AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You have to get the bullet out. Get in there, and just grab it. Use your finger if you have to.”
Appalling. Utterly terrifying. I’m not going to stick my fingers inside of his bullet holes! Or any other holes! I glance down at the tool in my hand that resembles very large, long tweezers. Even that seems impossible.
“You can do it.” Kieran assures me, his voice gentle.
I pour the vodka on the two misses in his arm, and he hisses but doesn’t move. The other, the bullet that’s still actually in his shoulder I can see him clench his jaw. His other hand balls into a fist. I wish that I could get any sort of karmic satisfaction out of this, but I can’t seem to force myself to enjoy his being hurt. I dump the vodka on it, and on the forceps in hopes that they will be somewhat clean.
“You should go to the hospital,” I try. I know that he’s not going to see reason. Cristiano would never allow a hospital either. No matter how badly he is hurt.
“Just do it.” He urges.
I do. It takes a lot longer than it should. Everything is so wet and slippery and I can’t get a grasp on the bullet. I’m fishing around with sharp metal inside of Kieran’s shoulder, and he’s taking it like a champ. His breathing starts to become more labored as I try once again to get a better hold on the bullet.
Finally, I have it. I pull it out and drop it onto the concrete floor and then start to apply pressure to the wound. Kieran nods to the small first aid kit he has on the table and I start to wrap things the best that I can.
It’s slow going, but he must be starting to feel better now that it’s over with. I squat down beside him and help him out of his pants to see the wounds on his legs. The one in his thigh is the worst, the other is just a scratch. Thankfully. I don’t think I could do two more bullets. I can barely do this one.
This time, he starts to speak while I work.
“It seems that my time with my boss is over. I guess you could say that I’ve been fired.” Kieran takes the bottle of vodka from the counter and drinks half of what’s left in the bottle and makes a face. “Your friend is not out of danger, but I won’t be the one to do it. My uncle intends to have me be his scapegoat against your brother.”
The irritation bleeding into his tone is unmistakable.
Whatever plans he had made, the whole reason that he kidnapped me in the first place – seem to have been all for nothing.
“So, what does that mean?” I ask him nervously.
“Well, you can’t think that your brother would make such an alliance easily. It’s going to require my head on a pike. Likely on Cristiano’s front lawn.”
Kieran’s voice is strained, each word carrying the weight of his pain and anger.
“I have to change my plan, and quickly. The only way to survive this, is to get to Cristiano first for an alliance. A real shit storm is headed my way.”
Kieran tightens his fist in rage, so hard that I can hear his knuckles pop. I sit back on my heels after I put the last bandageon his leg, and he leans forward in the chair, resting his elbows on his knees to keep his face closer to mine.
“Are you going to send me back home?” I try not to sound too optimistic but I likely fail in that goal. “For the sake of the alliance, of course. Are you setting me free?”
“Do you truly think that you are free with your brother, Ada?”
All hope that I might have been feeling is quickly dashed by his cold and calculating response. It’s not something that I have ever thought of before. Or rather, it is something I have never wanted to think about.
With Cristiano, my every move has been monitored since high school. It’s the reason I moved out of the house after he got married to Maeve.
I used to think that the only reason that I was allowed to leave in the first place was because of Maeve. Now that he spent so much time with her, he didn’t watch me as closely.
But, it’s not like Alberto, my body guard, doesn’t report my every move back to him.
My face burns with humiliation. His question cuts deep. Was there really any difference between being imprisoned here or there? I had my own apartment to get away but it was just an interval between the times I had to report to Cristiano.
Ever since he had me put into that treatment facility, he’s never allowed me to live my life fully in the way that I wanted to. A gilded cage is still a cage.
I flounder, I don’t know what to say. I can’t deny it because it’s the truth. He can see it on my face.
Kieran’s eyes darken. “You seem to forget yourself, princess. My plan for your brother might have to change, but my plan for you does not. I suppose you need a reminder of where your place is?”
The dangerous edge to his words sends a shiver down my spine.
Kieran’s good hand jerks out and grabs my neck, pulling me closer to him. I can’t breathe and it has nothing to do with the pressure he’s putting on it.
