In the Beginning (Volkov Bratva #1)(75)

She fought, ripping at his shirt, exposing the black ink that was three domed pillars in and exposing the tiger head tattooed across his throat.

He jostled her, grunting as he squeezed tighter, but in his need to immobilize her, he left himself vulnerable. Bringing her knee up, she nailed him in the balls, and like many men before him, he dropped like a sack of potatoes, cupping himself, barking orders at his accomplice.

For one startling moment, he was frozen, recognizing that gritty accent, but she put it to the back of her mind, crawling as fast as she could over to where Ross lay unmoving, fumbling with the holster at his waist, grabbing the gun she knew he carried there.

Not thinking twice about it, she turned and shot.

They ducked and ran, trying to get away with her father’s police files. As she kept firing, the top fell off, spilling the papers and folders all over the ground.

“Hey! Hey!”

Lauren sagged in relief, collapsing back on the street as she heard slapping feet running towards her and Ross. The attackers were gone, disappearing behind one of the brownstones.

She spat more blood onto the ground, the coppery taste making her nauseous.

“I’ve called the police!” A disembodied voice said from somewhere above her, but her dizziness was growing worse.

She blinked several times, trying to clear her vision enough to see, but she could only make out the blurry shape of a man leaning over her.

“Is he…Is he okay?” She asked pointing to where she thought Thomas still lay. “Is he alive?”

His answer were drowned out by the approaching sirens. She tried to stand up, but the world became a vortex, spinning all around her. She lost her footing, but the man caught her, gently helping her back down.

“Just stay here,” he commanded patting her hand. “Don’t try to move.”

Taking deep breaths, tears formed in her eyes as the adrenaline from the fight waned, more pain taking its place. She clutched her head, a pounding headache making her feel like her skull was cracking open.

“M’am? Can you hear me?”

A bright light was shined in her eyes, making her headaches worse. “Yes,” she said to who she assumed was the EMT. “I can hear you.”

He was still speaking, but the blood flowing in her ears drowned him out. More people were showing up. She could hear their murmurs and wished she could see, but as she was lifted onto a stretcher, she cried out in pain, but was sucked down into an abyss before it could consume her.

***

Lauren awoke to the steady beeping of the machine to her left, watching the shining white light go up and down with each heart beat. She didn’t immediately recognize her surroundings, but it was not hard to guess with the stark white walls and blinding lights shining down from the ceiling.

A vase full of a bouquet of flowers rested on a table, a small white card tucked into the arrangement. A chair was next to it, a brown leather jacket resting across the back of it. Amber and Rob were sitting just ousted her room, speaking amicably with the nurse on duty as she read from a clipboard. Tristan and Matt were off to the side, Tristan pacing the floor, an unlit cigarette dangling from his lips, Matt typing away on his laptop.

Ignoring the sharp pain that shot through her arm, Lauren pushed her way into a sitting position, staying mindful of the IV in her arm. Her sudden movements seemed to catch Tristan’s attention as he broke out in a smile, pointing towards her. They all rushed into the room, ignoring the glare of the nurse as she tried to enter first.

“How are you feeling, Miss. Thompson?” She asked once she finally made her way to the front.

“Headache, but I’m fine. How’s my—” she just stopped herself from saying father “—How’s Detective Ross?”

“He went into surgery not too long ago. He should be going into recovery soon.” A sudden flash of sadness in her eyes made Lauren wonder how bad the damage truly was.

“Is he critical? I know he took a pretty bad hit to the head.”

She smiled, albeit somewhat forced. “I don’t know, but once I finish here with you, I can go and check.”

Placated for the moment, Lauren nodded. As the nurse checked her vitals, Lauren cleared her throat and looked to her friends. “How long have you been here?”

Amber took the seat next to her, her eyes red and swollen from crying. “Rob and I were pulling up as the ambulance was taking off.”

Mat gave her a tired smile. “She called us frantic, couldn’t understand a word she was saying. Ten minutes of that and Rob finally interpreted. Been here ever since.”

Lauren reached up, to brush her hair back from her face and out the corner of her eye, she saw Tristan flinch. “What is it?”

Tristan grimaced, catching his brow with his thumb. “Uh, well.” He held his hands to his throat.

“Tristan!” Amber exclaimed glaring at him.

“What? I didn’t know how else to explain it.”

Lauren touched the skin of her throat gently, wincing as she touched it. It was smooth, but ached when she felt around. She could only imagine what it looked like.

The nurse excused herself, promising to check back in later.

“Do you remember anything?” Rob asked softly.

The attack flashed through Lauren’s mind, could almost feel it happening all over again. Before she lost her nerve, she relayed the details of the attack as she remembered them, trying to piece everything that happened together. It didn’t make sense.