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“You shouldn’t try to talk yet, spider monkey. You need water first,” Andrei said as he walked to a table next to another bed in the room. There was a small pitcher there, with water in it. He poured a small amount of water into a cup and brought it to me. While he fetched me water, Misha and Viktor helped move me and adjust the bed, so I could sit up a little more. Sitting up made it easier to breathe, so I was thankful for the change.
Andrei handed me the water, saying, “Slowly,” with a stern look on his face. I smiled weakly at him as I drank the water. Oh, that felt good.
“Once you keep that down, you can have more,” Ivan said. “Can you blink?” I blinked my eyes to show him. “Good. Two blinks for yes, one blink for no,” he said. I nodded my head once.
“Are you in pain, solnishko?” Adrik asked. I blinked twice. He cursed under his breath.
“Can you breathe better now?” Ivan asked. Two blinks.
“Are you nauseous?” Andrei asked. I thought for a minute, then blinked once. I wasn’t happy about not being in control of my body for so long, but at least I wasn’t nauseous this time. He went to refill the cup with water. He poured a little bit more this time, then handed it back to me. I drank it slowly. My body felt weak. And painful.
“Do you want to know who won the bet on how long it took them to find us?” Ivan asked, a grin on his bruised and battered face. Two blinks. “Technically, neither of us. Thirty hours,” he said, smiling at me.
“You were closer,” I managed to say in a whisper. “I’m glad.” I smiled at all the guys and leaned my head toward Adrik. Andrei refilled my cup yet again. This time, he filled it up completely. I drank part of it, but then handed it to Adrik, who finished it. I was sure he hadn’t had anything to eat or drink the whole time I’d been out. He drank it quickly, handing the empty cup back to Andrei. I gave Adrik a sympathetic look for keeping him trapped yet again.
“Don’t you dare try to apologize,” he said. “I would stay here until the end of time with you.” He leaned over and kissed my forehead gently.
“How long?” I whispered.
Viktor looked at his watch. “Right about twenty-four hours this time, but considering what you went through, I’d say you’re ahead of schedule, sestrichka,” he said, giving me a wink and his broad, handsome smile.
I smiled back at him, but it was weak. Everything felt weak. And painful. So painful.
“How much pain are you in, princess? On a scale of one to ten,” Ivan asked. I thought for a minute, taking inventory of my body. I held up five fingers, then three fingers. “So, like a thirteen for normal people, then?” Ivan asked, grinning at me.
“Do you want some pain meds? The doctor said you were going to be in severe pain for a couple days,” Adrik said. He could tell by the look on my face that I wasn’t happy with that option. He smiled softly at me. “I’m not sure superprofen is going to be enough for this time, love.”
“How much longer do I have to stay here?’ I whispered.
“You still have a chest tube in, but the doctor said that might be able to come out soon. You have to stay another day after that comes out to make sure your lung stays inflated, then you should be able to leave,” Ivan said.
I peeked underneath the hospital gown that I was wearing, trying to find the chest tube. “Can we take it out now?” I asked quietly as I was looking. Adrik grabbed my hand, pulling me very gently against him. He was laughing at me, but he was also still concerned about me. He looked at his watch. “The doctor should be coming back soon to check on you before he leaves for the day. We can ask him then.”
I looked at Ivan, noting that he’d been cleaned up and had a fresh set of clothes on. “How?” I asked, pointing at him. I was sure they would know what I was asking, so I didn’t feel the need to elaborate or use any more energy than absolutely necessary.
“The recording of you playing worked so the doctor could stitch him up and make sure nothing was broken. We’ve all been listening to it off and on while Ivan sleeps. So far, he hasn’t woken up fighting,” Misha said.
I looked at Ivan, remembering him standing over me the last time the doctor checked me. “What made you protect me from the doctor?” I asked, my voice still only barely above a whisper.
He raised his eyebrow. “How do you know that, princess?”
“I can feel you now too. Not as strong though.” I stopped to take a breath. “I could hear all your conversations too. I just couldn’t move,” I said, trying to breathe as deeply as I could.
“Really?” Adrik and Ivan both asked at the same time. I laughed quietly at them, nodding my head.
“Different though,” I said. I looked back at Ivan, still wanting to know what the doctor did. “You were right to do what you did. It felt gross whatever he did.”
“He was looking at you the way the doctors at the facility looked at me when they were excited about a new experiment they wanted to try on me,” Ivan said.
“It felt the same when Sal was staring at my boobs. And Armando cut my clothes off,” I said, taking as deep a breath as I could manage after getting the words out. I coughed once, which made Andrei quickly get more water for me. “You’re my favorite, Bubba,” I said as he handed me a full cup of water again. I glanced at everyone’s tense faces at the mention of Sal and Armando while I drank more water. “Armando?” I asked quietly.
“He’s still alive, sestrichka. He’s in a room. Chris said he’s trying to talk his way out by saying Boss has gone crazy and put him in there for no reason,” Viktor said.
I closed my eyes for a moment, trying not to get angry. I felt Adrik tighten his hold on me. He pressed his cheek against mine, trying to help me stay calm. I took as deep a breath as I could. When I opened my eyes and looked at the guys, they were all surprised.
“Holy shit, you were not lying, Ivan,” Misha said. He looked at Adrik. “Does she feel calm to you, Boss?” I felt Adrik nod his head, his cheek still pressed lightly to mine. I was smiling at them, knowing they were talking about my eyes. I didn’t feel out of control angry, but I was certain my eyes told a different story.
“They were like that the whole time they had us,” Ivan said. “But she never once lost her cool.” He looked at me with a look of pride on his face.
