Page 37 of Ashfall
Phantom catches up with me as we approach the warehouse entrance, each taking a side. But the dead body at the entrance, and the one slumped against the container stops me in my tracks. Volokov lies in a pool of his own blood. He's been dead a while, judging by the size of the puddle that’s seeped out aroundhim. My girl caught him good. It trails off to my left, where I notice footsteps smeared in crimson. Then, I see it, a blood-stained hand cradling a phone, limp. “Brodie!” her name tears from my throat in a thunderous panic as I run to her.
“I'll check the place,” Phantom calls behind me, heading up the stairs, gun raised, aim never faltering since we left the truck.
I yank my gun strap over my head, dropping to my knees beside her unconscious body. No. No. No. She's not dead. I reach out to touch her, her skin feels chilled and she's head to toe in blood. I’m not sure how much belongs to her or him. She’s in bad shape either way, arms covered in bruises, her gorgeous face is a mess - lips and right eye are swollen, and there's dark bruises taking over the crevasses of her defined features. She has an inch cut across her temple with grazes surrounding it.
I crouch down to her chest, picking up on labored breaths. She’s alive, but she’s been roughed up, and I know something has damaged her ribs. I can’t even look at Volokov right now, or else I’ll burn this place to the ground. “Brodie. Brodie, wake up. It's me.” I run my hand down her arm that hashisfingers imprinted, removing his mark and replacing it with my touch, my other hand fisting. I’m in the mood to mutilate a corpse.
Her eyes flutter at my hand roaming up and down her arm, trying to control my movements as my body fibrates with a vehemence I've never felt before in my life. “That’s it Malyshka, come back to me. I'm here.” She manages to open the one unswollen eye, but it's out of focus, rolling to the back of her head. “Lev?”Fuck. The weakness in her voice grips my cold heart in an iron fist. I finally glare at Volokov’s body, wondering how I can bring him back just to prolong his suffering until the end of time. “It's me.” I turn my focus to her as I speak, my smile is faint, painfully forced. Seeing her in this state has snapped something inside of me, likely the last bit of empathy I showed earlier for any other living being, the only thing that remindedme I was a human. Graves is going to be one unfortunate son of a bitch when I get my hands on him. He can be the one to atone for his buddy over there.
“The place is empty, Noc.” Phantom's voice is void of all his usual cockiness - he's hurting. They've lost a member of their unit. I couldn't bring myself to tell Brodie that Blitz was gone, not when I wasn't sure of her location or the threats present. She could have stalled, became vulnerable and likely been killed. I didn't technically lie, she was being taken care of. Hawk had arrived thirty minutes after she died, and without a medic. He knew, he knew from what Phantom told him there was no way she'd survive until he reached us. We wrapped her body up and put her in the back of his convoy, so Brodie could say goodbye later.
Graves didn't head back to their base so his whereabouts are still unknown. The status of 656 is also uncertain, but Hawk expects them to be at base by the time we return. ThisGunnerseemed to be the only one Graves trusted enough to bring to the meeting. I’m dragged back by the sound of Brodie’s gurgled cough, and it puts a pause on dwelling any deeper into a murderous state. I pocket the phone in her hand and gently scoop her in my arms. My movements are careful, but she groans as I rise to my feet. Phantom moves ahead, checking the tree line in case any of Volokov’s dogs have decided to show up. I slide inside the cruiser as he opens the door, still clutching her limp body in my arms. He jumps into the driver’s seat, phone already in hand as he dials Hawk, the empty warehouse fading in the background. His voice cuts through the silent, and the forest looms around us, but this time our exit is controlled – more deliberate than our chaotic arrival.
“You get her?” I pick up on the anxiety in Hawk’s voice. I know how much his team means to him, even if this did start out as a plot to monitor Graves, he too has fallen victimto allowing himself to care for another human being. He also feels partly responsible for Brodie. He was asked to protect her, a responsibility I put upon him like a sacrificial oath. “Yeah, we're in the cruiser heading back from the warehouse. She's still unconscious.” Phantom speaks low, and I look down into her closed eyes, my thumb stroking her less bruised side to comfort her, or maybe it’s to reassure myself that she’s in my arms.
The vehicle jolts as it hits a bump in the road, pushing a low whimper from Brodie’s parted lips. My glare locks with Phantoms in the visor, grinding my teeth, his apology murmured as he breaks eye contact to focus back on the road. “Christ,” Hawk sigh sounding like a gust of wind through the speaker. “Rhaine and Hunter are waiting on my orders, and still no status on Graves. I've told them both to stay put until I call for their return.'' I mull that over. Graves likely initially headed back there, noticed Hawk’s left, assumed he knew what had happened and decided to abandon the base and left his team behind to fend for themselves. He's one hell of a Commander; the first sign of trouble and it's every man for himself.
“I'm sending you a number. Guy’s named Rodion. He's a doctor of sorts… call him and tell him it's for me and give him the location of the base. Tell him I'll give him ten grand. He’ll also be able to help with…” My voice trails off, eyes scanning over Brodie as she remains asleep in my arms. “If he pushes make it twenty.'' Rodion is a doctor, a black market one at that. He's a guy Volokov often used whenever someone useful in his inner circle needed any sort of medical attention, the whole works – even the dead. He serves the underworld, turning a blind eye to whatever you're into as long as his phone pings to alert a new transfer into his bank account - one that includes a comma. “Got it.” Hawk cuts the call.
I pull a phone from my pocket, noticing the blood crusting the screen - it’s Volokov’s. I shift ever so slightly to get myown device and watch Brodie as her brows knit together. “Sorry, Malyshka,” I whisper, and settle her back into position. I slide the lock up on my phone and send Hawk the doctor’s number. He responds instantly.‘Calling him now.’The cruiser falls into silence, the only sound that of the muffled engine working at speed, and I zone in on Brodie's breathing to make sure there’s no changes to her state.
Curiosity gets the better of me as I think back to her last words to me before we arrived. My hand grips Volokov's phone, the screen coming to life with a load of missed calls and texts. Natalia is dominating the numbers, followed by a couple of his loyal dogs, but there's a recently sent one to Graves. I open it, my eyes staring at a photo of Volokov lying in a pool of his own blood, throat sliced open from each end. The message I read under it from Brodie summons a sadistic grin. Even in her state, she managed to taunt Graves with a threat:You’re next Commander, the truth WILL prevail. This little demon that I hold in my arms, with the deceptive face of an angel, consumes me. She's the fire to my flame, the peace to my chaos. The devil always looks after his angels, and I'll forever kneel at her feet.
We got backto Ashfall’s base eight hours ago. Rodion arrived in his unmarked truck, which contained every bit of illegally acquired equipment you could imagine. He did a few tests on Brodie and scanned her over. Thankfully, there wasn't anything that needed surgery. He said she likely took multiple blows which caused a small amount of internal bleeding and fluid build-up in her lungs. She has internal bruising, a couple cracked ribs and a concussion. He managed to stitch up her face. I haven't been able to sleep or close my fucking eyes thinking about Volokov, puttinghishands onher. That if she wasn't awake to save herself, then she'd likely be on her way to somescumbag who would've purchased her at one of Volokov’s seedy auctions. The image makes me bloodthirsty.
We're letting her rest whilst we stock up the convoys and head back to the safe house to plot our next move. She hasn't fully woken up once, and I've given Rodion an extra ten on top of the twenty grand already promised to stay close by should I need him. She lays in the cot in her room, her breathing less of a crackle since he managed to remove some of the fluid and give her a sedative without fully having to go under because of the concussion.
I sit by her side, simply staring at her. She rests so peacefully, and I wish she'd remain like that forever, because she'll wake up to the world on its axis, and peace will seem like a distant memory. I don't know how I managed these years without her. She's my obsession. Enraptured by her from the moment I spotted her at base five years ago, those blazing green eyes staring straight into my fucking soul.
There wasn't a second I didn't want to run to her. Steal her away into the darkness and hide her from the world. But it just wasn't feasible, and that's not Brodie. I'll never forget when Volokov threw me off that cliff edge into the murky depths below. Firing bullets past me in a final warning, as if taking a knife to her wrist wasn't enough. My name ripping free from her throat, and the look on her face is forever seared into my memory. I’ve seen it every night when I close my eyes since that day.
His men collected me further down the river, and I emerged as if I'd been baptized by Lucifer himself. Determined to do whatever it took to protect her from Volokov and Graves. I wouldn't stop until they no longer walked this earth, no matter how long it took. Every task he gave, I did it. The blood money I obtained over the years was just another step towards ensuringher safety, and planting the seed in Volokov that I’d fully ceded my loyalty to him.
Then, there was Natalia. Thinking about her feels the same way I imagine being buried alive does. She came on to me like a bitch in heat, but she answered to her brother - I used that to my advantage. If it meant that anytime I fucked her, she'd give me a little bit of information on what Volokov was up to, then it was a unwelcome means to an end. Every time she touched me, I closed my eyes and imagined it was Brodie; it was the only way to get through it without retching. She wanted more, wanted to sink her claws into me, and I let her think that she did. I got more intel the more I strung her along, my only salvation being the fact her brother wouldn't let her mess with anyone in his inner circle. Because he'd have been able to read from my face that her touch repulsed me.
Brodie stirs, causing my head to snap up. I lean in to push her matted hair from her face. Her unearthly eyes flutter open, those haunting emeralds pinning me in place, unsettling in their depths, like something ancient casting a spell on me that I never want broken.
“Hi,” her voice sounds small, breaking the hours of silence the walls have borne me in.
“Hey, beautiful,” I say, giving her a smile, my heart lurching that she seems more with us. “How are you feeling?” I ask.
She slowly pushes herself up, I shove all the pillows I threw behind her up higher so she can settle, but she still lets out a groan. “Better than Volokov anyway.”There’s my girl.“He got what he deserved anyways, well... a fraction of it.” She says, her wicked smile meets mine, the unease evaporating into the air with the way she looks at me. Her brows knit together. “Are we at base? Where's Blitz?”
Shit. I don’t know how to tread around this with her. Part of me wants to rip the plaster off and tell her, but she's only justwoken up - that’s not going to work. The silence bleeds between us, like a dark, thick ink poisoning the air. Her features soften, and I selfishly hope that my non-existent response leads the way, because I don't want to bear this news to her, knowing what it will do. “Noc? Where is she?” Her voice is firm in its demand, but I can’t, can't bring myself to say it to her. It’s the one and only time I'll be a coward for her.
She throws the blanket off and tries to get up.Fuck she's fast. She wobbles as soon as she puts her weight on her feet, my hands grip her under her arms, “Brodie, you need to rest.” But she fights my hold,didn't Rodion give her sedatives?
“No, I’m going to see Blitz.” She gets up again, and I hold my hands on her shoulders, applying a little bit of pressure to keep her seated.
“Brodie …” my voice trails off as I stare into her eyes, and I can see the tears welling in them.Goddammit. “Blitz was shot.” My voice feels steadier than the words coming out of them.
She narrows a sharp glare at me. “I know, but you said she was being taken care of?” And there it is, the reason I don’t want to tell her: my white lie. I pull all the available oxygen in the room as I inhale, “We tried, Adam tried but- She just… we couldn't save her.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
nyx
Ifeel like I'm under water, Noc’s voice faint and muffled as it tiptoes around my ears. It’s like I’ve been shoved off a cliff, and I'm freefalling into a black hole, my heart fluttering beneath my painful ribs. “What... What do you mean? Is she?” I can’t finish that, I cannot physically allow those words to pass my lips. If I voice them, that speaks them into existence.
