Maria
“Look out!”
My dad emerges from a shadowy hallway as if summoned by retribution, but he doesn’t hear me call him. His face is contorted by a madness that frightens me. The look of hate in his eyes makes my legs freeze in place to see that chilling expression on a face I love.
I try to call out to him again, but my voice catches in my throat. His relentless glare is locked onto Mikhail as if I don’t matter. And I feel that none of this brutality has anything to do with me. Dad points the gun directly at Mikhail, but I refuse to let fate happen.
“Daddy, NO!” In a split second, propelled by love and desperation, I step in front of Mikhail as the gunshot rings out. A white-hot sledgehammer slams into me, and I shriek as I fall to my knees.
Mikhail screams my name. His voice echoes through the building as I crumple onto the concrete floor. Someone yells something that I can’t hear over the ringing in my ears. An intense, searing pain radiates from my side as I gasp for breath. Stinging sensations lance into me and refuse to dissipate.
When I can’t will the pain away, that’s when I realize what just happened.
I’ve been shot.
Does my father realize what he has done? Does he know he shot me?
Gunshots ring out, but it’s Mikhail who’s shooting now. Soon, Pavel joins his side. They aim into the darkness, and the horrible, noisy booms reverberate across the empty space, filling the space with tiny shock waves that leave me sick to my stomach.
But no one shoots back.
Dad’s gone.
My hand feels wet as blood quickly soaks through my thin dress and covers my hands. Mikhail’s strong arms wrap around me, pulling me close to his chest as he lifts me up and carries me away.
“Stay with me, Maria,” he begs, his voice thick with fear. “I’ve got you.”
The pain tries to claim my consciousness, but I fight back, refusing to slip away. Every step he takes sends jolts of pain through my body, but I grit my teeth and hold on tight. Blood seeps through his fingers, staining Mikhail’s cuffs dark crimson, and I close my eyes so I don’t have to look at it.
“Maria! Stay with me!” Mikhail hisses as we race outside behind the building. “Where’s the fucking car?”
“Over there.” Pavel hurries out to join us. Whenever he looks at me, his worried expression scares me.
“Maria, you’re okay. Stay awake.” Mikhail’s voice is commanding, and I open my eyes. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“Promise me?” I ask shakily, unable to hide the fear in my voice.
“I promise.”
“I love you,” I whisper the words as if they’re still a secret.
We reach the SUV, and Mikhail lowers me carefully onto the back seat. With swift efficiency, he makes a makeshift bandage using his shirt and jacket and wraps it tight around my midsection. He applies pressure to stanch the wound, and moaning, I flinch in pain, praying the bleeding will stop.
“I love you,” he says, then kisses me.
I take his warmth and the feeling of his body pressed tightly against mine. I want to stay in that kiss forever, but the cruel situation we’re in denies that to me.
We’re out of time.
Anton sits in the driver’s seat. He shifts the gears, and the tires screech against the blacktop as the SUV races across an empty parking lot. We speed away from the building, leaving my dad and his blind hatred behind. I try to steady my breathing, but the pain in my side is brutal, and despite how messed up I am, I wonder if my father is still alive.
“Maria,” Mikhail says softly, pressing the bandage hard against my bullet wound. “Stay with me, baby.”
Baby …
I want to reassure him, but the words won’t come out.
Instead, an overwhelming new fear grips me, and my thoughts race to the one thing I’ve been keeping secret.
“My baby,” I choke out, tears streaming down my face. “My baby, my baby.”
———-
Mikhail
My eyes widen in shock as I stare at the blood covering Maria’s dress and my shirt. “Your baby?” I ask, bewildered, wondering if I heard her correctly.
“Our baby,” she whispers. The weight of everyone’s gaze in the SUV falls on me, but I remain in shock, speechless. But I did hear her right. Maria said baby.
A child … our child.
“Maria …” My voice is barely audible over the rain. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I was afraid.” She starts crying, and I’m unsure if it’s from the pain or the confession. “I was afraid of what you would do …”
“Oh, Maria.” I kiss her again to prove that I want them both.
The SUV speeds through the rain-slick streets to a doctor’s house on the private payroll. I close my eyes, trying to block out the pain and the fear. But mostly the regret creeping into my soul. This isn’t about revenge anymore. This is about saving her and my child.
“Promise me, Mikhail!” She clings to me. “Promise me you’ll keep our baby safe no matter what happens to me.”
There’s no time for regrets. “I promise,” I reply.
The rain pelts against the windshield, blurring the streetlights into a hazy burst of light. Her breaths come in short gasps as I clutch her side, trying not to hurt her even more.
“Anton,” I growl.
“Two more blocks,” he answers, pushing the accelerator.
“Maria,” my voice cracks with concern. “Stay with me. We’re almost there.”
She nods weakly, but her eyes lose focus as her eyelids slowly droop. No one speaks, and the rhythmic thud of the wipers and the steady hum of the SUV’s engine is the only sound.
“Promise me, Mikhail,” she whispers. Exhaustion is taking its toll. “Promise me …”
“I promise, Maria.” My voice breaks, though I swore I stayed strong. “You will survive. You and the baby.”
The old Cape Cod house is a beacon in the dark night as the SUV swerves up to the front door. The house is lit up as a middle-aged couple races out the door to meet us. They know why we’re here, but shock plays across their faces when they see it’s a woman this time.
“I love you,” I whisper, carrying Maria into the house. I look into her eyes one more time before they take her into surgery and seefear as she stares at me. But there is also fierce determination in her hard expression.
I can’t bear to part from her.
I can’t bear to lose her.
“I love you,” she whispers one more time as I place her down on an examination table in a room suitable for a hospital, not a private home.
Her eyes show pain, but hope that I can still save her. Save us. Is it possible? Will the baby survive?
The doctor’s wife pushes me toward the doorway as her husband peels back the clothing covering Maria’s wound. I strain my neck to see the extent of the damage, but the woman’s hold is firm. She looks to Anton and Pavel for help and they grab me, forcing me away from Maria.
I shake them off, but the door shuts in my face. Remorse doubles down on me, bending my back, and I don’t know where to look. Where to turn. I press my forehead against the shut door, and a harsh howl emerges from deep in my throat.