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“I know Yakov has made some threats, but he’s a good man. You don’t need to be scared of him.”
“I’d be stupid not to be!” His eyes are wild and scared. “I know what your fiancé is capable of.”
I recoil. What does that mean? Does Dr. Jenkins know about the Bratva? Is he speaking from personal experience or from what he’s overheard?
“Why did you agree to work for him, then?” I ask. “Why are you here if you’re so scared of him?”
Dr. Jenkins pulls out his phone with a sympathetic grimace. “You’re my patient, Luna. As your doctor, I have to do what’s right for you… and for me.”
He presses the phone to his ear and closes the door behind him before I can even get up off the table.
44
YAKOV
When my phone buzzes, Gregory bolts out of my lap like he’s been electrocuted. The cat hisses and darts under the chair where he’s spent most of his time since Luna left.
“You’re gonna have to toughen up if you’re gonna survive in this house,” I warn him, swiping up to take the daily call from Dr. Jenkins.
Before I can even answer, he’s talking to me. “I’m not going to be held responsible for your disregard of your fiancée’s needs. I’m telling you that she needs to get to a hospital. If anything happens to her now, it’s not on me. I’ve done my part.”
“What the fuck are you talking about, Jenkins?”
Nik’s eyes snap open at the sound of my voice. His physical therapy session this morning tired him out. He’s been dozing for the last hour, but he’s wide awake now.
“Luna’s blood pressure is high,” Dr. Jenkins explains tersely. “It has been high for weeks. The medication isn’t lowering it, and I can’t in good conscience keep her here any longer. You need to get her to a hospital.”
“That’s why I have you there. That’s why I found all of that fucking equipment. So you could bring the hospital to her.”
“I can’t work in a vacuum,” he protests. “I need to talk to other doctors and run tests. I’m a good doctor, but I can’t replace an entire hospital staff. I don’t have a phlebotomist down here or a fully-functioning lab.”
“Do you need a fully-functioning lab?”
“Yes. Er—no. Not here. You need to take Luna to one. You can’t fit the entire world down here in this bunker. She has to get out eventually. I’d prefer it to happen before you lose one or both of your babies.”
In different circumstances, I’d kill Dr. Jenkins for the way he’s talking to me. For even suggesting that something bad will happen to my children.
As it is, all I hear is that my family isn’t safe.
I’ve made mistakes before. I won’t make one now.
“I’ll be there soon,” I grit out.
I hang up and Nik is already raising the head of his bed so he’s sitting tall. “What’s wrong?”
“Luna’s blood pressure is high. Dr. Jenkins is worried about the babies. He wants her to go to a hospital.” I shake my head. “But I can’t keep her safe there.”
“Not long-term, but maybe just for today?” Nik suggests. “You decimated the Gustevs when you raided that house to get Luna out.”
“We took out a lot of men, but I didn’t get final numbers. I was distracted.”
“The lack of movement within the Gustev Bratva’s own territories says enough. They’re running low on manpower. I’ve been making calls and putting out feelers and no one has seen a fucking thing from Pavel in weeks. Isay even managed to track down Budimir. He has cut all ties with the Gustevs and is working for Dima Baranov now.”
“That’s what Isay told me. I would have liked to have been the one to steal Budimir away and land that financial blow, but at least someone did it.”
“Someone who doesn’t also want us dead,” Nik adds.
“There’s that, too,” I agree. “Dima Baranov may not be a close friend, but he has never been my enemy. I’d rather him have the drop on illegal arms than almost anyone else. But the most important thing is still that Pavel is weaker now than he’s ever been. It might be why he disappeared after delivering his threats: he didn’t have the strength to follow through.”
