A Dangerous Passion (COMPLETED)

Chapter 23

Andrei's POV

Just when I'm an inch away from the clinic doors, I spin around and doctor Lee and I immediately make eye contact. She may've given me Skylar's location, but leaking patient confidentiality is a crime here.

"Oh and by the way, you're fired!" I holler across the room and everyone's attention is drawn towards her. "Good luck finding another job. Most hospitals don't take in doctors who expose their patients like that." And with that, I draw a smirk along my face, and watch as her once proud face drops sadly.

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Listening to the angry rumble of my truck, I speed down the highway and towards the little homestead Skylar is supposedly at.

My men did more research after they received her whereabouts and apparently she's being taken care of an older couple; ones a retired physician, the other is a retired x-ray technician of only 3 years since she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Should be a breeze getting her out of there in one piece.

I turn down my blaring radio as I turn onto a short gravel road. After the snow storm we had, I'd thought there would be more trouble finding her, finding her alive that is. But from about two miles back, I can see the eroded sign of what seems to say, 'Millers' and the posts for barbed wire fencing sticking out of the ground.

"Andrei." I hear Ivan's voice over the music on the radio.

"I'm here," I confirm and slow the brakes on the truck, quickly coming to a stop on the middle of the road. "The place looks pretty empty, I think I can handle this myself." I retrieve my gun from my consul and check the chamber. Full.

"Alright then," Ivan begins. "We'll surround the place just incase she gets away or something goes unplanned, okay?" His voice then carries off beyond our conversation, probably telling some other men what's going on.

I ease my foot onto the gas. "Sounds good."

Skylar's POV

Macy points to an oak wood crib in the baby catalogue. "How 'bout this one? Philip is excellent at woodworking, he can surely build that one!"

Smiling, I reply with, "I think that's my favourite one!" And circle it in black sharpie.

"Alright. When Philip gets back, I tell him," she says and we begin cleaning up our mess of all the baby clothing catalogues one the table. Who would've thought she'd have this many on hand?

Once we've tidied up the dining room, I notice Macy's favourite soap opera is on TV. When I tell her, she gasps dramatically, drops what she's doing, and hurries into the little living room.

"I'll make popcorn, you go grab some of that hot cocoa mix that's down in the basement pantry," she orders and I give her a salute which she shakes her head at.

As I listen to the popcorn begin to pop over the stove top, I rummage through the basement pantry in search of the hot chocolate. After a few moments of me having pregnancy brain, I realize they're on the shelf directly above me, faced to the front and everything.

"Rolo or Milk chocolate?" I yell up the stair well.

Nothing.

"Macy!" I call again and begin slowly walking up the stairs with both mixes in my arms. I betcha Philip bought the Rolos kind, Macy is an original type of woman.

"I found two mixes, did you want R- oh god.."

When I reach the top of the stairs, Macy is laying on the ground, out cold and the popcorn on the stove is now overflowing and burnt. As I look over her more, I notice her arm is twisted in a way it should never be able to twist, and her forehead has a small laceration on it.

Over the quiet humming of the TV, the click of a gun is suddenly heard and something is pressed against my temple. "You take ONE step towards her and I'll finish her off, you hear me?!" the person behind the gun growls. No, I've got to be dreaming, it can't be him..

"O-okay," I whisper.

He begins to chuckle in a low, frightening voice that could make anyone piss their pants. "You killed two of my men," he says and walks circles around me. "Give me one good reason I shouldn't kill her and the husband."

My head hangs low. "I-I do-"

"ANSWER ME!" he screams and shoves the gun hard enough into my head, I'm nearly sent flying down the stairs. The words I try to make out don't come quick enough, so he removes the gun from my head and marches over to Macy, undoing the the safety on his gun and pointing it down at her sleeping figure.

I drop to my knees. "P-pl-please! Y-ou can... h-have me, just don't kill her!" my voice is shaking so bad, I'm almost not understandable. Why is he even here? After everything he'd said to me, I thought I'd be safe.. I thought we'd be safe.

Andrei's stare forwards to me. "Stand up."

Slowly, with my hands above my head, I get to my feet and begin walking towards him when he motions me to do so. As soon as I'm near him, he pulls me into him and places a bandana around my mouth, muffling my whimpers and pleas.

"I'd recommend you shut the fuck up before I do what I did to her, to you!" he grumbles while he places what seems to be a zip-tie around my wrists and behind my back.

The bandana around my mouth is loose, so I push off with my tougne. "It doesn't have to be like this," I say in a low, breathless voice. "I know you don't want this baby, but I do. You can leave and we can go back and pretend none of this ever happened." Please let that of worked...

"Shut up, Suka," he snarls and hits me so hard on the back of my head, I collapse to the ground and start to see blackness take over my vision. Just as I'm about to pass out from my headache, I hear him call for back up over his radio.

When is this pain going to end?

Back to Andrei's POV

Finally, after weeks of searching for her, we found her. Even watching her passed out on a kitchen floor has me feeling oddly satisfied.

Soon, another truck of mine rumbles in through the yard and parks itself right outside the door, flattening the wintery decorations set there. Ivan and Dimitri climb out of the truck along with another newly-trained guard named Alex. The three of them enter the house and Alex looks surprised when he sees the two women passed out on the floor.

I gesture to Macy. "Take her back to the compound and place her in block 38, Alex. The other two of you take Skylar back and wait 'till I'm back before we put her anywhere. I'll wait here for Philip and take him out too."

They all nod and get to work. Alex swings the little old woman over his shoulder and makes his way out to the truck, tossing her into the trunk and shutting it louder than necessary.

As Dimitri watches Ivan wrap a fresh tie around Skylar's mouth, I walk over to her and bend down beside her ever-so peacefully sleeping figure. "I got her," I tell the two and wrap my arms around her, bringing her body into mine. As angry as I may be at her, I've got to admit, this feels nice.

We walk out to the truck where Alex is waiting in the drivers seat, music so loud the truck trembles. When I open the door, I shoot him a death-glare as I gently place Skylar into a seat and pull her seatbelt around her. The music is completely turned off, so I shut the door quietly and wave them off.

Now we wait.

Lets just hope I don't have to kill someone today.