Chapter 6 - The Safe House
Nadia navigated the dark, abandoned streets of the industrial warehouse district with desperate precision.
She found Pier 4 easily and pulled the smoking car into a rusted, unassuming warehouse garage.
She killed the massive engine and rushed frantically around to the passenger side.
Darian was completely dead weight, his body entirely unresponsive to her touch.
Nadia gritted her teeth, hauling his massive, muscular frame awkwardly out of the vehicle.
She dragged him toward the reinforced steel door, swiping the bloody keycard against the electronic lock.
The heavy door hissed open smoothly, revealing a high-tech, fully stocked medical bunker hidden inside.
She dragged Darian inside and hoisted him painfully onto a cold, stainless-steel examination table.
Nadia ripped open his ruined tuxedo shirt, exposing the horrifying gunshot wound underneath.
The bullet had passed cleanly through his side, missing his vital organs but leaving a nasty, heavily bleeding hole.
She rushed to the metal medical cabinets, pulling out gauze, strong antiseptic, and a surgical stapler.
"I really hope you are deeply unconscious for this part," Nadia muttered to herself.
She poured the raw, burning antiseptic directly into the open wound.
Darian's body violently convulsed in shock, but his eyes remained firmly shut.
Nadia worked quickly, packing the wound tightly and stapling the broken skin together with practiced efficiency.
She had stitched up enough brutal stab wounds in her old neighborhood to know the basic mechanics of trauma care.
She wrapped his torso tightly in white bandages and finally stepped back, utterly exhausted.
Her beautiful plum dress was completely ruined, covered entirely in Darian's blood and kitchen grease.
She sank heavily into a chair beside the table, resting her aching head in her hands.
Hours passed in complete, suffocating, terrifying silence.
Just before dawn broke, Darian let out a sharp, ragged breath and opened his pale eyes.
He looked around the bunker, highly confused, before his intense gaze settled entirely on Nadia.
"You saved my life," he whispered, his voice incredibly weak and raspy.
"You promised to triple my diner wages," Nadia replied dryly, offering a tiny smirk.
May you like
Darian actually smiled, a genuine, warm expression that completely transformed his harsh face.
Before he could speak again, a secure satellite phone mounted on the concrete wall began to ring loudly.
