Chapter 110 Nikolai
Everywhere was plunged into a complete darkness.
Before I could act, gunshot echoed through the darkness.
Pain exploded in my chest like fire.
I stumbled backward. My gun fell from my hand and hit the concrete floor with a clatter.
"Nikolai!" Anya screamed.
I tried to answer but blood filled my mouth.
I coughed.
My legs gave out. I fell to my knees. Then forward onto my face.
The concrete was cold against my cheek.
"Lights!" Katya shouted. "Get the lights back on!"
Someone fumbled with a switch. Emergency lights flickered on.
I could see Anya struggling against Katya. Tears streaming down her face.
"Nikolai! No! Please!"
I tried to move. Tried to reach for her. But my body would not respond.
Everything felt heav and distant.
"Well, well," Katya said. She was breathing hard. "That worked better than I expected."
"You shot him," Anya sobbed. "You killed him!"
"I shot him," Katya agreed. "But I am not sure I killed him. Not yet anyway."
She walked over to where I lay, kiccked my gun away then pressed her boot against my wounded chest.
I gasped. Pain tore through me.
"Still alive," Katya observed. "Tough bastard."
"Please," Anya begged. "Please do not hurt him anymore. I will do whatever you want. Just do not hurt him."
"Too late for that," Katya said. She removed her boot from my chest. "But I appreciate the offer."
Footsteps pounded outside. More gunfire erupting.
Mikhail. He was still fighting.
"Boss!" Mikhail's voice called from somewhere in the warehouse. "Boss, where are you?"
I tried to answer. But it came out was a wet gurgle.
"Secure the exits," Katya ordered her men. "Do not let anyone else in."
"What about him?" One of the guards pointed at me.
Katya looked down at me. "Leave him. He is bleeding out. He will be dead in minutes."
"And the girl?"
"We take her. She is still useful."
"No!" Anya screamed. She fought harder against the men holding her. "I will not leave him! Let me go!"
"Take her to the van," Katya ordered. "Gag her if you have to."
The guards dragged Anya toward the door. She was kicking, screaming, fighting with everything she had.
"Nikolai! Nikolai, please get up! Please!"
I wanted to get up. But I could not move. I could barely breathe.
Blood pooled beneath me.
My vision started to blur.
This was it. This was how I died. On a warehouse floor. Watching the woman I loved being taken away.
"Boss!" Mikhail burst through the door. He had two guards with him.
Katya and her men opened fire.
Mikhail dove behind cover and returned fire.
The warehouse erupted into chaos. Bullets flew across the room. Smike filled the air. Through it all I could hear Anya screaming my name.
Then everything went quiet.
Someone was shaking me. "Boss. Boss, can you hear me?"
Mikhail. His face swam into view.
"Anya," I tried to say. But it came out as a whisper.
"They took her," Mikhail said. His voice was tight. "They got away before we could stop them."
"Find her," I gasped. "Promise me. Find her."
"I will," Mikhail said. "But first we need to get you out of here. You are bleeding badly."
He pressed his hands against my chest, trying to stop the blood.
I could not feel it anymore.
"The bullet hit your lung," Mikhail said. "You need a hospital. Now."
"Anya first," I insisted. "Save Anya."
"Boss, you are dying. We need to..."
"I said save Anya!" I tried to shout but it came out weak.
Mikhail looked at me. At the blood. At my face.
And I saw him make a decision.
"Get him to the car," he ordered his men. "Fast. We have maybe minutes before he bleeds out."
They lifted me. Every movement sent fresh waves of agony through my body.
I tried to stay conscious. But the darkness was pulling at me.
"Stay with me, boss," Mikhail said. "Just stay with me. We are almost there."
But I was already slipping away.
The last thing I heard was Anya screaming my name.
Then everything went black.
I woke to the beeping of machines and the smell of antiseptic.
Hospital.
My chest felt like it was on fire. I tried to move and pain shot through me.
"Do not move," a feminine voice said quickly. It was a nurse.
"Where..." I tried to speak but my throat was raw.
"You are in the hospital," the nurse said. I could see the concern on her face. "You were shot. You have been unconscious for a long time."
My mind felt foggy and confused. Long time? "How long?"
The nurse hesitated. "I will get the Doctor and your guardian."
She left. I lay there trying to piece together what happened.
Fragments of my memory started coming back to me.
I remembered the warehouse. Katya shot me and took…
Anya!
The door opened. Mikhail walked in. He looked like he had aged ten years. He looked very tired. He had grown thin.
"Boss," he said. His voice was thick with emotion. "You are awake."
"How long was I gone?" I asked again. "The nurse. She didn't want to tell me."
Mikhail pulled a chair up beside the bed and sat down heavily.
"Seven months, boss." He said quietly.
The words did not make sense. "What?"
"You have been in a coma for seven months," Mikhail said. "The bullet did more damage than we thought. You coded twice in surgery. The doctors did not think you would make it."
Seven months. I had been unconscious for seven months.
"Anya," I said. "Where is Anya?"
Mikhail's face changed. It darkened.
"Mikhail," I said. My voice was stronger now. I didn't mind the pain I was feeling in my chest. "Where is Anya?"
"I do not know," he admitted. "After that night at the warehouse, Katya took her. We searched everywhere. Called in every favor. Offered rewards. But she disappeared. Like she never existed."
"Seven months," I repeated. "You have been looking for seven months?"
"Yes," Mikhail said. "And Moscow has changed, boss. A lot has changed.”
"What do you mean?"
"Katya is in charge now, boss. She took over everything. Your territory. Your businesses. Your money. She moved fast while you were unconscious. Within a month she controlled half the city."
I felt rage building inside me. "And you let her?"
"What could I do?" Mikhail asked. "You were dying. Most of your men scattered. The ones who stayed, we tried to hold on. But without you, without resources, we could not fight her."
"So you gave up," I said.
"No," Mikhail said firmly. "We survived. We stayed alive. We waited for you to wake up. Because we knew if you woke up, we could fight back."
I tried to sit up. Pain lanced through my chest but I pushed through it.
"Help me up," I ordered.
"Boss, you cannot. You just woke up from a seven month coma. You need to recover."
"Help me up or get out," I said.
Mikhail sighed. But he helped me swing my legs off the bed and helped me stand.
My legs felt weak, like they belonged to someone else.
But I stayed upright.
"Where is Katya now?" I asked.
"Still in Moscow. Still running things. She thinks you are dead. We spread that rumor to keep her from sending people to finish the job."
"Good," I said. "Then she will not see me coming."
"Boss, you can barely stand. You need time to heal."
"I do not have time," I said. "Every day Anya is out there is another day she could be hurt. Or dead. I have already lost seven months. I will not lose another day."
Mikhail looked at me. And he nodded.
"What do you need?"
"Everything," I said. "Information. Weapons. Men. I want to know where Katya is. What she is doing. And I want to know where she is keeping Anya."
"And if Anya is not with Katya anymore?" Mikhail asked carefully.
I looked at him. "What do you mean?"
"Boss, it has been seven months. A lot can happen in seven months. Anya could be anywhere. She could be..."
"Do not say it," I interrupted. "Do not even think it. Anya is alive. And I am going to find her."
Mikhail nodded. "Then we better get started."