Chapter 73

She nods her head, biting her bottom lip nervously. We walk out into the corridor and turn right, heading toward Pavel's room. If it weren't for the fact this guy means something to Milana, I'd be leaving him high and dry. It would be a death sentence, but trying to save him might get us all killed.

Milana leads the way down another corridor and into a room where her bodyguard is unconscious.

"This could be dangerous for him, taking him off the meds."

Milana glances at me. "What choice do we have? Leave him here to die?"

She has a point, but we're going to need to race him out of Los Angeles brotherhood territory and straight to another hospital. "I'll remove the meds, but as soon as that monitor goes dead, we won't have long until the staff notice. We need to disable the alarm."

I step over to him and using my right hand only, get to work at trying to disable the alarm, which will alert the staff his heart rate is gone. Once it's disabled, I glance at Milana. "We may be best taking the drip with us, as it could be important to his recovery."

She nods her head in agreement, nervously glancing over at the door. "How are we going to go unseen?"

"We've got to take it as it comes. Improvise. There's no other option." I kick off the break from Pavel's hospital bed and try to move him, but the guy is heavy. "Fuck."

Milana comes to the other side. "Together?" I nod. "Let's do this."

We push Pavel to the doorway on his bed. I realize once we get out of here, we're going to have to steal a fucking ambulance. It's not ideal. We're out of our territory, and the police will come down hard if we're not discreet.

The hallway is empty, and after a brief look over the floor plan, we're close to the back entrance here. "This way," I say, heading down the corridor the opposite way to the central hub. "What floor are we on?" I ask, realizing I hadn't even checked.

"Ground floor, luckily."

I sigh a breath of relief, but a commotion behind us has us marching faster. The sound of raised Russian voices makes my heart pound out of my chest.

Dima's guys are already here, and we barely missed them. We turn the corner and rush toward the fire exit at the end. The sound of footsteps following has both of us on edge, as Milana reaches for the gun.

I give her a nod, and she passes it over to me. This is the last place I need to be entering into a shootout, especially after just being shot. We both come to a stop, and Milana waits to one side with Pavel. I listen for the oncoming footsteps. There's at least two of them, and we only have one gun.

As the first comes into view, I shoot him in the chest, stopping him dead. I can't risk Milana. If I could avoid killing, then I would, but there's too much at stake.

The guy next to him begins to shout, as I shoot him through the chest also. He falls to the floor, but the sound of far off footsteps running has me turning around.

"Quick," I say, nodding toward the fire exit, which is only thirty yards away.

Milana pushes Pavel's bed toward it, straining under the weight as she tries to speed up. I do what I can to help, pushing through the pain. As the adrenaline kicks in, the pain is fading into the background. We rush out of the exit only to find we're down a small alleyway. I'd hoped there would be ambulances parked outside.

"Fuck," I say, running a hand through my hair. "This way."

Milana and I push the bed toward the main street. We need to find an ambulance. As we break out of the alleyway, I spot one pulled up by the side of the road. The back doors are open. "Perfect, over there."

Milana's eyes widen as she realizes what I mean. "It's our only option."

We head toward it and push the bed right up to the back. "Excuse me," I say.

The paramedic in the back turns to look at us, puzzled as he notices the hospital bed. I cock my gun and point it at him. "Get him in now," I say. There's no driver in the front, which means I have to drive.

He holds his hands up. "Of course, don't shoot." Despite his shaking hands, he's quick to get Pavel into the back. I pass Milana the gun. "Keep it on him." I shut them in the back and rush to the front, noticing a couple of Los Angeles brotherhood men rushing out of the same alleyway.

In the nick of time, I turn over the engine and flick on the sirens. It's about time we got the fuck out of here. I grab my phone out of my pocket and dial Andrei's number. "Lyov, is everything okay?" he asks.

"Not really, we're in an ambulance we just fucking stole because Dima sent the brotherhood after us. I need a way out and quick."

"Okay, I'll get it sorted. Head for the same airstrip we came in to, and I'll ensure a plane is ready to fly you out."

"Thank you, sir. We'll need a ramp access setup for Pavel," I say, weaving through traffic as my sirens blare.

"Consider it done. See you soon." He hangs up, and I glance into the back, checking Milana is holding her nerve with the paramedic.

She sits with the gun pointed at him fearlessly. The fire in her eyes is enough warning not to move, although I wouldn't be sure that she'd have it in her to shoot an innocent guy.

AS WE TURN onto the coastal road heading toward the airstrip, I relax on the speed and shut off the sirens. There's no one following us. Although, the police may be aware that someone stole this ambulance

I shut the radio off about thirty minutes ago back in the city. Speed is still key.

Milana moves closer to me, keeping the gun trained on the paramedic. "How far is it?" she asks.

I shake my head. "Not far."

We fall into silence, and some of the adrenaline ebbs away as the airstrip comes into view. It's only a few hundred yards up the road. It's at that point when I hear it - the roar of bike engines behind us.

"Fuck, it looks like we've got company," I say, glancing into the rearview mirror.

Milana glances into the mirror, and her face pales. "Are those Los Angeles brotherhood men?"

I nod my head, knowing a lot of them drive those bikes. It's going to be a fucking nightmare trying to get on that plane.

"Hold on," I say as I press my foot down on the accelerator, speeding toward our destination. Milana braces herself, holding on with one arm and keeping the gun pointed at the paramedic.

I rush through the gates, knocking the barrier down as I do. A security guard jumps out of the booth, but I'm already fucking gone. The strip is a hundred yards ahead, as I race along the tarmac toward it.

The bikes are following, but have dropped behind. I skid to a halt in front of the plane, throwing open the side door and rushing to the back. A man comes over. "Lyov is it?" he asks.

"Yes, I need to get on that plane and out of here now," I say, glancing back toward the road.

"Okay, I'm the pilot."

The roar of the bike engines gets louder as I undo the door and allow Milana out. She hands me the gun, and I point it at the paramedic. "Get him out," I order.

He gets to work, lowering Pavel's hospital bed onto the tarmac. Once down, I shut the guy in the back of the ambulance, for his safety. If this goes south, he could get caught in the middle.

Pavel stirs, muttering something, as the anesthetic finally starts to wear off.

I turn to the airstrip employee. "Help me get him onto the plane.

Milana, get into the plane ."

She hesitates for a moment, biting her bottom lip. "Now," I order.

She does as I say, rushing toward the plane. The pilot helps me wheel him into the aircraft as one of the bikes skids to a stop on the tarmac. "You may want to get in," I say as he points a gun at us.

"Fuck," the pilot says, jumping into the plane.

I shoot at the biker, catching him in the shoulder before he can fire at me.

Quickly, I release the ramp from the plane and pull the door up, locking

it from inside. "We need to go, now," I growl, as bullets begin to ricochet off the plane's chassis.

The pilot nods his head and rushes into the cockpit, quickly starting the engines. He's fast to get us moving down the runway, as I watch through the windows.

At least eight bikers watch us take off, attempting to shoot at the moving plane. I sigh a breath of relief as I feel the plane lift from the ground. We made it. Against all the fucking odds, somehow, we made it.

Milana walks up to me, snaking her arm around my waist. "We're safe now," she says.

I grab her hand and pull her to face me. "Safe and together, forever," I say, kissing her softly.

A groan behind us makes us both turn. "Cut that soppy crap, what the fuck happened?" Pavel says.

"You're awake," Milana says, rushing to his side. I watch on as she grabs his hand and begins to fill him in. For once, it feels like just maybe, we will get our happily ever after.

Milana and I shouldn't have got together, but fate has brought us here. I know that I will love that girl for the rest of my life. She is all that matters to me anymore.