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Drugged and foggy from the head trauma, it took him a few moments to recognize the
man as Father Semyon, Vivian's priest.
Why the hell would a priest visit him? A terrifying thought struck. Was Vivian dead?
Had the holy man come to break the news to him?
Pain tore through Nikolai's gut and punched his heart. "No!"
"Easy," Father Semyon urged and took his hand. "You're all right. You must rest. She
needs you whole."
Calmed somewhat by the priest's assertion that Vivian still needed him, Nikolai
succumbed to the lull of the familiar Russian chants of the older man's prayers.
The next time his eyelids fluttered apart he spotted Ivan sitting next to his hospital
bed. His slight movement drew his friend's attention. In an instant, Ivan was on his feet
and leaning across him. "Kolya?"
His hand trembled and felt as if it weighed a hundred pounds as he tried to grasp the
front of Ivan's shirt. "Vanya, they took her."
Ivan's harsh face turned sympathetic. "I know."
"Ransom?"
"Nothing yet."
Ivan's answer stabbed through his gut like a hot knife. If this wasn't about money&
"We have to find her."
Ivan gripped his hand. "We're looking. Everyone is looking. Dimitri, Kostya, Santos
and the police we're all looking for her. Yuri put out a reward. We'll find her. You have
to rest."
"I have to get up." He tried to push himself into a sitting position but the medications
dripping into his veins left him woozy and weak. Scowling at the IV lines running out of
his arms, he reached over to rip them out, but Ivan's powerful hand stopped him.
"No. You're no good to her like this. Rest. Heal."
Nikolai started to fight Ivan but the bastard hit the dosing button on the medication
pump. What little strength he possessed fled him as the drugs poured into his
bloodstream. He angrily smacked at Ivan but it was no use. Sleep gripped him and
wouldn't let it go.
But the next time he jerked awake, Nikolai immediately sensed something was
different. His entire body throbbed with pain. The top of his aching head threatened to
pop off at any moment. He hissed as the raging discomfort made his stomach churn.
Out of nowhere, a hand holding a pink plastic basin appeared. Bracing his gut with his
arm, Nikolai retched into the basin. His whole body protested with spasms that cut him
to the very core.
"Are you finished?"
Nikolai lifted his bleary gaze to Detective Santos' stony face. Wiping at his mouth,
Nikolai nodded. "Da. Yeah."
"I know you're in pain and I'm almost sorry for it, but I had to shut off the drugs. I
need you awake." Santos dropped the basin in the sink across the hospital room. "Can you
walk?"
"I'll crawl if I have to," Nikolai growled and jerked the sheet from his body.
"We don't have a lot of time. Dimitri and Ivan are out there running interference with
the nurses and the rookie posted to your room." Santos slid an arm around Nikolai's
shoulders and helped him to the edge of the bed. He backed away long enough to grab a
plastic bag filled with clothes. "One of your men gathered your things."
Nikolai cast an untrusting eye toward the detective. "Why are you helping me?"
"Because you're the best chance I've got of getting my cousin back. Even if you did lose
her," Santos added angrily.
"I didn't lose her. She was taken from me." The vise-like grip around his heart
tightened as the memory of her terrified scream ricocheted in his head. It was a sound he
would never forget.
Nikolai grabbed the bag and dropped it onto the bed. He'd been in hospitals enough
times to know how to remove his catheter and IV. Moving slowly, he embraced the
discomfort that accompanied every twitch of his battered muscles. He deserved those
gut-twisting jabs of pain for putting Vivian at risk and failing to protect her and keep her
safe.
Why had he asked Sergei to bring her to the warehouse? Why had he picked a fight
with her over the paintings? Why hadn't he fought harder to protect her? How could he
let those monsters take her?
Distraught with his failures, he finished dressing. Putting on his shoes nearly made
him black out but he pushed through the pain. The detective peered around the door
long enough to ascertain they were in clear before waving his hand for Nikolai to follow.
Still a bit woozy, Nikolai put a hand to the wall for support as he slipped out of his
hospital room.
Looking back, Santos shot him a brief glower of irritation. The detective reluctantly
put an arm around Nikolai's shoulders to help him move faster. He grudgingly accepted
Santos' aid. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]