TWO
Nikita
I crouch behind the bushes, waiting for Luka to make his big move. He's proposing to Hannah and asked for me to get the event on video.
Madisyn promised to help distract Bay, their daughter, and keep her entertained while he popped the question.
There's a heavy gasp, and I catch movement out of the corner of my eye.
"What the hell are you doing here?" I scold.
I bumped into her last night at the club, quite literally. I spilled my drink on her. We shared a few words and spent a couple of hours together. But I didn't expect to stumble into her again on Mikhail's property.
Lucy is not one of us, a member of the bratva, and not invited to the proposal.
Her knees crumble to the ground as she struggles to breathe. I drop my phone and hurry across the lawn.
"Hannah! Luka!" I shout, trying to get their attention and their help. Hannah is a nurse. She'll know what's wrong with Lucy.
Her eyes roll back in her head. She's unconscious.
Luka grumbles, not the least bit quiet about his displeasure with my interruption.
They hurry across the lawn, Hannah hustling at my insistence. "What's going on?" she asks, bending down and noticing Lucy on the grass. Hannah checks Lucy's vitals. She briefly examines her and gives orders to Luka. "Get me an EpiPen."
Luka hustles inside the compound to grab the necessary medication. Mikhail's fortress has everything required for survival, including medical equipment and medicine. It helps that we have two nurses on site.
While we still use the concierge for trauma and surgical intervention, we can stitch a minor wound or handle an allergic reaction at the compound.
"I didn't realize you had a girlfriend. Girls don't generally like to hide their relationship unless that's a kink for you both," Hannah jokes. "But seriously, the bushes?"
"She's not my—anything," I grunt and am relieved when Luka returns with the EpiPen. He removes the injector from the case and hands the device to Hannah.
She yanks off the blue safety cap and firmly jabs Lucy in the thigh with the orange tip before monitoring her vitals again.
Hannah checks Lucy's pulse repeatedly.
"Isn't she supposed to wake up?" I stare down at unconscious Lucy.
"We can administer another shot in five minutes if there's no response," Hannah says.
I slide my arms under Lucy's legs and back, lifting her into my arms as I carry her across the lawn and into the compound.
Luka opens the French doors as I maneuver her inside through the mudroom and the kitchen.
"Do you know her?" Luka asks. He's on my heel, following me as I take Lucy and carry her up the stairs to an unoccupied bedroom. It's no surprise that he's being protective of Mikhail, the Pakhan.
"I ran into her last night," I say.
"Where?"
Is this an interrogation? I glance in his direction. Where is he going with this line of questioning? "At the club with Anton." It's the truth. I didn't invite Lucy to join us. I didn't even tell her where I live.
But she must have known since she's here.
My stomach is heavy like a ball of lead. It sinks to the bottom of the ocean, heavy and nauseating.
"And she just happened to show up?" Luka asks. He's skeptical.
I carry Lucy up to an empty bedroom and gently lay her atop the mattress. Hannah is a few steps behind, hurrying up the stairwell.
"I don't believe in coincidences," I say. Luka must feel the same. "I'll keep a close eye on her." She's not leaving my sight. Someone has to stand guard; it might as well be me.
"Search her. Make sure that she doesn't have any weapons or anything on her," Luka orders.
"She's unconscious," I say. I don't think she's capable of holding any of us hostage, at least not in her present state.
"Luka's right," Hannah says and folds her arms across her chest. She stands by the open door to the bedroom. "What kind of a person jumps the fence at a heavily guarded house?"
"The stupid kind," I mutter. What the hell is she up to?
"I recognize her," Hannah says.
"From where?" I ask, glancing at Hannah briefly before returning my undivided attention to Lucy.
Is she going to wake up any time soon?
Should we be worried?
How long has it been since the last injection of epinephrine?