Chapter 87 Chapter 87
CHAPTER EIGHTY-SEVEN
Irina
The gunshot rang out like thunder.
My whole body went cold with fear.
I watched in horror as Ivan pulled the trigger.
But then something impossible happened.
Mikhail moved faster than I thought possible for an old man.
He threw himself in front of Dimitri.
The bullets hit him instead.
Once, twice, three times.
Blood sprayed everywhere. Mikhail fell to the ground hard.
"No!" Dimitri screamed.
Everything was happening too fast.
My mind could barely keep up.
Behind me in the NICU my baby was crying.
Marina was still in there with him.
In front of me Mikhail was bleeding on the floor.
And Dimitri was standing frozen in shock.
What should I do? Who should I save?
My baby? My husband? Or Mikhail?
My heart was being torn in three different directions.
"Dimitri!" I shouted as loud as I could.
My voice seemed to break through his shock.
He blinked and looked at me.
"Ivan!" He shouted, turning to chase him.
But Ivan was already running down the hallway. He disappeared around a corner.
I made my decision in that split second.
My baby needed me now.
I turned and ran into the NICU. Pain shot through my body from my surgery. But I ignored it completely.
Marina was reaching for my son again. I could see the hatred and anger in her eyes
That pillow was still in her hand.
"Get away from him!" I screamed.
Marina turned to look at me.
"You took everything from me," she said quietly.
"What are you talking about?" I demanded.
"My husband," Marina said. "Roberto died because of you."
"That was not my fault!" I shouted.
"Alexei kidnapped my son because of you," Marina continued.
Tears were streaming down her face now.
"So I will take your son," she said. "Just like you took mine."
She reached for my baby again. But I was faster. I tackled her to the ground with all my strength. We crashed into the floor hard. The pillow flew from her hand.
Marina tried to fight me off. But the rage inside me was stronger than any pain.
I grabbed the pillow that was meant to kill my son. And I pressed it over Marina's face. She struggled and kicked beneath me. But I did not let go.
"You will never touch my baby!" I screamed.
Marina's struggles became weaker. Then finally she went still. I pulled the pillow away gasping for air. Marina was unconscious but still breathing.
I stood up shaking and turned to my baby. He was crying so hard in his incubator.
"It is okay baby," I whispered. "Mama is here."
I reached through the opening and touched his tiny hand. He gripped my finger tightly.
Outside in the hallway I could hear chaos.
Dimitri was shouting orders.
"Get Mikhail a doctor now!"
"Find Ivan! I want him dead or alive!"
I looked out through the glass.
Mikhail was lying in a pool of blood.
Dimitri was pressing his hands against Mikhail's wounds.
But the blood kept flowing.
"Hold on!" Dimitri was saying. "Please hold on!"
More guards appeared running down the hallway.
"The hospital called the police!" One guard shouted.
"I will handle it!" Dimitri replied. "Just find Ivan!"
The guards scattered immediately.
Doctors rushed over with a stretcher.
They lifted Mikhail carefully.
"He has lost too much blood," one doctor said.
"Then give him more!" Dimitri roared.
They wheeled Mikhail away quickly.
Dimitri stood there covered in blood.
His hands were shaking.
Two guards came into the NICU and grabbed Marina's unconscious body.
"Take her to the basement," Dimitri ordered. "Chain her up."
"Yes boss," they replied.
They dragged Marina out.
I looked back at my baby. The incubator had bullet holes in the glass and two starred cracks where Dimitri's bullets hit.
But the glass had not shattered.
My baby was safe.
The reinforced glass had saved his life.
Doctors rushed in to check on him.
"Is he hurt?" I asked desperately.
"Let us examine him," a doctor said.
They opened the incubator carefully and checked my baby from head to toe.
"He is fine," the doctor finally said. "Just startled from the noise."
Relief crashed over me like a wave.
"Thank God," I whispered.
My legs suddenly felt weak. The adrenaline was wearing off. The pain from my surgery came back full force. I grabbed the wall to steady myself.
"Ma'am you need to sit down," a nurse said.
But I shook my head.
"I need to see Dimitri," I said.
I walked out of the NICU slowly.
Each step hurt badly.
Dimitri was still standing in the hallway.
He looked lost and broken. Blood covered his shirt and hands.
"Dimitri," I called out.
He turned and saw me. "Irina," he said.
I walked towards him as fast as I could.
When I reached him I threw my arms around him.
I held him as tight as I could.
"I thought I would lose you," I whispered. "When Ivan shot I thought..."
"Mikhail saved me," Dimitri said. His voice was hollow. "He took the bullets meant for me,"
I could feel him shaking in my arms.
"He is going to be okay," I said. "He has to be."
We stood there holding each other. Both of us trembling, trying to process everything that happened.
"The baby?" Dimitri finally asked.
"He is fine," I replied. "The glass protected him."
"Thank God," Dimitri breathed.
"Marina tried to kill him," I said. "But I stopped her."
Dimitri pulled back to look at me.
"I'm proud of you " He said.
Footsteps approached us.
It was Sergei with several guards.
"Dimitri," Sergei said. "We searched the whole hospital."
"And?" Dimitri demanded.
"Ivan is gone," Sergei replied. "He escaped."
Dimitri's face went dark with rage.
"Find him," he ordered coldly. "Search every street in Moscow."
"We will Dmitri," Sergei promised.
"I want him brought to me," Dimitri continued. "Dead or alive."
"Understood," Sergei said.
A doctor approached us quickly.
"Mr Volkov," he said. "It is about Mr Mikhail."
My heart stopped.
Dimitri grabbed the doctor's shoulders.
"Tell me," he demanded. "Is he alive?"
The doctor's face was grave.
"He is in surgery now," he explained. "But he lost massive amounts of blood."
"Will he survive?" Dimitri asked.
"We are doing everything we can," the doctor said. "But I have to be honest with you."
"What?" I asked fearfully.
"The next few hours are critical," the doctor continued. "If he makes it through the night he has a chance."
"And if he does not?" Dimitri whispered.
The doctor did not answer. But we all knew what that meant.
"Can I see him?" Dimitri asked.
"Not yet," the doctor replied. "We need to stabilize him first."
The doctor hurried away back to surgery.
Dimitri looked like he was going to collapse.
"This is my fault," he said. "I shot him."
"You did not know," I said. "You thought he betrayed you."
"But I should have known," Dimitri replied. "I should have trusted him."
"Marina fooled all of us," I said. "Even me."
Dimitri shook his head.
"If he dies," he said. "It is on me."
I held his face in my hands.
"Look at me," I said firmly. "Mikhail chose to save you."
"He took those bullets because he loves you," I continued.
"And he is going to survive," I added. "Because he is strong."
Dimitri looked into my eyes.
I could see the pain and guilt there.
"I pray you are right," he whispered.
Suddenly everything started spinning.
The hallway tilted sideways.
"Dimitri," I said. "I do not feel good."
"Irina?" He asked. "What is wrong?"
My vision was going dark at the edges.
"I feel dizzy," I said.
My legs gave out completely.
Dimitri caught me before I hit the ground.
"Irina!" He shouted. "Stay with me!"
"I am just tired," I whispered.
"Doctor!" Dimitri yelled. "I need a doctor!"
But his voice was getting farther away.
The darkness was pulling me down. I tried to fight it. But I was so tired.
"Dimitri," I whispered one last time.
Then everything went black.
I passed out in his arms.