Page 58 of Bound For You

As Alexandr strokes my hair, his face white, I rasp, “They’re coming, please, save them, not me, save them.”

I hear a grunt and a howl of pain.

Al says, “How ‘bout we save all of you?”

I shake my head and I whisper, “I’m hemorrhaging. I won’t survive without a hospital, save them, please.”

He goes taut as tears fall from his eyes. Dimitri comes into view, his face hard. I hear Mindy scream, then Alexandr shouts.

The urge to push slams into me once more. I scream, “Sergi!”

I hear him shout, “Fuck,” and he comes into view, his face pale and tense. He grabs my hand.

“Okay, baby, you’re okay. You’ve got this.”

I look at Dmitri and I shake my head, silently telling him the truth. Phoebe comes into view on my other side, and she grabs my hand as she tries to comfort me.

I can feel my body draining of life when I hear the first cry. Tears fall from my eyes as Phoebe lets go of my hand to grab the baby from Alexandr.

He croaks, “A beautiful baby boy.”

Phoebe places the baby on my chest, and I kiss his head. Dark blond hair. I memorize every little detail of him.

I can feel my body weakening.

Sergi kisses my head, and places his hand on his son’s head. “He’s perfect.”

I smile, rasping, “Anthony Dimitri.”

Sergi grins while Dimitri openly sobs.

My body tightens again, Phoebe quickly takes the baby, placing him in a blanket.

“Okay, Avery, your little girl wants to meet you. Push, sweetheart,” Alexandr commands, and I do as he says. I scream as I push until I can no longer feel anything. I’m numb from the chest down.

I hear Alexandr rasp, “Shit, she’s not breathing.”

No! No, no, no!

I scream, “Sergi! Save her, save her!”

He runs to Alexandr as my vision goes blurry. Dimitri comes into view and grabs my hand, squeezing it tight.

My voice weak, my body too heavy, I whimper, “Save her…please.”

The last thing I hear is Sergi screaming, “Fuck, come on baby girl, come on! Breathe for daddy!”

As my eyes become too heavy and my heart slows to a crawl, I whisper, “Natalia Iris.”

Light turns to dark.

twenty-nine

Sergi – Two Hours Earlier

I can’t helpthe grin on my face when we leave my girl at the mansion. Al and Damian chuckle at me but I just shrug.

Damian slaps my back. “Good to have you home, brother.” Al nods in agreement.