Page 1 of What He Keeps
1
MAGGIE
There’s so much blood.
“Stay with me,” I beg, my voice shaking as I press my hands harder against Irina’s stomach. Blood keeps slipping through my fingers, hot and slick, no matter how hard I try to stop it. “Irina, please stay with me.”
Her face has already gone frighteningly pale. Her hand twitches weakly beneath mine, then stills completely.
“No. No, no, no,” I murmur.
Pain spreads through my chest as I stare at her face. I keep my hands over the wound even though it’s too late. Blood coats my palms, my arms, the front of my shirt, and I can’t seem to make myself move.
“Maggie!”
I jerk at the sound of Ivy screaming my name. She’s crouched several feet away near an overturned cart of donated blankets, crying so hard her entire body shakes. Her wide hazel-green eyes lock onto mine with pure terror, and the sight finally shocks me back into motion.
I scramble toward her. The second I reach her, she throws herself against me so hard I nearly lose my balance. Her tiny arms wrap around my neck while sobs wrack through her chest.
“Maggie,” she cries brokenly against my shoulder.
“I got you, baby.” My voice trembles so badly that the words barely come out. I cradle the back of her head against me while trying to shield her from the nightmare around us. “I got you. You’re okay. You’re okay.”
But she’s not okay. Nothing about tonight is okay.
Blood smears into Ivy’s hair from my shaking hands while I glance farther down the hallway toward Viktor. He’s slumped against the wall, clutching his shoulder, blood splattered across the white paint behind him in violent streaks. Luka is already beside him pressing fabric against the wound while barking rapid Russian into his phone.
Then Alexei appears.
He comes down the hallway fast with violence written all over him. I’ve never seen anyone move like that before in my life.
Blood stains his left cheek beneath the harsh fluorescent lights. One hand grips a gun low at his side while those ice-blue eyes sweep across the hallway, taking in the entire scene in one terrifying glance. The blood covering the floor. Volunteers screaming somewhere near the front lobby. Viktor slumped wounded against the wall. Irina lying motionless behind me. Then his eyes land on me, covered in blood, with Ivy shaking apart in my arms.
Alexei comes to an abrupt stop. Something in his expression changes so fast it nearly knocks the breath out of me. It’s not panic or grief. It’s something colder than both. His entire body goes still for one terrible second before he reaches us.
“Maggie.” His voice sounds rough and uneven in a way I’ve never heard before.
I can barely breathe. “Irina’s gone.” The words break apart halfway through.
Alexei’s attention moves toward Irina’s body. For the first time since I met him, genuine emotion cracks through his control. It’s quick, quiet, and devastating all at once. Pain flashes across his face so fast that most people would miss it.
Then Ivy sobs, “Papa!”
Alexei drops to his knees beside us. One arm wraps around Ivy while his other hand grips my shoulder firmly, grounding me before I can completely come apart. His fingers tighten once when he feels how violently I’m shaking.
“She’s okay,” I whisper. “They tried to take her.”
Alexei closes his eyes briefly. When he opens them again, pure lethal control fills his face sending cold fear sliding down my spine.
“We caught one,” he says.
I stare at him blankly. “What?”
“One of the attackers.” His jaw flexes hard. “He’s alive. For now.”
The words should comfort me. Instead, dread crawls through me. Suddenly, I understand exactly what kind of men the Agapovs are when someone threatens their family.
Sirens scream outside moments later. Red and blue lights flash through the shelter windows while officers rush through the building shouting commands. EMTs flood the hallway carrying stretchers and trauma bags while frightened volunteers crowd together near the adoption room, crying hysterically. Dogs continue barking from their kennels, feeding off the panic pouring through the building.
