Saviours

by Beth Abbott

  “Can you help Hannah do that?” Kellen asked.

  Micky glanced up at him, focusing with her one good eye.

  “What do you think?” She smiled carefully.

  The knock on the door announced Zach’s arrival, and Abram excused himself to speak to Drago.

  “Holy shit, girl!” Zach knelt down in front of her. “There’s no amount of concealer gonna cover that up tonight.”

  Micky’s lips twitched.

  “You wanna see the other guy.” She said drolly. “Not a mark on him!”

  “Not yet.” Kellen growled.

  Zach opened the first aid kit he’d brought with him.

  “Let me have a look.” He pulled Micky’s hand away from her face. “It’s a pity you didn’t save some of that superglue, as we could have done with some for those cuts.”

  “If only I’d known… I wouldn’t have got on that fucking helicopter two days ago!” She smiled. “Kellen, can you get my sewing kit from the medicine cabinet in the bathroom, and some vodka from the mini-bar.”

  Kellen stepped into the bathroom to retrieve the sewing kit, before taking a small bottle of vodka from the fridge. He automatically poured it into a glass and handed it to Micky.

  “It’s not for me to drink.” She chuckled, pulling a threaded needle from the sewing kit.

  When she dropped it into the glass and swirled the vodka around, Zach smirked.

  “Something tells me you know your way around a medical tent.” He observed.

  “I’ve done a few tours working with our medics.” Micky shrugged. “Even in special forces, women are often assigned typically female roles. They expected us to have a good bedside manner.”

  “And did you?” Zach stepped into the bathroom where he proceeded to scrub his hands under the hot running water.

  “Not unless someone came in with a life-threatening injury.” Micky shrugged. “The ones who just wanted female hands on them soon got the message that we weren’t to be messed with.”

  “Oh?” Zach smiled.

  “They’d come in with the smallest cut you could barely see, and then expect you to patch them up while they either groped your ass or looked down your t-shirt.” Micky smiled. “We had a jar of specially formulated cream that we’d use before we treated them. The special ingredient being ghost chilli powder. Definitely not something you’d want to touch before you’d put your latex gloves on.”

  Zach pulled a face before opening a tube of antiseptic cream.

  “I didn’t realise you had such a mean streak.” He swiped some of the cream over the two cuts before applying cotton pads over the top. “Hold those in place to stop the bleeding.”

  “Women in the military have to learn to do what’s necessary to survive.” She shrugged. “Rank isn’t always enough to keep people in line.”

  Zach swirled the glass around again before fishing the needle out.

  “I can’t promise you won’t have scars.” He frowned.

  “I didn’t ask you to.” Micky shrugged. “Just stop the bleeding.”

  Kellen sat on the bed next to her and took hold of her hand.

  Despite the temptation to pull away, Micky stayed put.

  She’d fought all her life to not appear weak, but after the last hour, she really appreciated the warmth of his skin, and the reassurance of his touch.

  To his credit, Zach hadn’t even seemed to notice, and his attention was firmly on sewing her up.

  Unfortunately, there was no anaesthetic, and she felt every stitch, the needle going in, the tug of the cotton being pulled through, and the tightening as Zach tied each one off.

  Micky tried to keep as still as possible, but with each wince, Kellen squeezed her hand tighter.

  When he tied off the last stitch on her cheek, Zach reached for the first aid kit and pulled out a few band-aids. He peeled off the strips at the back and stuck them carefully over the wounds.

  As a final touch, he pulled out a wipe, and cleaned the last remnants of blood from Micky’s cheek and brow.

  “There you go.” Zach sat back, looking satisfied. “That’s the best I can do for you.”

  Micky reached up and touched her cheek gingerly. She was shocked at how puffy her skin felt.

  “I suggest you put some ice on that for an hour or two to bring the swelling down.” Zach cleared up his mess. “Maybe take a couple of aspirin as well.”

  “I will.” Micky nodded. “Thanks for… well, putting me back together again.”

  “No problem, sweetheart.” Zach stood and walked to the door. “Kellen, can you stay and keep an eye on her? Don’t let her sleep just in case she has a concussion. She took a few nasty punches.”

  “Yeah, I got her.” Kellen nodded, just as Zach let himself out.

  Micky sat quietly for a few seconds, her hand still being held in both of Kellen’s.

  “I’ve never wanted to kill a man so badly in my life.” Kellen said quietly. “But I understand why I can’t. The only consolation I can find in this whole mess, is that if we clear out his money, what Sergei’s Russian mafia friends will do to him will be beyond anything my imagination can conjure up.”

  Chapter 51 – Zach

  Zach let himself back into the cabin, and ignoring the stares of his roommates, walked straight into the bathroom to wash his hands.

  It wasn’t the first time they’d been covered in another person’s blood, but it had been a while, and never had the blood belonged to a woman.

  When he was sure every last microscopic speck of blood had washed away down the drain, he dried himself off and went back to the bedroom.

  “How’s she doing?” Drago asked as soon as Zach flopped onto his bed.

  “She’s banged up.” He said simply. “I just put half a dozen stitches in a gash in her eyebrow, and another four in a cut on her cheekbone. The left side of her face is swollen, and she’ll have purple bruises from her hairline to her chin for weeks. Her right side isn’t nearly so bad, but I’m guessing she’ll have matching black eyes.”

  “And it was definitely Lebedev that did this?” Drago checked. “Not one of his goons?”

  Zach stared at Drago as though he was losing the plot.

  “You don’t think Micky would be able to tell the difference?” He scoffed. “Apparently, he was getting worked up because he thought she should be making him more money. He shouted at her, Micky shouted back, and then he punched the ever-loving shit outa her. If Stan and his men hadn’t dragged Sergei off her, he would probably have continued until he killed her.”

  “We were warned he could be something of a hot-head.” Drago scowled. “Nobody mentioned that he was a total psychopath.”

  “Yeah, well, he’d better stay away from Micky tonight.” Zach growled. “Because if Sergei so much as lays a finger on Micky again, or even looks at the woman sideways, I swear that Kellen is gonna rip his head off his shoulders and piss down his throat! I might just offer to help him.”

  “Please tell me Kellen knows he can’t go after Sergei.” Drago scowled.

  “Oh, Kellen knows well enough.” Zach reassured them. “But if Sergei makes one more move against Micky, then I’m afraid all bets will be off.”

  Abram looked over at Kris.

  “Why don’t we go downstairs and see if we can find out where Lebedev is hiding?” He suggested. “If he’s likely to go anywhere near Micky’s cabin, we can at least give you an early warning.”

  Zach watched Kris and Abram leave the cabin before turning to Drago.

  “You realise Kellen has seriously got a thing for Micky, don’t you?” He pointed out.

  Drago smiled.

  “I’m not blind, my friend.” He nodded. “Does that make Kellen a loose cannon?”

  “Nope, but it does make him Sergei’s worst nightmare.” Zach shrugged. “I meant it when I said that Sergei had better not step out of line again with Micky. We, in the Alpha-Stalwart-Guardian family, aren’t known for our patience with men who hurt women. Call us sexist, call us cha
uvinist, call us whatever the hell you like. It doesn’t matter how strong our women are, how well trained, or how capable they are. We protect them with our lives. Nothing less is acceptable.”

  “You’re saying that Micky is Kellen’s woman?” Drago frowned. “They’ve known each other for two days.”

  “I’m saying that all the signs are there, and two days or two years doesn’t make any difference.” Zach shrugged. “Sergei touches Micky again and it might be the last thing he does.”

  Zach’s phone started buzzing in his pocket and he excused himself to go into the bathroom for some privacy.

  “Vicky?” He didn’t wait for a hello. “How’s Sacha? Did everything go Ok?”

  “Hey, Zach.” Vicky chuckled. “Sacha’s just fine. She just came out of surgery half an hour ago and is in recovery. They let me in to see her for a minute, and she was still drugged up. I’ve never heard Sacha talk such a lot of nonsense. She was so funny I filmed it for you. I’ll send it to your phone, then delete it from mine, so it will be for your eyes only. Most of it’s about you anyway.”

  Zach smiled, remembering Sacha on gas and air when she was giving birth to Rocco. She talked a lot of shit that time, too.

  “What did the doc say? Did he remove all the fibroids?” Zach asked.

  “He said that virtually everything of significance was removed, and though there will be a small amount of scarring, he thought Sacha’s chances of having a successful pregnancy in future will have improved dramatically.” Vicky confirmed. “He said she’d need to repeat the scan in six to eight weeks when you’re back home in Philly, but that after that, if her doctor was happy with how she’d healed, there would be nothing to stop you trying again.”

  Zach slid down to the floor, the overwhelming relief bringing tears to his eyes.

  “Could you do me a favour, Vicky?” He whispered. “When she wakes up, could you tell her that I love her to the moon, and that I’m going to be back with her and Rocco tomorrow if I have to swim all the way home?”

  He heard Vicky sniff and then she chuckled.

  “Of course, I’ll tell her.” Vicky confirmed. “And on her behalf, I’ll tell you that she loves you too. I might as well tell you, as she’s already told everyone on the recovery ward multiple times. They may never have met you, but they all know how much you’re loved.”

  Zach chuckled. That would be so much like Sacha!

  “Have they said what time she’s likely to be well enough to go home?” He asked.

  “I think she’s staying where she is for another half an hour, and then she’ll be moved to a side room.” Vicky explained. “They said they’d like her to eat and drink a little something after about two hours, and if she doesn’t have any adverse reaction, she’ll be released around six o’clock. Drew and Tony will come in to collect us.”

  “Ok, that will be close to when the fight is starting, so I doubt if I’ll have time to contact her.” Zach frowned. “Can you look after her for me until I can speak to her myself?”

  “Of course, I can.” He could hear the smile in Vicky’s words. “Now, I’m going back in to sit with her. You do your thing and we’ll see you all back here tomorrow.”

  “Will do.” Zach agreed. “And thank you for everything, Vicky. We both owe you so much.”

  “And that’s enough mushy stuff.” Vicky laughed. “I’ll send you that video later. See you soon.”

  Zach heard the click as the call ended.

  His relief that Sacha had come through the operation was incredible, and he felt quite close to losing his shit altogether.

  Still, like Vicky said, now wasn’t the time for all the mushy stuff. They had a job to do, and sentimentality and emotions couldn’t come into play.

  To take a few words out of Hannah’s saying… they were Guardians! They just had to fucking act like it!

  Chapter 52 – Micky

  What had started off as Kellen holding Micky’s hand while Zach stitched her up, had progressed to him holding her tightly, offering her comfort as the adrenalin wore off and the shock set in.

  Violent shakes and cold clammy skin were the most obvious signs as Kellen crushed her to his chest, rubbing his hand up and down her arm to warm her up.

  Micky felt almost detached from her body as she remembered lying on the floor, incapable of getting away from Sergei’s fists as he ploughed them into her face. The pain was almost worse now than when he was hitting her, probably because at the time, she had almost been numb with the surprise and suddenness of it all.

  “Feeling better?” Kellen murmured into her hair, still rubbing his hand over her skin.

  Reluctantly, Micky sat up, glancing at the clock. He’d been holding her for almost half an hour.

  “Shit!” She mumbled. “Yeah, I’m Ok now. Sorry for taking up so much of your time.”

  Kellen snorted a laugh.

  “My time is yours to take up, in case you haven’t noticed.” He smiled. “I’m not somewhere I don’t want to be.”

  Micky felt a warmth spread across her bruised and battered face.

  “But haven’t you got somewhere else you need to be?” She asked. “Something more important to be doing?”

  “Later, maybe.” Kellen shrugged, taking hold of Micky’s hand again. “I’m fine right here for now. And besides, if I walked out of here now and bumped into Lebedev on the stairs, there would probably only be one of us walking away from that encounter. The other one would be at the bottom of the stairwell with a broken neck.”

  Micky couldn’t stop her lip from twitching.

  “You’ve given Sergei’s death some thought in the last half an hour, haven’t you?” She asked.

  “Oh, yeah!” Kellen chuckled. “You probably don’t want to know all the scenarios that have been going through my head in the last hour. Each one bloodier than the one before it, all of them with a little twist to ensure maximum pain.”

  Micky squeezed Kellen’s hand.

  “Thanks for being here for me.” She said quietly. “Even with what happened today, I feel safer with you here than I’ve felt in almost three years. These last three months since Andre disappeared have been the worst, so having you and the other guys around… you have no idea!”

  “I honestly don’t know how you’ve lasted this long.” Kellen admitted. “Having always worked as part of a unit, I can’t imagine how you’ve managed alone. Even with Andre around, you must have felt pretty isolated.”

  “You just do what you have to do.” Micky shrugged. “Although, now that the end is so close, I’m getting seriously twitchy to get the hell out of here.”

  “What do you have to do before tonight?” Kellen asked, lazily rubbing his thumb across the back of her hand.

  “Umm, well, we have to get some weapons out of one of the containers.” Micky tried to focus on his question, not on what his touch was doing to her. “Then…”

  The knock on the door had them jumping apart.

  “Micky? It’s Stan, open up.” The deep voice interrupted them.

  Micky stood up and opened the door enough to let Stan into the cabin.

  Immediately he spotted Kellen sitting on the bed, and he turned and looked at Micky with an eyebrow raised.

  “Kellen and his teammate helped patch me up.” She pointed to her face. “Did you think I’d be doing it myself? And Kellen stayed behind in case Sergei came back for an encore, in case you were wondering.”

  Stan’s expression instantly changed as he regarded her injuries.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t get to him quicker, Micky.” He said quietly. “I could’ve saved you some damage.”

  “Don’t kid yourself, Stan.” Micky snorted. “Anytime Sergei wanted to do me damage he could’ve done it, and there wouldn’t have been a damn thing you or anyone else could’ve done to stop him.”

  Stan scowled, knowing she was right.

  “Well, he’s calmed down a little now, but he’s obviously in plotting mode.” Stan frowned. “He’s ordered us to resto
ck the bar with all the good stuff, like they’re gonna throw a big party tonight. And he’s instructed me to tell you that he wants the girls cleaned up. Sick or not, they’re going on parade tonight. After the fighting is over, they’re going to be brought in, and Sergei’s guests and their teams will be able to bid for who they want and do what they like to them. Sergei’s security teams will be on hand to make sure that the women comply or suffer the consequences.”

  Micky’s brain was whirring at the thought of what Sergei was prepared to do to make money.

  But then… didn’t this play right into her hands?

  “Ok.” She nodded. “Then the girls will have to be removed from the room they’re in and showered and given fresh clothes. Sergei’s guests won’t want them if they’re smelling of shit and vomit.”

  She stood up and grabbed her key-card.

  “I’ll go down and check on their condition.” She informed Stan. “We need to move them into the free cabins up here. Number five is free, as is the cabin the Polish team was occupying. See if you can find any others. We’ll need at least four or five.”

  “Ok, I’ll check and see what’s still available.” Stan turned for the door.

  “Good.” Micky nodded. “And get some of Sergei’s security guys to help me get them upstairs. Tell them to wait for me in the dining area.”

  “Need any help?” Kellen asked casually. “I’ve got nothing else to do, and if I have to play another hand of poker with the guys, I may actually lose my proverbial shirt.”

  “Sure.” Micky shrugged. “I could use a hand until Sergei’s guys turn up.”

  Stan left the room, leaving Micky and Kellen a few seconds to themselves before they followed him.

  “This couldn’t have worked out more perfectly.” Micky whispered. “I wanted an excuse to get them out of that room, and Sergei just handed it to me.”

  “Let’s hope everything else goes so easily.” Kellen smiled.

  They made their way down the stairs, through the entertainment area and the dining room until they reached the room the women were being held in.

  Two of Sergei’s men were waiting outside, and at a nod from Micky, one of them stood and unlocked the door.