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“Zara!” Bianca cries.
Time seems to slow as Mario struggles to hold Bianca upright.
Her legs buckle beneath her, her face contorted as she starts to slump to the floor.
I lunge, praying that I can catch her before she hits the floor, but Gilanto clocks my movements.
He thinks I’m reaching for my gun.
My eyes widen as he releases his hold on Bianca and takes aim right at my chest
A gunshot rings through the air.
“No…” My hand tries to reach for Bianca as I wait for the bullet to find its mark.
But it never comes.
Gilanto’s body jerks once before collapsing to the floor, revealing Dimitri behind him.
“Pretty good shot, huh?” Dimitri stalks forward to nudge Gilanto’s lifeless body with his foot, but I barely register what he’s saying.
I rush to Bianca’s side, wrapping my arms around her shaking body and hauling her against my chest.
“Solnyshka.”
“Z-Zara,” she sobs.
I look up at Dimitri, and his face pales as he reads my expression. Before I have a chance to say anything, he’s sprinting away.
“How badly are you hurt, zhizn’ moya?”
“M-my arm.” She moans.
My chest tightens as I look down at the makeshift tourniquet she’s made out of her sweater.
She clutches her left arm to her chest, and my eyes fall to the bruising that’s starting to appear around her wrist.
Did Gilanto cuff her?
I grind my teeth together as I look at the limp body on the floor, at the blood pooling around his head.
His death was too quick, too easy.
He didn’t suffer enough.
“We need to get them to the hospital, Alexei.” Dimitri’s voice is urgent behind me. “Zara’s in pretty bad shape.”
I whirl to find my brother’s eyes full of fear as he looks down at Zara’s limp body in his arms.
Her skin is ashen and covered in sweat, and there’s a huge gash on her head that is still oozing blood.
“Zara.” Bianca’s croaked voice snaps me back to the present.
“Dimitri has her, don’t worry.” I kiss her forehead. “We need to get you to the hospital, solnyshka.”
Bianca screws her eyes shut, the last of the color draining from her face. “Please. Don’t let Zara die.”
“I’m not letting either one of you die. That’s a promise.”
