The Defender

by Donna Grant

  “Ready, sir?” his driver asked.

  “Take me home, Teddy.”

  The moment Teddy pushed the ignition button, Sergei heard the click. His last thought before the car blew up was that he hadn’t gotten to tell Lev everything.

  Wyatt was talking to his father when he glanced into the control room and saw Callie’s face go white. He rushed to her as she slowly turned in her chair to face him.

  “What is it?” he asked. “Are you feeling unwell?”

  Tears glistened for a heartbeat before one fell down her cheek. “I just got a call from one of Sergei’s men. Sergei’s car blew up. He’s...dead.”

  Wyatt had wondered when the Saints would strike back. It looked like they had. And against an old man.

  “I feel sorry for the Saints now,” Orrin said.

  Wyatt nodded, knowing that his father was right. Because when Lev found out about Sergei, he was going to stop running from the Saints and go right for them.

  20

  “I’d like to come back one day and actually enjoy what I’m seeing,” Lev said as he looked out the window at the Swedish scenery.

  Reyna nodded in agreement. “I’ve only been to Stockholm, but I really liked it. I’ve always wanted to see more of Sweden.”

  Lev’s head swiveled to her. “Well, we’re certainly getting to do that.”

  They’d decided to stay off the main highways and instead took the back roads to avoid cameras. Reyna had seen something she would’ve liked to stop and look at several times, but this wasn’t a holiday.

  “Does it count when you don’t get out and experience anything?” she asked with a smile.

  One side of Lev’s mouth tilted in a grin. “I think it does. We’re still seeing the beautiful countryside.”

  It suddenly hit her then that she might never get to see Sweden again. If things went sideways—and there was a good chance it could—then this was the only time she might be here.

  Reyna pulled off the road onto the grass and shut off the car. Lev climbed out without a word. She quickly followed and walked around the vehicle to stand with him.

  “Good choice,” he said.

  “It’s beautiful here.”

  He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him. “I’m glad I’m experiencing it with you.”

  She wound her arm around his waist and leaned against him. “There’s no one I’d rather be with.”

  The day was gorgeous. Thick, puffy clouds drifted lazily across the bright blue sky, a subtle wind stirred the air, and she had a man who had snuck into her life unexpectedly. Birds sang, lulling them in the quiet. Reyna closed her eyes, grateful that the road wasn’t filled with passing cars.

  “Gun!” Lev suddenly said as he jerked her to the side, causing her eyes to snap open.

  Almost immediately, she heard the retort of the weapon. They fell to the ground as more shots rang out.

  “Get in the back and get down,” Lev said as they crawled around to the other side of the car while bullets slammed into the dirt and the vehicle.

  Reyna winced when debris from the ground sprayed up into her eyes. She felt something pull at her side, but she ignored it as she hurried to find cover. Lev opened the driver’s side door as well as the back seat door behind him.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  She nodded, and they both dove into the vehicle. Reyna got the door closed behind her just as the window shattered on the side opposite her. She pulled out her gun from the pack and rose up enough to fire out the opening in the direction of the shooter while Lev started the car and sped off.

  The tires squealed from the acceleration while trees cut off her view of the shooter. Reyna lowered her weapon, wincing from pain that suddenly lashed through her. She looked down to find her left side coated in blood.

  “We’re free of them for now,” Lev said as he looked at her through the rearview mirror. “We’ll need to change cars.”

  “Yeah.” She pressed her hand against the wound and gritted her teeth to stop the moan of pain. When she looked up, Lev was staring at her in the mirror with narrowed eyes.

  “You good?”

  She licked her lips. “Not really.”

  He briefly turned in the seat to look at her. “Fuck, Reyna. That looks bad.”

  It hurt like hell, but she was going to keep that part to herself.

  “I need to see to that before we do anything.”

  She shook her head. “We need to ditch this car. Otherwise, they’ll find us.”

  A muscle in his jaw jumped. The engine revved as he pressed the accelerator. Reyna wanted to lay down, but she knew any movement would cause more blood loss. Not to mention she needed to conserve her energy for when it came time to hide the car and get to safety.

  “Hold on,” Lev said as he met her gaze in the mirror again, “Do you hear me? You hold on.”

  She forced a smile. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

  Then she closed her eyes to concentrate on not passing out as the pain escalated. She didn’t know how much time had passed when Lev pulled to a stop. She was in and out of consciousness the whole time.

  She looked out the front window of the car and found that they were parked at a lake. The back door opened, and Lev retrieved the two packs and rifles, setting them aside before reaching for her.

  He said nothing as he helped her out of the car and then over to a tree so she had something to lean against. Reyna felt her energy draining with every drop of blood that fell from her wound. She didn’t know how long she could stay on her feet, but she’d fight for every second. Not because she thought Lev might abandon her, but because she didn’t want him to have to carry her.

  She watched as he put the car in neutral and pushed it into the water. He didn’t wait to see it submerge before he was jogging back to her.

  “How are you doing?” he asked.

  “I’m fine.”

  He quirked a black brow, telling her with one look that he didn’t believe a word she said. “I spotted a cabin through the trees.”

  “We don’t have time for such things.”

  “If I don’t see to your injury, you’re going to bleed out.”

  There was no other choice, and she knew it. Lev put both packs on and moved to her wounded side. He pressed her against him while wrapping an arm around her. Reyna looped her arm around his shoulder and ground her teeth together from the agony of their first step.

  They moved quickly, but even so, she felt the blood run down her leg and into her boot. It took everything she could do just to remain on her feet. The darkness began to creep in at the edges of her vision. She fought it, but it was too strong.

  Reyna pitched forward as her body went limp. Lev managed to stop her fall, but he lost his balance in the process. One of the packs fell as he knelt on the ground and turned her so he could see her face. A sigh of relief escaped when he found that she was unconscious and not dead. But time wasn’t on their side.

  He didn’t know how the Saints had found them, and it didn’t matter. Lev needed to see to Reyna’s wound, but they’d have to be on the move after that. She was no stranger to such things. That didn’t make it any easier for him. Not when he knew she needed time to recover instead of being moved and likely busting her stitches.

  Lev slung the dropped bag over his shoulder again, then gathered Reyna in his arms and climbed to his feet. The cabin was just up ahead.

  Working his way through the trees, he finally reached the small structure. He had to set Reyna and the packs down when he found the lock on the door. It would be easy to shoot the damn thing off, but he didn’t want to alert anyone to their presence, so he used the butt of his handgun to break the lock.

  He then threw open the door and looked inside. When he found the bed bare, he hurried to it and lifted the mattress to make sure there were no critters. Next, he brought Reyna inside and laid her down.

  After retrieving the packs, he shut the door and returned to her. He cut open
her shirts with his knife to reveal the wound and used the clothing to try and staunch the blood that poured from her at an alarming rate. It was as bad as he thought. There was no first-aid kit in his pack, but there might be in hers.

  Thankfully, there was. He pulled it out and opened it. After he’d made sure that he had everything he needed, he searched through the two cupboards in the cabin and found a bottle of vodka.

  Lev took a long drink and brought the bottle as well as a chair from the table to the bed. He set the bottle near his feet after he’d lowered himself onto the chair. Reyna’s face was pale, and beads of sweat dotted her forehead.

  The streaks of bright red blood against the pale flesh of her abdomen caused Lev a moment of panic. It wasn’t his first bullet wound, and he doubted it would be his last. But this wasn’t just anyone he was working on. This was Reyna.

  “Don’t you die on me,” he told her.

  Lev got out everything he would need from the first-aid kit and then set it out in the order he would need it. He found a bowl and doused the needle with vodka.

  Once the latex gloves were on, he rolled Reyna to her side to see if there was an exit wound. He hoped he didn’t have to go digging around inside her to retrieve the slug. Luck seemed to be on their side because it appeared the bullet had gone straight through.

  The fact that no major organs seemed to be hit was very good news. It meant that there was less chance of internal bleeding. Lev worked fast, using the Quickclot to stop the bleeding before he stitched both the entrance and exit wounds. He covered the injuries with gauze before reaching for the tape to hold it in place. He used his teeth to rip the tape instead of using the medical shears to cut it.

  His hands didn’t start shaking until he finished. He looked down at the blood covering the gloves and hastily jerked them off before tossing them aside. Lev scrubbed his hands over his face before raking them through his hair.

  He checked Reyna’s pulse. It was steady if still a little fast. Her forehead felt cool to the touch, which was good. He rose and searched until he found a sealed bag with a blanket inside. Lev pulled it out and covered her.

  Then he went to the windows and peeked through the slats to see if he spotted anyone. They were close to the Norwegian border, and there was plenty of daylight left, but Reyna wasn’t going anywhere on foot. If need be, they would stay in the cabin for the night.

  Which just might happen if Reyna didn’t regain consciousness. She’d lost a lot of blood. In fact, Lev was surprised that she hadn’t passed out sooner. It was going to take her some time to build her strength back up.

  After another round past the three windows, Lev returned to Reyna. He placed his hand on her brow first, then he took her hand to check her pulse. Her fingers curled around his.

  His gaze snapped to her face to see her eyes open just enough to look at him. He smiled. “Hey, there. It’s going to be okay.”

  The ghost of a smile pulled at her lips before she squeezed his hand once more. Then she was unconscious again.

  Lev couldn’t release her hand. He’d gone into medicine because he liked the idea of helping people. Even though he hadn’t finished his medical training, he used what he’d learned often. But this was the first time he’d ever sat by someone’s bed, praying that they lived.

  For the next few hours, Lev alternated between checking the area through the windows and staying by Reyna’s side. She didn’t awaken again, though.

  He ate a bag of cashews and studied the map he’d laid out on the floor. Since he hadn’t opened the shutters, there was little light coming in. He used Reyna’s flashlight to find their location on the map and see what the best route to get them across the border would be.

  His goal had been the southernmost part of Norway to get a boat, but now he just wanted to get to the coast. It didn’t matter how long they were on the water, as long as they got to it.

  The snap of a twig outside jerked his head up. He shut off the flashlight and quickly folded the map before he reached for his weapon. Lev rose and silently walked to the window closest to him. He looked out and saw a man coming toward him with a rifle trained at the door.

  Lev looked out the other two windows and saw two more men. There was a chance there was a fourth, as well. He glanced at the bed. The wood of the cabin was thick, but not thick enough to stop a bullet.

  He removed the blanket from Reyna and laid it on the ground then gathered her in his arms. He lowered her to the quilt and then scooted her under the bed.

  Lev had both of his guns in their holsters but grabbed a rifle. He straightened and turned toward the door. He threw it open and shot the first man in the middle of the forehead.

  Immediately, shots rang out through the cabin as bullets slammed into the wood. Lev dove outside and rolled. He came to his knees while dodging bullets and then turned his weapon on the shooter to his right. He pulled the trigger.

  Two down.

  A bullet landed within millimeters of his leg. Lev dove to the side as more shots bombarded him. He felt the wind as one zinged past his head. He fired two shots, killing the third shooter.

  Lev jumped to his feet and made his way around the cabin looking for more men.

  21

  There were more. Lev knew it, but as he slowly walked around the cabin, he didn’t find anyone. Then he realized where they were.

  He hurried back to the front of the structure as quietly as a ghost and checked the remaining bullets in the rifle. There was only one, so he set it aside and grabbed for his pistols. Ducking beneath one of the windows, he heard the faint thud of a standard-issue military boot on the wood. Without a doubt, he knew they were after Reyna. He never should have left her alone.

  Lev flattened his back against the cabin and listened. He picked up two distinct sets of footsteps. They were quick and efficient. Lev didn’t like waiting for them to appear, but he couldn’t chance walking in and firing, only to hit Reyna.

  He could stay where he was and take his chances when they exited the cabin. But anyone with training would suspect that he’d be right where he was. He might get a shot off, but they’d gun him down quickly.

  And if he were going to take Reyna back from them as well as survive, he needed to come up with a better plan.

  Lev’s gaze moved to the forest. The coming twilight made it easy for him to hide. No doubt the men had night vision goggles, but it wasn’t dark enough for them yet. He pushed away from the cabin and darted to the side until he was safely behind a tree.

  Methodically and carefully, he moved from one tree to the next until he was in front of the house. No sooner had he reached his destination than a man in solid black gear appeared, his rifle trained at the spot where Lev had been.

  The shooter quickly switched sides and looked around for Lev before he motioned to his comrade inside the cabin. The second man appeared. He was in the same gear and had Reyna slung over his shoulders in a fireman’s carry.

  Lev’s jaw clenched when he saw blood staining her bandage and spreading rapidly. The men had their guns lifted and moved them right to left and back again, looking for Lev as they jumped from the porch and started running.

  Without hesitation, Lev lifted his gun and shot the first man. He went down without a sound and didn’t move again. The second soldier ran faster, even carrying Reyna. Lev sighted down his gun and fired.

  The man let out a strangled cry that was cut short as he toppled to the ground. Reyna fell from his shoulders and rolled, unmoving, a few feet away. Lev kept his gaze on the downed man as he stalked toward him, gun aimed and ready to fire.

  He reached the soldier only to have a rifle raised at him. Lev kicked the weapon, and the bullet went wide, striking a tree. Lev hadn’t felt such fury in many years—not since he’d gone after those who killed his mother.

  The man smiled up at him. “You won’t kill me.”

  Lev heard the Swedish accent. It confirmed that the Saints had suspected their choice of direction and had men waiting. It was a
setback, but one Lev could work with. But first, he had to get Reyna and get out.

  “Why not?” Lev asked.

  The soldier laughed, though lines of strain formed around his mouth from the bullet in his thigh. “I have information you’ll want.”

  “Then give it to me.”

  “Give me some incentive.”

  Lev had come up against all sorts of men while working for Sergei. He also knew that those working for the Saints didn’t switch sides for fear of death.

  The man had his hand over his wound as blood seeped between his fingers. “I have a wife. A newborn son.”

  “Then you chose the wrong side,” Lev told him.

  “Let me live,” the man begged, the smile now gone.

  Lev kept his gun aimed. “Give me the information.”

  The soldier lunged forward with his bloodied hand to grab a gun holstered on his calf. Lev fired two quick shots into the Saint’s heart, killing him instantly.

  Without another look, Lev rushed to Reyna. She had abrasions on her arms and chest from falling with nothing but her bra on, but his bandages held. He carefully lifted her and hurried back to the cabin where he worked quickly to re-stitch one of her wounds and then bandage her again.

  Lev couldn’t take her out without some kind of shirt. He looked in her pack and found a black, long-sleeved tee that he put on her. Then he consolidated everything into one bag before he gathered the weapons and ammunition from the dead men.

  By the time he returned, Reyna’s eyes were open. He smiled as he acknowledged the relief that surged through him so rapidly that he was suddenly lightheaded.

  “Hey,” he said.

  She smiled lethargically. “Hey.”

  “How do you feel?” he asked as he walked to the bed and sat on the edge.

  She licked her lips and swallowed. “Thirsty.”

  Lev got a bottle of water and helped her lift her head so she could drink her fill. It was a good sign that she was awake and wanting a drink.