Page 121 of Emerald Vices
“I placed the order,” she informs me. “It should be ready in about a week.”
“Good. Now, why don’t the two of you get back to the manor?”
Mila frowns. “Are you kidding? This is the first time I’ve been out of the house in weeks!”
Before I can tell her to stop taking unnecessary risks, Leonty beats me to the punch. “Baby, there’s an active hit hanging over your head, remember? We’ve tempted fate enough by coming out at all today. Let’s just get home.”
Her lips jut out in a pout. “What’s one more hour?”
“Mila,” Leonty grits, his tone harder than I’ve ever heard it.
“Oh, alright. I’ll come home like a good girl.” Jabbing a finger at me, she adds, “But you can at least give me five minutes to grab something from the chocolate shop next door. Kat’s been craving cocoa lately. I want to surprise her with something sweet.”
Before either one of us can say anything, she’s turned and swept into the store.
“Women,” Leonty sighs, unbuckling his seatbelt. “I’ll go in with?—”
The unmistakable sound of gunshots blast through the air. Leonty nearly drops the phone, leaving me staring at a tumbling whorl of color.
“Fuck!” he screams. “Mila!”
The screen flashes before he dumps the phone somewhere. All I see is darkness, but I can hear every word.
“Motherfuckers!” Leonty screams under a torrent of splintering sound.
I hear glass breaking, more gunshots, and the panic of terrified screams. “Mila! Mila, stay with me, baby. Please.”
I end the call and dial 911.
Shura, Kat, and Natalia come barreling around the corner just as I’m giving the emergency dispatcher Mila and Leonty’s location.
“What happened?” Natalia asks, her face pale.
“There was an attack on Mila,” I rasp. “I’m heading there now.”
“I’ll come with you,” Shura says before darting out of the manor to fire up the Escalade. Katya follows behind him without a word.
“I’m coming, too!” Natalia insists.
“Natalia, I think it’s better if?—”
“Mila’s my friend!” she explodes in my face. “And I will not sit here and wait for news when I could be with her. I’m coming.”
I briefly consider tying her down and forcing her to stay, but we don’t have the time. “Fine, but you’re to stay by my side the entire time. Is that clear?”
She nods. “Always.”
Leonty is slumped on the floor of the emergency ward when we get to the hospital. Elbows resting on his knees, his head hanging between his shoulder blades.
He looks up, eyes red-rimmed, dried tears etched onto his cheeks. “Shit, you all came.”
“Of course we all came.” Natalia grabs his arm, holding on like she’s afraid to lose him, too. “Where is she?”
“They wheeled her in twenty minutes ago for emergency surgery.” Leonty hiccups. “Fuck… there was so much blood…”
“Mila’s strong, Leonty,” Kat chimes in. “She’ll make it.”
Leonty looks past Kat to me. “You were right, Andrey. I should never have let her out of my sight. Not even for a second. This is all my fault.”