The cops? Or more of Tarasov’s men?
Before she could ask, Ty scooped her up and ran out of the room. “Keep pressure on it,” he told her.
Kiyomi pressed down on the knot in the tourniquet Marcus had tied, the world already beginning to fade away around her. But she wanted Marcus, not Ty. She glanced over Ty’s shoulder as he raced down the hall, looking back at Marcus.
Her last sight of him was of Megan helping him to his feet and looping his arm across her shoulders to help him from the bloodstained room.
Chapter Eighteen
Marcus’s insides were a tangle of fear as he fought his way up the last of the stairs in Tarasov’s house, using Megan as a human crutch. Ty and Kiyomi were nowhere in sight. It killed him not to be carrying her out of here himself, but with an arterial bleed there was no time to lose, and Ty was faster.
“She’ll be okay,” Megan said as she helped steady him with the last hop up the final stair. “Ty’s got her.”
“Just get me to her,” he grated out. He trusted Ty, but he needed to be next to her. Needed to be the one taking care of her and protecting her.
They moved down the upper hallway as fast as he could go, every step sending a searing jolt of agony through his hip joint and down his thigh. The men he and Chloe had sedated earlier were still unconscious on the floor where they’d left them.
They were the police’s problem now, as was Tarasov. Right now, he and the others had to get the hell out of there before they were discovered.
He hobbled out the door into the warm evening air, his skin slick with sweat, the constant pain making him nauseated. The fire Chloe had started was still burning, but the smoke had changed from a tall column into a flat cloud above the building, so the crews must have it well in hand. Sirens echoed through the streets, signaling the imminent arrival of more police.
He blocked it all out and hurried along the side of the house, his sole focus on saving Kiyomi. He’d get to her if he had to drag himself every inch of the way.
A thin trail of blood droplets glistened on the ground, marking Kiyomi’s passage. Marcus swallowed hard. Was the makeshift tourniquet holding? Had it slowed the bleeding enough?
First responders were so close, but they couldn’t risk taking her over to the fire crews already on scene. They had to get her to the hospital themselves without being detected by the cops, or the entire mission and everyone involved would be compromised.
“Just around this corner,” Megan said, panting as she adjusted her grip around his ribs. He was big and heavy but she didn’t complain, just helped muscle him along as fast as he could go.
The instant they rounded the corner of the house he spotted Ty, his back to them as he bent inside the backseat of the car. He glanced over his shoulder at them briefly, and Marcus caught a glimpse of Kiyomi lying stretched across the seat, limp and still.
His chest constricted. “How is she?”
“We gotta get her to Emergency, fast,” Ty answered without looking at him.
“Cops are already on scene,” Megan said, releasing Marcus as they reached the car. Ty shifted his body to allow Marcus past him into the back. “Hold this dressing down tight,” he warned.
Marcus dragged himself onto the seat, lifted Kiyomi’s head into his lap and took hold of her injured arm, clamping both hands around the bandage. It was already turning red in the middle in spite of the tourniquet.
Her eyes opened, focused on him in the twilight. But she was pale. Too goddamn pale, and listless. “I’m okay,” she mumbled.
No, she wasn’t. Not by a bloody long shot. “Aye. I’ve got you.”
Satisfied Marcus had a good hold on her, Ty let go and stepped back. He and Megan jumped into the front seats and the engine roared to life.
Marcus swallowed past the lump in his throat as the car shot forward. “We’ll have you to the hospital in no time,” he told her, his voice rough. She seemed so fragile at that moment. Had lost too much blood already.
“It’s not as bad as last time,” she said with a wry smile, but for the life of him he couldn’t smile back. She stared up at him for a long moment, her dark eyes glazed. “You okay?”
No. He was furious and terrified, the fear twisting in his chest unbearable.
Three times now he had almost lost her. Three fucking times.
He was done. Would never let her put herself at risk again, no matter what consequences came because of it.
He tightened his grip on her arm until his fingers went numb. He wouldn’t let up. He would never let go. Because he loved her more than life itself. “I’m fine. Just rest now, love.”
Her eyes closed and she turned her face toward him, pressing it into him as though seeking comfort. He couldn’t let up on the pressure of his hands for an instant. Not even to stroke her face or hair. The only thing he could give her for comfort was his presence, his solid grip, and his voice.
He talked to her while Ty raced them through the darkened streets, navigating the maze that was north London. Kept his voice low and calm, hiding the panic and dread clawing at him.
He told her he loved her. That she was going to be all right. Told her how brave she was, how much he admired that courage, and that she had given Julia justice tonight.
“Tarasov is spending his last moments as a free man right now. Because of you.”
He’d been furious when she had gone after him alone, but he understood why she’d done it. If she’d waited for him or Chloe, Tarasov would have locked himself in that safe room and been out of reach. With all the evidence the team had compiled against him, he would stay locked up for the rest of his life.
She nodded but didn’t say anything, pressing closer to him in a way that made his heart squeeze so hard it hurt.
“We’re eight to twelve minutes out,” Megan said to him, phone to her ear. “Trin says Heath’s already there.”
“How is he?” Marcus braced his body to keep Kiyomi still as Ty made another hard turn, wincing as more pain jolted his hip.
“Don’t know. They’re doing an assessment right now and not letting anybody in.”
“What do I tell the hospital staff?” They were going to ask questions. Questions he couldn’t answer, and the police were going to be involved if they weren’t already.
“As little as possible.”
No shit.
“Trin’s coordinating with Amber now on how they’re going to handle everything.”
Marcus stared down at his wife, her suffering twisting his heart. “Not long now, love. Almost there.” And after this, never again.
****
Chloe jumped out of the cab she’d flagged down fifteen minutes before and ran up to the A&E doors, only to pull up short when Briar and Georgia suddenly appeared out of the shadows to block her path.
“Out of my way,” she warned, stepping to the side. She didn’t want to fight them, but if they didn’t move right the hell now, she wouldn’t hold back. Nobody was stopping her from getting to Heath. Not even them.
Briar stepped in front of her and held up a palm. “Stop. You go in there all ballistic like this, you’ll get yourself arrested and not only not get to see Heath, but compromise the rest of us too.”
She opened her mouth to argue but Georgia cut her off.