AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You got banged up, but nothing serious enough to need hospitalisation. And I have a few of my men already at the hospital keeping Viktor safe. I don’t have enough men I fully trust to have you both guarded in such a public place as a hospital, even a private one. You’re safer here.”
A wave of relief that Viktor wasn’t dead had her eyes stinging. Daniil’s world was crazy and violent, and she really wanted out of it before it was too late.
“I want to go home.”
He cupped her jaw in his palm, rubbing his thumb over her lower lip. “I’m sorry, krasivaya, but I can’t allow that. It’s not safe for you there right now.”
“What about Jess? And the others?”
He gave her a small smile. “They’ll be fine. They’re not connected to me enough for someone to go after them.”
The drugs were making her sleepy, and she didn’t have the energy to fight against it.
“I really don’t like your world, Daniil. I want out.”
She caught a flash of pain cross his face before she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
After her eyes closed and her body relaxed against his bed, he stayed by her side. The last twenty-four hours had been extremely stressful, and he’d not had the chance to sleep much, which didn’t look like it would change anytime soon. He wasn’t sure how long the pain meds would keep her under, but he guessed if she woke up to find him sound asleep, she’d sneak off on him. And with no Yury or Viktor here to keep an eye out, she would be able to easily escape. No, he had to stay awake and alert.
At least this morning she seemed to be more herself. Yesterday, she’d been in this strange awake-but-not-awake state that freaked him right out. The doc had said it was shock, that she just needed time and rest, but it was scary seeing her staring out vacantly and not tracking anything at all. He’d stripped her and showered her before he allowed the doc in to look at her. The bruising showed that Rodger had caught her ribs when he’d punched her in the stomach, and he knew they’d ache for a while. Her elbow was also badly bruised. The doc was fairly certain it wasn’t broken, but it needed to be iced. He’d done as the doctor had ordered and this morning, he was sure there was no break.
Groaning, he forced himself to roll over and leave her to sleep in peace. He made his way down to the ground level of his home and stopped short when he found Yury in the kitchen, drinking a beer. And looking more worn out that Daniil felt, which was saying something.
“What do you have for me?”
While he’d been babysitting Julietta, Yury had been down in the basement taking care of their newest guests. His friend stretched his neck out then took another long pull of his beer before he looked over at Daniil.
“Rodger’s a fuckwit. After you cut him off, he went to Tony.”
Yeah, because Tony was one of a very few who’d dare to refuse his little announcement about doing business with Rodger. “Predictably, he lost the money, and Tony offered him a deal to pay it back.”
“Let me guess? He needed to deliver Julietta to him?”
Yury tilted his beer toward him as he nodded. “You got it. Tony told him once they had her, he’d let Rodger fuck her as much as he wanted, so long as he was rough and let Tony film it. Bastards were planning on sending you some new viewing material.”
Anger heated his blood, but he kept it under wraps at this point. “And what did Tony have to add to that little story?”
“Mainly he confirmed what Rodger had said, but also threw in a few other details. Like the fact Rodger told your girl about what you really do for a living. Stupid fucker couldn’t wait to tell me how you’d never get near her again after what they told her about what you do. Not sure what kind of damage they’ve done inside her head, D., especially considering what you pulled before this shit went down. You might be best to cut her loose and move on.”
The very thought of losing Julietta had his gut twisting in knots. With a growl, he spun and after snatching up a chair, threw it against the wall, shattering the thing.
“She’s mine. I’m not losing her over this shit. No way.”
Yury was nodding at him, in that slow way people did when they thought a person was crazy.
“Okay, so you’re not cutting her loose. In that case, you better start thinking of ways to suck up to her, because if those two told her all you’re capable of, she’s going to look at you like you’re a monster now.”
He winced. He’d thought she’d still been in shock earlier, but maybe it wasn’t anything medical. It was simply she was overloaded and not sure what to think about him. How the fuck was he going to fix this shit?
“I’ll work something out. You heading over to the hospital now, or are you still working?”
“Yeah, I was going to go check in with Viktor, see if he’s awake yet.” He paused to drink the last of his beer. “They’re still breathing, if you want to go down there and work out some tension. Figure they can wait a few days before we finalise things. Bastards deserve to suffer, and if for some reason Viktor doesn’t make it, I want to be able to take my time pulling those fuckers apart.”
Daniil shook his head on a dark chuckle. This was why he, Viktor, and Yury had bonded so well. They were made from the same cloth. Before he could respond, his phone rang. He pulled it out and when he saw it was a local number he didn’t know, he answered it. He didn’t normally, but with Viktor in the hospital and shit going down all over the damn place, he didn’t want to risk not taking the call.
“Mikhailov.”
