“Yes, boss.” He steps a few feet away and makes the calls.
“You’re going to be okay,” I tell Cassie.
She’s breathing in shallow breaths, and I put my hand on her cheek to comfort her. “Baby, take slow breaths for me, okay?”
Her gaze meets mine, but it’s vacant, not all there. Shit, she’s not good.
“It hurts so much,” she says.
“I know, baby.”
My heart hurts, and it hurts way more than I ever expected it could. It hurts more than losing Yulia, and it terrifies me because if I lose Cassie, I don’t think I’ll come back from it. I won’t come back from it.
I was devastated when I lost Yulia, but almost straightaway I thought of vengeance. Now? I don’t care. I don’t care about vengeance, or any of that shit. I need Cassie to live, and if she doesn’t, all I see is a black hole.
I’ve fucked up. I’ve fucked up so bad, and I need to make it right.
I love her.
It hits me so hard it’s like a truck colliding with me.
Why does it sometimes take us almost losing something to make us understand how much they mean to us? Cassie is the most important thing in my life other than Michael. She and that boy are all that matter, and it took this happening for me to realize.
Except it didn’t, did it? I realized before, when I saw the look of wonder on her face. Talk about timing.
Footsteps behind me have me turning around. Two women and a man are running toward us, carrying those bags emergency responders use. Thank God.
One of the women speaks to me in French, and I can speak basic French, but this is rapid fire, and I struggle to take in what she’s saying.
“She’s asking what happened,” the man who called them translates for me.
“Someone stabbed her,” I say.
Then behind her I see the police. They better not think I’m going with them right now when Cassie is in this state. Wild horses couldn’t drag me away from her.
I’ve been here once before, only days ago, but then I knew she’d be okay; now is a whole different story.
As the paramedics work on her, I stare at the woman I love and pray my realization hasn’t come too late for the both of us.
Chapter Sixteen
Cassie
My left side is nothing but burning pain. It’s as if someone has lit a fire in me.
I don’t know what’s going on. Everything is a blur. I got stabbed in the museum. I remember the ambulance, Konstantin’s face. God, his face. He looked wrecked. I could believe I mattered to him, really mattered, but it was probably only shock. Even Bohdan looked shocked. It must be bad.
It does hurt.
My mouth is dry.
I’ve got a headache. Not sure why being stabbed has given me a headache.
I don’t understand what’s happening now. I’ve had people all around me, doctors and nurses, and now they’re all gone. I’m alone in this hospital bay. Scared. Hurting.
I want Konstantin. I want my grandpa. I want Suze. Hell, I’d take Bohdan’s surly self right now. I don’t want to be alone.
The ceiling is stark white tiles, and the walls are gray. Cold, gray, and empty. Like my life. Konstantin warned me, didn’t he? He said his life wasn’t safe, and he was right. This is the second time being with him has put me in serious danger.
I love him, but he’s a health hazard.
I love him, but I can’t go through this again.
I can’t be in this life. It will be the death of me. How many times does it take to learn the lesson?
How do I walk away though from the man I love?
I’m in pain, miserable, and alone.
The curtain swishes open, and I’m shocked to see Maya.
“Cassie, you’re awake.”
She runs to me and feels my forehead like I’m a child with a temperature. Something tells me Maya hasn’t done much nursing in her time.
“My throat is so dry,” I croak.
“You were out of it. Blood loss. You’ve had some scans, a ton of tests. The good news is they think the surgery will be really small.”
“Surgery?” I panic.
“No, babe, it’s good. It’s going to be small. They said erm, … damn my English is good but medical terms, not so much. How did they put it? You must be cleaned? Irrigated, that is it. They need to irrigate the wound, clean it, and then stitches, yes? But no organ damage, Cassie. This is the main thing.”