CHAPTER 119: SAVED A CALDWELL!

Elias’s ears were still ringing from the gunshot when Nathan’s full weight sagged against him. The room smelled of gunpowder and blood. Too much blood. Blood from Nathan and the one who was shot by Elias.

Nathan’s head rested on Elias’s shoulder, breath coming in wet, shallow gasps. Nathan was dying. No, he was going to die if no one did anything. After all, he was losing a lot of blood.

Elias’s brain finally caught up.

He was a Nursing student. He could give first aid immediately.

He dropped to his knees, dragging Nathan with him so the taller man lay flat on the centre carpet. Nathan’s back was soaked dark red, the bullet had gone clean through just under the left shoulder blade.

"Viktor!" Elias shouted, voice cracking. "Don’t just stand there, call an ambulance! Now!"

Viktor was already moving, phone to his ear, barking orders.

"Second floor, east wing, gunshot wound to the back, through-and-through, heavy bleeding. Get the ambulance here fast!"

Elias didn’t wait.

He grabbed the clean T-shirt he had laid out on the bed, bunched it up, and pressed it hard against the exit wound on Nathan’s chest. Blood immediately soaked through the cotton, warm and sticky.

"Stay with me, Nathan. Don’t you dare close your eyes. Breathe, okay? Breathe!"

Nathan’s lips moved, but no sound came out.

Elias leaned closer, his hand still pressed against the shirt, and used the other to roll Nathan slightly onto his good side so the blood wouldn’t pool in his lungs.

He grabbed another shirt, folded it thick, and shoved it under Nathan’s back against the entry wound.

Pressure on both sides.

He pressed down with everything he had, arms shaking.

"Come on, come on, come on..."

Nathan’s pulse under Elias’s fingers was fast and thready. Elias counted breaths out loud. "One... two... three... breathe, damn it."

Nathan coughed and a little pink foam appeared at the corner of his mouth.

His lung was hit. And it wasn’t good.

Elias swallowed in panic. He tilted Nathan’s head back gently to keep the airway open, then went back to pressing both wounds.

"Viktor!" he yelled again. "Tell them possible lung involvement!"

Viktor was already relaying the information he heard, loud and clear.

Elias kept talking, more to himself than to Nathan.

"You’re not dying, okay. Not after all that stupid drama. I’m still mad at you, you hear me? You don’t get to die while I’m mad. You fool!"

Nathan’s fingers twitched as they found Elias’s wrist and squeezed weakly.

Elias looked down. Nathan’s eyes were half open, glassy, but fixed on him.

Elias forced a shaky smile. "There you are. Stay awake. Look at me."

Nathan tried to speak. A bubble of blood formed on his lips.

Elias shook his head. "Don’t talk. Just breathe. Slowly."

He checked the time on the wall clock. Pressure for six minutes already. The shirts were soaked through.

He grabbed a thick hoodie from the chair, folded it, and swapped it for the ruined shirts. Fresh pressure. Harder.

His hands were bright red now.

Viktor knelt on Nathan’s other side.

"The ambulance is three minutes out. They’re coming up the private road."

"Good," Elias said, not looking up. "Help me. Press here." He guided Viktor’s big hands to the exit wound.

Viktor pressed without hesitation.

Elias checked Nathan’s pulse again... still there, but weaker.

"Why are you saving him?" Viktor asked quietly, eyes on Elias’s face. "You could just let him die after what he did to you. This dude is literally obsessed with you."

Elias didn’t stop moving. He didn’t even have the time to stare at Viktor.

"Because I’m a nurse. Or I will be... in the future. And I don’t get to decide who deserves to live based on how much of a creep they are."

Viktor was silent for a second.

Then Elias added, softer, "Even if he’s obsessed with me...it doesn’t matter. You’re obsessed with me too, remember? The only difference is I picked you."

Viktor’s ears went pink even in the middle of all the blood. The word ’I picked you.’ kept ringing in his head over and over again.

He opened his mouth, closed it, then muttered, "Don’t say that while your hands are literally keeping another man alive."

Elias almost laughed. Almost. Nathan’s breathing hitched like he was jealous of the conversation they were having. Elias leaned over him again. "Nathan, stay with me. Help is coming."

Nathan’s eyes fluttered. His fingers were ice cold on Elias’s wrist.

Elias kept counting, pressing and praying.

Sirens finally screamed up the drive.

.

.

Viktor stepped out of the room to meet the paramedics. Luka was jogging down the hall, dragging an unconscious man in black by the collar.

"What the hell happened?" Luka asked, out of breath.

Viktor didn’t answer. He pointed at the body on the floor. "Who’s that?"

"Oh! Him? I caught him running after the last shot. I knocked him out when I found him running down the stairs." Luka dropped the guy like trash.

Viktor didn’t blink.

He raised the gun he took from Elias and fired three times... head, chest, stomach.

The body jerked and went still.

Luka swallowed hard. "Okay. Noted. He’s a bad guy."

"Ambulance is here," Viktor said. "Take them to the room. Then guard the door."

Luka glanced past Viktor and saw Elias on his knees in blood, Nathan’s head in his lap.

Luka groaned. "Seriously? We’re saving Caldwell now?"

"It’s Elias’s orders," Viktor growled. "Move."

Luka raised both hands and backed off.

The paramedics rushed in with a stretcher. Elias didn’t let go until they told him twice.

They lifted Nathan, started IVs, oxygen, and pressure bandages. Elias stood up, legs shaking, hands dripping red.

One paramedic turned to Viktor. "Hospital?"

"No," Viktor said. "Take him to the Matching Centre. They’ll know what to do when they see him."

The paramedic nodded... they knew better than to argue.

Elias started forward. "I’m going with..."

"No," Viktor cut in gently. "You stay with the kids. Luka and I will go."

Luka’s head snapped around. "Me? Why me?"

Viktor grabbed his arm and dragged him toward the ambulance. Elias watched them load Nathan in, doors slamming, sirens starting again.

He stood there until the sound faded.

Then he looked down at his blood-soaked hands and shirt. And started walking.

.

The twins spotted him first from the stairs. They came barreling out of their room, Lila right behind.

"Nanny!"

Elias dropped to his knees in the hallway so they could crash into him.

Dante’s face was wet. "We heard guns! We were scared!"

Dario was crying too. "Are you hurt? There’s blood!"

Lila’s eyes were red, but she was trying to be tough. When she saw Elias’s shirt, the tears spilt over anyway.

Elias hugged all three of them so tight that no one could breathe.

"I’m okay," he whispered. "I’m okay. You’re okay. We’re all okay."

Lila punched his arm weakly. "Don’t scare us like that! You should have stayed with us."

The twins laughed through tears when she hit them next for laughing at her crying.

Elias kissed the top of each head. "Go back to your room. Lock the door again. I’ll come get you when it’s safe."

They obeyed, still sniffling. Gerald appeared, face pale.

"Master Viktor?"

"He went with the ambulance," Elias said quietly. "Nathan got shot."

Gerald closed his eyes for a long second. "And Milo?"

"He’s a spy," Elias said. "He brought men to my room."

Gerald sighed, heavy. "I knew he was Clara’s plant. I just didn’t know he’d go this far."

Elias looked down at his red hands again. "I trusted him."

"We all did," Gerald said softly. "Go clean yourself up. The maids will handle the rest."

Elias nodded numbly and walked to his room.

The bloodstain on the carpet was huge.

He stared at it for a long time. Then at his empty hand.

The gun was gone. He was sure Viktor must have taken it.

He opened and closed his fist.

"Shooting paper is easy," he whispered to the empty room. "Shooting people... not so much."

.

.

At the Matching Centre... Forty Minutes later

Viktor stood in the private waiting area, arms crossed, staring at the operating room doors.

Luka leaned against the wall, scrolling his phone. He was uninterested in what was happening.

Dr Patel walked in with two of Nathan’s security team.

"Mr Drago," Dr Patel said, bowing slightly. "Thank you for getting him here so quickly."

Viktor didn’t answer the thank you.

"What happened to the government protection detail that was supposed to be on Elias?" he asked instead, with annoyance in his voice.

Dr Patel looked uncomfortable. "Young Master Nathan told them Elias had left the estate without informing anyone. They were sent on a fake lead across the city. By the time they realised..."

"So Nathan deliberately put Elias in danger," Viktor cut in.

"No," Dr Patel said quickly. "The estate was attacked. Elias was not harmed. Young Master Nathan was only trying to..."

"Trying to get him stabbed so he could play hero," Viktor finished. "I was there. I saw it and I heard him confess."

Dr Patel went pale.

Before he could speak, the surgeon came out, pulling off bloodied gloves.

"He’s stable," the surgeon said. "The bullet missed the heart and major arteries by centimetres. One lung collapsed... we reinflated it. He’ll live."

Viktor closed his eyes for a second. He was not relieved. He regrets it.

He opened them again.

"Tell Nathan," he said quietly, "when he wakes up, he stays the hell away from Elias. Or next time I won’t call an ambulance."

He turned and walked out.

Luka followed behind.

In the hallway, Viktor stopped, leaned his forehead against the cool wall, and whispered to himself:

"I should have let him bleed out. I should have let him die."