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“I’ll leave pain medication as well.”
“Don’t bother. I won’t take it. Just give me something to sleep for now.”
I won’t be able to sleep with this pain, and I don’t want my mind constantly reminding me how I fucked up. He injects me with something. I don’t bother asking what. I stay lying on the metal table. If my men want me gone, I won’t wake up. This is their one chance, because when I wake up, there will be hell to pay for anyone involved.
Chapter 38: Katrina
Idon’tseethegirls until I’ve showered and the doctor has looked me over. They made me sit with oxygen and gave me a cough medicine to help. Just taking a shower, my breaths are labored from the smoke inhalation. The wounds from Sophia and Mikhail’s treatment of me before Demetri showed up weren’t too bad. The tape skinned me in spots when I ripped out of it, but I didn’t even need stitches.
I call Demetri, worried. He was burned badly. It rings four times before it stops and cuts me off.
Everyone deals with stress differently. He’s the head of the Bratva. I’m sure he’s very busy dealing with the fallout from his cousin trying to assassinate him.
I go down the hall to see the girls, dressed as if I never went through the traumatic event of the last few hours. I push all my thoughts deep inside to focus on the kids.
Charlotte gives me hugs, and Capree stays asleep when I pick her up in my arms. Both are completely oblivious that their lives were in danger. Just the way it should be. I have never been more grateful for my family and Demetri.
“Are we having a sleepover with Grandma tonight?” Charlotte asks excitedly. She bounces from couch to couch, talking about the large family she has now. “I have cousins that I always wanted. And a grandma. I’m the luckiest girl alive.” Her cheeks are flushed pink from all the movement. I wish I had the energy she has.
“Charlotte, honey, why don’t you bake with me, so Katrina can take a nap before dinner?”
She crawls onto my lap and gives me a hug and a kiss before she whispers into my ear, “I miss him when he’s not here too. But he always comes home.”
It has my eyes tearing up, and I try to force them away. I’m not sure if that applies to me, not that I say that. I give her a nod, and she jumps down and takes my mother’s hand. My fingers rub at my temple. I’m exhausted. It feels like it’s been three days, but it’s still the same one.
“Just lay Capree in the pack ‘n play. I’ll get her when she wakes up,” Mom tells me, and I give her a grateful nod.
I walk to my old room. It used to hold comfort for me, and now it seems empty. My once comfortable bed is now cold and lumpy. My nap is restless, with nightmares and constantly waking up each time I toss and turn. I’m not hungry, so I’m not even upset when I miss dinner after I pass out from pure exhaustion and don’t wake until the next morning.
I check my phone. I don’t have a single missed call. No text messages. My heart sinks. My throat is dry, and it’s another reminder that I could have died yesterday.
I have been given so many second chances in my life. I’m determined not to screw this one up. Walking down the stairs, I can hear chatter coming from the kitchen. When I walk in, my whole family is there. Each of my sisters comes up to me and gives me a hug. It makes me cry, because I don’t deserve a family like this.
This should make me happy, seeing everyone, but it serves as a reminder that the one person I need isn’t here.
“Have you heard from Demetri?” I ask my brother, who hugs me last.
“Give him time. He has to make sure it’s safe for you and the girls, and he’s probably trying to figure out if his cousin acted alone or if there’s a power struggle within his family.”
I’m his family, not the Bratva.
I glance over, and my sister Gia is holding both her baby and mine. It’s crazy that our children were born the same day. In a little over a year, my mother went from having no grandchildren to having three. My brother’s wife is holding their one-year-old while helping Mom with breakfast, and she does it with ease.
It’sbeenaweek,and I still haven’t heard from Demetri.
I’m pissed. This is no way to treat his family. I’m outside playing with Charlotte. We’re blowing bubbles and trying to pop them. My phone buzzes, and I immediately check. Relief fills me as soon as I see my husband’s name.
Demetri: Call me when you’re alone.
I have a bad feeling now, the relief I felt vaporized. I don’t text him back. If he wants to talk to me, he can call or better yet come to us.Fuck him.
By the time I put Charlotte down to relax inside, she’s exhausted and immediately falls asleep. If I’ve timed it right, I should have an hour to myself before Capree wakes up from her nap, and shortly after that, I’ll get Charlotte up.
The doorbell rings, and I curse. I have a note out there that says donotring the bell. If they wake up the girls, I could easily put a hit on their head.
I open the door, and what looks like a delivery man is on our porch. I point to the sign once and give him a stern glower. “What can I do for you?”
“Katrina Rossi?”
