Fixation (Fatal Attraction #3)

Prologue

PROLOGUE

London

W e need a doctor here…

He’s losing a lot of blood…

Carotid pulse is weak…

Gunshot wound to the chest and leg…

Clean entry and exit points…

Voices played like a convoluted song in his ears. The lights blinked on and off, making him dizzy. And the pain—dear God, it was killing him. Every breath burned through him. He couldn’t bear it. It hurt so damn much. His whole body felt like it was on fire. Those fuckers had played him well. He hadn’t even seen that man pull out a gun. He’d made a mistake, one he would pay a heavy price for.

His eyes drifted close. Voices came and went until he couldn’t make out what was being spoken. Darkness descended on him. His life flashed before his eyes—the orphanage he’d been left in and the family he’d found there. His brothers, Mihir, Armaan, and the sister they had lost, Karina. Memories faded in and out. Moving to Russia with their adopted father, Alexander Oshnov, finding and building a new life with him and his brothers. Studying, working hard, making a name for himself. He had seen it all, he had lived it all, and now… he was going to lose it all. He forced his eyes open.

Lights and faces continued to flash before him. He was being wheeled somewhere. Every breath was an agony; the darkness called to him. He just had to shut his eyes, and the pain would vanish. Maybe he ought to succumb to it and end the pain. End it all. But that meant… Oh his brothers... Mihir… Armaan… His death would devastate them. And his sister… He’d never get to find her. He’d never get to see her and hear her story. Their quartet had been incomplete after they’d lost Karina, and now, even when his brothers found her, which they would, their quartet would be fractured forever, thanks to his own untimely death.

Why had he arrogantly believed himself to be invincible? Why hadn’t he returned to Dubai like Mihir had wanted him to? Oh, how badly he had failed all of them. God. He didn’t want to die. He wanted to live for them, his chosen family—Mihir, Armaan, and Karina.

He wanted to turn back time to choose better. To be better. But now it was too late. He needed a chance… His world turned black. He was sinking… falling into a deep abyss. He welcomed the blankness, the lack of sensation. The end of pain.

An electric shock went through his body, jolting his eyes open. A beeping sound reached his ears.

“Wait, he’s responding,” someone said. That voice. It was the sweetest voice he’d ever heard—the voice of an angel. “Hold the AED.”

The beeping became louder.

“His heart rate is improving,” Another voice said.

“We can’t wait. We’re operating on him. Now,” the sweet voice spoke again, this time sounding more worried.

“But…” the other voice said.

“I said NOW,” his angel shouted, “I am not going to let him die, which he will if I don’t get him on a fucking operating table.”

Voices argued around him.

“Don’t do this. Wait for Dr…”

“You’re going to kill your career…”

“He’s banned you from the OT…”

The voices drifted away again as his eyes slid shut.

“I know, but I’m choosing to save him instead.” He heard that sweet voice pat his hand with determination and say out loud. “He’s going to live. I’ll ensure it.”

That touch. Something about that touch calmed him down. Gave him hope. He wanted to tell the angel to save him. He wanted to see her, but his eyes wouldn’t open. Frantic, he grabbed onto something. A wrist. He held it like a lifeline.

A needle pricked his skin.

And then there was darkness.