Severance (Entangled Series Book 2) Read online

  My surroundings don’t fade away.

  They disappear in an instant and everything goes black.

  ◆◆◆

  Taking a deep breath, I gasp as I come up for air, feeling like I’m drowning in the darkness. Her soft hands touch my bare arms, yet it feels like someone’s touch in a dream. Another set of hands feel around on my chest and my skin is set on fire as they land on the center of my pain.

  My eyes flash open and my vision is cloudy, but I can make out her face as she hovers over me. She strokes my skin and her lips move in silence. I can’t hear a word she says and I quickly become panicked.

  I reach out for her, groaning against the pain but my arms are quickly pinned down on the ground by hands that aren’t Dahlia’s. Struggling against their strong grip, I try to break free, needing to be as close to her as possible. Warmth spreads across my chest as I feel my saturated shirt sticking to my skin. Dahlia’s lips continue to move and I continue to panic.

  My arms are released, but my energy reserve is running low and I feel paralyzed. Slowly moving my hand, I make a futile attempt to reach for Dahlia when an intense pressure lands on the center of the fire burning in my chest.

  Yelling out, I try to grab at the hands on my chest, but they only apply more pressure and the fire spreads throughout my body.

  The darkness resurfaces and quickly drags me down with it.

  “I have to call Anthony,” Dahlia’s voice is urgent, somewhere in the dark. “We can’t take him to a hospital.”

  Why do I need a hospital?

  The pressure on my chest is a quick reminder that something isn’t right. The memories are fuzzy, but I remember enough. Luca with his gun pointed at Dahlia. I shoved her out of the way as he pulled the trigger.

  Did the bullet hit me?

  “We’ll take him to my brother.” In the distance, a deep voice void of any emotion responds to her.

  Who the fuck is that?

  It’s not safe, Dahlia. Run.

  The thoughts run through my mind as my brain refuses to work with my voice and I can’t tell her any of this. Not that it would matter with her. She lacks any common sense when it comes to me. I tell her to run and she plants her feet in the ground.

  She won’t leave me here, even if it means she’s in danger.

  “Fuck no,” Dahlia scoffs. “I don’t know you or your brother. Why the hell would I trust you to take him there?”

  “Because my brother’s a doctor,” the man says indifferently. “It’s your only option if you want him to live.”

  “Let me call Anthony,” Dahlia demands in the darkness.

  “Anthony knows that I’m here with the two of you,” he informs her. “Would you like to keep wasting time here?”

  The room falls silent and I’m still alone in the dark, with only the touch of her hand keeping me grounded. “Fine. Take us to your brother.”

  Large arms slide underneath my body as something presses deeper into my chest. The pain rushes through my body and consumes me as I’m lifted into the air. It becomes unbearable with every movement and once again, I lose consciousness.

  ◆◆◆

  Why does it feel like I’m on a boat?

  Am I dreaming?

  “Nik,” the man barks loudly. “There was a problem, so get your little doctor kit ready.”

  My eyes barely open as I hear his voice, I can feel that my head is in Dahlia’s lap. She strokes my head with one hand as she keeps her other pressed against my chest.

  No, I’m not dreaming.

  “Obviously it wasn’t me,” he scoffs and the sound of tires squealing comes from somewhere in the distance. “Marino’s son took a bullet to the chest.”

  No, I’m not on a boat.

  Silence fills the car and I wince as we hit a bump in the road. The man presses on the gas and the engine revs as it picks up speed.

  “Do you really think that I had any fucking time to call Anthony?” The man sighs in the distance. “Just have your shit ready. We’re like ten minutes out.”

  Dahlia’s hand pauses on my head and she adjusts in her seat. “Sorry,” she murmurs to me as I wince from the movement. “I need to call Anthony. Now,” she demands from the man in the front seat.

  “It’s being taken care of.”

  “I want to talk to him myself,” she insists sternly.

  The man huffs. “I said it’s being taken care of. You can talk to him later.”

  “Who’s taking care of that?” she demands.

  “Jesus,” the man sighs. “Enough of the twenty fucking questions here.”

  “My boyfriend is bleeding out in the back of your goddamn car,” she growls. “I’ll ask as many questions as I feel necessary.”

  “Nikolai is calling him now.”

  “Your brother, the secret doctor, knows Anthony too?”

  “Mhm,” the man replies dismissively. “Apply more pressure to the wound before you get my seats covered in blood.”

  “They’re leather,” she retorts. “You can easily wipe it off.”

  “I think you’d rather his blood be inside his body than on my seats,” the man throws back at her. “Apply more pressure.”

  Dahlia’s lips brush my ear as she dips her head down to mine. My body is too weak and I’ve lost a lot of blood, making it hard to keep my eyes open. I’ve barely made it through the car ride without losing consciousness.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispers and gently kisses my forehead. “This is going to hurt, but I promise everything is going to be alright.”

  Taking a deep breath, both of her hands land on my chest and she presses down with as much pressure as she can.

  She was right.

  It fucking hurts.

  This time I welcome the darkness as it pulls me deep below the surface.

  Dahlia

  “Your brother, he’s a doctor?” I ask Aleksei as we ride in silence.

  “Yep.”

  Keeping pressure on Kai’s chest, I glance up at the rearview mirror, but Alek stares at the road ahead.

  “He’s not legally a doctor, is he?”

  Alek glances in the mirror and his cold eyes meet mine. “You can make anything legal on paper if you know how.”

  What the fuck kind of shit show am I in now? This guy shows up, Anthony vouches for him and then he magically has a brother who’s a doctor and can help Kai. And now he’s not even a real fucking doctor?

  “Take us to Anthony, he’ll know where we can go,” I tell him as I hold Kai tighter.

  Looking in the mirror, I see a ghost of a smile on Aleksei’s lips as he stares ahead. “He’ll send you to Nikolai.”

  I scoff. “Your doctor brother who isn’t even a real fucking doctor?”

  His eyes flash to mine and he glares at me through the mirror. “He is a real doctor.”

  Yeah, okay…

  “If he doesn’t save Kai, I will slit both of your throats.”

  My promise earns me a small, amused smile from Alek. He stays silent and looks back out the front of the car as he drives us onto a gated property.

  ◆◆◆

  A younger version of Aleksei steps out of the large French doors of the mansion in front of us. He can’t be much younger than Aleksei, but just his body language alone is more vibrant.

  “What’s good?” he calls out as he strides down the marble steps.

  “In the car,” Aleksei grumbles, pointing toward me, sitting with the door open, holding a balled-up shirt on Kai’s chest. “He took a bullet in the chest and he’s out.”

  Nikolai nods and walks over to me with a smile. Reaching across, he gently moves my hands from Kai’s chest and replaces them with his own.

  “I got him.”

  Climbing out of the car, I quickly spin around as they pull Kai from the backseat. They start up the front steps with him and I follow closely behind.

  With little effort, they carry Kai into the house and up the winding stairs into a bedroom. Standing to the side, I watch Nikolai as he asse
sses Kai’s chest and collects his supplies. He injects a sedative into his arm before he gets started.

  “He’s lucky,” Nikolai tells me as he pulls on his sterile gloves. “From what I can see, it’s a clean shot. No major organs or vessels were hit.”

  “So, he’s going to be okay?”

  Nikolai smiles. “Yeah, babe. He’s going to be okay.”

  Grabbing a pair of tweezers and a bottle of Betadine, he pours the liquid over Kai’s chest to clean the area.

  “Nikolai.”

  He looks up at me as he sets the bottle down. “Nik.” He corrects me.

  “Nik.” I try again.

  “Yeah, babe?” he asks with a crooked smile on his face.

  “If something happens to him, I’ll cut off your dick and balls and hand-feed them to you.”

  His brow furrows, but his eyes light up. “Can’t I at least keep my dick? We have a pretty good thing going right now.”

  “Your dick goes first.”

  He smirks. “Duly noted,” he replies with a wink.

  Turning back to the bed, he leans over Kai with the tweezers and starts digging around in his chest. A few minutes feels like hours of him wiggling around in there, but then it’s over. He pulls the bullet out with the tweezers and inspects the inside for any further damage.

  “Clean shot.” He smiles, holding up the bullet for me to see. He sets the bullet down and begins cleaning and dressing the hole in Kai’s chest.

  I step closer to the bed, stopping beside Nik as he cleans everything up.

  “When will he wake up?” I ask quietly as I grab Kai’s warm hand.

  “He’ll benefit from some rest, so I’m going to keep him sedated for the next day or so, to help him heal faster. He’ll wake up after the sedation wears off.”

  I shrug and give him a small smile. “You know what happens if he doesn’t.”

  Nik grabs his dick through his pants. “Your boy better not die, because there’s a line of chicks waiting to get their ride.”

  Shaking my head, I roll my eyes at him.

  Whoever or whatever he is.

  He and his brother both saved Kai and they’re connected to Anthony in some way. He’s let them get this close, so he must trust them.

  I should trust his judgment.

  Just like I should do what he said and call my parents. They can give me the answers that he couldn’t.

  Quietly, Nik makes his way to the bedroom door as I sit, lost in my thoughts, holding Kai’s hand.

  “Hey, Nik?” I call out after him.

  “What’s up, babe?” he asks as he turns back around to face me.

  “Do you have a phone that I can use?”

  His brow furrows and he slowly creeps forward. “For what reason?”

  Standing up, I walk toward him, meeting him in the center of the room. “I need to make a phone call,” I tell him in a hushed voice.

  “Who?” he demands with mild curiosity.

  “My parents.”

  Nik eyes me suspiciously and crosses his arms over his chest. “For what?”

  Fuck.

  It’s none of his business, but I can already tell that he’s the type of man who will get whatever information he needs… by any means necessary.

  I’d rather skip the torture and just use the goddamn phone.

  Swallowing the lump in my throat, I shift my weight nervously. “They have information on our child that Anthony helped them cover up and hide from me.”

  Nik’s eyes widen. “Oh, shit. You got knocked up when you were in that porno ring?”

  I cringe inwardly at his crass words and lack of filter and give him a curt nod.

  “And it was his?” he questions, glancing over at Kai.

  I nod again and although it was out of my control, I can’t help but feel the guilt settling inside me.

  “Neither of us knew until today, when Anthony told us. I didn’t notice the signs before and after we were rescued, I was immediately taken into surgery when I got to the hospital.”

  “Damn,” Nik breathes. “That’s some heavy shit, babe. And no one told you?”

  Shaking my head, I frown. “I was a minor so my parents made the doctors keep everything hush, hush. They told me that I had to have my appendix removed. Turns out, I had a fucking baby and Anthony helped them to make her disappear. I didn’t even know they knew him!”

  Nik chuckles as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a sleek iPhone. “Everyone knows Anthony.” He hands me the phone. “Make it quick.”

  Taking a deep breath, I dial my mother’s phone number that I know by heart.

  She never changed it, maybe she was hoping that I would one day call.

  “Hello?” Her light voice asks hesitantly as she answers my call.

  My palms become sweaty as I suddenly freeze and let out a ragged breath.

  “Hello?” she asks again in a higher pitch, laced with panic.

  “Hi, Mom,” I breathe into the phone as Nik watches me.

  She gasps loudly. “Dahlia?” She whispers.

  “Um, can we talk?” I let out the words in a rush. “In person.”

  “Of course,” she says excitedly. “Come over now?”

  Pulling the phone away from my face, I glance down at the time. “It’s almost midnight.”

  “I stay up late. Please,” she pleads. “Come now.”

  I nod to myself as Nik shifts his weight impatiently. “Okay. I’ll be there soon.”

  She says something into the phone, but I’m already ending the call and handing it back to Nik.

  “I need another favor,” I tell him quietly.

  Nik rolls his eyes and smiles. “Yes, I’ll give you a ride.”

  “Give her a ride where?” Alek questions as he enters the bedroom.

  “To her parents.” Nik shrugs. “They have info on her kid that they hid from her.”

  Alek stares at me stoically and clenches his jaw as Nik turns back to me.

  “I can help you get whatever information you need.” Nik’s face lights up as a wicked grin forms on his face. “It would be my pleasure.”

  And there’s the monster inside.

  Although, he’s a different breed of monster.

  “We’ll see how it goes.”

  Nik glances over at Alek, still smiling. “I need you to stay here with him until I get back.”

  “Fuck no,” Alek huffs. “I’m not a goddamn babysitter.”

  “Tonight, you are.” Nik shrugs with a smirk. “I’m gonna drop her off and I have a quick errand to run.”

  Aleksei shakes his head as he glares at his brother. “AKA, you either have someone to fuck or kill.”

  Looking back and forth between the two of them, I can feel the tension and now I feel uncomfortable.

  A different breed of monster, I remind myself. They won’t hurt us.

  Nik stares back at Alek with a wicked grin. “Or both.”

  “You fucking owe me,” Aleksei grumbles as he stands back against the wall. “Make it quick.”

  Nik nods and grabs my wrist. “You heard the man.” He smiles down at me. “Let’s go, babe.”

  I hesitate for a moment. “Okay,” I whisper, glancing back at Kai. He’s so peaceful as he sleeps even with the hole in his chest.

  Diverting my gaze, I find Aleksei. “If he wakes up, please, don’t tell him where I went,” I tell him as his eyes meet mine. “He’ll only worry.”

  Alek glances at Nik before looking back at me and gives me a curt nod. “Your secrets aren’t mine to tell.”

  “He’s like a fucking vault,” Nik interjects. “And I have no reason to expose you.”

  Alek clears his throat harshly. “Are you leaving or are we going to share our fucking feelings next?”

  Nik gasps as his eyes widen and he dramatically puts his hand on his chest. “You mean that you actually have feelings?”

  His brother stares at him with no emotion, as rigid as a statue, and ignores the two of us.

  Nik sighs as he
rolls his eyes. “Come on.” Leading me out of the room, we step into the hall as he turns back to his brother.

  “If anything happens to her man, she’ll cut off your dick and balls and feed them to you.”

  With a smirk, he pulls the door shut behind us and leads me farther away from Kai and closer to the truth.

  Kai

  Blinking slowly, my eyes finally peel open and I’m fucking lost. It takes a few moments before my eyes can focus on my surroundings and I’m still fucking lost.

  Where the fuck am I and how the fuck did I get here?

  The lights are dim in the beige room that appears to be a bedroom. Putting my hands on the plush bed, I attempt to push up into a sitting position when my chest feels like it’s being ripped open. Groaning, I drop back onto the mattress and grab my chest as it’s lit on fire. My palm feels wet and I glance down at the bloody gauze on my chest.

  What the fuck happened?

  Memories from our visit with Luca flood my mind in a rush.

  He tried to shoot Dahlia, but I took the hit.

  Dahlia…

  Where is she?

  My eyes hastily search the room, but it’s empty. I’m alone and there are no traces of Dahlia. Taking a deep breath, I get my hands back, flat on the bed and I exhale as I push upward.

  As I struggle to sit up, the bedroom door opens and closes in one fluid motion. A younger guy steps inside and stops a few feet away from the bed. He looks to be early to mid-twenties, clean-cut and well put together. From his Valentinos to his expensive tie, he’s dressed in all black.

  Who the fuck is this guy?

  Only large pockets lined with cash buy clothing that nice. He’s young, it’s either old money or dirty money. A scowl forms on his face as he glares down at me with his dark eyes. His features are dark, hardened and dangerously sculpted with the precision of a skilled artist.

  This guy isn’t a joke. It’s clear that he’s fucking dangerous, but what could he possibly want with me?

  He took Dahlia.

  “Where the fuck is she?” I demand, cutting my eyes at him.

  The guy ignores me and pulls out his phone and taps on the screen before holding it up to his ear. “He’s awake.” His voice is smooth with a European accent, but it’s cold and detached. Without another word, he ends the call and slips his phone back into his pocket.