Broken Wings (The Broken Series Book 3) (51 page)

I
collapsed on the floor next to Michael. I was still sobbing as I pulled his
head into my lap.

Kadyn
ripped his shirt off and pressed it against Michael’s chest. There was so much
blood… too much blood. Everything was stained red.

I
choked on my tears when Michael’s eyes slowly opened. I grasped his face as I
forced him to look at me. “
You live, Michael! Damn it, you live. You can’t
die. Don’t you dare die on me!
”

Blood
bubbled up from Michael’s mouth as his eyes found mine. “I never stopped loving
you, Kristine.”

My
fingers tangled in his hair as I bent my tear stained face toward his. I kissed
him fully on the lips. His blood flooded my mouth. Still, I kissed him hard and
deep. I sought his eyes as I broke away. “Then you fight to stay alive,
Michael. You fight for me… for us. I love you, Michael. Do you hear me?
I
still love you!
”

Michael’s
eyes rolled back as his lashes fell to his cheeks. I pulled him further into my
lap, shaking him until his eyes struggled to find mine. “
Je t'aime, Kristine. Tu es
mon
cœur… mon amour… ma vie,
” he mumbled softly as
blood poured from his mouth.

“
Michael,
”
I sobbed. “
Please… please, don’t leave me.”
I scattered desperate kisses
across his face, then pressed my lips against his. “
Please,
” I breathed.

“He’s
gone,” Kadyn whispered as he softly touched my arm.

I
peered at Kadyn through a veil of tears. “No,” I choked. “I won’t let him go.”
As my vision cleared, I noticed Rafael sitting off to my left.

He
was sprawled out against the cockpit door with his shirt off. Shae was tying it
around his left arm, which was stained with blood. Rafael’s sunglasses were
lying on the floor. I could finally see his eyes.

My
breath caught as his pain collided with mine. I knew he was seeing his parents die,
right alongside Michael.

“He’s
dead?” he asked brokenly.

My
entire body shook as tears flooded my face and neck. “I’m so sorry, Rafael.
God, I’m so sorry.”

Rafael
reached for me as tears streamed down his face.

I
crawled between his legs, resting my back against his chest as Kadyn helped me
pull Michael to my own chest. Rafael wrapped his arms around Michael and me as
we wept.

Shae
tucked her head against Rafael’s shoulder as she began to cry. She held his arm
just beneath the tourniquet.

Kadyn
sat next to Rafael on the other side. He grasped Rafael’s arm, which was
cemented to mine.

The
four of us stayed locked around Michael until the plane landed two hours later.

Three
ambulances were waiting for us at the Berlin airport. I screamed and beat
frantically at the paramedics as they attempted to pull Michael from my arms.

Rafael
whispered soothingly as he peeled my arms from Michael’s chest and wrapped them
around his neck. He held me until I calmed down. Then he eased me into the ambulance
with Michael. Kadyn rode with Ethan, and Shae rode with Brady in the other two
ambulances.

The
hospital was complete chaos. Michael was taken to the morgue. They had to
restrain me as they wheeled him away. Someone gave me an injection that made
everything blurry. Once they gave me the injection I could no longer stand, sit
upright, or speak coherently.

Ethan
and Brady were whisked away for x-rays to ensure the bones in their legs had
been properly set. Rafael had to explain the circumstances surrounding
Michael’s death while the bullet wound in his arm was being cleaned and
stitched.

Shae
and I were hooked up to IVs and wheeled off to radiology for CT scans. Shae had
two cracked ribs. My kidney was bruised, my left rotator cuff was torn, and one
of my ribs was cracked.

Kadyn
was offered a pair of scrubs to replace his blood soaked clothes. He kept me
apprised of everything that was happening, but he had to repeat everything
multiple times, since I couldn’t register half of what he said. Thankfully, the
medication they had given me wore off after a couple of hours.

We
were discharged from the hospital six hours later. Kadyn reserved two large
suites in a nearby hotel and arranged for transportation before we left the
hospital. We were exhausted and numb by the time we checked into the hotel. We transferred
Ethan and Brady from their wheelchairs into their beds, then lingered in their
room.

Rafael
nodded toward the phone that sat on the nightstand between the two beds. “Why
don’t you have some food sent up, then try to get some rest? Brogan, Aidan, Chance,
and Jase should arrive within the hour.” He looked at Ethan. “Your wife is with
them. Call if you need me to let the waiter into your room or if you need help
getting to the bathroom. I’ll be right next door.”

Tears
pooled in my eyes as I stood staring at Ethan and Brady. “I’m so sorry they
hurt you.”

“Why
are you apologizing? We’re the ones who were supposed to protect you,” Brady
responded teasingly.

I
sighed miserably. “You wouldn’t have been hurt if I hadn’t gone to Ukraine.”

Kadyn
wrapped his arm around me as he escorted me from the room. “None of us knew
you’d be targeted like this.” He swiped the card through the scanner as he opened
the door to the second room.

I
glanced nervously at Kadyn and Rafael as Shae eyed the two beds. “Will you guys
share a bed so I can sleep with Shae?”

Rafael
looked disappointed, but he nodded.

Kadyn
shook his head. “I’m not so sure Rafael and I are going to fit in one of those
beds together. We’re both big guys. I think we’d all sleep better if each of
the guys shared a bed with one of the girls, since you two are so much smaller
than we are. Besides, it’s not like anything’s going to happen when we’re all
sleeping in the same room together.” He glanced at Shae. “I promise I’ll be a
perfect gentleman if you bunk with me.”

Rafael
looked at Kadyn. “Are you sure?”

Kadyn
shrugged. “I’m fine as long as Shae is comfortable sharing a bed with me. Given
everything that’s happened today, I think you and Kri should be together. I’m
just sorry I couldn’t find a hotel with more than two available suites.”

“I’m
fine with it,” Shae replied. “I’m actually glad we’re all sharing a room. I
feel safer with the two of you in here, and I really don’t want to be alone
right now.”

Rafael
glanced at his cell phone. His thumb tapped at the screen as he typed out a
text message. “My men have just arrived at the airport. I’m texting them the
address to the hotel, so they should be here shortly. They’ll secure the hotel
and stand watch outside our doors as we sleep. I don’t think we’re in any
danger, but the Russian SVR may very well have agents in Berlin. It’s better to
err on the side of safety.”

I
sank onto one of the beds as a fresh wave of tears threatened to pull me under.
“I don’t understand why they shot Michael in the back if they got the money
they were demanding.”

Rafael
kneeled in front of me. “I don’t know. Michael texted me from the car to warn
me they were having trouble getting the transfer to go through. They were struggling
with the Internet connection, but the last text I received from him said the
transfer went through. He told me to have the pilot prepare for departure.”

Kadyn
sank onto the couch as Shae stepped inside the bathroom. “Maybe something
happened to disrupt the transfer after Michael walked away from the car. Is
there any way to tell if the transfer went through? Do you have access to that
account?”

Rafael
folded his right arm across my lap. His left arm, like mine, was in a sling. “I
have Michael’s laptop and the financial documents he stored in the briefcase,
but he had a number of investment accounts. I don’t know which account he
transferred the money from, and I don’t know any of his passwords. Michael’s
assistant, Devry, may know the passwords. If he doesn’t, then I’ll have to search
for them in Michael’s office when I go to Paris.” Rafael sighed as he laid his
head on his arm. “I’m not quite sure I understand the point. Michael is gone.
What does it matter if the SVR got their money?”

I
ran my fingers through Rafael’s hair as tears streamed down my face. “I’m so
sorry,” I whispered brokenly.

Kadyn
rose from the couch. “I’m really sorry too, Rafael. I don’t understand why they
would shoot Michael.”

Rafael
looked up at me through watery eyes. “Maybe that was their plan all along.
Maybe they were going to kill all of us after they got their money. That would
be the only way they could ensure our silence so the U.S. government wouldn’t
take action against them for torturing U.S. citizens.”

Kadyn
nodded. “They did tell Markov that the deal was off if we got the government
involved.”

Shae
stepped out of the bathroom. “If that transfer didn’t go though, they may seek
revenge. Do you think we could still be in danger?” she asked nervously.

Kadyn
sighed. “If we aren’t targeted for that, then we will be after we go to the
U.S. Embassy tomorrow.”

Shae’s
eyes widened. “Why do we have to go to the embassy?”

Kadyn
opened a large bottle of water that was sitting next to the coffee pot. He
poured four glasses, then handed one to Shae. “I’m assuming the SVR still has
your passports, since you never got your purses back. You’re going to have a
hard time getting into the United States without passports. Frankly, I’m
surprised the German government let you off the plane without them.”

Rafael
stood. He walked over to the desk where he had left Michael’s briefcase.
“Unless Michael secured them when he transferred the money…”

We
waited with baited breath as Rafael dug through the briefcase. He slowly pulled
two navy blue passports from an interior pocket. He flipped them open. “I
should have known Michael would have insisted on these being returned.”

My
stomach clenched. I bolted into the bathroom.

Rafael
kneeled beside me as I heaved into the toilet. I flinched when he rubbed my
back. He stood and warmed a washcloth in the sink, then gently washed my face.
He set the washcloth aside and reached for my shirt. “Can I see?”

I
shook my head as I tugged my shirt back into place. “I don’t want you to see
what they did to me.”

Rafael’s
jaw clenched. Then his voice and face softened. “Please.”

I
sighed. “It’s just going to make you mad, and I want this to be over. I don’t
want you trying to track these people down so you can extract some sort of
revenge.” I began trembling as tears spilled down my face. “I’ve already lost
Michael. I can’t lose you too.”

Rafael
reached for the washcloth and wiped away my tears. Then he stared at me
expectantly.

My
shoulder’s fell as I silently relented.

He
gently removed my arm from the sling. His eyes locked on mine as he slowly lifted
my shirt. His eyes didn’t stray until he pulled my shirt over my head and arms.
His breath caught.

“Holy
shit,” Kadyn exclaimed from the doorway. “What the hell did they do to you?” He
turned to face Shae as she joined him in the entrance to the bathroom. “Do you
look like that too?”

Tears
pooled in her eyes. “I don’t know. I haven’t really looked.”

Rafael
motioned her into the bathroom. “Do you mind if we take a look?”

Shae
slowly lifted her shirt.

I
closed my eyes and rested my head on the toilet. I already knew what Shae
looked like. I had seen the bastards beat every single bruise into her body.

Kadyn’s
voice was low and menacing. “Someone is going to pay for this.”

Rafael
brushed the hair from my face. “I think we should take some pictures to
document this, and I think we need to go to the embassy first thing in the
morning so they can see what the SVR did to you.”

I
shook my head.

Rafael’s
voice grew firm. “I think you’re less likely to be targeted if we report this
to the U.S. authorities because it will reflect poorly on the Russian
government if anything further happens to you.”

Shae
pulled her shirt back on. “I agree,” she confided as she leaned against the
vanity.

Kadyn’s
eyes sought mine. “I’m sorry, Kri, but I think we need to get the government
involved.”

I
reached for my shirt. “So we’ll have to spend the entire day at the embassy
tomorrow, reliving the hell we just went through?”

Rafael
helped me put my shirt back on. He fit the sling over my arm, then tucked me
against his chest. “I’ll be with you the whole time.”

Kadyn
nodded. “Rafael and I will be there… for both of you.”

I
exhaled loudly. “Fine, but I want to at least take a shower and track down a
change of clothes before we go. I’m filthy.”

Shae
pushed off from the counter. “Me too.”