive you."

She nods and her face splinters as tears fall from her eyes, but she still manages to soothe me as she sniffles, "Forever, we'll meet in Venus." Her face splits as she innocently asks, "With Nina? So I can say sorry to her?"

I nod as I press my lips to her temple, finally able to breathe after my lungs went without air for so long that they burn in protest.Her tears slow as she hugs me, finding safety in me, and I clear my throat so there's no obstruction before I say, "You did what she wanted, B, you did exactly what you said you were going to and you saved her." She shakes and I rest my lips on the side of her neck, feeling her pulse. "No one can hurt her now. Because of you, lisichka."

I don't know how long we sit there with the sound of a demolition as background noise. The doctor comes in and he keeps flinching at the thuds and roars shaking the foundations. It sounds like a wild animal has been let loose for fuck's sake. Ana, my unbothered hellion squeezes me once and whispers, "Go check on Vlad, he's your friend."

Her lips touch my cheek, and she tries to look at the doctor to answer his questions.My arms don't loosen until she repeats herself with that authority she keeps hidden.

"Go, it's okay. Inessa and Tali will be upset and they're nice."

I go to find one of her saner brothers to sit with her. Val and Tali are nowhere in sight until I reach the deafening noise and they're both pushing a door closed with a bunch of shit piled in front of it.There's a coffee table, a sofa, and a dresser pushed against the door as they stand on the rattling furniture, pressing their body weight against the door.

I've seen these idiots go through so much shit and never look as lost as they do now. Val stares at me and his voice is low as he remains unblinking. "He's fucking crazy."

I can fucking hear that, but I don't have the energy to argue with them and Tali tries to be helpful.

"He went out while you were sat with Ana and he's been like this since he came back. It's been five hours, and he hasn't calmed down."

The last time he had one of his episodes, he flew halfway around the world to make sure he was an orphan.

"Go sit with Ana, make sure she's not alone," I gesture for them to leave and they both run with fear and watery eyes. The only person who can talk a man down is the one who owns him, and I video call Inessa as I move the furniture out of the way.

Her first question is about my hellion.

"Is Ana okay?"

Nodding my head, I pan to the door her husband is currently trapped behind and she hardens.

"Let me see him."

Because she's safe through a screen.

I risk my life as I attempt to unbolt the door. I have to push my shoulder into it to get the warped metal free and I make sure I can make a clean exit if needed. I have one foot through the threshold when the psycho is on me. His hands wrap around my throat, and he doesn't react when my knuckles meet his jaw.

"Vlad!" Inessa shouts. "Let Dima go."

Hearing his wife's voice, he blinks into awareness and allows me to fucking breathe.I hold my means for survival up so he can calm the fuck down, but whatever she sees on his face has her voice filling with tears as she says, "Come home."

Weird fucks.

The entire time I've known him, he's never looked at me with pure hate, that's what's on his features now and his jaw tics as he hesitates, unwrapping both of his hands from my neck.

"Vlad?" Inessa says, "Don't, it's Dima. Come. Home."

He doesn't move and I finally understand why everyone is so afraid of him. I watched him with his brothers when they were kids, he was human, now there's sinister intent in his eyes as he fights his hands attempting to kill me as Inessa keeps pleading with him.

"We'll figure it out, just come home. Don't disappear again."

He doesn't fully move back until Verena's shout comes through the phone. "Papa!"

Inessa manages to soften her voice as she stops their daughter seeing the state he's in.

"Papa's busy right now, little wriggler."

His daughter whines, screaming for him and his head turns before he snatches my phone out of my hand and changes it to a phone call. He doesn't stay in the room or the house as he walks out, taking my phone with him. The only person I need is here and I'm never letting her out of my sight so he can keep it.

Whatever shit he's got himself into doesn't take precedent over my hellion.The room is destroyed, pieces of drywall lay on the floor with exposed wires, and the insulation foam taints the air. But my woman is awake, and she is the only thing I care about.

My steps are rushed until I'm back by her side and she has no signs of all the fucked shit she's experienced. Her eyes are lighter, shoulders less weighted and she smiles easier. She moves to the side, creating space for me as Val quizzes her about her eyes.

"Do you need contacts to see or something?"

There's no discomfort over the topic and my Ana is back as she punches him in the thigh.

"No, they were just a color, but you're even uglier now."

She's going to live in my arms from now on. There will be imprints formed to her contours, so she fits there perfectly, and I'll be a hundred years old and still carry her everywhere.By some miracle she's alive, and she's okay mentally. The break might come but I'll be there and keep her with me.

I kiss the top of her head as she laughs along with Tali, both of them giving Val shit before they begin bickering with each other and switching sides. Everything Ana has ever wanted is here, she doesn't have to hide in the forest in her head to have a family. Whether she understands it or not, she's saved Nina the only way she could and she didn't freak out about the doctor so her mind is slowly healing too.