At the hospital, the nurses take Nikolas to get examined quickly. The same woman from before sits behind the counter, and I almost laugh at how frequently I’ve seen her. Aside from Nikolas and Matvei, she’s one of the only people I’ve seen this often over the last month. We make eye contact, but she looks away immediately. Like she’s scared Matvei might come for her throat if she looks at me wrong.
I take a seat and fiddle with my phone, trying not to get too jittery. I can’t help it, though. Being in this place brings out the worst parts of me. I think about Dad, and Mom, and even Matvei’s mom, all of them suffering in this very same hospital.
The doors to the waiting room burst open and Matvei steps out. Immediately, I stand and rush towards him. He grabs me by my forearm, but there’s no anger in his touch. He’s worried, and it feels as if he’s reaching out for comfort.
“Where is he?” he asks.
“He’s with the doctors right now. They said it might just be a really bad fever, but they’re giving him a full examination to make sure it’s not something worse.”
Hearing that, he seems to unwind just a bit. But then a dark look crosses his face as he stares behind me. I turn around to see Chris Walter, the doctor that used to work for the Morozov Bratva. Matvei’s hand on my arm tightens.
“It’s okay,” I say, trying to soothe him.
Matvei’s eyes slide from Chris to me. “It’s not.”
“It is,” I insist, reaching for him. “We have to worry about Nikolas.”
“When I told you he was shady, it’s because I caught him stealing, Victoria. Stealing from my family. The only reason I didn’t have him killed is because of who his father is. Judge Jeffrey Walter. He had too much dirt on us to get him back for what he did. So, no, it will never be ‘okay’ between us.”
I glance back to see Chris head off, throwing a knowing smirk back at the two of us. I swear, I could smack that look off his face. He’s practically gloating, pleased with himself that the only reason he’s living is because of what he knows and all the damage it would do if he turned up dead.
The vigilante pops into my mind again. He could very easily be the man behind all of this mess going on with Matvei’s businesses. Bitter anger could drive a person to do the worst of deeds, and if Chris worked for the Bratva, I think it’s safe to say he’s not above killing people.
“Right now, Nikolas needs you,” I say, looking up at Matvei. “We have to focus on him, okay?”
This seems to break through Matvei’s angry trance because he nods slowly. “You’re right. Let’s go.”
He strides up to the desk, and a different nurse behind the counter looks him over. “Can I help you?”
“I’m here to see a patient by the name of Nikolas Morozov.”
She taps away at her computer, then says, “Right now, we’re only accepting family members.”
“I’m his uncle. Matvei.”
Her eyes fall on me. “And her?”
Matvei grabs my hand and laces our fingers together. “This is my wife.”
I try not to let his statement affect me, but I feel warm almost instantaneously. I never thought I’d hear the day he called me something like that. Not that I’d ever want it. It just … it sounds nice. Even if he’s lying.
“Are there any other questions you’d like to ask us,” he growls, “or can we go see my nephew?”
The nurse gives a reluctant jerk of her head. “He’s in the first room on the right. He’s with the doctor right now.”
When we step into the room, the doctor is taking good care of Nikolas. She has a thermometer in his mouth and is examining his ears. They must have given him some kind of medicine because he already looks better. A sense of relief washes over me. Injuries to me or Dad pale in comparison to anything bad happening to Nikolas.
Out of anyone in this whole debacle, he’s by far the most innocent.
After thirty more minutes and a prescription for medicine written up for us, Nikolas slides off the bed and we’re able to take him home.
The ride to the pharmacy is quiet except for the radio playing. I steal glances at Matvei the whole way home.
“What are you looking at?” he asks me, eyes facing front.