Sergey: Love Me Harder (13 page)

With a shake of his head he caught her up and kissed her. “I did.”

There were cat whistles and children yelling ‘eww, old people kissing.’ They laughed and walked off.

“What do you want to do next?”

“I always wanted one of those.” She pointed to the biggest stuffed animal he’d ever seen.

“Then let’s buy it.”

“You can’t. You have to win it.”

“Why?”

“It’s a game and you pay money to play. If you win you get a toy. If you win again, you can trade the smaller toy in for a bigger one until you get the biggest.”

“So in the end you do buy it.”

“Kind of. Most people don’t do a good job at winning.”

“Aww this game tests the male prowess and how well he can care for you.”

“Not really. It’s just a game.”

“Pick out the animal you want and I’ll win it for you.”

They looked around until she spotted a huge alien looking stuffed animal that was supposed to be scary. “I want him.”

He took one look at it and grinned. “Then you shall have him.” He walked over to the vendor with an arrogant walk. “What do I have to do to win him?” He pointed at the large space alien.

“My friend, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but he’s unwinnable.”

“Then why is he here?”

“You misunderstand me.” The man smiled at Sergey, calculating how much he would get out of him. “No one has ever won him.”

He walked to the back and pulled out a perfect replica of the black and white alien hanging from his booth. This one was done in browns with deep brown eyes.

“I’d love to give away this alien. It keeps me up at night, but alas no one has the skill to win him. I’ll cut you a deal. For fifteen dollars, I’ll allow you to go three rounds. All you have to do is land the rings on the bottle necks. Here is the catch, they must all be on a bottle. One to each bottle and you have to do it every round. There are ten rings in a round.”

Sergey nodded his head and forked over a twenty. He was presented with thirty rings, ten in each group of three.

“Good luck.”

Sergey smiled while examining the rings and then the bottle necks. Moving up to the line he tossed the first ten, one after the other, landing them perfectly.

The people waiting in line gathered around him. The owner of the game gulped and smiled.

“That was excellent. Obviously a fluke, but you should be proud. I’ll refund your money and give your wife this nice parting gift.”

Sergey shook his head. He picked up the next ten rings and waited for the game master to reset the bottles, noting that he moved them just a little.

Sergey once again examined them and the rings before he threw. All ten ending up on the desired bottles.

“How are you doing that?” The game master demanded, not as friendly as before.

“Physics.”

“That’s impossible.”

“Please reset the game.”

The other man grudgingly reset the bottles, stacking them differently to make them harder to reach. He turned around with a smile and gestured to them with a grand movement.

Sergey did as before, taking the rings and examining them and then examining the bottles. He gave a soft sigh before throwing the rings. All ten hit perfectly.

“We’ll take that alien now.”

The crowd around him cheered. The game master balked at giving him the prize.

Sergey leaned in and whispered in his ear. “There is a reason no one wins here. Should I explain it to all those that have gathered?”

The giant alien was handed over. Sergey walked over to Lorali and handed her the alien.

Her face was flushed. “You won.”

“For you little one. Only for you. What is next on our agenda?”

“Potato patch fries.”

The walk to the concession stand was short. They split the fries that were dripping with cheese and laughed.

They walked around, dragging the huge stuffed animal behind them.

“One more ride before we leave.”

He looked around. “Which one do you want to go on?”

“The Whip.”

He looked at it. “It doesn’t do much.”

“It’s fun though and look, there is barely a line.”

They left their stuffed animal with the operator and climbed into one of the seats.

They sat in the ride as it went down the side at a nice pace. Then it whipped around the end, causing Lorali to slide into him.

“I take it back. This is a great ride.” The next time they whipped around a corner he kissed her.

“I agree.” She moaned. “This is a great ride.”

They exited laughing. “Let’s get a funnel cake supreme and leave before the park closes and we’re caught in a traffic nightmare.”

“Funnel cake?”

“It is a yummy fried dough with powdered sugar on it, topped with vanilla ice cream and strawberries. You’re in for a culinary delight.”

Chapter Twenty-one

They grabbed a seat outside of the park to eat their culinary delight. Sergey insisted it was too messy to take into the jeep.

“Well?” she asked as he took his first bite, watching the play of emotions on his face.

“It’s good.” He said in a voice that was still considering the goodness of his first bite.

“Good! Aren’t you the male that subjected me to a cardboard breakfast sandwich not that long ago?”

“I didn’t believe my brothers, but it’s true.”

“What?”

“Females never forget anything.”

“That’s right. It will do you good to remember that.” Lorali picked up her fork and took a mouthful of her dessert. Mmm she moaned and closed her eyes.

He reached for another bite, dipping to the side when she tried to put ice cream on his face. He changed directions and put a dab on the tip of her nose.

She laughed. “No fair.”

She went to wipe it off, but his tongue found it first, licking it off then going in for a kiss.

The dessert was forgotten as the kiss deepened.

“Look mama. That man and woman are kissing.” She opened her eyes to find a little girl standing and staring.

Her mother came up, taking her hand and leading her away. “Ignore them, love. They probably can’t afford a room.” With one last dirty look, the mother led the little girl off.

“Eat fast.” Sergey said, tearing into half of the funnel cake. His eyes devoured her as his strong jaws chewed.

“Finished.” Her voice was husky. She stuck her tongue out to lick her lips, claiming the rest of the powdered sugar and ice cream.

Sergey groaned and took her hand. They walked quickly back to the jeep, laughing like children who were up to no good.

He dangled the keys out to her. She grabbed them and ran around the jeep to open it.

She would never know what he heard. One minute he was standing by the passenger side door. The next he had her flattened to the jeep as his body grew bigger behind her.

She would always remember the sounds of the silent bullets slicing into him. His body jerked against hers as he held onto the jeep to keep from losing his balance. She counted six bullets by the way his body bucked each time it was hit.

Silence. She turned around to look up. His eyes were lit up with pain.

“Sergey?” No answer, no response. She could see his other side taking over, making him seem terrifying even with bullets holding him down.

“I know you’re scared.” She whispered. “I’m scared too. You’ve got to help me get you into the back of the jeep. The male is out. You’ve got to do this for both of you. I’m going to inch down until I can get past the back door. I’ll open it and lay you down on your stomach. We can do this.” His eyes flashed with pain, but he never moved.

She inched down, taking one painfully slow side step at a time. She prayed that the shooter was gone, while mumbling words of encouragement. She wanted to turn him. Her heart pounded at the thought of that shooter hitting him again.

He’d planted his feet and refused to move when she tried. She got the message and stopped, taking more small steps to the side. The feel of the door handle sticking into her rear made her want to cheer. Almost there.

“We’re going to be fine, both of us. You just hold on. I’m going to get you help.”

She cleared the door. Stretching her arm out, she opened it. She tried to step away so she could angle his body to get him in. He wouldn’t move.

“You have to let me up. Sergey?”

Panic started to set in. She suppressed it. She would panic and scream later. Why wouldn’t he cooperate?”

She tilted her head up and looked into the eyes that roared with pain, protection and vengeance.

“You have to trust me. The shooter is gone. I can feel it in my bones. We have to get you to safety. As long as you aren’t safe, I won’t be safe either. Trust me.” Her voice had lowered, asking him with her heart not her logic.

His body moved, each step causing him pain as he made it to the open door. Together they got him into the jeep, laying curled on his side.

She shut the door and ran to the get in. She started the engine, wondering where to go. Once again the need to panic slapped her in the face. She took it and shoved it into the back of her mind. She needed a hospital stat.

Pulling out her phone to call nine one one, realizing she had something better, she hung up. She dialed Rena’s number.

“Rena.” The woman answered as if she was one of the brothers. Lorali would’ve laughed if she wasn’t on the verge of panic.

“It’s Lorali. Sergey has been hurt.”

“Where are you? Aran’s going crazy trying to pinpoint him.” What was that loud noise she heard in the background?

“He’s hurt bad, I need a doctor. What hospital can I take him to?”

“You can’t take him to a hospital.”

“I have to.” Lorali felt the panic creeping back in as she raised her voice to Rena.

“Lorali, this is Aran, you can’t take him to a hospital. You have to bring him here. If a doctor got a hold of him, not only would they not know what to do, they may try and harm him.”

“He’s dying.” Her voice broke and she fought the tears threatening to incapacitate her.

“Listen to me.” The whip of command in his voice had her spine straightening. “He isn’t going to die because you aren’t going to let him. You are going to get him here as fast as possible. Nicolas will have everything set up when you arrive. Rena is going to give you special directions. Do as she says.”

Rena took the phone from Aran as he began to feed her mental directions to give to Lorali.

“Lorali. Come out the lot and make a left. Turn over the Rankin Bridge.”

She started the jeep making every turn she was given. She didn’t hesitate when she was ordered to take the jeep off road.

“Believe me, that jeep can handle this. If the makers knew what the brothers had outfitted their jeeps with, they would hire them to design their next model. Lorali, Aran wants you to try something. Usually you could only do this if Sergey had bitten you. Keep your eyes on the road. You’ll be coming to a fork soon. Take the right one, the more dangerous looking one. He says look to see if there is a door in your mind. Something that Sergey or his other side would want to go through.”

Door? She searched, humoring Rena, until she saw it. Tall, she couldn’t see the top of it. It was brass with intricate scrolls on it. That was definitely a Sergey door.

Walking over to it, she opened it. It was better than focusing on his breathing that was getting shallower with every passing minute.

She opened it, but couldn’t walk through it. That was alright. She saw them. His other side was cradling him in its arms.

“Sergey?”

“Mate?”

“Yes, mate. Where are you going?”

“Hurt.” He looked at her with sad eyes.

“Yes, hurt. I’m taking you to Nicolas. He’ll help you.”

Sergey shook his head. “Love you, mate.”

“I love you too. You have to hold on.” She reached her hand out until she touched the invisible barrier. “Take my hand. Let me help you hold on.”

He shook his head. “Mate must have a choice. Can’t violate your choice.”

“I choose you. If I was asked to choose a hundred times, I‘d choose you. Take my hand Sergey. I want you forever.”

He walked over to her, examining her with those sad eyes that were making her heart break. She drove and waited, not knowing if this was happening or if she was delusional. She prayed for the first.

They reached out for her together. Their hand touched the barrier, unable to get through.

“I need you Sergey.” Her voice was soft and wistful. “I can’t lose you. I just found you.”

He reached through the barrier and took her hand. He was a solid presence in her mind. She grabbed him tight, refusing to let him go.

“You‘re going to be alright. We‘re almost there. Remind me to kill Rena for this trip through hell once you’re well.”

His laugh was weak and shaky, but it was there. She would take it.

They came up to the back of Aran‘s house. Standing on the porch was the whole family. She felt tears of relief fall as Nicolas and his brothers raced to the jeep to carry Sergey inside.

Chapter Twenty-two

Lorali was pacing the hallway. They had taken Sergey upstairs as gently as possible, trying not to shake his already abused body. Nicolas and Aran had walked into the room that had been turned into an emergency trauma area, closing the door behind them.

She‘d been left in the hall, afraid to ask questions, not wanting to divert their attention away from Sergey.

Rena and Dee had taken a seat on either side of the door, silently waiting with her.

“What‘s taking them so long?”

Rena grabbed her phone and checked the time. “It’s only been fifteen minutes.”

“It feels like it’s been forever.”

“I know. Aran was shot once, not as bad as Sergey. Still, I thought I’d go crazy,” Rena said.

“He saved my life. I’d never have been able to withstand all those bullets.”

“He loves you, Lorali.”

“I know. Why did it take me so long to figure it out?”

“We‘re programmed, almost from birth, to think love must come a certain way.” Dee spoke up. “We think we aren’t worth loving, so it will take a long time for the right male to see our worth, even longer for him to love us. When it’s just there. When they love us, faults and all, we balk. It must be a mistake or a gag we tell ourselves. Not with these guys. When they say they‘re in love, that‘s what they mean.”